Logo Design Critique

[Xenonsoft]

In the early stages, only knocked a few ideas around and one of them needs a bit of tweaking if he wishes to progress with it.

I thought I would get some feedback before sending it off to him from you lot.

The company offer solutions not a product, not cheap or garish but deliverable, innovative and flexible. They're consultative, deliverable and slick.

Don't hold back, if you think it's really not the right direction for a branding company then say it, honesty is the way forward.

Colourschemes are pretty irrelevant, mainly the font choice and idea lower down the page that I'm looking for feedback on.

 

[KevJaques]

hmm tricky one Fred, none of them really stand out to me, bit of a mouthful too with two long words, not an easy one for sure which is why I see you went the OB route too.

Standing and Branding sticks in the mind tho, and I'm getting visions of a simple black silhouette of a man standing out from a crowd. Possibly working in the O & B into that.
Also think to how they can use a web standard font on their site for all but the logo so it can get indexed better (rather than use images for key keywords for example)

I would possibly go for something double barrelled kind of shot gun barrels
ie. (ignore the dots)
Out:
.....Standing
.....Branding

 

[Xenonsoft]

I like that idea Kev, cheers. I'll look into that :icon_cheers:

 

[salvador]

It does need a second round Fred... Push it a bit further creativity wise and maybe bolder.
I know this is not very constructive feedback for you to build on but keep us updated

~Peace~

 

[Xenonsoft]

Cheers Salvs, a 2nd round will be happening .

 

[Xenonsoft]

Ok, more critique required

The idea has come from KevJaques, let me know what you think, criticism more than welcome.

 

[KevJaques]

well the red sticks out more

you say colour themes are irrelevant but surely at this point they have some kind of colour theme discussed or in mind, ie corporate/business colours going forward for logo, print, web etc..?
Although I always work in colour towards the latter stages it's still important to factor in 'what ifs' or look at themes they may want to get into all of the above.

I think due to the long name it probably wouldn't work too well with something obscure or object based hence sticking with text options atm, although I would also factor in a shortened version as a possible addition to print material say in a corner of a page or something as a monogram etc..

I would have thought a branding company would have got more objectives into how they want their logo to look like, is this why its using text? I think if you want to keep the slick approach then text is probably the best way to go forward.

Try and test the texts against some backgrounds where you think it might have to be portrayed, ie mockup header on a website or a leaflet just to see how it looks.
You could always set those up as templates to put other logos against with minimal changes to give you more of an idea of where and how it could be used in isolation rather than showing it with a bunch of others.

that KevJames guy seems like he is thinking on my wave lengths too heheh

 

[Xenonsoft]

KevJames? Never heard of him :icon_tongue_smilie:

Cheers for the tips again Kevin, I'll read into them more tomorrow :icon_smile:

 

[Xenonsoft]

well the red sticks out more

you say colour themes are irrelevant but surely at this point they have some kind of colour theme discussed or in mind, ie corporate/business colours going forward for logo, print, web etc..?
Although I always work in colour towards the latter stages it's still important to factor in 'what ifs' or look at themes they may want to get into all of the above.

I think due to the long name it probably wouldn't work too well with something obscure or object based hence sticking with text options atm, although I would also factor in a shortened version as a possible addition to print material say in a corner of a page or something as a monogram etc..

I would have thought a branding company would have got more objectives into how they want their logo to look like, is this why its using text? I think if you want to keep the slick approach then text is probably the best way to go forward.

Try and test the texts against some backgrounds where you think it might have to be portrayed, ie mockup header on a website or a leaflet just to see how it looks.
You could always set those up as templates to put other logos against with minimal changes to give you more of an idea of where and how it could be used in isolation rather than showing it with a bunch of others.

that KevJames guy seems like he is thinking on my wave lengths too heheh

Colour themes were irrelevant to start with, it was mainly the black and white I was looking at, although I added the colour option to show how it would break down with colour.

Now I'm definitely looking into the colour side aswell though, I'm thinking red/pink would work the best, they hope to catch the eye and like this site: Mesh PS - Promotional Products and Merchandise

I'll look at a shortened version, possibly a monogram at a later date :icon_thumbup:

The branding company have given this brief:

The company offer solutions not a product, not cheap or garish but deliverable, innovative and flexible. They're consultative, deliverable and slick.

Testing the logo against some backgrounds had not crossed my mind, it's something I'll consider doing at some stage.

:icon_cheers:

Here's an update based on some critique from another forum, personally I think that the top is better and with a bit of extra leading would suffice.

Old:

New:

 

[ms_dave]

hi Fred,

I hope i haven't missed something here...but the first question that springs to mind is why a branding company that presumably specialises in branding consultancy,etc would go to a web development company to design them a logo?

That aside, i would have thought they might have given you a pretty tight brief to go on. For example, the ethos of the company, what they want to convey through their own branding,etc.

Creating a brand is so much more than just coming up with a logo...you really have to get under the skin of what they are all about in order to communicate to the rest of the world what the company offers.

A company that calls themselves "Outstanding Branding" really does need to have an outstanding brand identity themselves.

I hope this helps and maybe you can go back to them with some questions that would help you with the whole design process, so you can knock 'em dead with a really great logo.

 

[MS-Ian]

What kind of market is your client looking to attract? All too often when logos are designed, the designer fails to consider the target market so this also needs to be taken into account.

Ask your client how he wants his target market to perceive his brand - and by extension the branded company, organization, product or service. Your client should seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity. Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors.

As David has said above, you really need to get under the skin of your clients company ethos and what they are all about, but don't forget - as equally important is the target market.

I'm also a little perplexed as to why they are not doing their own branding and choose to have a web design company work on this... sorry! :icon_confused:

In my honest opinion, none of the designs shown so far really float my boat.

 

[KevJaques]

yea ms_dave has said what I was trying to say with my ramblings heheh, of course as we have not got the actual brief or talked to your clients we have no knowledge of how they perceive themselves other than that brief brief.

To me a branding company should know exactly how they want their target market to perceive them and how do they want to stand out (out standing) from their competitors.

Asking the WHY questions is so important in creating a logo, your creating something that will function as much more than just a logo and for many many years to come.

Another thing I like to do is get some pictures of existing brands logos that have stood the test of time, put in your variations amongst them, do yours stand out, do they look as though they are worthy of competing with the big brands. After all the clients logo will be compared with the bigger brands whether they like it or not.

doh, giving trade secrets away there Kev heheh

Oh didn't see page 2, well, theres 3 posts all pretty much saying the same thing

 

[Xenonsoft]

hi Fred,

I hope i haven't missed something here...but the first question that springs to mind is why a branding company that presumably specialises in branding consultancy,etc would go to a web development company to design them a logo?

That aside, i would have thought they might have given you a pretty tight brief to go on. For example, the ethos of the company, what they want to convey through their own branding,etc.

Creating a brand is so much more than just coming up with a logo...you really have to get under the skin of what they are all about in order to communicate to the rest of the world what the company offers.

A company that calls themselves "Outstanding Branding" really does need to have an outstanding brand identity themselves.

I hope this helps and maybe you can go back to them with some questions that would help you with the whole design process, so you can knock 'em dead with a really great logo.

Hey Dave, cheers for offering feedback.

Firstly, they've gone to a few different agencies to see what happens with that. I know what you mean though, that for a branding company you would assume they could at least brand themselves. I know one of the owners via a Southend forum, he's happy to give me a chance at doing it all.

The brief is pretty much as I posted earlier. I'm certainly inexperienced in branding of any sort, so I'm not really sure what the norm is on briefs. Out of the few jobs I've done this has the most detailed brief so far.

It's so hard to communicate what they're about in the means of a small typeface and (possibly) emblem. Logo design isn't easy at all! I'm new to this but I really am struggling with the idea of creating a brand, but hopefully that will develop in time.

Cheers for the feedback :icon_smile:

What kind of market is your client looking to attract? All too often when logos are designed, the designer fails to consider the target market so this also needs to be taken into account.

Ask your client how he wants his target market to perceive his brand - and by extension the branded company, organization, product or service. Your client should seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity. Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors.

As David has said above, you really need to get under the skin of your clients company ethos and what they are all about, but don't forget - as equally important is the target market.

I'm also a little perplexed as to why they are not doing their own branding and choose to have a web design company work on this... sorry! :icon_confused:

In my honest opinion, none of the designs shown so far really float my boat.

Firstly, cheers for the honest opinions, they're the only feedback that's worth anything.

All I know is that they'll have two strands, one looking at the consultative approach to merchandise and one looking at selling branded products. I honestly don't know their intended market so that's one question I'll certainly be asking.

Thanks for the comments, it has helped and I'll go back to the client with some questions :icon_smile:

yea ms_dave has said what I was trying to say with my ramblings heheh, of course as we have not got the actual brief or talked to your clients we have no knowledge of how they perceive themselves other than that brief brief.

To me a branding company should know exactly how they want their target market to perceive them and how do they want to stand out (out standing) from their competitors.

Asking the WHY questions is so important in creating a logo, your creating something that will function as much more than just a logo and for many many years to come.

Another thing I like to do is get some pictures of existing brands logos that have stood the test of time, put in your variations amongst them, do yours stand out, do they look as though they are worthy of competing with the big brands. After all the clients logo will be compared with the bigger brands whether they like it or not.

doh, giving trade secrets away there Kev heheh

Oh didn't see page 2, well, theres 3 posts all pretty much saying the same thing

Good tips again cheers Kev, I'll take them all on board.

 

[CAM-CATZ]

ime not trying to put you down but if im' honest none of them are that good.....duno how to explain it really

 

[CYoung]

ime not trying to put you down but if im' honest none of them are that good.....duno how to explain it really

There's nothing like constructive criticism :icon_thumbdown:


I don't know if you are still working on this, but I agree that the red stands out, and I think if you spaced the words out a bit more, it would look a little less cluttered.

Hope this helps.

Thanks

Curtis

 

[dot design]

In the early stages, only knocked a few ideas around and one of them needs a bit of tweaking if he wishes to progress with it.

I thought I would get some feedback before sending it off to him from you lot.

The company offer solutions not a product, not cheap or garish but deliverable, innovative and flexible. They're consultative, deliverable and slick.

Don't hold back, if you think it's really not the right direction for a branding company then say it, honesty is the way forward.

Colourschemes are pretty irrelevant, mainly the font choice and idea lower down the page that I'm looking for feedback on.

Hi Fred, purely from the look of the logo and not taking any of the discussion re: audience etc I think you have a possiblity with developing the linking or shared 'g' and 'd' but I think you have to be very careful. The name "outstanding branding" suggests,... well.. the name "outstanding branding" so this needs to be spot on... not that much help I know but will give it more thought...

 

[pcbranding]

All very curious - a branding company that doesn't brand itself.
With company names that are literal there needs to be something that is just everso clever and that makes you think 'ah, yes..I get it.'

Or else you need to create some beautiful, simple typography and then consider how the finished logo will be used - Is it purely for online purposes? If so, can the 'outstanding' part be animated? If it's for print usage then should the word be foiled/varnished?

'Outstanding' should stand out, not 'branding'.

'Outstanding' means these things to me: Exceptional, fantastic, better than the rest, highlight, stand out(!) - ways of creating this 'stand out' are by font weight, colour, balance, proportion, finish/texture and final application (web/print.)