TEARS (Tibetan Emergency Aid Refugee Society) raises awareness about the plight of Tibet and Tibetan refugees round the world. I was honoured to be given the task of designing their logo.
I looked to Tibetan Buddhist art for inspiration, and found the image of Buddha's tear to be particularly relevant to the concept.
It was important that the acronym TEARS was read as word, but not the verb "to tear" (as in torn). By associate a teardrop with the word, it is clear how to pronounce it. Using an eye stylised similarly to a Tibetan Buddhist painting, the teardrop becomes the mythical "Buddha's Tear". Although this is usually placed in middle of Buddha's forehead, the poetic license used makes the image less overtly religious and sacred, but still retaining some of the aura and narrative of the Buddhist story.
