By Jenn Watt
Published May 31 2016
It was the merging of Dysart et al’s past and present in Darby Bayly’s logo design that caught the selection committee members’ attention.
An image of a hewn tree merged with painterly text brings together the Haliburton of 150 years ago with that of today – a place of creative inspiration built upon hard work.
Bayly’s logo design was selected by Dysart et al’s 150th Celebration Committee to mark the sesquicentennial of the municipality which officially arrives on Jan. 7 2017.
“The selection committee chose Darby’s logo because it was different from all of the other submissions” wrote Dysart’s recreation program co-ordinator Andrea Mueller in an email to the Echo.
“The cross section of log represents our past as well as present day. We still have logging in the area and use the trees to attract people up here. We didn’t count the rings but the committee thought that there were 150 rings to symbolize Dysart’s 150 years.”
The Minden-based illustrator said initially she cycled through ideas including more traditional symbols of cottage country but settled on the log because of its ability to conjure up the early days of Dysart et al.
The logo will be used on the promotional materials for the occasion.
This isn’t the first logo Bayly has created. In 2011 her design was selected for the Winterfest senior games held in Haliburton County. Many will remember the plump snowman engaged in winter sports on all of the materials.
Bayly has been living in the Highlands for more than a decade and during that time has grown as an artist starting with ceramics and textiles and then shifting her focus more into illustration.
“It’s a little thrill” she says of seeing her work while out in public or hanging on someone else’s wall.
“I love when I go to somebody’s house and they’ve bought something I made years ago that I’ve completely forgotten about…. I appreciate seeing it out there.”
Because she is an illustrator Bayly is able to infuse her graphic design work with her paintings and drawings which is how she created the Dysart 150 logo. The log was done by hand in order to confer the organic nature of the wood but the font was imposed digitally afterwards.
Bayly recently launched a greeting card club which offers a subscription based service with her original designs sent directly to customers’ mailboxes. She also does custom portraits.
She’s had requests for families to be depicted as animals such as bobcats raccoons and others.
“I never anticipated those sort of jobs” she smiles.
She is also working on an infographic of the hamlet of Gelert for local business owners.
To check out more of Bayly’s work or to sign up for the greeting card club go to www.darbybayly.com.