For Professor O’Neil, creativity doesn’t just appear in the final product of a design. She explains, rather, that artistic expression manifests in the “explorations”, and from “owning the process” of creating multiple designs to present to her client. 

These concepts of exploration and process are central to a 2001 study on creativity in graphic design by researchers and educators in design Kees Dorst and Nigel Cross. Their work demonstrates that innovative design involves the co-evolution of transforming problem and solution spaces, in a continuous cycle of “analysis, synthesis and evaluation.” This cycle is what it means to “own the process” rather than focus solely on the final product.

In graphic design, the “problem space” refers to where the designer interprets and defines the issue they’re presented with, and the “solution space” is where they craft designs in response to the problems. According to Dorst and Cross, these spaces are not fixed, but constantly changing as the artist reconsiders their problems and develops new drafts in an effort to solve them. Though Professor O’Neil did not explicitly use the terms “problem and solution”, she implies that these shifting workspaces are where her artistic expression really has the ability to flow and she can make the process her own. 

Generating a logo may not seem like much of a problem, but effective design involves composing something both functional and visually appealing while balancing the expectations of the client, the needs of their audience, and the designer's own artistic vision. There may be multiple solutions to creating a logo, and Professor O’Neil’s own preferences may not align with what her client ultimately chooses – but this is all part of the process, and where she finds passion in her creative expression.

TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT WHAT PROFESSOR O'NEIL'S CREATIVE PROCESS ENTAILS, I INVITE YOU TO READ MY INTERVIEW WITH HER, TRANSCRIBED BELOW.

JULIA: Looking at your portfolio, I really enjoyed your Mesa Masa logo design. I'll pull it up here. Can you tell me a little bit about the inspiration for this?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: The typography is inspired by actual Mesas. Mesas are those flat-topped hills out west, and having the letter forms somewhat mimics that geography. I also like how it's a circle. It can serve as a stamp, a logo. It's got that color in the middle. It's very organic and very symmetrical.

JULIA: What was your inspiration for the color? How did you choose to pick the colors that you wanted to use?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: This was a logo for a restaurant, and I believe we were working with… this was part of a system, so the illustration in the center was interchangeable with different food items. And we were working with a color palette, I think of green… these two greens, a red, and a yellow, and these greens just fit with those other colors.

The yellow was important because there was an illustration of corn, and then the red, I think was… actually I don't remember what the red was for. I remember there was an avocado and corn. So the green just fit into the palette. And it was kind of in an upscale area. So I didn't want to have anything too bright and bold. I wanted a color that was kind of soft and subtle.

JULIA: And then, the little decals on the sides. Can you tell me about those?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: Yeah… I think the intention there was, because the letters in Mesa and Masa are very similar, I wanted to make sure there was separation between the two, so that it was legible. And I also wanted to have that continuation of the circle. And it felt kind of empty, if it was just empty space there. So I didn't want anything too crazy.

It was kind of like a southwestern inspired restaurant, so I chose those elements as kind of a nod to cowboy belts. Like, those silver jewelry embellishments. Or like, what do you call it? I can't think of the name of it, but it's like, when you have the leather fabric and you have the metal divots,

JULIA: Okay, yes, I know what you're talking about. That's cool. And walk me through your approach from start to finish in creating this design. Do you remember what you did?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: I mean, the first step was exploring typefaces. Because it wasn't like when you're designing a logo for something that doesn't really exist yet. You have to have the name in there, otherwise, it's kind of just an abstract symbol that doesn't mean anything. So the first step was exploring typefaces, typesetting different variations. Like, I had a couple of different stacked logos. There’s even different variations of this chosen logo.

There were versions where it was typeset in one line. There were versions where it was stacked “Mesa” on top of “Masa”. There’s versions where it had “Cantina”... I think “Mexican Cantina” is what it was underneath the logo, and then exploring variations of this circle logo mark… so I explored a bunch of different typefaces, and then from there started incorporating the illustrations.

And obviously it's for a restaurant, so I was exploring different illustrations of food. And started out kind of like literal, Masa means corn. So, I was exploring different illustrations of corn, and different abstractions of illustrating corn. And then, the client wasn't super intent on going in my abstract direction, so I moved backwards to just having organic illustrations of different foods or different food items or ingredients that they would use at the restaurant.

JULIA: Was this a long, drawn-out process?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: It was a few weeks. It was like a week of sketches and a week of drafts. So maybe three weeks. Like a week of sketches, a week of drafts, and then a week of final drafts and final edits.

JULIA: And you talk about your client kind of not wanting it to be more abstract like the direction you were heading. How would you say you navigated balancing what your client wanted versus your own artistic expression in this design?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: I mean, I'd say the artistic expression came in the explorations. And obviously, the client is trying to push forward their own vision. So, you know, trying to find a middle ground there.

And I mean, I guess I don't have full freedom to go in an abstract direction, but I still feel like I was able to put my own spin on their feedback and what their vision was. And just by me being the creator.

And I remember giving them multiple options. The first round of presenting the drafts, I think I gave them like six different options, and then they were gravitating towards a couple, and then I took what they were vibing with and pushed those forward with like six additional options. So, I think really, giving them different options, and at the end of the day, they're going to choose what they want to choose. But I think being able to own the process and still have those creations is the artistic expression.

JULIA: Yes, you’re still creating designs. It's just that you have sort of a direction with where you're going,

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: Yeah, and even with the logos presented on my website, these were the directions that I would have chosen. Like, this isn’t even the actual like system that they moved forward with. But these were the designs that I was most proud of in the process. So that's what I'm using to present for my own portfolio work.

JULIA: And how would you say that your passion for graphic design manifests in this particular logo?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: That’s an interesting question. I mean, I think, my passion for it is in refinement. Like the spacing between each letter is precise, the curvature of the peppers, that perfect kind of fit within that container of the circle. So, I think just precision and the attention to detail, the attention to color and shape and form and spacing and alignment.

It’s also kind of presenting itself in the fact that like I like I said before—I'm super passionate about this design. The client kind of pushed it in a different direction that they were happy with, but I wasn't necessarily super proud of. But I can still be passionate about, the designs that I was really proud of.

JULIA: Let’s talk more about refinement and paying attention to detail. I know that's super important in graphic design, and also balancing creativity with functional designing. Can you walk me through that a little bit?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: Yeah. In terms of functional designing, I don't know if you can zoom out on this design, but there's different lockups of this logo for different applications. So, this would be on menu, this would be on signage, this would maybe be on uniforms, probably be on their website. So having different kinds of variations of a logo for different applications I think is really important. Especially for signage, or a menu design.

Like, maybe you're limited in space to just something horizontal—you want horizontal lockup. Or maybe it's going on a square sign or some sort of vertical billboard outside of the restaurant, and you want some sort of vertical lockup. Or if it's going on a uniform or maybe a coaster, then that's where the circle design can be applied. So, I think just having different variations.

I guess, in terms… this is very specific to logo design, there's value in having different variations, especially for a wordmark. If it was just a square design, that's just going to be a square design. But in this case, it's a logotype. So, there are different ways that you can typeset that name.

JULIA: What kind of role does the audience play in your design? You previously talked about this being a high-income area, so you didn’t want your design to be super bright and you wanted it to be more naturally toned. Can you tell me a little more about how your audience played a role in creating the design that you did?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: Well, I mean, there's kind of two containers. There's the audience that's the client, and then there's their audience. This was located in the Florida Keys. It's a resort town, high paying clientele, kind of boutique. I think the restaurant was also a part of a hotel. I was thinking about it being down in Florida, and the Florida Keys, and wanted something somewhat soft, clean, and sophisticated. Yeah, just thinking about where it's going to be existing, and who's going to be interacting with the logo and the design and the product, which is the restaurant.

JULIA: What parts of the logo do you think really exemplify that direction?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: I mean, it’s easy to read. I think just looking at the logo, there's food elements, ingredients, so you can associate that with eating and with a restaurant. If you just saw “Mesa Masa” and the pepper, you can draw a conclusion like, “Oh, that's probably a restaurant.” Just being straightforward and clean but still maintaining a sophisticated mark.

JULIA: Did you do a lot of research to create this design? Research on your audience, but also on Mexican culture and the influences in creating this design, like the mesas?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: The mesas. Yeah, I mean I guess I already had that knowledge. In terms of research, I would say to be honest, I didn’t do too much research. I think my research just included finding fonts that resonated with the name. Preliminarily, even if I didn't know what Mesa and Masa translated to, that would have been my first step—figuring out what the words mean.

I did some research on other Mexican restaurants. So, seeing what kind of like a… I can't remember what it's called. Just seeing what else has been created, and also what other restaurants were in the area, and what kind of look and feel those restaurants had to fit within the ecosystem of the area in terms of visual aesthetics.

JULIA: Do you think with creating a logo like this, it’s important to fit in with the aesthetic of the area rather than stand out? Or is there a balance?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: I think there’s a balance. I think it’s important to know the context of where it's going to live. And I did create designs that were slightly punchier and that did stand out a little bit more. But also, ultimately, this design is not exactly the direction that the client chose, but it’s more in line with the direction that the client chose. They had a sister restaurant and other businesses, so they wanted it to feel connected to those.

JULIA: And what did you ultimately intend to communicate with this design?

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: Like I said before, I just wanted it to be a straightforward restaurant logo, communicating the name. I think some of the other variations had “Mexican Cantina” underneath. So really being as straightforward as possible, and identifying this is a restaurant—like, if you're hungry, it's where you want to eat. Also, including the ingredients also adds to like, “Oh, okay, there's food there”

JULIA: Yeah, the association.

PROFESSOR O’NEIL: Yeah. Because it's catering to travelers. So, it’s not something that's going to establish a real brand presence in the area. It's something where people are driving through or passing through, and they see the logo. They want to make that quick association of, “Oh, that's a restaurant we can eat there.” Yeah, I don't think it's anything more complicated than that.

JULIA: Well, perfect. I feel like that's a lot of good information. Thank you so much.