I was contracted to create a logo for Iqra in 2016. 

Iqra is a free application for searching the Quran using speech recognition.

My first step in this project was to see the app through the founder's eyes. I asked him to describe the app as if it was his baby, which was a very fun exercise.

Afterwards, I asked him to show me logos that he liked to better understand what he was looking for. I sketched a couple ideas with him. 

This Arabic calligraphy translates to the word Quran.

After doing what the founder asked for I made the first design. The feedback I got from users was that it looked great and was very traditional with the Arabic calligraphy, but no one thought it would be a good app icon or logo. The users also thought that the name was very cliche. After telling the founder the results of the user tests, he agreed that we can brainstorm new ideas.

Problem

The founder really wanted the logo to include arabic calligraphy. He felt that it would better represent what the app is about. But Arabic calligraphy does not make an ideal logo because it's far too detailed.

solution

After days of sketching and doodles, we found a way to combine old Arabic calligraphy with a modern logo feel.  

The founder changed the name of the app to "Iqra" which means to read. This opened up a whole door of opportunities because from an Arabic calligraphy perspective, the letters can go in many different ways.  After playing around with the word in illustrator I ended up with the icon below. I user tested as well and the feedback was very positive. Everyone said they felt like it was a perfect representation of modern Arabic calligraphy.