Logo Designer for New Live Performance Brand

We are looking for an experienced logo/brand designer to develop the visual identity for Primal Stream, a new platform centered on live human performance. Primal Stream is being built for musicians, actors, comedians, dancers, storytellers, small theaters, clubs, and other performers to broadcast live and build direct relationships with audiences. We want the brand to feel human, energetic, creative, immediate, and alive—not like another generic technology or video-streaming company. We have done considerable early visual exploration and can provide examples of directions we like and dislike. However, we are specifically hiring a designer because we do not want someone simply to execute our existing sketches. We want someone with strong visual judgment who can take the underlying ideas and develop something better. The logo should work exceptionally well as a standalone mark/icon. One of our tests is what we call the “postage stamp test”: if the logo is reduced to roughly postage-stamp size and viewed at arm's length, it should still read as a distinctive, coherent shape. Some qualities we're interested in include a sense of live performance, expression, human presence, energy, motion, and perhaps something slightly primal or elemental. These are ideas to explore, not a checklist of things that need to appear in the logo. We strongly prefer suggestion and abstraction over obvious imagery such as microphones, play buttons, broadcast symbols, headphones, etc. We are also exploring the relationship between the names Primal Stream and Primal Scream, so some of our existing concepts involve ideas of voice, expression, catharsis, singing, or performance. The final identity, however, needs to be credible as the mark of a real company—not a rock-band logo, gaming logo, or novelty entertainment brand. We care much more about conceptual ability, typography, composition, and identity design than about producing a large number of quick concepts. When applying, please include examples of logos or identity systems you personally designed, particularly marks that are simple, distinctive, and effective at small sizes. If possible, briefly describe the thinking behind one or two of them. Please also tell us a little about how you approach the early concept stage. We are looking for someone interested in exploring the identity with us, rather than simply asking us to select a logo style from a menu. There may be additional brand-design work as Primal Stream moves toward launch. Deliverables: final logo/icon, primary and alternate lockups as appropriate, color and monochrome versions, vector source files (AI/SVG/EPS or equivalent), high-resolution PNGs, and basic guidance on colors and typography.