Created by:Chere on September 17 2009. Found in -

Once upon a time, I had some time on my hand and started a little "tech support" group on a website I belong to called Woman Owned. Woman Owned was there to help women network and grow their businesses. As a part of that mission Woman Owned allowed it's members to specialty create groups that other members could join.

And being of the helpful sort, I created a group called Website Webmistresses. A mouthful huh? I thought so even back then. But hey, I was giving free help so no one complained. At least not to me!

To set the group apart, add visual appeal and make it easier to be discovered in lists, and really out of plain vanity, I decided to create an icon.

Now once the thought entered into my mind, my poor brain began swirling with ideas: colors, themes, fonts...!! It was a lot of fun to have so many options, but I had to decide on a path. Every design should have a focus. I began to focus on the name of the group. It seemed to be the most logical direction. At the time the group had all off 4 members, myself, the Super Moderator and two other ladies who were definitely NOT designers. No help to be found!

One thing I came to believe firmly was that the icon should have a graphic of a woman. after all this was a group "for women by women!" To add to the cliche I wanted to use a computer also.

I needed a woman. But not just any woman, a "Renaissance Woman!" Yes, she would accurately show how we glas, were blazing trails, birthing ideas and changing the way the world does business!! (Oh lordy, lordy!).

Google is my friend (I hope) and that's where I began my search for my renaissance woman. But it was not where I found her. The idea to use this portrait came from the movie with Drew Barrymore and the really gorgeous actor who's name always escapes me! The movie was called "Ever After". The portrait was Head of a Young Woman by Leonardo DaVinci. She's lovely, feminine, and had a strong manly chin! Perfect!

Well she was perfect but the image was not. Because her head filled the whole canvas, I either had to design on top of her or fit her into some sort of background. Since the former was definitely not acceptable as I wanted to see her face, I decided on a background. That was a challenge. I tried several, including canvas type layers, but nothing seemed to work. They conflicted in one way or another with all the texture in the original.

Since the only thing that seemed to work perfectly with the canvas was the canvas itself, I stopped fighting it. I clipped a small portion of the canvas and built out the left side of the portrait. Then I zoomed in for a tighter frame of her face.

Once I added the text to the image, it was obvious that it would not be very legible at the small size I would be using it. So I added the cocoa coloured rectangle. But that was sorta boring.

More experimenting was in order. I added the PC, which I always intended to use, and then a globe (because we were from all over the world) and FINALLY the bird (soaring above the clouds)! Lots of cliches, but they were working for me, so I was happy.

Well...sort of happy. The overall idea was there. I liked the font, the colours which all came from the canvas itself, the way she seemed to look down on the world, confidently examining it... But the more I stared at the icon, the more something seemed amiss. Something obvious.

The text had two alignments, right and left. That would never do. The use of two fonts is usually good for a little pop, but right now it wasn't working, so I chose the heavier font which kept with the And the plainess of the rectangle somehow seemed out of step with all the texture in the original image. And that bird...

More experimenting. I finally decided the bird was just too much. Out with that! And for texture in my boring cocoa rectangle, my name (of course!) written in binary, becasue I am a geek after all.

Not too bad for an idea born out of a whim.

And some days, when the mood hits me, she wears these cool shades :-)

Hope you enjoyed it!

Chere