Bringing Back a Special Memory!

When designing my website, it was suggested that I have a logo for it. I ignored that. When I choose a template for my email blasts, it has a space for a logo. I usually ignore it. A few times I used some boring pair of headphones. Whatever. But I was chatting with someone recently about branding, and I mentioned how much I loved the logo that was designed for my old company, Planet V, in the mid-90s. Then I thought "What am I not using it?"

I transitioned from album recording and mixing to post production, and loved it Having worked at some great studios, I somehow managed my dream job! I was surrounded by the latest and greatest tech. I was paid well. I was treated to incredible lunches that fattened me up tremendously. And I was miserable. And it showed. I just wasn't doing what I loved the way I loved doing it. One day I sat with a financial planner who guided me through how much of my income to set aside and how to invest... and he said "And by the time you're 65...". And I thought "Work there until I'm 65???". That was the beginning of the end, and I started planning my own business right away.

Having scored early successes as a sound designer and mixer, I was able to take my best clients with me and formed Planet V! I moved back into the space of a former employer, and rather than having them pay me- I paid them. I could do a whole separate post about how truly magical the Kampo Cultural Center on Bond St. was. But for this post, it's just about the years I spend doing award winning work for incredible ad agencies.

Studio B and C at Kampo Studios was home to Planet V for many years.

Steve Ingkavet is a gifted designer with a fantastic advertising career and a great eye. He created the Planet V logo, which appeared on our glossy black folders accompanied by fold down studio shots, articles and more. It was basically a physical website. Another version with a touch of silvery ink appeared on our stationary and business cards. When I closed the company and sold it's assets to join Nutmeg in 2004, that logo became a file on a disc somewhere, and I haven't given it much thought.

Using SSL Screen Sound. Before they made the little interface you're using, they made big consoles and cutting edge digital tools.

Planet V is gone. Nutmeg is gone. And now I'm at Digital Arts NY as a mixer, sound designer, and casting director. But as many of you know, I continue to consult in the evenings producing demo reels, helping people choose the right setups to record at home, teach classes, host events, etc. So I thought perhaps this logo could be dusted off and given a second live (minus the Planet V part of course!).

If anyone reading this recalls coming down to Bond St. to audition or record TV and Radio spots, drop a note in the comments! I've seen Facebook posts from people who STILL own Planet V shirts, CD cases and more! It was a special time and I got to work with a small and special staff. I was too young to know what the awards we were winning even were. And too busy planning and doing to really care. Some things never change!

So- even though my email blasts are few and far between, say hello to the new old logo for this website and beyond! Some of you may have already noticed it.