Time to Contemplate Logo
Setting up a website can be a complex and time-consuming endeavor. So, it came as a bit of a surprise that the most time-consuming portion of startup was designing the logo. A lot of thought was put into the intention behind our logo, but it is not easy to see what the symbolism is. That’s what this article is about.
Wikipedia tells us the word “logo” is an abbreviation of the word “logotype” which comes from the Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) (meaning word or speech) and τύπος (túpos) (meaning mark or imprint). A logo is “a graphic mark, emblem or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition”.
In modern times, with so many large companies and organizations, the logo has become “the central complex identification system that must be functionally extended to all communications of an organization”, making it “one of the most difficult and important areas of graphic design”.
After many starts, stops and combing through ideas for a logo, we looked to the I Ching hexagrams for inspiration. Each of the 64 hexagrams are composed of some combination of 6 solid and/or broken lines. The 53rd hexagram, Gradual Progress (pictured below) caught our interest.
Hexagram 53’s interpretation can be found here: https://renasance.ca/hex53/ It is as simple, brief and clear as we could make it while staying true to the basic interpretation.
The brevity of our hexagram interpretations meant not including interesting concepts found elsewhere. One aspect of this kind of analysis became a custom of some translators and commentators, they wrote about the “Image” of each hexagram. The Image describes the 2 elements that form the hexagram, how they naturally interact and what conclusions may be drawn from it.
Below are the 8 elements, with Hexagram 53’s two trigrams highlighted in red:
-Wind/Wood the upper
-Mountain the lower.
The Image of Hexagram 53 is: “A tree on the mountain”.
Here are a few of the most famous modern commentaries on the “Image” of Hexagram 53 and the conclusions drawn from the element interaction:
- Wilhelm/Baynes: On the mountain, a tree: the image of Development. Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue, in order to improve the mores.
- Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a tree upon a mountain. The Superior Man, abiding in holiness and virtue, inclines the people towards goodness.
- Liu: A tree on the mountain symbolizes Gradual Development. The superior man, in maintaining his virtue, improves society’s customs.
- Cleary (1): There are trees on the mountain, growing gradually. Thus do superior people abide in sagacity and improve customs.
This is the evolution of Hexagram 53’s lines into the final version of our logo with a blue-sky background:
A quote from our Hexagram 53 interpretation:
“The description of the gradual development of a tree, which grows from a seed within the ground, illustrates a process unfolding within time. This is about a step-by-step long-term process which grows from the inside outward.”
We see our logo as representing the image of strong things which take a long time to grow, with attention and care, such as daily practice or self-cultivation. This has been our intention by working daily with the “Time to Contemplate” website and Daily Newsletter: to study, practice and share the wisdom of the ancients.
To read the full write up on Hexagram 53, click here: https://renasance.ca/hex53/
You can find the other hexagrams, by clicking here: https://renasance.ca/i-ching/