Logo Design: Philippine Physical Therapy Association 2008 Logo Contest

In celebration of the 10th National Physical Therapy Day last September 8, 2008, the Philippine Physical Therapy Association (PPTA) held a logo-making contest to promote awareness among PT students and professionals about the current and evolving practice of the Physical therapy profession in the Philippines. I really wasn't intending to join this contest because of numerous creative projects I'm currently involved in but as the deadline drew near I thought, "Oh well, I better create something as well, for old time's sake…" That's the reason why I told in my previous blog that somehow I wished I spent more time in creating this logo. But as other designers have shared, it's not the time spent on creating the logo that counts but the over-all impact it produces.

I said old-time's sake… and I really do mean old-time. I've been creating artwork for the PPTA ever since I became a member, ranging from conference logos, lay-out design, audio-visual presentations and even the first inception of the website. Below, you will see the original logo of the PPTA (not mine), and 2 conference logos I made (I have 2 others, but for some reason, I could no longer find them in my files) and an updated version of the original logo (I wonder why they stuck with the old logo).

PPTA Logo

Here it is, the winning logo of the PPTA 2008 Logo Contest:

"This logo retains the hand symbolisms of the original logo, representing the essential service-oriented theme of the Physical Therapy profession. In this rendition, the hands are arranged, open representing evolution of the practice; and emanating influence around the world (represented through the globe, another symbol retained from the original), which is the role Filipino therapists will take in the world scene. Within each hand and shape are embedded subtle symbolisms of the various fields and niches of the Philippine PT practice – pediatric, geriatric, sports (light green area - people), orthopedic/musculoskeletal (dark green area – spine symbol), neurologic, musuloskeletal (red hand – EMG, ECG signals), academics, clinical teaching, paramedical, pulmonary, etc… (blue hand – caduceus, with human figure, book)… The logo is arranged into a modern and eye-catching mark which can be presented in various formats and color schemes, ideal for many applications of this mark."

I wasn't really expecting this to win, but I enjoy good news, especially unexpected ones. I'm not sure if the PPTA will choose to replace the old logo with this new one, but somehow I feel I needed to work on this more (I still feel, this is not as distinct and compact as the original logo). But all in all, I'm glad this work was chosen (still creatively in service to the PT profession!).