Gaming Gets Serious was the first slovenian serious games conference and happened in the last quarter of 2021. I’ve designed the event logo together with event organizers; the French and German Institute in Slovenia.

What are serious games?

Serious games are the kind of games that offer more than just entertainment. Knowledge and experience can increase with use of serious games in context of simulations for medicine purposes, defence military training, scientific exploration, emergency management, city planning, engineering, politics and education of kids and adults.

When designing the logo of Gaming Gets Serious event, I wrote down some keywords that would help me make some drafts:

• games
• serious
• event
• education
• knowledge
• brain
• communication
• interaction
• future
• … I will not bother you with all of them 🙂

The process of creating the logo

Before starting to think about the logo of the event, I studied logos from similar events in this part of Europe to see what the trends on this field are, because event participants often attend other similar events in a nearby region. With my research in mind I had to think broader and keep the gameish look-and-feel, but add something else to attract future participants.

Gathering stakeholder information

I’ve asked my clients to deliver as many suggestions and wishes up front so I can create something that they, as an organiser, would be pleased to present as a part of their product.

Brainstorming and drafts

After brainstorming on paper and finding key elements for the logo, I made several drafts to see how I could combine different elements to achieve a gameish, but slightly serious effect on user’s perception, with my sketches in mind.

Creative exploration

I studied many forms of design, made from initials of the event, to designing a pixel-art image that included an image of a serious face, and so on. I took my time to explore different design options that would not be too generic, but also a bit different, associated with the gaming industry and also serious like the event itself.

While studying, I became very attracted to the 3d element of the logo, which could present the 3d game environment and also offer another dimension to an otherwise flat image on screens and publications during the event.

Another element that I found interesting during my research was implementing the initials of the event in the logo. This could be helpful in future, if the event became recognisable by initials and also guide my design towards a unified solution.

Shape

Below is the wireframe of the symbol. A hexagon shape, divided into three rhombs isometrically to get a perception of a cube. Adding two more cubes in triangular shape creates a group of three isometric outlined 3D cubes.

Combining different lines inside these cubes would offer a depth illusion of the letters G, G & S (Gaming, Gets, Serious). Not knowing at first sight where these in the 3d space the lines travel would make this solution unique and interesting at first sight, which is what I was aiming for by targeting a high-end user with tremendous knowledge about the 3D world and technology.

Colour

Warm colours like orange or pink were dis-advised by the client, so I had to go with a cool palette and decided for blues and greens with a little warmer version of the background.

Type

Choosing type was the next step. I had to combine my shapes with the type to create a unified symbol for the event so I went for a classic – Futura.

Logo

This was the result – the final logo, shown on a bright and a dark background (usage of each would be applied regarding the context).

If you want to know how I designed the whole conference identity, check this post!

Links:

Francoski inštitut v Sloveniji

Goethe inštitut