Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I Am an Onion.

You may have noticed that my personal logo, which is also the background to my Twitter, is an onion. A lot of people ask why I chose this, and I love telling them. So I decided to share it here. When I was designing my personal logo, I had a lot of ideas, but none of them seemed like the right fit. I was frustrated, disappointed, and tired. Then a lightbulb hit. This was it. This was me. I am an onion. I designed it as a means to portray my versatility. I'm a social media maven, a tech-enthusiast, an Irish gal, a dalmatian lover, a twin, a daughter, a romantic, a lover of books, a soft-hearted egomaniac, a terrible dresser, a Patriots fan, a lyricist, a sister, a writer, and depending on who you ask, a comedian. I'm proud to be exactly who I am, proud to be an onion. As you peel back my layers and get to know me, I hope you'll come to appreciate the diversity of my passions.

My inspiration for this logo was social penetration theory, as developed and described by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor. I'd like to thank
Apple Inc., for reassuring me that produce can be an effective way to brand yourself. And hey, if I'm going to brand myself with produce, you bet it's going to be the veggie that's so powerful it'll bring you to tears. On that note, I'll also thank Wendy Nichols at Merrimack College for actually bringing me to tears as we peeled onions to learn about social penetration theory. Lastly, I want to thank Greg Hedges, my graphic design professor at the Newhouse School, for letting me run with such an untraditional idea, even when Cynthia bet me a bottle of tequilla that you wouldn't. Maybe people will remember me as the green onion girl, but at least they're remembering me.

I read a fortune cookie once that I kept in my wallet until the day it was stolen at a pizza place. It reads, "Do not wish to be anything but exactly who you are, and try to be that perfectly." If you want to brand yourself, just think of what portrays you, and be that. Be an onion. That's my PR thought for the day.

P.S. Cynthia you still owe me that bottle of tequilla.




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