Music City Magic will be Nashville’s first fully branded, destination tourist venue. My client required a logo that that could reference Nashville’s musical heritage and increasing prominence as tourist destination that would take visitors beyond the city.
I explored some directions involving the MCM initials, but then had a better solution. Pentagram alumnus, Bob Gill, noted in one of his books that ” there is always a better solution if the first does not please”.
Sometimes one also needs to not be afraid of using symbols that could be considered cliché. The music note, in this case a quaver or eight note, could be considered as a common used device, yet in the context of Nashville’s music scene such references are almost a requirement, especially for a tourist audience. With the property of ‘magic’ added to the name I felt that was an important part of the equation, – one which needed to be played up visually. Stars are a common trope when magic is shown in graphic form. However, my addition of 3 stars to the oval, note head, references the Tennessee state flag and I felt a necessary ingredient, which a visitor would recognize. Stars are also an essential part of the lexicon of country music.
