Right when I started freelancing in my free time, I thought that presenting myself as a company would make it easier to gain new clients.

Browsing the internet for inspiration, I came across a picture described as a blue nebula – constellation NGC 1977 – and the name stuck. Deciding to go with a retro space theme, I felt that a red rocket would contrast nicely with the blue background, with the constellation in the background. In retrospect, the design feels a bit forced, but I quite fancied it at the time.

This logo had quite a short shelf life, being replaced within months with a simpler, cleaner design when my sister came on board and it turned into a real company. This redesign simplified the logo to a wordmark set in Futura and Bodoni, with a partial aqua effect.

Apart from use on the web, the logo was mostly printed, so for practical purposes, the aqua effect was removed a short while later. For consistency, the same flat version was also used on the web, so it lost a bit of its charm, but it stayed in use for around three years.

The final version of the logo stripped it back to the bare minimum. Helvetica Neue Extended in two weights replaced the duo from the previous incarnation, while the star was given top billing in a more organic form.

A few years later we wound down the business when she returned to a corporate job and I had reached a point of wanting my free time to be free again. It was a fun few years and gave me three opportunities to design a logo I liked and used.