JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The idea for the U2 Tattoo Project, which can be seen in exhibit form starting Monday at the University of North Florida’s Gallery of Art, came together last year. It was mid-May. Beth Nabi and her friend Chris LeClere were at the first of two concerts launching U2’s Innocence + Experience Tour in Vancouver.

Nabi had encouraged LeClere to join her to experience the thrill of seeing the celebrated Irish rock band perform live. He turned out to be the right choice for a traveling companion.

Nabi is an assistant professor of graphic design and digital media at UNF and a longtime U2 fan. LeClere is a photographer and visual anthropologist.

She had given presentations about the band’s “visual identity’’ – images associated with U2 such as the Joshua Tree, the photo of a disturbed looking Dublin boy on the cover of the “War’’ album, and the ``Zoo baby’’ drawing from the album “Zooropa.’’

One thing that struck Nabi was the lack of a dominant iconic image of the band. There was no official logo, like the Rolling Stones’ lips and tongue, the elongated “T’’ for the Beatles, the protruding arrow in the “o’’ in the Who. It posed the question of how U2 fans brand their love for the band.

Still, “There was no project in mind when we went to Vancouver,’’ Nabi said.

But as she noticed fans with U2-inspired tattoos coming in and out of the concert arena, ``it clicked.’’ She pitched the idea of documenting the tattoos and telling the stories behind them. Nabi would do the interviews, LeClere would take the photos, and their project would showcase U2’s visual identity as it passed onto the bodies of fans. “Chris didn’t know what he was in for,’’ Nabi said. What started out as 4 shows in 2 cities became 19 shows in 7 cities in 3 countries, ending in Dublin, Ireland.

The result: The “Ink, Icons, Identity: Exploring U2’s Brand Through Fan Tattoos’’ multimedia exhibit at UNF that ended on Aug. 26. In late September, the exhibit will travel to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland as part of a fan celebration of the band’s 40 years together.

U2 song titles, lyrics, and even whole songs, are reflected in tattoos. “Beautiful Day’’ and “Dream Out Loud’’ are among the most popular, Nabi said, and arms (where the images can be most easily shared), shoulders, backs, chests and ankles were the most likely places to bear the tattoos.

Part of Nabi’s pursuit was to find out “why it is important to have a tattoo on your body and not just have something like a hat or T-shirt that you can wear.’’

Nabi doesn’t have a tattoo. ``I don’t feel like I need to be tattooed to study them,’’ she said. “If I were to get a tattoo, it would no doubt be U2-inspired.’’

When they traveled to Dublin in November, Nabi and LeClere met with two members of the U2 creative team – Steve Averill, who started as U2’s graphic designer in 1978, and Shaun McGrath, who has been a graphic designer for the band since 1990. They asked them what they thought about fans expressing their devotion and inspiration through tattoos.

“They were surprised, amazed, amused, and a little shocked to see their work in this medium,’’ Nabi said. “They didn’t think about human skin when creating images associated with the band and its music.’’

Averill, who is also credited with naming the band, told Nabi creating a logo for the band never occurred to them. “He said the band is about change, and new expression with each album and tour,’’ she said.

“Ink, Icons, Identity’’ is a reflection of “fans taking the U2 brand and personally appropriating it,’’ Nabi said, but it’s not strictly a U2 exhibit for U2 fans. “It’s about pop culture, personal identity, graphic design and anthropology,’’ she said.