Our New Logo

Some time ago we ran a competition to find a new logo for Body in Mind.  We wanted the logo to capture what we are about.  We also wanted it to be catchy and memorable and recognisable. Finally, we did not want to fork out a small fortune to someone who tries to convince us that this is what they do and end up with one we don’t really like.  So, what is Body in Mind about?  We want to better facilitate and disseminate credible clinical science research. The motivation lies in our brief as scientists – I reckon that the communication bit of science is the bit that often drags the chain of knowledge development and transfer.  We want to communicate our science better.  We want to side-step, or perhaps leap-frog, the arduous journey that new discoveries make before they have the opportunity to influence clinical practice.

What does Body in Mind want to communicate, exactly?  We settled on three ‘C’s: complexity, credibility and creativity.  Complexity: We reckon humans are terrifically complex and that embracing this complexity will make for better clinical practice. Credibility: We want to provide information that is evidence-based where evidence exists, that clearly labels speculation as speculation and that is openly and without prejudice, peer-reviewed. Creativity: We reckon that the chasm that seems to exist between scientists and clinicians is a nuisance. We reckon that if we can bridge this chasm, we will establish a creative space in which scientists and clinicians trust each other and really start to solve some problems.  I know, grand hopes. Still, hopes create opportunities, surely.

So, rambles aside, we had some EXCELLENT entries for our logo competition. Seriously EXCELLENT.  We are stoked.  In pondering all the stuff above, we became somewhat precious about our ‘presence’ and made a unilateral decision to not throw the vote open to everyone, we nutted it out before a blind vote ‘in house’.  Here are the logo’s that got into the voting rounds:

All the logo entries

Here are the official voters (over lunch of mushroom and leek soup, with borlotti beans, garlic and onions – no-one talks to us much in the afternoons).

Here are the podium-finishers (ie the top three but in no particular order):

1.   Luke Parkitny

From the artist: “Body in Mind” is represented both literally and conceptually in this logo. The body is literally contained in the word mind which also contains “in”. “In” is the grammatical and graphical link. The body is also located in the stylised representation of the brain as it floats above the “i”; together representing a human-like shape. Crucially, the body and the mind are represented as inextricably linked; one does not completely exist without the other. When viewing the logo, the eye does not easily settle on “body” nor on “mind”; it oscillates – thus there is some indistinctness in the logo, reflecting the ultimately tenuous nature of our understanding of the relationship between body and mind.

2.  Melanie Shelor and David Kennedy

From the artists: The idea behind these logos is the interconnectivity of the neuromatrix with the body. The graphic inspiration is the metropolitan subway map which portrays pathways and connections in the clearest way possible. Complex, yet legible and modern – just like the current science of pain.

3. James, Paula, Tom and the guys at NoiGroup

From the artists: Body in Mind is a blog (amongst other things) by a group of researchers dedicated to investigating the role of the brain and mind in chronic pain states and, where it is lacking, searching for more evidence in treatment techniques. The perpetual persistence of the researchers and their unity with the rehabilitation world through regular blogging is the foundation of BIM and represented by the bold, background circle. The sun is a new day in neuroscience. ‘Body in Mind’ is malleable like the seemingly endless possibilities of the brain. While the hand… well, is it left or right?  The new logo says: united, fresh, ever-changing, endless, and a little bit groovy.

AND HERE IS THE WINNER!!!

Congratulations to Melanie Shelor and David Kennedy and their idea of

interconnectivity of the neuromatrix with the body, represented by the metropolitan subway map which portrays pathways and connections in the clearest way possible. Complex, yet legible and modern – just like the current science of pain.

We will probably use the ‘bim’ one when space is limited and the ‘body in mind’ one when not….