The Evolution of the Tera Kaia Logo

The TK Spade & Diamond

Originally inspired by an Ace of Spades, the symbol in our logo has evolved over the years. Open to interpretation by the viewer, our Spade and Diamond represent everything from femininity to the natural world. Now, we look back fondly at the process that brought us to our yonic symbol, and what it means to us.

The Original Logo of Arêt Basewear: The Ace of Spades

When first defining our brand back in 2016 we were still called Arêt Basewear. The Ace started as a drawing on a napkin, and was chosen because of its’ role as the most versatile card in the deck. It’s shape was reminiscent of the A in Arêt as well as the circumflex (that’s the little doodad over the ê).

The shape pointed upwards representing the elevated perspective you may get as you ascend to the top of a mountain. From our original spade, we added jagged ridges, facets, and texture to give our spade a more organic look, like a spiky mountain spine.

As Arêt Basewear, our logo was sharp and masculine. It was almost *dare we say it* a little too phallic. When we re-branded as Tera Kaia we decided to soften the edges of our mark to give it a more feminine curve. That’s when we added the TK Diamond.

Evolving as Tera Kaia: The Diamond

Can you guess what our diamond is inspired by?(Hint:not )

The Diamond that surrounds the Spade represents femininity due to it’s yonic shape. In our modern society, less attention has been given to yonic symbols - and we wanted to change that.

How was your logo symbol created?

To achieve the rough texture of our logo, we used a traditional process of printing: block print. Both the Spade and the Diamond were brought to life by carving a linocut stamp by hand, and printing it on paper.

What does Tera Kaia mean?

When we grew out of Arêt Basewear, we didn’t want to lose too much of our brand language. Conveniently, Tera is the exact same characters as Arêt, spelled backwards.

Derived from the Latin word TER- meaning land, and the Hawaiian name KAI- meaning sea Tera Kaia represents our brand’s adaptability between the land and water. 

TK Trivia: If you’ve got the insider knowledge, you may recall the story of how our brand name ALMOST became something different. Luckily, we caught a conflict of interest at the last minute and pivoted the second word in our name to Kaia.

Our Brand’s Symbolism: Adapting To Your Experience

Just like our customers and our products, our logo symbol is adaptable. It can be interpreted by the viewer to represent what is most familiar to a person’s experience. While in the forest, our Spade takes on the bristles of an ancient pine tree. Diving into a river, the Spade takes on the slick scales of a fish. Our logo can be interpreted and adapted to suit your experience.

The symbolism of our TK Spade & Diamond logo is versatile enough for any environment, just like you.