My Time at AiT / Evolution of a Logo
My name is Tony Edwards, and this past summer I had the pleasure of interning at AiT as their graphic designer. I came into the role with a lot of nerves—it was my first time serving as the sole graphic designer at a company, and my main goal was to help rebrand from the previous work, which had all been AI-generated. Honestly, I was nervous. AI replacing design work has become commonplace in this industry and stepping into the tech world left me worried that my work might go unnoticed or feel obsolete in the bigger picture. Working at AiT showed me those fears couldn't have been further from the truth.
During my time with the company, I was taken under the wing of co-owner Simon Bennett, who helped me learn how to take a loose idea and sharpen it into a focused project. We tossed around a few directions for a logo, and eventually John, Simon, and I had a meeting together to brainstorm concepts. That meeting left me inspired. Afterward, I dove straight into the work, creating concept after concept—a few of which you can see in the header of this article—but none of them stood out. They just weren't AiT.
Then, while working on a watchtower logo, I created a rough, stretched-out version of the logo we use today. My first thought was, "Wow, that kind of looks like an eye." So I ran with it. I wanted a logo open ended enough to be visually ambiguous, yet cohesive enough to still read as a distinct object.
Once I had the general outline as well as the other sketches, I wanted to lock in our choice. I met with both owners, John Simmons and Simon Bennett, and I was nervous about joining the meeting—I was still getting my bearings and learning the ropes of the company and here I was the intern meeting with both of the owners. But all of my self-doubt melted away the moment they saw it: they loved the logo. My favorite part? They each saw something different in it. Simon saw an infinite loop, John a chamber of the heart.
With the logo settled, the next challenge was defining our visual style. My goal was to create a look that felt distinct and refreshing while still representing the company's values that we do things differently. In the tech space, there's an obsession with the "sleek" and "clean" aesthetic. I understand the appeal, but I've always felt it comes at a cost—when everyone chases the same minimal look, companies start to blur together, and nothing truly stands out. Finding an innovative way to set us apart was one of the biggest challenges I faced.
So, I started digging into the company itself—its ideas, its people, and its lore. Our owners and higher-ups are all individuals with decades of experience and deep industry knowledge. I kept asking myself: what's the best way to honor that? I landed on a way to make AiT feel as though it had been around since the early 2000s—the era when many of our team members were in the thick of their careers, building the foundations of the expertise they carry today. Visually, I drew inspiration from late-'90s and early-2000s Sony: that confident, slightly nostalgic design language, from the graphic elements down to the overall color palette. The idea was to build something that felt established and lived-in rather than inexperienced, a look that quietly signals experience.
My time at AiT has been nothing short of wonderful. From the very beginning, I felt welcomed and appreciated, and getting to know everyone on the team made this experience all the more meaningful. To everyone at AiT: thank you. Being your intern this summer was an incredible chapter in my journey, and I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity, the guidance, and the trust you all placed in me. I learned more than I ever expected—not just as a designer, but how to bring ideas to life within a team that genuinely cares about the work. I'm excited to see where the company goes from here, and I truly hope our paths cross again down the road. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. "
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