Logo for the round backgammon board By James Robert Watson, PhD The story During the backgammon craze in the early 1970s, I designed a round backgammon board that addresses some of the weaknesses inherent in the typical rectangular board. I designed a logo identity for use on the board and in any promotion pieces. The logo concept The dominant element of the new board was its round shape. That drives this logo. I selected and manipulated a typeface that was quite skinny in its letter widths and in its letterstrokes. That allowed the letter O to stand out. Inside that O I rendered a shadow to convey the depth of the dice well. Inside this well are two dice to help immediately place the identity to the game of backgammon (a dice game). The actual and implied horizontal line running along the top (thru the crossbars of the G and As) respected the mass of the shadow inside the O and drew the viewer's eye to that O. The logo applied to the bag for the pieces, dice, and dice cups. App and improved board shape Side-by-side comparisons: 1975 original, new shape for an iPad app, new board shape. Draft sketch for an improved logo: Links The full story about the development of the round backgammon board More info about the development of an app. Dates Original design and production: 1976 or 1977 Revised board and logo: July 2012 Home • Email Jim Watson • Filename to share: http://www.jamesrobertwatson.com/bglogo.html