Logo

Background

I originally come from England. I grew up in a Worcestershire village, not far from Kidderminster and Stourbridge. There is a range of hills nearby and in my trips back to see family and friends, there was invariably a walk up to the Clent Hills, retracing the pathways of my youth; to the Four Stones, the Clent Toposcope and Nimmings Cafe for the best bacon sandwich on earth. I wanted to base the logo on the toposcope layout.

What is a 'Toposcope'?

The word is a contraction of two words. 'Topography' ~ 'the detailed representation on a map of the natural and artificial features of an area', and '~Scope' from the meaning 'to observe', as in telescope, horoscope, stethoscope, etc.

Thus, standing at the high point of the Clent Hill, the toposcope helps you to name distant hills and mountains, church spires and nearby towns and villages.

The Clent Toposcope is made of a copper disk, set on a sandstone plinth at the high point of the hill, just beside four standing stones. Originally installed in 1929, it has assisted walkers and visitors over nearly a century.

The Clent Toposcope is laid out with two rings; the inner ring identifying nearby points of interest and the outer ring, naming places further away towards the horizon.

Inner Ring

There are 27 named locations in the inner ring. Northwest towards the Blackcountry towns suchs as Dudley, Netherton, Quarry Bank, Sedgley, Brierley Hill and Stourbridge. South and west towards Kinver, Kidderminster, Clows Top, Stourport, Abberley. South and east towards Belbroughton, Bromsgrove, Walton HIll. Northeast towards Kings Norton, Northfield, Birmingham University and Harbourne.

Outer Ring

Among the 42 places names are hills and mountains on the horizon include The Wrekin (26 miles), Cader Blonwyn (63 miles), Wenlock Edge, Long Mynd, Brown Clee and Titterstone Clee Hill (23 miles), the High Vynalls, Radnor Tump, Black Mountains (54 miles), Skirrid Fawr (60 miles), Malvern Hills, Worcester, Bredon Hill, Cotswald Hills, Broadway Hill, Ashby Grange, Central Warwickshire Plateau and Ipstone Edge (44 miles).

I wanted a logo that I could explain how it was meaningful to me and the stories that it inspires.

For example, click on this link to GoogleMaps and see for yourself the view from the centre of the toposcope, when I was walking with my brother on the hottest summer day of 2022.

The logo is based upon the locations identified on the Clent Toposcope. They are too numerous, so the design compiles a selection of locations into bands, with an inner and outer ring of blocks.

Appraisals

An appraiser working through their due diligence needs to observe a clear 360º view of their subject in context of their assignment and their scope of work.

A report needs to demonstrate that the appraiser has looked in all directions and considered all the major factors without bias that they used to arrive at their opinion.