I wanted the shape and composition of the coat of arms to reflect the offensive characteristics of the Instigo group, I perceive stars as being dynamic so it seemed like a good starting point. Most of the elements of the Contego coat of arms are enclosed within a shape so I wanted this coat of arms to be more expansive in contrast.
Having looked at a lot of insignia I’ve taken a particular liking to emblems that are for air forces so I wanted to incorporate some elements commonly used in them, I feel these elements are in keeping with the idea of Instigo being expansive so I included some wings. I created two war flags in a similar style to the two included on the Contego crest and also added a chevron.
the next step was to choose a motto that reflected the characteristics of the Instigo group, I used Latin for the Contego motto so I felt it made sense to follow suit with the Instigo motto. with that said I came across some mottos in various languages that I felt were strong, after a lot of searching and translating I narrowed it down to the following
Ducti amore – Led by love
Toujours en avant-Always forward
Paratus et Fidelis – ready and faithful
Nec aspera terrent –Not afraid of hardship
omnia vincit amor –Love conquers all I settled on omnia vincit amor which led me to the next stage of developing the typeface to be used. Throughout the process of I was conscious of striking a balance between the two coat of arms being similar yet distinctively different to mirror the idiom that gave me the idea for this project (all’s fair in love and war). I initially sketched a font that was completely different from the Contego typeface but I then decided to use the Contego typeface as a starting point.
The defensive nature of the Contego group came across in the form of tight counter areas and thick solid strokes, I wanted the Instigo font to be more expansive so I slightly altered the proportions to make it much lighter.
Once I’d finished with the font it was just a case of setting it on the coat of arms.
So this is the completed Instigo coat of arms,now that the pair are completed I’m going to focus on some of the ideas that have been floating around in my head based on the concept. If you’ve got any questions or feedback feel free to leave a comment, thanks for reading.