The importance of in and out

There is a club in London called the In and Out club, named for the gates directing members in the right direction.
Michael Beckwith, the Founder and Spiritual Director of Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, and an award-winning author, says he sees his clients coming in, entering like a golden Buddha, bringing their problems. This entrance aligns him with his intention before he starts to work with them.
We spend a lot of time on projects but how we receive them and how we send them off to do their work play a vital part in their success.
When I worked in design at Pentagram, we were taught how to wrap packages leaving the building so that Pentagram’s reputation for detailing and caring was enforced beyond the front door and visible to anyone involved, including the receptionist or secretary who may receive and/or open the package. The corners were neatly trimmed, the tape cut with scissors or scalpel and the address clearly, beautifully written.
In my work designing logos, I know that how we receive and deliver our logos is vital to the integrity of the final design. When I am designing, the concept(ion) is vital. How it enters the world, the quality of the intention, the talents, mood and state of the client, and me the designer. When it is time to exit and deliver its intentions, every design detail has been considered including the timing, perhaps even the alignment of stars and the season, to ensure the best potential success. Conversely, a perfunctory delivery, with poor attention to detail, from the choice of social media used to communicate, the cleanliness of delivery vehicles and the first word said when a client rings, can ruin the concept of a perfectly good logo.
We often think that the actual designing of a logo is the most important part and, once it is complete, the work is done. But this vital action could not take place without the initial brief and it could not do its work without the exit, the delivery.
The latter is what carries the energy the logo, embedding the intention of the desired future, intact into the outside world where it can do its work.
Everything matters, every detail.
The invitation to engage with the logo is delivered embedded in the design, like a doorway encouraging us to open. The first picture above was taken in fashionable Fitzroy in Melbourne. I wanted to touch and open this door; the handle is full of the promise of something wonderful within. The second entrance is the Chelsea Arts Club in London. Normally relatively inconspicuous, the entrance was allowed to seasonally express itself, much like the artist members within. I was strangely reassured when I saw this perfectly stacked recycling from a café in the third picture. I know this café. Their food and service is impeccable as is their detailing, from their smile when you enter to the herbs and spices they use. So, I felt comforted that this attention carried through to their rubbish! They really were committed to their intention of excellence which would be carried to the trash collectors who would notice and appreciate it, thus continuing to build the warmth. Finally, the last photo is from Bali – an exit sign in case of a Tsunami. I liked this as it shows how it is important to ensure our exits are targeted for purpose and in the right place to do their work to the full.
All these observations can be used in the design of a logo.
Whose design is it anyway?
When I was asked to write about design trends for 2020, my immediate response was to delve into my many years of design experience, observe any cycles, for example in colour, typography, shapes and so on …
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Lacoste and Crocodile International became locked into battle in New Zealand when they both wanted to use the crocodile to identify their brand. Their crocodiles look fairly similar but Lacoste’s …
What blocks us?
Sometimes making choices about the direction of our lives is not easy. Through a logo design we can clarity our intention and pave the way to the future we want …
Can logos make us rich?
We buy because the logo identifies what we want. But often the value lies in the logo and this is a tool we can all use.
Finding your purpose
When we work with the design of a logo we start to hone the purpose it will eventually represent.
How can we leave our mark on the world?
As we move through life, logos remain like footprints expressing and sharing our intentions in the moment.
Managing change
The world is full of change. Everything seems to be in transition and we don’t know who to trust. If we learn to trust ourselves and express this in a logo it can give us an anchor and help to manage the change…
Fashion Karma
Can your clothes transfer their energy to you? Whether it is the conditions under which they are created, the materials used or the logo imprinted on them, some knowledge of these aspects might help us …
The spirit of Coke
The American character, Hector Dexter, in Nancy Mitford’s 1951 satire “The Blessing” refers to Coca-Cola thus: “When I say a bottle of Coca-Cola I mean it metaphorically speaking …
The importance of in and out

There is a club in London called the In and Out club, named for the gates directing members in the right direction.
Michael Beckwith, the Founder and Spiritual Director of Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, and an award-winning author, says he sees his clients coming in, entering like a golden Buddha, bringing their problems. This entrance aligns him with his intention before he starts to work with them.
We spend a lot of time on projects but how we receive them and how we send them off to do their work play be a vital part in their success.
When I worked in design at Pentagram, we were taught how to wrap packages leaving the building so that Pentagram’s reputation for detailing and caring was enforced beyond the front door and visible to anyone involved, including the receptionist or secretary who may receive and/or open the package. The corners were neatly trimmed, the tape cut with scissors or scalpel and the address clearly, beautifully written.
In my work designing logos, I know that how we receive and deliver our logos is vital to the integrity of the final design. When I am designing, the concept(ion) is vital. How it enters the world, the quality of the intention, the talents, mood and state of the client, and me the designer. When it is time to exit and deliver its intentions, every design detail has been considered including the timing, perhaps even the alignment of stars and the season, to ensure the best potential success. Conversely, a perfunctory delivery, with poor attention to detail, from the choice of social media used to communicate, the cleanliness of delivery vehicles and the first word said when a client rings, can ruin the concept of a perfectly good logo.
We often think that the actual designing of a logo is the most important part and, once it is complete, the work is done. But this vital action could not take place without the initial brief and it could not do its work without the exit, the delivery.
The latter is what carries the energy the logo, embedding the intention of the desired future, intact into the outside world where it can do its work.
Everything matters, every detail.
The invitation to engage with the logo is delivered embedded in the design, like a doorway encouraging us to open. The first picture above was taken in fashionable Fitzroy in Melbourne. I wanted to touch and open this door; the handle is full of the promise of something wonderful within. The second entrance is the Chelsea Arts Club in London. Normally relatively inconspicuous, the entrance was allowed to seasonally express itself, much like the artist members within. I was strangely reassured when I saw this perfectly stacked recycling from a café in the third picture. I know this café. Their food and service is impeccable as is their detailing, from their smile when you enter to the herbs and spices they use. So, I felt comforted that this attention carried through to their rubbish! They really were committed to their intention of excellence which would be carried to the trash collectors who would notice and appreciate it, thus continuing to build the warmth. Finally, the last photo is from Bali – an exit sign in case of a Tsunami. I liked this as it shows how it is important to ensure our exits are targeted for purpose and in the right place to do their work to the full.
All these observations can be used in the design of a logo.
Whose design is it anyway?
When I was asked to write about design trends for 2020, my immediate response was to delve into my many years of design experience, observe any cycles, for example in colour, typography, shapes and so on …
VW Logo, Love it or Hate it
I met a girl with a VW logo on her foot and she answered, when I questioned why, that she loved her VW. I wonder if her love faded when she learned that VW had fitted 11m cars worldwide with software …
Who owns the crocodile?
Lacoste and Crocodile International became locked into battle in New Zealand when they both wanted to use the crocodile to identify their brand. Their crocodiles look fairly similar but Lacoste’s …
What blocks us?
Sometimes making choices about the direction of our lives is not easy. Through a logo design we can clarity our intention and pave the way to the future we want …
Can logos make us rich?
We buy because the logo identifies what we want. But often the value lies in the logo and this is a tool we can all use.
Finding your purpose
When we work with the design of a logo we start to hone the purpose it will eventually represent.
How can we leave our mark on the world?
As we move through life, logos remain like footprints expressing and sharing our intentions in the moment.
Managing change
The world is full of change. Everything seems to be in transition and we don’t know who to trust. If we learn to trust ourselves and express this in a logo it can give us an anchor and help to manage the change…
Fashion Karma
Can your clothes transfer their energy to you? Whether it is the conditions under which they are created, the materials used or the logo imprinted on them, some knowledge of these aspects might help us …
The spirit of Coke
The American character, Hector Dexter, in Nancy Mitford’s 1951 satire “The Blessing” refers to Coca-Cola thus: “When I say a bottle of Coca-Cola I mean it metaphorically speaking …