Metafluence Logo
The current Metafluence logo is a gargoyle from the Fraumunster clock tower in Zurich, Switzerland.
My logo began as my developer marque for a previous company I co-owned with Matt King. We based our logo on Aldus Manitus’s marque of the swiftest creature in the sea wrapped around an anchor, which reminded himself to “make haste slowly”. We based the logo on the early printer marques because XHTML/CSS web design shares much in common with moveable type design due to their box model commonality. After striking out on my own, I decided to drop the anchor from the marque symbolizing my independence. It also works nicely to represent the idea behind Metafluence, which is about connecting the dots below the surface.
Previous versions of the Metafluence logo
For the first year of my site, I used a photo I took of a bronze sculpture depicting a koi that resided in a living room of a friend’s beach house. I liked the menacing feel it had tempered with a touch of sophistication. I decided to update it to an element that could be used more like a logo.
The original PIC developers marque was inspired by early printer marques and the famous Aldine Dolphin. Early printer marques were inspired by the crests and armorial imagery of the day. Still closely connected with the Christian church, it was extremely common for these marques to graphically reference the cross.
The PIC web developer marque combined Aldus Manitius’ printer trademark with the heraldy of early printer marques.
Early printer marques were inspired by the heraldry of the time.
Known academically as the Aldine Dolphin, Aldus Manitius’ marque is actually a mythical creature lored to be the swiftest in the sea wrapped around an anchor to symbolize “make haste slowly.”
A few printer trademarks by Aldus Manitius. The two on the right are adoptions by William Pickering.
