It began as an informal collaboration.

The head of the Tohoku University Student Association reached out, asking me to design a logo for their newly formed outdoor club — “Aoba Walkers.”

They came to me for a simple reason: in Tohoku University’s engineering-heavy international student community, someone who can draw, design, and actually post their work online is surprisingly rare — I honestly thought I was the only one.

I considered it a good opportunity to practice and refine my design thinking.

Coincidentally, I once planned a small startup with a similar idea — organizing camping trips for international students. I even designed the logo, motion graphics, and full visual identity for it (though that’s another story).

So I decided to take on this project — not just as a favor, but as a chance to put my ideas into real practice.

There are several valid answers. At the very least, it should:

- Clearly show that this is an outdoor club

- Be memorable

- Convey the club’s character through visuals

A stronger logo should go even further:

- Leave a positive impression

- Even make people want to join the activities

I began with two design directions:

The Explicit Route — Use recognizable outdoor symbols (mountains, trees, tents) combined with elements of Tohoku University or Sendai, making it instantly identifiable as “the Tohoku University outdoor club.”

The Implicit Route — Suggest the feeling of the outdoors and fun without directly showing it.

Beyond these directions, I also considered a deeper dimension — communication clarity.

Whether it’s a website or a logo, the information must be instantly understood. That means the design must be visually intuitive, logically structured, and clearly expressed.

This became one of the key standards I used to evaluate each idea.

I began by listing common visual elements found in outdoor-related logos — mountains, rivers, trees, tents, and lakes.

These symbols directly convey the “outdoor” theme and are widely used by similar organizations.

To reflect the identity of a Tohoku University student group, I also planned to incorporate typography into the final logo.

At the same time, I searched for a more distinctive and memorable direction — a visual metaphor that naturally evokes the feeling of being outdoors.

After several rounds of exploration, I chose the animal that is deeply symbolic of the Tohoku University campus: wild boars.

It is part of the local environment and instantly recognizable to students — appearing frequently in campus safety alerts.

By referencing these creatures with a touch of humor, I aimed to create a logo that builds a warm, local connection through shared experience.

After defining the two main conceptual directions, I moved on to visual exploration.

Each iteration tested a different balance between clarity, emotion, and memorability.

Version 1 — The Literal Approach

A composition made of classic outdoor symbols — mountains, rivers, and tents. It looked correct, but the client needed extra explanations to understand it. This made me realize that “recognizable” doesn’t always mean “memorable.”

Version 1.5 — The Narrative Attempt

I added a touch of humor and motion: a child in pajamas riding a wild boar. The concept was strong — it captured the fun, unexpected energy of outdoor adventures.

However, it was too detailed to work as a logo. The emotion was right, the structure wasn’t.

Final Version— Refined Simplicity

I distilled the previous ideas into a single, bold symbol: a boar in motion, simplified to its essence but still full of energy.

This version achieved what the others couldn’t — instant recognition with personality.

The final logo successfully conveys a sense of nature, lightness, and humor, earning positive feedback from the group and being officially adopted as their emblem

Although only the core visual has been completed, I see potential for this design to evolve into a broader visual system— not just a static symbol, but a flexible language that adapts to different contexts.

I’ve envisioned two main directions for future development:

1. System-Level Variations

Functional adaptations that ensure the logo works across different media and scales:

- Monochrome / reversed versions

- Simplified line-art version for small-scale printing

- Application mockups,

These help the logo remain clear, flexible, and technically reliable in real-world use.

2. Narrative Extensions

Story-driven versions that reflect specific routes, events, or local features:

- Route-specific editions (e.g., a Matsushima Route version with subtle local cues)

- Collectible items (simple badge or sticker mockups featuring the variant marks)

These build a sense of identity, belonging, and playful collectibility within the community.

Closing Thought

A good logo shouldn’t stop at being recognizable — it should keep growing with the people who use it.

As the club continues to host new outdoor activities, more of the current concepts will gradually find their way into real use. At the same time, new route themes and visual variations will keep emerging, expanding the identity system as the community grows.