Celtic Connections
— ROLE
Art Direction
Graphic Design
Branding
Celtic Connections is a radio segment hosted on 89.9 FM, which is the radio station of Mount St. Mary’s University. The segment focuses on the music of Ireland, both past and present, and its connection to other places and genres. It’s hosted by Ed Egan, who is also a professor at the university.
Ireland itself has a very strong visual “brand” when it comes to art, which I knew I wanted to incorporate in the logo somehow. I originally tried to blend an Irish knot into a G clef, but it just wasn’t working out. Then, while driving to work one day, I passed a radio tower, and realized that was my solution. The latticework would be perfect for integrating the knot! And so, the image element of the logo was born.
As for the text element, I wanted something that mimicked old manuscripts, like The Book of Kells, while avoiding any resemblance to the ill-fated Papyrus. I found a good solution in a Gaelic font, one that didn’t use insular forms in which one letter resembles a different Roman letter, as those tend to be confusing.
