‘There are signs everywhere’ is one of those cryptic pieces of advice we have all heard. For 23-year-old Syed Saif, all the important signs in life were in the Deccan Chronicle. So, it was as though our ad, asking readers to send in their entries for new logo designs, spoke to him directly.

“My earliest memories of the newspaper go back to my school days, when I would draw comic strips from the supplement in a scrapbook all day,” he recalls.

It was also an ad in the newspaper for an animation school that triggered off the idea in Syed’s mother that her artistic son could make a career out of his skills, especially since he had started working immediately after his schooling.

Now, a creative designer at an advertising firm, Syed says, “My work shows up in DC all the time. I have designed print ads for Meena Jewellers, Fusion 9 and Liquids, so when I read the paper, I see my work as well!”

Designing the masthead was difficult, he admits. “I wasn’t able to make any aesthetic connections with the name ‘Deccan Chronicle’ itself. So I went online and researched the work DC has done in the past and its achievements. Then, my thoughts became clearer and the ideas came through.”

Syed sent in four impressive designs; including emphatic symbols of a torch and a pen to more creative works, using typography. Explaining the logic behind each design, he says, “From a visual aspect, a torch in the shape of newspaper depicts DC’s journey of enlightening readers with the truth since 1938. A hand holding a pen shows strength and confidence in the reporting the truth and being the largest and most circulated English daily in South India. My third design is a simple typographic logo that says ‘Since 1938’, along with a tagline. The fourth option is a trendy look with a simple font in black and white.” Designing is such an integral part of Syed’s life that he also uses his talent to give back to society. “I also work with an NGO called Aikrathya, which is involved in financially supporting poor children to holding blood donation camps for blood cancer patients. I design for them for free,” he shares.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Offbeat / by Samyuktha K, DC / April 27th, 2013