Classic Car Group

fisicx

Active Member
We have a very old and unliked logo for our classic car local group. Some of the more junior members (those under 60) want to suggest something new. The group name is Windsor forest TR Group.

Some of the thoughts are:

Oak tree (for the Windsor forest bit)
A border to show we are geographically bounded (we a surrounded by other local groups)
A road or path to indicate travelling
Single colour and simple so it works as a favicon, icon, logo, poster image...
Doesn't need the name of the group as this will always be shown next to the logo.

Or is there something more iconic we could consider?

My idea of a Britannic valkyrie atop a sports car pulled by burning horses across a hellish landscape was rejected for some reason.
 
I would try and mirror the style of the badge, castle turret in the centre, possibly made into a tree/forest?
Windsor forest in a circle at the top, TR group in the banner at the bottom.
 
I always start with a bit of research into these things, typically I don't know what half the logos I design are for! So I need to look into them. I know nothing about classic cars.


This is my process
Print out the current logo nice and big.

Make a mood board of logos you find online - like the link above - this is on the same page around your current logo (or underneath it, whatever works).


Your preferences are:
  • Oak tree (for the Windsor forest bit)
  • A border to show we are geographically bounded (we a surrounded by other local groups)
  • A road or path to indicate travelling
  • Single colour and simple so it works as a favicon, icon, logo, poster image...
  • Doesn't need the name of the group as this will always be shown next to the logo.
Repeat the image search for each of your ideas:
1) Oak tree logo https://www.google.com/search?q="oa...57&biw=1468&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIE877IE877&safe=off

2) Logo border https://www.google.com/search?q="lo...57&biw=1468&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIE877IE877&safe=off

3) Road logo - https://www.google.com/search?q="ro...57&biw=1468&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIE877IE877&safe=off

4) Single colour so it can be used as a FAVICON - yes this is important and your logo should work in full colour, 1/2/3 spot colours and also in White/Black on it's own - so don't let single colour be your deciding force on the design.

5) Great - it will always appear beside the logo - so that's where you can more be focussed on the typography of the text to appear beside the logo.


Start picking out styles you like and build up a mood board.


If you want something iconic - then research again https://www.google.com/search?q=ico...57&biw=1468&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIE877IE877&safe=off

Study other car logos - some of their history and development and why they were made that way.



Once you do your research on different styles, logos and things like that - that's when I then get to the design part.


People often ask how long to design a logo and I see people offering logo design at £50-£150 and wonder to myself how much they value their time.
Research alone can take me up to 2 days to complete and build a mood board to present to the client.

Once I've run through the research of their current logos, logo trends, different variations of the different ideas, I then get to the part of the logo presentation.
This then shows them that I've chosen specific elements for specific reasons and it's based on research and understanding of the industries being represented.


I once had a client insist that they wanted to bright lime green and fluorescent pink logo - which looked horrible but they liked it - but when I researched their industry I found that particular industry mostly had deep purples and deep blues for the logos for those companies. I had to dig out the psychology of colours to read up on why these colours are prominent in the design of this industry.


I've some design books scanned and on my desktop - if you want me to send to you on transfer or something drop me a line with your email and I can send over.


Research and mood boards are your friend here.
 
Don't take this the wrong way but this is the type of brief that I tend to walk away from.

It's got all the hallmarks of "design by committee" where everyone has an idea and they want them rolling together into a logo which then looks confusing to the point where you need to explain it to people.
This is one of those cases where I agree that a logo should identify and not communicate.
That's unless they want it to be something like a heraldic shield or something?

Personally I'd apply the K.I.S.S rule and make something that is clear yet evokes the feel of classic, British motoring.
 
Thanks all.

We don’t want to use any Triumph Branding in the logo or images of cars. We really just want something simple. A few of us have spent ages looking at logos and nobody can agree on anything.

Apologies for telling you (the experts) what we want. When in fact we have no idea what we want.
 
When in fact we have no idea what we want.

There in fact is the issue.

Here's a crazy idea!
Why not get a few people to come up with some ideas - run a little competition and have an impartial judge to make a decision on a winning entry.
Make them all anonymous entries, with 3 judges.
That way everyone participates, and there's a winner at the end of it.
Then at the end of it, you can digitally recreate it in illustrator and have a proper one.
 
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