North Atlantic Publishing Systems (NAPS) develops translation tools for Quark Express, InDesign and Adobe Illustrator. Peter Baumgartner, the company founder, asked me to design a logo. My initial concept was a silhouette of a single engine sea plane—the kind used by Alaskan bush pilots. This concept didn’t fly and we moved on to a more abstract idea. The client wanted to pursue an ocean motif.

I presented Peter with nautical sketches including fish tails and a wave. We both liked Hokusai’s print: The Great Wave off Kanagawa. The wave idea prevailed. NAPS had a new mark coupled with Palatino text forming the company logotype.