What’s the Meaning Behind the UnCloned Life Brand Identity with Rochelle Washington

****This is a Transcription from a Phone Interview I Conducted with Rochelle Sodipo Washington***

Okay, so when I was initially tasked with coming up with a mark and a logo type for UnCloned Life, the first thing I thought about was the word cloned. Now, this has dual meeting. The first thing that one would think about, especially me as a science fiction fan, would be a robot, artificial intelligence, and that is a metaphorical concept for somebody who is programmed to do one thing or another. Most of us, in America specifically, are indoctrinated into our society to go to certain schools, to go to certain trades, and then to live a certain kind of life based on pre-conceived societal standards that have nothing to do with individual preference. That’s the first concept.

The second concept is the first clone in the world was a sheep. So, when the first clone was made, they didn’t clone a cow, they didn’t clone a goat, they cloned a sheep, but why a sheep? It was metaphorical, because sheeps, sheep is already plural, sheep are followers. So what happened? A shepherd herds his flock to go to one area of the pasture or another so that they can graze, they can be healthy, they can get fat, they can produce wool, and they can produce very, very tasty lamb chops. Right? Sheep are herded by their shepherd as well as the shepherd dog.

So, what do the shepherd and the shepherd dog represent? Metaphorically, they represent society, they represent the rules, they represent authority. All of those things combined shape us and mold us into the people we are, and as we’ve already discussed, most of us are cloned. So, when I was tasked to come up with a logotype, I started from that perspective.

Un came about in a dream. I was very frustrated after I had heard from you that this was not just about a book, but this was actually about a movement. This was actually about something very large in scale. I wasn’t frustrated from an anger perspective, I was frustrated from an artistic perspective, because what this was doing was challenging everything that I ever thought I needed to do in order to come up with a logotype. This particular project has challenged the way I work period. So, I went to sleep. Obviously, my subconscious was still holding onto this thing that I needed to produce a deliverable, but I didn’t know what it was going to be.

Un popped into my mind, not just un, but un inside of a light bulb. It was a direct reflection of an idea, of a movement, of a light being turned on. Very Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin-esque, meaning these were people who came up with, well, we all know that Thomas Edison kind of stole the whole AC/DC current situation. However, for the sake of it, we’ll digress. These people enabled us to have light in our home, right, because if Benjamin Franklin did not fly that key in that electrical storm, he would not have conducted that energy and made us realize that metal was a conductor for electricity. Well, that was the precursor for the current being developed to be installed in our home. Okay? So, the light bulb is a representation of somebody having the idea, being sparked up, hey, I don’t have to go with the other sheep, I can go my own way.

Now, there are three iterations of un. The first iteration is just her as a sheep. But, there are crosses for her eyes, meaning that she’s dead, but she’s not dead in her flesh, she’s dead to the old concept of being a clone. So, most people would illustrate that as her eyes being wide open, but I illustrate that as her eyes being closed, because she’s closed off to the concept of following. She no longer wants to follow that shepherd and be chased by those shepherd dogs. Okay?

The second iteration of un, she has an arrow going through her head. There’s three drops of blood dripping down on her forehead, and the bottom of the arrow coming out through her mouth, the bottom of her mouth. That represents the idea of being cloned being flushed from her body in those three drops. So even though she has an arrow going through her head, it means that those ideas and that blood is coming out, the clone ideas are coming out.

There’s a third iteration, where she’s in the light bulb. Now, there are two variations of the light bulb and the regular un, where she’s flipped upside down. That’s very literal. Turn your world, turn ideas, turn your concept, turn your business, upside down and join this movement so you can think beyond your conventional limit.

Now, the uncloned text mark, meaning the lettering, was the collaboration between Audria and I. We both agreed that there needed to be a sturdy and robust sans serif typeface. Sans serif means that the ends of the letters do not have tails. Serif font means the ends of the letters have little tails, like Times New Roman. However, we picked the font that was almost like Arial except for it’s very thin and kind of narrow but still robust, and gives us a more architectural feel. We felt that it needed to have structure, but it also needed to be unique. It has a Art Deco feel. Art Deco from the 20s, think about the Great Gatsby, okay?

So, the uncloned, the word cloned being sliced we initially thought about it slicing through the middle, but then when I got into the design space I realized that a diagonal slice would be much better for the aesthetics of the brand. So, art is not just a symbol for the branch, it’s not just a mark. She’s not Ronald McDonald, she’s not Wendy, she’s not Snuffleupagus or Big Bird, she is actually a beacon in the night for those of us that have lived cloned existences that are willing and able and prepared to not only break out of the box but sell the cardboard.

Welcome to UnCloned Life, our vision of no longer being herded, told what to do, forced into commonality, garden-variety, everyday complacency. That is why she shows up in many colors, many patterns, many textures, because she has the freedom for once in her life, to own her life and be exactly who she wants to be and not rely upon an alter ego or anyone else to give her permission to be her most productive, amazing, potent, impactful, and free self.

Join the UnCloned Life Movement and Tribe at www.unclonedtribe.life