In this second part of the video Mark van Huystee discusses his ideas on finding the right expression in a drawing. He shows how precise his work is and how you can use, what he calls, “quality by quantity” to become the best expression in your images. In his opinion you will find the best design after making several draft designs.

Optimised expression of a company logo

Here you can see two pictures from a design process for the Dutch railways (NS). The logo was formed from two arrows in opposite direction. The lines indicate the train tracks. The design, from 1968, is by Gert Dumbar and René van Raalte.

After the initial idea, a long process took place in order to optimize the expression of the logo. Many different dimensions, colours and line thicknesses were tested amongst a group of reviewers.

The designers found out that by changing a small detail in the dimensions, they could change the associations with the logo, form a ‘hip’ to a very slow and dull trademark. Also when the curves were too bended, it gave the impression that the trains could spin out of the rail tracks.

Pictures and story from: Emile Truijen, brieven van een designer: een autobiografie, by Emile Truijen, N.F.M. Roozenburg, 1993.