Creating a logo and affirming identity

The sketch that became my logo.

I redesigned my logo in summer 2021, on the heels of a pandemic-era reckoning.

My logo was born out of a period of reckoning with my values as a communications professional and a period of questioning my own value.

I went through covid layoffs in May 2020 and completed a grueling first year of graduate school from September 2020 to June 2021. Like many people during this era, I had a lot to consider about who I am and where I want to head next. Although painful, this process of reevaluating my priorities has been fruitful.

I can say with certainty that:

• I am driven by my belief in diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, environmental sustainability, and creativity.

• The two most fundamental ways that I engage with the world are through writing and visual arts.

• I am committed to learning and I am strong enough to endure the dark times.

So how does ginkgo figure into this?

I have found the vivid yellow of ginkgo’s fall foliage to be a light in dark days—literally and figuratively. In various times of my life, ginkgo has shone as a beacon of hope. It is not lost on me that I owe a portion of my own resilience to an ancient tree species that is a symbol of longevity.

Although the fruit of the ginkgo is not necessarily appealing to all who encounter it, it has a wide array of medicinal uses. I don’t think that cooking and eating me will benefit your health (like… please don’t), but I do find kinship with the ginkgo tree in that it has a mixed reception in modern society. My neurodivergent quirkiness can endear me to people just as easily as it can confuse folks.

While I am committed to personal growth, part of growth is acceptance. I included the infamous ginkgo fruit in my logo to affirm that I am no longer hiding who I am. Regardless of how I may be perceived, I have valuable attributes and I will continue to contribute my unique perspective. Further, as someone who has been counted out before, I will continue to do the work necessary to understand the people I encounter, rather than relying on assumptions, reputations, or stereotypes. I am committed to digging deeper as a human and as a journalist.

As a creative, I commit to leveraging my quirky ways to connect authentically, to celebrate humanity’s many wonderful idiosyncrasies, to add that dash of whimsy that often characterizes my work, and to pursue perfection in my chosen media. That is who I am, and who I will continue to grow into.

—Jenni K Denekas

PS: Did you notice that the ginkgo leaves are letters?

“In various times of my life, ginkgo has shone as a beacon of hope.

It is not lost on me that I owe a portion of my own resilience to an ancient tree species that is a symbol of longevity.”