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.

Auto-generated description: 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.

Auto-generated description: 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?

Auto-generated description: 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?

Auto-generated description: 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.

Auto-generated description: 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.

Auto-generated description: 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.

Auto-generated description: 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.

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?