The name Enso and the development of the symbol

Where do you start when coming up with a name for a boat!

It has to be easily readable, understandable over the VHF, sound nice and on top of that Jon and Dana like double meanings. We went from Greek Gods to birds high concept fancy names with double meanings.

At some point we came across Enso

The enso (‘circle’) is one of the deepest symbols in Japanese Zen. In Zen art, an ensō (円相, “circular form”) is a circle hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express the Zen mind, which is associated with enlightenment, emptiness, freedom, and the state of no-mind.

We all like the what it stands for not only a word with meaning but also a Japanese art form. Moving a Brush in a wide circle in one motion. Once done it is what it is. No second chances. Everything and nothing all at once.

Developing the final symbol and font

Next we had many tries painting Enso’s that had some nice brush strokes, smooth circles and were interesting to look at.

Finally I found an Enso we all liked online. But we wanted some more colour. After trying different apps I finally took the time to learn to use a vector app called Affinity Designer. This had enough tools to change the colours to something we all liked. Many fonts were considered and finally one was found to be engaging.

Below you can see the steps we went through. Like dipping the brush into the paint, then pushing it down onto the paper and slowly but surely moving it around in one smooth motion until almost meeting back where you started.

-Simon