A special client

15 November 2019 was a very special day for me. At the time, I was in contact with an artist known as VisionOfVIII, whose work I admired a lot. I often offered to help with his projects. VIII was much better known than I was. He had worked with top-tier organisations in the industry, built a massive fan base, and had access to clients I could only dream of working with.

How it happened

I think about this moment a lot because VIII spoke to me in a way few people at his level would. If he did not have time, he made it. He went out of his way to talk to the people he cared about.

At a certain level of popularity, people can stop caring and speak only to their connections. I have always despised that. Even a simple "I have no time" or "I do not wish to talk to you" goes a long way. VIII treated me with care. He helped me on my journey, encouraged me, and kept me going. I watched his streams, admired his art, and appreciated him a lot.

One day, VIII received a private message from former professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert, who was looking for a logo. VIII recommended me for the work.

Having already worked with Mihai Lupascu, I never expected another client I knew, watched, and respected to come along so soon. Shortly afterward, Jordan messaged me privately and commissioned the logo.

The first direction

Jordan had a typewriter-like direction with an '80s madman feel in mind, but I did not know that at first. I worked through ideas of my own and landed on this custom pixel wordmark.

Early n0thing pixel wordmark with a cyan zero
Early pixel wordmark

Exploring type

He liked the mark, but wanted to explore more directions. Once I understood what he had in mind, I explored the typewriter route.

Typewriter-inspired n0thing and Jordan Gilbert wordmark
Typewriter direction

We both agreed that the typewriter wordmark felt off-balance. In hindsight, I wish I had pushed it further because I think Jordan had a great vision. If I received the same task today, I would find a way to make it work.

Back to pixels

We returned to the pixel direction Jordan had already liked, and I developed a series of variations. I tested different constructions of the zero, small changes to the letterforms and spacing, and monochrome and red-accented versions.

Black, white, and red n0thing pixel wordmark variations
Pixel wordmark variations

From those variations, we settled on the final pixel wordmark. This screenshot shows the AI and PSD folders alongside the six PNG exports I prepared at the time.

Windows Explorer showing AI and PSD folders beside six n0thing wordmark PNG exports
Original export folder

The final touch was motion. I animated the trailing underscore so the wordmark felt alive while preserving its serious tone.

Animated medium-gray n0thing pixel wordmark on black with a blinking underscore
Final wordmark in motion

Although it might not be the hardest logo to create mechanically, I think we did a good job of finding something that suited Jordan. We wanted it to feel serious, and I think we nailed it. Collaborating with him was easy, and I am happy I got the chance to create it.