The Man Behind the Logo

By: Damien Gentry

 “I feel it is important for everyone, regardless of background, profession, or interests, to take a moment and give themselves the opportunity to express their perspective creatively.” – Trevor Inman, creator of the logo for the Iris Review

The logo of the Iris Review has been a cornerstone of the design process for the magazine, primarily in our promotions for the magazine.  Well, that logo has a story behind it, and it goes all the way back to the magazine’s humble beginnings in 2018.  I had the honor of reaching out to the creator and here’s what he had to say about the creation process and history of our logo:  

“I graduated from Tennessee Tech in 2019 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. While in school, by some stroke of luck, I managed to meet my now-wife Rebecca. She studied English and French, so my opportunities to even cross paths with her were limited. During the Spring semester of 2018, she enrolled in a class that was tasked with the revival of the defunct school literary magazine. At some point early on in the development of the Iris Review's first publication, Rebecca mentioned the group's need for a logo. This caught my attention, as I had ventured into a bit of graphic design in the past for various small businesses and personal projects. I'm generally the type of person to get very involved in a wide array of hobbies, especially those that provide a creative balance to the fairly rigid world of engineering (I currently spend some of my spare time enjoying film photography, videography, drumming, beekeeping, camping, and 3D printing). I immediately volunteered to help her put some concepts together, and she explained how she wanted to lean into the double meaning of the word ‘iris’. With this theme in mind, I drafted up a hand sketch that combined these elements in a cohesive fashion to get the process going. Before long, I generated a handful of digital variations which were then submitted to the Iris Review team. Ultimately, as you know, one or two of the proposed designs were selected for use on the publication. I'm very glad to see that this logo is continuing to represent an important collection of local art and ideas, and I hope to see the magazine endure long into the future.” 

Plot twist: the logo was designed by an engineer! Well, with the help of an editor (thanks Rebecca!).  Let’s give a hand to the man who took time out of his busy schedule to give us a logo that’s beautiful, symbolic and simplistic in the best way.  The iris growing up from the eye shows that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder (and we hope our magazine offers some of that!).  Also, he was generous enough to provide one of the first drafts of the logo.  As you can see, it’s close to the final product.  We would like to give all the thanks possible to Trevor for his lasting contribution to the Iris Review.  Even if he was not an editor, he will always be a part of the team and story of our magazine.  Hope you enjoyed this little piece of history!