What’s that bird on the logo?

People say they love our logo, but ask: “what is the story behind it?”.

The Leimert Phone Company logo is a mashup of three elements, each of which played an important part in our project

The basic graphic comes from the 1939 Bell System logo, since old phone technology is a key foundation for the prototypes we have built.

The bird at the heart of the logo is a Sankofa bird, a symbolic figure in Ghanaian mythology, often associated with the proverb “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi,” or “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” It is an important symbol in Leimert Park, where it is featured in particular on the Leimert Park Artwalk logo. Our project hopes to link Leimert Park’s rich history to a vibrant future.

And the red dot, you ask? We found it deep inside the used payphones we are re-inventing. The ‘smart boards’ controlling how much talk-time you get for each coin have a bright red “program button”, which you need to press to change the payphone’s settings. It is fitting for the Sankofa bird to reach back and press that reset button.