I could tell you a story about how I had this magic moment, where the presence of a pineapple inspired me to some greater enlightenment. But honestly it has no meaning in any way or form.
For years it nearly drove me insane to find a suitable name for my future illustration business. I didn’t want to use my real name, out of several reasons. But it is nearly impossible to find something that has meaning to you as a person, your work AND is available on Instagram, as a domain and all the other platforms you need to sustain a consistent online presence. I had my door filled with sticky notes which had different names and combinations written on them. I clustered them in what was already taken and which ones are available still available. SPOILER ALERT. None of the hundred names where available in every form (the names on the door where only the tip of the iceberg).
For years it nearly drove me insane to find a suitable name for my future illustration business. I didn’t want to use my real name, out of several reasons. But it is nearly impossible to find something that has meaning to you as a person, your work AND is available on Instagram, as a domain and all the other platforms you need to sustain a consistent online presence. I had my door filled with sticky notes which had different names and combinations written on them. I clustered them in what was already taken and which ones are available still available. SPOILER ALERT. None of the hundred names where available in every form (the names on the door where only the tip of the iceberg).
So I came back to use my real name, which was, of course, also taken. So I had to add “illustration” at the end, eventhough it extended my name to a total of 28 characters. This is a quite a length for a business name in my opinion. That’s why I was still unsatisfied, because I wanted something short or at least more catchy and should have nothing to do with my name. As there is no sense of privacy in this world anymore I felt giving it up completely by using my real name.
I spare you the suggestion of asking ChatGPT for a name. I’m very proud that I have never used it for anything and I will continue to do so as long as I can. It also wouldn’t feel like mine, because I didn’t come up with it, if I let a machine decide. I want to feel like I earn what I’m doing and this includes coming up with ideas myself, even if that means it takes me years on finding them. I’m also not interested in reading or seeing things that are made with AI, so why should I use it? I want to see art and illustration from a human mind, from an individual, want to know why they do what they do, what decisions they make and what is driving them. That’s the whole point of art, I think. Seeing something deep from a human being what can only being presented through art.
I still have no idea how I came up with “Pineapple Diary”, this will stay a mystery even for myself. So when I realized that the name sticked with me, I started thinking about a logo. I didn't want it to be too clean or perfect. I wanted it to be loose and wobbly and childish and easy to recognize. As I love playing with typography, I started writing down the name and pretty much sticked to that first idea. As you can see on the photo, I experimented a little bit more with the pineapple, but in the end decided for the most simple variation as it was the one that felt suitable and natural.
