"Oh, goodness!" I shouted when first presented with this picture. My task was to create a complete set of collateral print material for our client, an advanced IT services company operating in the Houston area. The packet involved a letter-sized, folded brochure, a business card, and a folder with two inserts. The design needed to match the company's offerings, which were modern, sleek and useful. I would have a hard time squeezing this little abomination into a well-done document and feeling good about it!

The obvious solution was to recreate the logo into something that wouldn't induce mockery. There's enough of this sort of thing floating around as it is–we don't need to be adding to the evil by printing 2500 pieces of anything with this. I discovered that the client wasn't overly attached to this particular composition, but (and this is rare), had simply dealt with it, not having the time or wherewithall to go out and get anything better! So we made something up.

Now, I could wax philosophical about how this little composition implies that with the proper information technology one can inherit the world, and how the points of the compass imply rectitude or a quest for perfection, etc. Some of this may have gone on in my subconscious mind, but what I remember thinking was "There's a compass in front of a globe. I can draw that better."