[LagunaSol]

Working on starting up my own biz (not in design ) and am doing as much of the start-up work myself as I can, including the logo design. Is there a designer community website where I could post my logo and get some constructive criticism from those with experienced eyes? It's hard to objectively evaluate your own work, particularly without much experience.

[JonoMarshall]

Sure, just post your work here and have me look it over... *grin*

[andi*pandi]

You are here: MacNN Forums > Other Topics > Art & Graphic Design

post away.

[tpicco]

go ahead... post it... I got 30 years' experience... I'll make constructive comments... I won't even bill you for it...

[jools]

Ready and waiting to be constructively critical... as long as the work is produced on a Mac?

[LagunaSol]

Please have a look at the logo here and give me some constructive feedback:

http://www.mavensinc.com/

P.S. of course this was done on a Mac. Why else would I be here?

[Macola]

We need more info...what is your company about, who is your target audience, etc.?

[LagunaSol]

I don't want to spell out the concept in detail, but it deals with information sharing from experts in various fields. The target audience could include anyone. Yes, I know, vague...

Does anything stand out as stylistically flawed? Proportions, line weights, colors?

[andi*pandi]

love the font. the lightbulb person... I'm not sure if you're intending the "shirt" to be an arrow, but it looks clunky, unless of course you meant it that way...

is this project going to have an online only presence? You may need a simpler version of the logo (no gradients) for other print purposes.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

love the font. the lightbulb person... I'm not sure if you're intending the "shirt" to be an arrow, but it looks clunky, unless of course you meant it that way...

is this project going to have an online only presence? You may need a simpler version of the logo (no gradients) for other print purposes.

The shirt is actually supposed to represent the M in Maven, though I agree it isn't as dynamic as I wanted (though much better than my earlier versions).

I do have a simplified version of the logo without the gradient glow for print.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol 

The shirt is actually supposed to represent the M in Maven, though I agree it isn't as dynamic as I wanted (though much better than my earlier versions).

I would recommend giving Light Bulb Guy shoulders and having the arms be more downwards if you want it to look like an M, because everybody is going to think "arrow."

[iREZ]

creativebits.ort also has a critique page.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

I would recommend giving Light Bulb Guy shoulders and having the arms be more downwards if you want it to look like an M, because everybody is going to think "arrow."

Good point. A friend of mine also thought it was an arrow.

I've added shoulders, though I don't know if I like the flat top of the body shape. Maybe it needs a little roundness.

[LagunaSol]

I rounded the shoulders.

[JonoMarshall]

Good stuff... check that it works on a number of backgrounds, you'll need to change the colours, etc for use on a black/white background... but just stick with the same range and you'll be fine.

Although it doesn't look bad (and certainly wouldn't matter at the current size and below) you may want to adjust the kerning of your text slightly, "m" slightly closer to the "a", "a" slightly closer to the "v", "i" slightly closer to the "n", etc, for larger/further use. Graidents in general are a no-no, but you could re-create the lighting without a gradient fairly easily (even if you have to use many small/complex shapes).

In terms of the concept, I think it works, but perhaps had a few too many elements going on, for instance if this is about the promotion of "the mavens" which I can only guess are bright sparks/youngsters/entrepreneurs/etc, then maybe the letters of "mavensinc" could have become the different characters, with small lightbulbs, or visual elements coming together to form the 'big idea' of a light bulb or similar at the top? (Unless you like the body as an "m" thing, but personally I don't think many people will take that message away with them, unless the body "m" and mavens "m" are adjusted to look more similar?)

Do you need to involve both the yellow and orange colours? Have you tried using a different colour palette 'just for kicks' to see if you get a better feel for your product? Can this logo be reproduced as a vinyl cut, etc?

Also do you need three different horizontal widths here, or could you make "mavensinc" slightly larger, or the tag-text slightly smaller to allow the logo to look more neat/accessible? At the moment there is a nice pyramid effect, as if the lightbulb is a beacon at the top, but on a smaller scale or when used in print, this may become a difficult logo to sensitively place/use at large sizes.

Overall design can be a very subjective thing and without more knowledge of the product/aims of the logo and the business it's difficult to say whether your 'big idea' here works, I think it's good, but is it new, revolutionary, or exciting? Well probably not, but in general I like it..!

[art_director]

Not a bad start. Now do another 10 - 15 versions with different concepts. When you design for a living that's what you do -- a range of work / options. Then narrow it down.

[Thorzdad]

Sorry to jump on this thread so late.
I like the concept for the logo. It's fun.
My initial reaction, though, was to see a shirt hanging on a coat-hanger. I think it's the heavy black outline on the bulb and the way it visually flows into the shirt?

Try picking-up the orange from the type and do the outline of the bulb with it. That might help. It would certainly brighten the bulb some. I think the black outline keeps it from really "glowing." It would also help to relate the logo and the type together better. Right now, they don't relate together too well.

[jools]

I finding myself agreeing with many of the comments above, and they're all certainly worth incorporating to the overall design, however I would also suggest revisiting the design of the lightbulb 'collar'. As opposed to the rest of the design it appears to introduce 3D render? Additionally the detail incorporated in this one linking elements between shirt and bulb should either create division or unity in the design - at the moment, in my opinion it does not perform either task.
Sorry if I'm repeating something said earlier... Jools.

[himself]

It is actually pretty good. One suggestion, I would simplify the light bulb. Specifically, the threading at the collar of the bulb. I don't think it needs to be there at all, and it makes the image more busy than necessary. Also, if you intend for the body to resemble the letter "M," maybe you can try giving it a v-neck? It may or may not work, but it wouldn't hurt to try it out. I also agree with the earlier comment of trying out incorporating the "signature orange" in the logo type into the image somehow, possibly the "glow" for the bulb.

It looks like you have a primary concept for the logo, the rest is just tweaking and trying out a number of different variations of what you have.

[rubaiyat]

Could you make it bigger?

[Aron Peterson]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol 

Working on starting up my own biz (not in design ) and am doing as much of the start-up work myself as I can, including the logo design. Is there a designer community website where I could post my logo and get some constructive criticism from those with experienced eyes? It's hard to objectively evaluate your own work, particularly without much experience.

Logopond is the place you want.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by rubaiyat 

Could you make it bigger?

OK, wise guy, I've made it smaller.

I removed the stroke from the bulb and reduced the size of the bulb and the threads. Is this an improvement?

Originally Posted by Aron Peterson 

Logopond is the place you want.

Excellent site, thanks. I'll post there too.

[andi*pandi]

better without the outline. still don't see an M, and the neck looks too tall. why not move the bulb down a little, and make the bottom line narrower?

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

better without the outline. still don't see an M, and the neck looks too tall. why not move the bulb down a little, and make the bottom line narrower?

I agree the neck was too tall, so I removed the third thread. I also made the icon much smaller in relation to the text, which was my original intention.

[andi*pandi]

better! If you kept the 3rd thread, and the current location, but made it narrower, it might create the illusion of a v-neck sweater, which might help your M a little.

[tpicco]

Other things to consider:

Will it be printed on paper? Can you afford 4/C printing everytime you do stationary and business cards?

Personally I am wary of a too-intricate logo design. In the course of a logo's usage, it can be used from 20 feet high to a half-inch high. How small can it go and still be legible? This logo is fine for the top of a web page or top of a letterheard, but how will it look at business card size?

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

better! If you kept the 3rd thread, and the current location, but made it narrower, it might create the illusion of a v-neck sweater, which might help your M a little.

Yeah, I played with the v-neck idea a lot in early drafts, but it never turned out satisfactorily. Ultimately, I decided the "m" shape of the body doesn't absolutely need to be immediately recognized as such, i.e. it isn't critical to the design. Initially the body was the letter "m" (I originally tried the "m" from the font I used in the company name). But it just didn't work on any of the variations I tried (testing "m's" from multiple fonts, as well as drawing my own), so I decided that recognizing an "m" shape in the body wasn't vital. So I went for a more pleasing body shape rather than try to get an "m" that's recognizable as a body. Tradeoffs...

All your feedback is really helping (and appreciated). I think the design is getting more and more refined.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by tpicco 

Other things to consider:

Will it be printed on paper? Can you afford 4/C printing everytime you do stationary and business cards?

Personally I am wary of a too-intricate logo design. In the course of a logo's usage, it can be used from 20 feet high to a half-inch high. How small can it go and still be legible? This logo is fine for the top of a web page or top of a letterheard, but how will it look at business card size?

Once the "web version" is tweaked to satisfaction, I'll modify it into a simplified "for print" version too (the gradient glow will definitely be removed from the print version). I wanted to make sure the concept was fully refined first.

[leblancchris]

allgraphic design has a great critue forum for designers

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