It’s all A-OK!
This particular fit of creativity was brought on shortly after I bought a ukulele. After a period of playing every day and saturating myself with ukulele lore, I found that, for ukulele players, instruments made using Koa tonewoods are considered the Holy Grail.
When trying to unearth a name for my imaginary ukulele brand, I reversed the word ‘Koa’—which, luckily, yielded ’A-OK’ (anything other than that might have required a little more thought!). The fact that both ukuleles and Koa woods are closely associated with Hawaii, which like many other island states gives the impression of being laid back and full of super-relaxed people, this name seemed perfect. I designed the logo using slightly splayed, angular letters, similar to the weathered and notched wooden signage that you might find on a beach, to further evoke the Hawaiian feel (even if it is only on a superficial level).
I also wanted to show just how natural an A-OK ukulele would sound, how earthy the tone of the wood would be. To this end, I rendered the ukulele on a lush bed of clover, added lichen and moss to the instrument, implying that the wood wasn’t so far away from its previous incarnation as a tree. The handwritten text, “You couldn’t sound more natural”, is both a compliment to the instrument and to its future player—again adding to the natural and warm feel of the visual message, with its emerald greens and rich browns.
