When Jouska Road Productions asked me to design their logo I was really excited. They wanted to include three elements: a road, the term ”jouska” (which means an imaginary conversation we have in our heads), and the character of a jackalope. I think jackalopes are hilarious. Jackalopes are fictional characters that have the body of a jack rabbit and antlers like an antelope. There are all kinds of interesting legends associated with them.
I read up on a few, to get a feel for the animal. One legend is that the jackalope is so smart it is able to understand human speech and mimic it back. One of the jackalope’s favorite tricks is to sit in the darkness by campfire gathering and echo the campfire songs back. Here’s something funny I found “Chamber of Commerce in Douglas, Wyoming issues official jackalope hunting licenses to tourists, which is good for two hours on one non-existent day, June 31. An applicant must also have an IQ higher than 50 but no more than 72.” Ha!
My favorite part of any design process is the initial brainstorm. I just try to get as many ideas on paper as possible. The key here is to work in an "open mode" where everything is possible. Quantity, not quality. ~Some of my worst ideas come out when I am in open mode~(said in a bragging tone).
It's bubble time! I scribbled all my ideas down quickly. I tried many versions of a jackalope, full body, side view etc. One reason I went with the front view, with head and shoulders is because it humanizes any animal to make them instantly relatable. I tried a few different quirky expressions and started getting a kick out of adding glasses. I thought it complimented the style of films that Jouska Road Productions creates.
The word “Jouska” in their name has such an interesting meaning and in their introduction they state “Jouska is the imaginary and often lively conversation that you carry out in your head between yourself and someone else….where you can connect more deeply with people than in the small ball of everyday life.” I really tried to capture that kind of pondering with the side eye glance of the expression of the jackalope. She is looking at the road, which is the circle that completely surrounds her. The road also doubles as a camera lens.
Then I took this idea one step further and animated it so that the jackalope's eyes would go back and forth trying to decide which way to go. The road/camera lens also turns around, and to add charm, the whiskers also twitch. This animated version of the logo took this project to the next level for me. It was so exciting to see the little character come to life!
Special thanks to Jouska Road Productions for hiring me to do such a fun project. Check out their films here: www.jouskaroad.com