New look for IHN
Welcome to our new website!
We also have a new logo which you can see at the top of this page and will be appearing on all of our communications.
How, you may be wondering, was this design and colour scheme chosen? Read on to discover why this image, colours and typography were chosen and how they will come to represent Inverclyde Heritage Network.
After you have read the blog, why not let us know what you think of our new logo!
The task…
Trying to represent Inverclyde Heritage Network in one clear, simple image was no easy task. The situation was complicated by there being no obvious historical feature that could represent the seven separate towns and villages, plus farms. And that was without thinking how heritage or network could be conveyed!
Research ideas…
In conversation with graphic designer and illustrator Caroline Johnstone, one theme uniting Inverclyde became clear – the river.
Quarrier’s Village - had a fully rigged training ship
Kilmacolm - had a home for sailors’ orphans
Port Glasgow and Greenock - were built on shipbuilding and sea trade
Gourock, Greenock, Wemyss Bay - had piers to ferry passengers across the river
Inverkip and Greenock – have marinas for leisure sailing.
Our favicon or mini logo for social media
For our new logo, Caroline used the ships and shipping theme as the basis for the design that was chosen by the committee. This design was influenced by deeper research into these areas
Shipping from early fishing busses through the centuries, to today’s leisure uses of yachting, and even into the future, have or will all make use of wind power through canvas, sails and rope
The shipbuilding industry brought many trades and support industries to the area, e.g. the canvas and tents of Blacks of Greenock, Gourock Rope Works, Tate & Lyle sugar refinery
People came to this area, often by ship, to work and live, or ships took them onto the Americas, Australia and New Zealand; people were also traded using ships
Ships brought goods to the area, e.g. wool, sugar, tobacco, and also used to export them around the world, e.g. tents, whisky, paper
As a vital part of the UK defence in WW2, many ships called at Greenock to pick up supplies and crew, torpedoes were manufactured, and war ships and submarines were built
Ship building and trading brought wealth to the area; this helped foster the arts and civic pride, e.g. Municipal Buildings
Engineering developed out of shipbuilding – even if it didn’t use wind power!
Our logo…
The Three Sails logo represents:
the past, present and future: a representation of the three-masted schooner which was so important to past trade; the three individual yacht-type sails represent the present leisure industry; the future is suggested by the filled sails propelling us forward
overlapping, full sails: three individual items can be connected to each other for a greater combined outcome
networking: working together either building or sailing a ship was key to a successful product or journey; likewise these sails imply the element of networking, working together to move forward to achieve success
the colours: three shades of greens are symbolic of the river which connects the different areas of Inverclyde. Symbolising calm, regrowth and the environment; the choice of green in this context symbolises working together to reclaim our past and preserve it in a sustainable way for future generations
the typography: to contrast with the modern image and colour scheme, a typeface that recalls the past was chosen to reinforce the central common theme of heritage
the third sector: also known as the voluntary sector to which IHN belongs.
And so…
While our Three Sails might not, at the moment, be instantly recognisable as representing IHN, it is loaded with potent symbolism which verifies our past and connects our current interests in heritage to enable a legacy of recorded heritage for the future.
