Logo design feedback

[ChrisN]

Hi, guys! How about some feedback on this logo design? It's for a custom pen company located in South Carolina. The customer, among with some other ideas, wanted an ink blot, so I came up with this ink blot with a twist. Comments and critiques welcome!

Business card Front/Back

Logo engraved on fountain pen nib:

 

[jtinker]

I like the ink blot as well, maybe tone it down a bit? The copy & super stylized inkblot remind me of a Surf shop rather than a pen company.

 

[HDvinyl]

At least losing the tree the blob would more resemble the state outline(like I think you are trying to do).

 

[neato]

I also like the inkblot. But there is just way too much script going on there. I love script fonts, but they really should be used like an accent in most applications. It's just a bit overwhelming in this logo.

Here's just a quick idea...I don't love the script font in this one either, but it was the first one close to scriptina I pulled up.

 

[neato]

At the risk of sounding ignorant, are there even a lot of palm trees in SC?

Not only are there palm trees, it's the state symbol

 

[jtinker]

shwibam!
couldnt help myself

 

[ChrisN]

I like the idea of the ink blot but Scriptina, not so much.

He specifically requested to use the font, but I don't know if he is set on using it. I've got some new fonts to play with, so.....

What have they been using as logo or is this a startup?

Current "logo" is this, which is where the Scriptina request came from. It was just something whipped together when the website was set up.

At the risk of sounding ignorant, are there even a lot of palm trees in SC?

It comes from the state flag. I don't know if there are many there - I've never been there.

At least losing the tree the blob would more resemble the state outline(like I think you are trying to do).

Kudos on being the first to mention the shape of the ink blot!

Here's a comparison between palm tree/no palm tree:

It definitely does look less cluttered.

Edit: Neato, I like your idea. I'll have to play with that contrast between script/non-script.

 

[PRS Bryan]

Not only are there palm trees, it's the state symbol

Not only is it the state symbol but it is a cultural icon. It is on everything from t-shirts to licence plates. Every friend I have in South Carolina has at least two or three palm tree images in their home.

As a northerner I didn't get it at first, but after spending some time in South Carolina I began to understand how important of a symbol the palm tree is.

Just changing the blue to black will get rid of the surf shop look.

 

[HDvinyl]

Doesn't this imply their pens leak?

 

[ChrisN]

Not only is it the state symbol but it is a cultural icon. It is on everything from t-shirts to licence plates. Every friend I have in South Carolina has at least two or three palm tree images in their home.

As a northerner I didn't get it at first, but after spending some time in South Carolina I began to understand how important of a symbol the palm tree is.

Just changing the blue to black will get rid of the surf shop look.

Thanks for that info on the tree. I will say that the tree makes it a bit cluttered, but I'm not sure what to do about it - maybe make the tree smaller and put it to the side? As for the color, blue was his request.

Doesn't this imply their pens leak?

No.

 

[Gino]

Doesn't this imply their pens leak?

No, not at all. It's really an attempt to examine the personality characteristics and emotional functioning of their customers. These types of logos are often employed in diagnosing underlying thought disorders and differentiating psychotic from non-psychotic thinking in cases where the customer are reluctant to openly admit to psychotic thinking.

​

 

[dan1942]

I live in South Carolina and you have to keep the palmetto tree (it's not a palm tree). I like the logo but like others have said not the font . A lot of people here have been using that font on south carolina specific shirts

 

[Jillbeans]

I like what Neato did with only using the script in the word "Pen".
Surely there has to be a better choice of a pen and ink style script than Scriptina.
If you are going to use it on all of the words, tone down some of the swashes.
I prefer the blot without the tree.
But the blot makes me nervous (as someone who does calligraphy with a pen.... a blot is something that you do NOT want to see in your work)
I think a lovely hand-written "Pen" sandwiched between the two words (as Neato depicted) would have a lot more class.
(You can do this effectively by writing out the word with a brand-new chisel-point marker and then scanning to vector)
Love....Jill

 

[Pete Moss]

I like the concept and think you're off to a good start. I especially like the icon on the pen application.

I personally would not worry about any inference to ink leaking.

I would definitely make the ink blot all one color though. This will provide more contrast and simplicity.

I agree with what everyone is saying about the font choices. I see you are going for a font that looks like it's been written in pen, I just think there are bolder and more readable choices.


Holy crud, that's a ton of "I" statements. I am not full of myself, I promise.

 

[vid]

On my first view, everything you put in place made sense to me --- the blob shape, the tree, the font --- the customer should be happy with what you've presented. It's sufficient for a nice layout.

However, like the others, I'm hung up on the font but don't have a solid solution for an alternative. Sophia Script has a similar feel without the swooshey-ness. And Alpine Script has a nice weight.

I like Neato's contrasting font layout. (I don't like that script, either) That concept can give a nice upscale feel to the logo and offer an alternative type-only mark to the customer.

And finally, if you choose to use the Palmetto tree, I would try to give it a more hand drawn feel. A simple solution for that may be just using an Illustrator brush on the vector paths. or printing it out big and augmenting the lines with a Sharpie. --- Ideally, it would be entirely redrawn or simply dropped.

(When I was in Arizona, I got real tired of drawing cactus logos. I don't know what the mandate is for South Carolina logos and Palmetto trees. But make it more custom if it's part of the state's logo law.)​

Great start! I'm looking forward to see how this progresses. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Pete Moss]

On my first view, everything you put in place made sense to me --- the blob shape, the tree, the font --- the customer should be happy with what you've presented. It's sufficient for a nice layout.

However, like the others, I'm hung up on the font but don't have a solid solution for an alternative. Sophia Script has a similar feel without the swooshey-ness. And Alpine Script has a nice weight.

I like Neato's contrasting font layout. (I don't like that script, either) That concept can give a nice upscale feel to the logo and offer an alternative type-only mark to the customer.

And finally, if you choose to use the Palmetto tree, I would try to give it a more hand drawn feel. A simple solution for that may be just using an Illustrator brush on the vector paths. or printing it out big and augmenting the lines with a Sharpie. --- Ideally, it would be entirely redrawn or simply dropped.

(When I was in Arizona, I got real tired of drawing cactus logos. I don't know what the mandate is for South Carolina logos and Palmetto trees. But make it more custom if it's part of the state's logo law.)​

Great start! I'm looking forward to see how this progresses. Thanks for sharing!

Ooooooo! Alpine Script and all of the scripts on that page are beautiful!

 

[sardocs]

Maybe rather than using a computer font you could take one of their pens and write out their name a couple dozen times on some clean white paper. Take the best one or the best elements of your preferred ones, scan 'em, clean 'em up, and you will have a truly custom script to offer them.

 

[HDvinyl]

No, not at all. It's really an attempt to examine the personality characteristics and emotional functioning of their customers. These types of logos are often employed in diagnosing underlying thought disorders and differentiating psychotic from non-psychotic thinking in cases where the customer are reluctant to openly admit to psychotic thinking.

​

Are you gonna charge us for that?

 

[SignManiac]

I'd probably pay the client to design his logo since he's pretty much dictating fonts, color, etc.

 

[Gino]

Are you gonna charge us for that?

Nope. Friday's are free.

 

[SignDesignExpert]

Nope. Friday's are free.

Fountain Pen Collector, here.
Looks like this company: http://www.gouletpens.com/

 

[shoresigns]

I'd probably pay the client to design his logo since he's pretty much dictating fonts, color, etc.

Not the most constructive advice, but I tend to agree. If the client dictates the font and you know it's not going to work, it's your job to convince them otherwise. Communicating effectively with your customer is key. If you let the customer dictate your job when you know you could do it better, you're never going to be proud of your work.

 

[shoresigns]

Fountain Pen Collector, here.
Looks like this company: http://www.gouletpens.com/

Wow that's quite similar. I guess that means it's........back to the drawing board.