Recently I was asked if I’d like to design a logo for an exiting new initiative “The Irish American Civil war trails”. This project is the brainchild of a group of people who, if you did not guess it from the title, have an interest in the American Civil war and more specifically the Irish participants and communities of that particular conflict. While I have no particular interest in the American Civil War myself, I was thrilled at the opportunity to contribute to such an exiting project as I do have a general interest in history and interesting life-stories, and belive me, the Irish experience in the American Civil war and their contribution to the efforts on both sides is nothing but fascinating.
The Irish American Civil War Trail is an initiative whose intent is to highlight the stories and experiences of the individuals and communities caught up in the war, and tell the stories on how it impacted on the lives of ordinary Irish, both in the States and here on the island of Ireland. To aide in this the organisers felt they wanted a logo to help raising people’s awareness of how many Irish actually participated.
The brief was simple enough, a nice logo connecting both side of the American Civil War with the Irish aspect of this project, but avoiding too much “stars and stripes” theme as these is a theme that has been used many times before. After some consultation and me doing quick research on the subject (mostly consisting of making note of the suggestions and insights Damian Shiels had to offer on the subject, thanks Damian!) an image based on “the Maid of Erin” (a personification of Ireland) was developed. This image was felt to be highly appropriate as the symbol had been used by Irish regiments on both sides of the conflict.
The maid was given a more stylised modern look than what you might find on the orignal regimental colours however! Shamrocks in the traditional colours of North and South were also used to frame the maid. The strings of the harp are 32 in number, symbolising the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The logo was drawn in Adobe Illustrator and after a few options were submitted for review to all those involved, a green background was settled upon. A logo was created, and it is now gone live on the net as well as being used on business cards! I have to admit, I’m quite exited about it.
I had a great time doing this and would like to thank all the organiser and in particular Damian Shiels for the opportunity to design this. If anyone is interested in finding out more about the subject here is the link:
Irish American Civil War Trail: http://networkedblogs.com/triyN
