17 February 2014

I love Beirut - The Rational behind the Logo


Heart Beirut Logo by Celine Khairallah
Arabic Calligraphy of "Beirut"  in a heart shape - © Celine Khairallah  
I Love Beirut. أنا بحب بيروت

You might have noticed this Beirut logo somewhere around in town with someone carrying/wearing SCENE Beirut products or here as the new header image in my blog, yet I have been really busy lately and rarely sharing behind the SCENE steps that lead to the image creation, hopefully we will catch up with that bit by bit, one visual at a time :)

First things first: BEIRUT

I love Beirut, in order to write that in English, we need the subject/ verb/ object sentence form, or the modern "I (heart) Beirut" (taken from the original "I (heart or <3) NY" logo. Yet, when it comes to Arabic, and the flexibility of the letters, options are limitless.

Thus, I drew the Arabic letter of Beirut "بيروت" in a heart shape. The simplest, most common sign to represent "love".

The letters, themselves become the signifiers of love; Mixing the love I have to the city, with the love the city radiates back. Eliminating the "Subject" actually includes everyone and the city:

I love Beirut.
We love Beirut.
They love Beirut.
Beirut is love.
Beirut loves.
بيروت حبيبتي

"Heart Beirut" logo on SCENE Beirut Products

11 February 2014