I’ve been publishing the Weekly Thing for over seven years. Sometimes I need to have an image associated with it. Some of those times it is actually required. So, I’ve had a mild need for a logo to represent the Weekly Thing for a while.

However, the Weekly Thing is a somewhat novel email because it isn’t locked to a specific topic and has a blend of personal and professional. So if there was an image it hasn’t been clear to me what to connect it to.

Then I had a thought. What could I play with about the “weekly” aspect? A week is seven days. What if I could pull that into the design in an interesting way that could work with my complete lack of design skills. I did some experimentation with ChatGPT to explore a number of topics. I found something I liked and then fired up OmniGraffle to see what I could do.

After a few iterations I landed on an image that I like quiet a bit.

Blocks arranged in a row above the text Weekly Thing create a monochromatic design.

It is simple but identifiable. The seven blocks represent the seven days of the week. The text is Helvetica with custom kerning to tighten it up. As I played with this I liked the fun options I could imagine with the seven blocks. It reminded me a bit of Kottke.org’s redesign and how he is using the four circles.

The blocks themselves can be any colors I want.

A logo featuring seven colorful rectangular bars in orange, green, purple, pink, blue, white, and gray, with the text Weekly Thing beneath them.

How about a very bright set of rainbow colors?

Seven colorful 3D rectangles in a horizontal row above the text Weekly Thing.

I could see playing with this even more and generating random color combinations on the fly using a dynamic SVG image. Or how about a Christmas logo?

A logo with a series of vertical red and white rectangles above the text Weekly Thing.

The blocks could be patterned. Something simple done in software, or even colored in by hand.

Seven vertical, colorful, textured rectangles stand side by side above the text Weekly Thing.

But colors aren’t the only option. The blocks could also be a window into an image to pull in an entirely different vibe. Let’s bring the spirit of adventure.

A series of vertical rectangles filled with snow-capped mountain imagery accompany the text Weekly Thing below.

Or how about one of my favorite animals.

A bison is depicted across multiple book-like segments above the text Weekly Thing.

The last extension I thought about that seemed like a fun option was animation. The seven blocks don’t have to be static. I could have them moving around.

Three tall 3D rectangular blocks on the left and one on the right, rendered in black outlines, above bold text reading Weekly Thing.

I like it and I think it works well for my needs. I’m going to play around during my winter publishing break with how I may use this. I don’t want to change the personal feel of the email with a logo. Perhaps some folks may want a Weekly Thing coffee mug to go with their weekend reading?