I designed the Ankh, Shield & Circle logo during my early hip-hop days, to represent ideal synergy/harmony and “the road of life“. The Ankh (ancient Kemetic symbol of eternal life) is in place of a route number on the Shield of a US highway sign, and the Circle provides inherent symbolism of wholeness, karma and the sun. My original intent was to symbolize the idea of being your best self or living your most actualized life.

I later became conflicted about the Shield, when I realized I had to reconcile its problematic, broader symbolism beyond a benign road sign. The whole logo was almost scrapped, but after some thought, I arrived at a powerful, secondary interpretation: the Ankh emerging through the Shield represents tension, and the struggle to live —freely and fully— despite systems of oppression.

All the deep, esoteric meaning aside, I wanted to keep the design simple and circular for multiple applications, like my two main influences —Saul Bass’ visionary Bell Telephone logo and Chuck D‘s iconic Public Enemy logo.

In 2017, I refreshed Ankh, Shield & Circle as its own streetwear brand, liberated from my infrequent music output, but with me as CreaDir (Creator + Creative Director). Since then, it’s become the home of all my designs for various activities like The #DOWNNOW Project, #INTLPLAYER, and 1stOFF / 44=8 (s/o Shepard Fairey). The online #ASCbrand x Threadless shop is now open— click the banners.

I’m a logos and branding enthusiast. Check out these cool articles on logo design | logo color | hidden symbolism | Bob Noorda | Eric Haze | Milton Glaser | Paul Rand | Tom Geismar | 13 AAGDs you should know: part one and part two | car logos | and rap logos.  Watch these cool, little videos from PBS Off Book and Vox Media, and the ingenious, animated short film, LOGORAMA —I don’t know how they got away with all the intellectual property (PE cameo at 8:39), but I hope there’s a sequel.