Shiuli

Created the Brand Identity, and Logo for my alt-text generation app, Shiuli

Designed to scale

From wordmark, to glyph, to a particle interaction the Shiuli logo is designed to work with multiple modalities. Delivering consistent brand identity that scales across platforms.

Design Process

I went through multiple iterations to reach the final logo design which was designed to be geometrically balanced, clean and minimalist.

The icon design was a long iterative process. For the first couple of months, I simply called the app "Alt-Text". The icon then would be a generic image. At first I used the Hokusai's wave, but then quickly changed to something I clicked.

Briefly, I considered using Alty as the app's name, and Marigold (another plant that I love) as the app's symbol.

Once the name was set on Shiuli. The process then was to create an app icon that best represented the flower. At first I tried with the text on screen, since it's an app for alt-text, but eventually I found that flower itself was a much cleaner representation.

I tried different styles free form, cut, and accurate tracings, but eventually settled on something symmetrical and geometric.

About the name

Why give an alt-text generation tool that's so utilitarian, a name and icon like "Shiuli". And what does the word mean?

Shiuli (pronounced She-ooh-lee) is the Hindi language name for a night flowering Jasmine (also known as Coral Jasmine) that's found blooming in Delhi and other parts of India during summers.

For an image description tool I wanted the name and icon to be evocative of the photos app, so that the connection between the two is clearly apparent. Which is why I chose the icon to be a flower.

Why the Shiuli flowers specifically? One fine day on a walk across the UC Berkeley campus this summer, I discovered the Shiuli flowers. Apparently for Berkeley, they bloom in summers.

Shiuli are the connection between two cities that I have been fortunate enough to call home. They grow both in Delhi in Berkeley. If I am to name an app after a flower, it'd have to be Shiuli.