microISV, Final Logo
At the end of the last post we gave two of the designers the chance to refine the concepts I selected in order to approach a final design. Both came back with very good changes and so here they are.
They do not look quite as good here as they are in practice because they have been shrunk and reduced in quality in order to post as small files for the blog. Here is the first finished logo.
Candidate B - $125 From Romania
This has actually come out much better than I was expecting. I think the factory itself looks very clear and the smoke gives it a nice added extra. The 3D appearance and the use of gradient colors is clear and distinctive, creating a memorable image.
Our other designer can up with the following final work.
Candidate C - $199 From Argentina
Again I like the use of the gradient effect and I also like the way the left and right edges slant inwards slightly. Although some may think the use of 0's and 1's to make up the smoke is cheesy, I love that effect. Maybe I am just a cheesy sort of person!
Both provided the finished artwork in several formats. The usual BMP and GIF but also the original vector files as well. This is really important and I would urge anyone else getting graphics created to ensure they have the design in the original format.
That way you can always tweak it and provide it to other designers in the future. When you need to create that first print advert, you will be glad you have the vector format to pass over to a designer.
So which one should I go with? At the moment I prefer the second design and you can see that logo placed on the domain home page, as well as a smaller white version on the heading of the blog itself. But there is still plenty of time before I need the website itself creating and so I can still change my mind.
I suspect I prefer the second one because it feels a safer choice and a little more formal and corporate like. I doubt anyone will hate the second one, although few will love it either. But the first is likely to evoke a stronger reaction either in favour or against.
This is where the blog readers have the chance to steer me in the right direction. If the vast majority of people prefer the first then I am willing to switch over to that one instead.
So, what do you say? First or second?
They do not look quite as good here as they are in practice because they have been shrunk and reduced in quality in order to post as small files for the blog. Here is the first finished logo.
Candidate B - $125 From Romania
This has actually come out much better than I was expecting. I think the factory itself looks very clear and the smoke gives it a nice added extra. The 3D appearance and the use of gradient colors is clear and distinctive, creating a memorable image.
Our other designer can up with the following final work.
Candidate C - $199 From Argentina
Again I like the use of the gradient effect and I also like the way the left and right edges slant inwards slightly. Although some may think the use of 0's and 1's to make up the smoke is cheesy, I love that effect. Maybe I am just a cheesy sort of person!
Both provided the finished artwork in several formats. The usual BMP and GIF but also the original vector files as well. This is really important and I would urge anyone else getting graphics created to ensure they have the design in the original format.
That way you can always tweak it and provide it to other designers in the future. When you need to create that first print advert, you will be glad you have the vector format to pass over to a designer.
So which one should I go with? At the moment I prefer the second design and you can see that logo placed on the domain home page, as well as a smaller white version on the heading of the blog itself. But there is still plenty of time before I need the website itself creating and so I can still change my mind.
I suspect I prefer the second one because it feels a safer choice and a little more formal and corporate like. I doubt anyone will hate the second one, although few will love it either. But the first is likely to evoke a stronger reaction either in favour or against.
This is where the blog readers have the chance to steer me in the right direction. If the vast majority of people prefer the first then I am willing to switch over to that one instead.
So, what do you say? First or second?
posted by Phil Wright at
8:38 pm
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12 Comments:
I like one, but I would like to see one with 0101 smoke (just a moment in Photoshop).
I'm the farthest thing from an environmentalist but even I don't find clouds of smoke appealing in a logo.
By
Anonymous, at 9:15 pm
I was going to make the same comment that Ken made. I like everything about the first one, except I REALLY like the binary smoke on the second one. A combination of those two would be great!
By
Anonymous, at 9:46 pm
#2, all the way.
By
Michael Sica, at 10:32 pm
I like the second one.
By
Anonymous, at 10:32 pm
#1, but I like the cartoon look - more distinctive and memorable. (but I'm biased, look at mine)
By
Anonymous, at 11:05 pm
Definitely the second one. Of course I'm not to crazy about cartoonish logos unless your selling beach balls or something. #2 looks much more professional and gives a feeling that your serious about your product. It's abstract but easily identifiable. The first one is too well...obvious.
By
Anonymous, at 12:15 am
I second ken and brian: #1 but definitely with 0's and 1's instead of that ugly smoke !
I admit I am biased because #2 looks like the former logo of a Belgian bank hence gives me a strong sense of déjà vu.
By
Serge Wautier, at 7:15 am
Number 2... Looks more professional to me.
By
Anonymous, at 8:41 am
Second, but smaller 1s and 0s
By
Anonymous, at 10:47 am
Very nice work Phil. I am re-thinking a logo for my site as opposed to hanging onto a simple script font for the name.
- Brandon D.
http://www.doylepublishingutah.com
By
Anonymous, at 12:28 pm
I like number 2 for your target customer because it seems more professional and corporate. I think you should lean heavily toward what your target customer is expecting.
Number 2 should also work better in a variety of formats in web or in print. Experiment with how each looks after being faxed, shrunk down really small, or being printed in greyscale or black and white.
By
Anonymous, at 2:01 pm
I like the idea of the first one with 0101 smoke. Also, I prefer the cartoonishness because it is much more similar to the DotNetMagic logos. At least you can put them on the same page.
The glassiness of number 2 is getting a little too much air time with OSX and XP. Plus, I don't think it looks as nice flattened out, such as on a business card or something.
By
Anonymous, at 5:18 pm
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