i dunno....
it went from a strong design to a dopey looking guy carrying a wrench....
there something to be said about a company that shows strenght and defies the 2% winers.....
Dopey or not, the question is - would you remember it? Even if you remembered them only as the company with the guy with the dopey looking wrench, then I'm OK with it. Because you remembered it.
But upon study of early 30's and 40's icons you'll find a lot of similarity in icon style which is what I was after, which I suppose some might find dopey - I dunno. I didn't really see it that way. The again I didn't see any negative connotation on the last icon so what do I know hahah..... But on the bright side, at least I won't have anyone accusing me a promoting a socialist agenda in my branding work with this new character!
IN general, I try and practice the Don Draper school of branding philosophy: Design to stand out, not fit in. When looking at his competitors and literally dozens of their HVAC wraps in the area, none employ this approach. That, in itself, will assure the client of building a brand unlike anything in their market (snowflakes, lame pics of the owner, lame pics of HVAC units, etc). IMportant points are there, are legible, and the approach is unique.
Gino- I see what you mean on the ribbon, but thought I had a pretty good balance between door handles, icon, etc. Funny though, its my favorite part of the design. Getting tired of running angles for so much of our work, and equally tired of straight horizontal bars, so I wanted to break them out.
Second side, for once, has no issues, flip the icon and she's fine. Bullets remain in same location, with air conditioning always in front.