The Quillians on Facebook
The Quillians, the nom de plume for members of the Fantasy & Science-fiction Writer’s Workshop, can now be found on Facebook!
Our Facebook presence will help members communicate with each other in a more social manner, in addition to keeping abreast of the workshop’s schedule and discussion topics.
Why not drop by and introduce yourself?
The Quillian Logo
When I first blogged about The Quillians, we only had a name. Now, thanks to Nancy Waldman and Sherry Ramsey we have a logo to go along with it!
Both Nancy and Sherry are long-time members of the workshop and both are amazing artists, so when Nancy came to me and volunteered to come up with a logo, I jumped at the chance.
What you see to the left is the final incarnation of the logo, which was actually the seventh go around (hey, seven is a lucky number!). Luckily for me, Nancy was an amazing sport about the whole thing and calmly accepted all of my suggestions for change. She also added a whole lot of her own and I think her talent shines through!
Sherry’s contribution came in the form of the planetscape artwork. Sherry is an amazing digital artist and her work perfectly captures the speculative theme of the workshop.
It didn’t start out so polished though…in fact, this was the first draft:
The foundation is there, but it’s not quite a finished logo either. They grey was stolen from the original logo, but it looks drab and unappealing here. The group name is lost in the border of the logo as well, which doesn’t help to link the two brand names.
Which brings us to the fifth iteration:
We’re much closer to the end product here. The colour has been set and the artwork has been added, both of which make a world of difference. The workshop’s name has also made it into the logo itself and is more prominent but, this time, it seems like it’s floating there…not really attached to anything. There was also some concern over the font being used…
Which brings us to try number six:
This version sees a slight change in the boldness of the Quillian font (something that won’t make it to the final version) and adds a drop shadow to the smoke plume rising from the ink-well.
The font used for the workshop name (the same as the Quillian name) is too small and too elaborate to read easily, so it will be discarded in the final version in favour of a simpler font.
The whole process took awhile to work through, but Nancy did an amazing job! Now, the name Quillian has a visual companion that really helps us brand the workshop and gives the whole membership an identity.
Introducing…The Quillians
A couple of years ago, I started up a little writer’s workshop on Second Life. I thought it was important to have a place for emerging writers to go, even if they didn’t have a local writer’s group (as was my case). So was The Fantasy & Science-fiction Writer’s Workshop born. And ever since, I’ve found that name a mouthful!
The group is well enough established now, with some quality work being done and with some writers on the verge of becoming ‘authors’, that I wanted a name that was both memorable and easy to say. One contest later, and our winning name emerged…
The Quillians!
n. Quillian A member of the Fantasy & Science-fiction Writer’s Workshop.
The winning name came from the mind of Chuck Heintzelman, one of our established members. There were a few challengers, but I chose Chuck’s entry because it had that right ‘ring’ to it and it passed the ‘Google Test’. Meaning, it was relatively unique and unused by rival workshops (because, Heaven forbid, there be confusion over what it meant to be a Quillian!).
So, from now on, you’re as likely to hear me call my workshop by the Quillian name as you are by its longer ‘birth’ name. Which, I think, is just fine by me…
