Known by Name Counseling
April 2021
One of my favorite logos I've ever designed was for Known by Name Counseling, a private counseling practice based in Wheeling, West Virginia. I was inspired by founder (and my good friend) Tyler Kilbane’s mission to honor the addicts he serves as a name rather than a number, and also his personal old-world-aesthetic.
Through the mind-mapping and mood-boarding process, I came upon the theme of the candle, which illuminates the dignity of all those in its light. This candle became the central game of the logo, hiding in the negative space the way human dignity is often hidden at first glance. I also liked, as an analogy for the counseling process, the idea of verdigris being cleaned and returned to its original copper. Finally, the typography itself was designed to mirror the counseling process, with what one is “KNOWN” for decreasing on the journey from left to right, even as one’s “NAME”/identity increases.
The final logo incorporates the mission on multiple levels while also drawing on the founder’s personal style and the turn-of-the-century ghost sign design traditions of the organization’s post-industrial neighborhood setting.
