new logo... after some hard thinking and a little advice ;)

[ColoPrinthead]

Right track but discordant levels of detail between the compass device and the text. Maybe something like this...

View attachment 98786

Reminds me of the school logo from Community.

 

[Marlene]

all of them are totally awesome!!!!!! go for it

 

[artbot]

there's a basic thought experiment with iconography/logos etc.

"if the logo or icon is shown to a lay person for three seconds, can that person roughly sketch that
image a minute later?"

logos are to be brain tattoos, not photoshop auditions. there's no time for showing off as your van goes whizzing by or a customer looks at your storefront with the sun glaring, and bugs on the windshield.

you should be able to "get it' and not play "where's waldo" when looking at it. you are telling your future clientele that you are a classic and you can make their company a classic too.

graphic styles can be very dated. i see graphics that i think "that looks so 2010". don't fall for that look. you clients are real estate, and plumbers, and people running for office, etc. they do not want to look like they just got started. they want to look like their branding has been around, giving them a "go with us and you won't be working with a trainee" feeling.

it's not fun from a design standpoint. but it is what it is. reduce all things down to can it work in black and white and can someone identify and read it while squinting and walking by it. if they can't, then it's a reject.

 

[Gino]

Wow....... just plain wow.

So, I take it when in school these days, if the teacher say no Johnny, that's not how to do it..... you must study your lessons some more and try again, that according to this OP, you just talk back to your teacher and tell her/him to tell you what and how to do it. Stop wasting my time, teach, huh ??

IF I may, the direction you're going is not towards a logo, but more towards making a statement. You seem to want the logo to be out there telling the whole world how you feel about something, whether it be political or forming a new state, you just wanna be recognized as one of the 'Gang'. That's fine, but a logo taking on this direction will probably ruin you in many ways. To be associated with a cause, your logo can stand along side of some recent fad, but join the two together instead of into one idea.

Your attempts so far, look like some school child has access to a computer with some effects on it and is going to town with no idea of what they're doing, but just doing it anyway. Incorporating graphics or images should take in some concern for your livelihood, unless it's well understood without having to explain. Look at how all of your attempts so far, need to be explained.... and we're all designers, graphic artists and logo developers and we can't figure it out. How are any customers ever gonna figure it out ?? Oh, that's Bear Signs, I guess they do everything in the nude ??

Seriously, do yourself a favor and make two columns, Pros/Cons, write down everything you can think of that you want in your logo and then honestly weigh out if it's something so personal that only you'll understand vs. the rest of the world. Remember, we are in the business of understanding..... or should I say making words or graphics recognizable in a split second. There's no time for study hall on this.

 

[Biker Scout]

In other news, the sign and graphic industry is wide open for new and talented business to come in and totally dominate the market in Northern California.

 

[JJGraphics]

In other news, the sign and graphic industry is wide open for new and talented business to come in and totally dominate the market in Northern California.

I almost spit out my water when I read that!

 

[shoresigns]

also I would like to add that I do appreciate the guys that take a sec to actually suggest a change here or there... or just say "hey its not gonna wok" Im sure most of you guys know its a little tougher to design a logo for yourself (at least in my opinion) so the comments the read "hire a real designer etc." they don't help me get better nor do they make me want to hire a designer so shut the hell up thanks

Ill keep working until I get it right... you weren't always as good as you are now.

The problem is that you don't know ANY of the rules of design and you're breaking all of them. Giving you tips and little changes here and there is not enough to teach you what you need to learn, especially when a lot of the tips are just telling you what to change, and not WHY.

Also the way you react to our suggestions makes us feel like we're wasting our time on you because you don't want to learn. Go to school or give the responsibility to someone capable.

 

[Warlick Designs]

The problem is that you don't know ANY of the rules of design and you're breaking all of them. Giving you tips and little changes here and there is not enough to teach you what you need to learn, especially when a lot of the tips are just telling you what to change, and not WHY.

Also the way you react to our suggestions makes us feel like we're wasting our time on you because you don't want to learn. Go to school or give the responsibility to someone capable.

I disagree. I listen very well and take advice... "good advice" from anyone. Sure I was making horrific choices but if I was confident about the things I was making for "myself" I wouldn't have joined this forum and shared them with anyone.. I knew I was not heading in the right direction and I couldn't figure out where I wanted to go with it..

I don't take things personal with my designs...but thats what seems to keep happening my my own lol which is exactly why I'm here..

with the last logo I presented I feel that I made some pretty big changes from the direction I was going, am I wrong?

 

[Warlick Designs]

You still aren't designing in black and white. Simple shapes, no 3D, no bevels, no shadows, no glow... just start with, "WILL IT LOOK GOOD AS BLACK & WHITE?"

Ill make a blk & wht one! lol

I made this logo in just blk and white first but to put it up I didn't want to have a blk and white logo then also ask that people don't critique the font/colors so much ya know..

 

[Warlick Designs]

You know what helps me when I have designer's block? Grab a post-it pad and start doodling. If you are going the icon-design route, start there. It will be easier to match typography with imagery once you have narrowed it down and finalized your icon. So just focus on the icon for now. You have the right idea with the last one: the S and the North symbol. But try some other ideas or combination of ideas too.

Anyway I like to try to cram 4 or 5 really small sketches of different ideas and directions you could go on one post-it. I might end up with 10 or 20 little sketches. They don't have to be perfect at that point. The goal is to get your ideas on paper so that you can narrow them down later and pick 2 or 3 to take to the next level.

I like to work small with my sketches because it forces you to simplify the design and when an idea is picked and finalized if it works well as a small thumbnail drawing it works even better when it's larger. Another advantage to doing this is that it forces you to work with one color. Then when you get to the point where you use the design on all the many different applications you plan on using it with, you have a one color version, which is always nice. AND like other's have pointed out, a design that works well as a one color design tends to work well when color is added. The longer I've been at this the less I need to hand sketch a design and I have gotten better at doing the preliminary work on the computer, which saves time, but every once in a while when I hit a brick wall it helps to go back to the basics. Take your time though. Don't rush this.

good advice!

 

[Warlick Designs]

I like the design& way better then one ya placed before.

A few tweaks & ya got to read well.

Just settle on something & go for it.

:U Rock:

 

[player]

You know absolutely zero about design. School children would do better. A few tips won't save you.

 

[Warlick Designs]

You are trying...I'll give you that much, but you're still not getting it.

You don't create 15 different logos for different applications - you create a logo and a brand that will work across all platforms.

Adding effects and random colors doesn't make a "logo" look better, nor does using that same so called logo on a van mockup.

I do respect the fact that you're trying but I also think that this thread may go on for months at this rate... maybe you should step back and start studying the basics of graphic/logo design and go back to the drawing board. Either that or hire a designer, but you've made it quite obvious that you're determined to this yourself.

ya and... I should know that lol

I agree thats a bad idea also.... what do you think about the logo I last posted? it would be the same all the time.

 

[player]

ya and... I should know that lol

I agree thats a bad idea also.... what do you think about the logo I last posted? it would be the same all the time.

You know absolutely zero about design. School children would do better. A few tips won't save you.

Yes

 

[Warlick Designs]

You know absolutely zero about design. School children would do better. A few tips won't save you.

hey thank.. all your negative comments motivate me

I don't claim to know much.. I started out as an installer working for a guy that made decals for my race car.. ill get there

 

[Kottwitz-Graphics]

I browsed a lot of the posts, and the most frustrating thing is trying to design for yourself. I looked at my crappy logo for several years, and finally had just had enough... I contacted Phillip (sign amigo), and he is working on designing me something. There is no shame in it. The way I look at it, put a pair of fresh eyes on it...someone that will bring some new ideas to the table.

 

[Marlene]

hey thank.. all your negative comments motivate me

I don't claim to know much.. I started out as an installer working for a guy that made decals for my race car.. ill get there

you are getting negative comments for a reason. you won't "get there" by just throwing out junk you've entered into a computer and called a design. you've been giving good ideas and solid advice but you just forge ahead and ignore it all. the negative comments should motivate you to do some home work and learn the basics. it should motivate you to stop and really look at what you've posted. each time, you've posted an idea, people have told you just what was wrong with it. why is it you can't see the why it is wrong yourself is you have no basic talent. you don't have a clue as to why we all hate what you've done. instead of using that to motivate you to learn, you snark off at people and continue down the same road you were on. hate to give up on anyone but it seems like you are to much of a hard head to bother with

 

[player]

I knew a guy who started the same way as you.

He put out a terrible product, worked for very little, lived in poverty for 20 years, went bankrupt, lost his wife and died of a heart attack in his late 40's.

 

[Warlick Designs]

you are getting negative comments for a reason. you won't "get there" by just throwing out junk you've entered into a computer and called a design. you've been giving good ideas and solid advice but you just forge ahead and ignore it all. the negative comments should motivate you to do some home work and learn the basics. it should motivate you to stop and really look at what you've posted. each time, you've posted an idea, people have told you just what was wrong with it. why is it you can't see the why it is wrong yourself is you have no basic talent. you don't have a clue as to why we all hate what you've done. instead of using that to motivate you to learn, you snark off at people and continue down the same road you were on. hate to give up on anyone but it seems like you are to much of a hard head to bother with

I was being honest... his negative comments are/will motivate me.

Listen you guys, Im not the best (far from it) I know that but I have created good design layouts and some decent logos for people.. Yes I've been my own teacher with the help of the internet and a few friends that have been in the industry for a while but that doesn't mean I can't get to where I want to be... I have the drive I want to learn and I don't mind constructive criticism at all... sure I've posted some bad stuff but Im trying to take the "good advice" I've got from others here.

Now you might say the comments such as "hire a designer" or "you know nothing about design" are there to help me but I don't focus on them.. why?? because I want to get it and I will get it.

Not directed at marlene* if all you have to say are things that can't help me get better and you throwing out your opinions I probably won't lean towards your so called advice. Facts about design or where I can find what I need would be more helpful.

Im sure some of you people were in the same boat at one point or another.... and look at ya know..!

 

[Gino]

I knew a guy who started the same way as you.

He put out a terrible product, worked for very little, lived in poverty for 20 years, went bankrupt, lost his wife and died of a heart attack in his late 40's.

That's a horrible story, but I have a better one. Talking about designing in Black & White, first...... there's this billionaire guy who was basically minding his own business and was secretly taped and now lost his rights to almost everything, because someone deceived his personal boundaries. Now, there's something to look forward to for all of us.