Logo design for Soham

Their current logo is in Hindi and they are looking to change their image/look/branding. They are still sorting out internally whether they should actually go ahead and change the logo – they have had it for 25 years!

The elements of the current logo are as follows:

The name “SOHAM”: “soham” means “I am him” in Sanskrit, which basically means that as human beings we need to believe that God is within us. More on Wikipedia
The two dots like “:” [ the colon ] to represent Soham visually. The dots also represent “nirvana”.
The octagon: it represents life, regeneration, the eight-fold path in Buddhism, earth transformer, holistic, growth, transformation, dynamism. The octagon is supposed to be the stage between the square and the circle, which signifies strong spirituality.
The current logo also uses the color green to signify discipline. Other symbols include representation for roots.

Since they are not yet definitely decided to actually change their logo, I decided to do concepts that did not drastically move away from their current concept. I have stayed with the octagon since it is a very powerful visual concept loaded with meaning that identifies with the real-estate industry. Real-estate provides homes for people – it is their very own world on the earth – hence the keywords that represent an octagon fit the idea behind real-estate.

Soham is specifically a residential property building real-estate company.

Please take your mouse over the images to read the concept/thoughts/ideas behind each image.

this is similar to the first one but is a more literal octagon as the dots or circles are connected with each other. So this can also represent a stronger octagon - although in my opinion it is a bit cluttered.

here the name of the company and the octagon have been combined. The 'o' turns into the octagon to capture the meaning behind the shape.

I was trying to draw a 3D octagon - as you can see, the attempt failed miserably - besides, I think a 3 D octagon would look more like a screw-bolt and hence not such a good idea.

this again is meant to represent intersecting services, strong teamwork, various facets of the house and construction that Soham takes care of - beauty, strength, functionality, durability and other intricacies. Of course is also contains the meaning behind the octagon.

similar meaning as the previous one as it contains the same inner structure. But in this case is visually shows the transformation from a square to a circle as the octagon represents the earth. So there is transformation, change and responsibility.

this one too is similar in meaning as the previous two - only it is more implicit than evident. The inner structure has disappeared from view but it is still required to actually get to this particular shape - again it represents team, dynamism, responsibility, strength, beauty and transformation.

another way of drawing an octagon - this visual represents a coming together of various values and forces - Soham creates a space for its customers where various forces come together and create an individual and caring space. It represents the fulfillment of dreams, dynamism and gives a modern look too.

this is like a path that shows the way - Soham shows the way to customers - how to live a fulfilling life. These are again eight squares that have been placed in perspective to show going into the future, leading to a better life, to visually represent 'beyond square feet'. It also captures Soham's architecturally rounded style.

since Soham, the Sanskrit word is captured in our breath - breathing in is 'so' and breathing out is 'ham', this visual is to represent a human being's breath - again dynamic, life-giving, nirvana - it is a literal visual translation of the word soham.

here, the octagon has an enclosed circle - which means that like God takes cares of his worshippers, the octagon takes care of the transformation from square to circle, similarly, Soham takes care of its customers.

separation of the 'so' and the 'ham' and placement in an implied square shape on top of an octagon - simple clean lines but I am not so sure about the acceptance of 'so' and 'ham' as two separate elements

this is a simple representation of the octagon combined with the two dots that represent nirvana. This is to depict that Soham provides real-estate nirvana in its projects - hence the dots are within the octagon.

half of an octagon has been embedded in a rounded-square. The square represents the earth as well as tiles/bricks in the soham projects. The half-octagon captures the meaning behind the octagon and the rounded corners of the square also capture the new style of architecture at soham.

the octagon has been divided into two with the green colored part having a smaller set of dots and the dark grey portion containing larger dots. This is to signify that Soham creates a bigger and more solid paradise for customers. This visual captures the meaning behind an octagon, nirvana, strength and space.

this is a derivation of the octagon - an eight-petal flower - usually represented by the lotus. It captures the octagon value as well the beauty of nature, serenity and peace, strength, re-generation and dynamism, It also captures the two dots that represent nirvana by way of two different colored petals.

here, the octagon has been split into two by the name Soham - which means that Soham brings together and joins the octagon thus creating togetherness, integrity, security and teamwork.

9 comments

tomek says:
January 19, 2006 at 3:27 pm
nice sketches, I’ll be waiting for finishing touch
Naina says:
January 19, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Thank you for the nice words ‘tomek’. Hopefully if/when the client decides to go ahead with the re-design, I will be posting the finished version too 🙂
Thank you for stopping by!
tomek says:
January 20, 2006 at 12:50 pm
I’m recommending a ‘logo trends’ on http://www.logolounge.com
Take a look and play around.
Naina says:
January 21, 2006 at 6:22 am
Hi Tomek,
I’m not sure what you mean by “take a look and play around”. Not that I have been a regular visitor of LogoLounge – the internet is such a prolific provider or information that most of the times I lose track of the information sources 🙂
Cheers!
raheel patel says:
February 13, 2007 at 9:08 am
hi there i am raheel from ahmedabad india i like this site and would like to be part of yopu people so please let me know how can i get in touch with you.
Thanks
Raheel Patrel
Naina says:
February 17, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Hi Raheel,
Thank you for your kind message.
If you have read the “About” page on the aside website, you will realize that there are no “people” behind aside – there’s just me.
I am not sure how you would like to be part of the design studio – let me know if you have some ideas!
Raheel patel says:
May 20, 2007 at 10:23 am
hey naina
I have some projects on logo design brand identity and some more we could work on that as we would like to work with person having a perspective in their vision.
himanshu parikh says:
December 29, 2007 at 12:57 am
interesting curves
Naina says:
December 29, 2007 at 2:45 am
Hey Himanshu – which particular curves were you mentioning? Thanks for stopping by and for the message! Wish you and yours a very happy new year!