another logo critique

[colonel5]

below is the final rough draft for the concept of a logo for a "creative imaging firm" that I am starting up with someone. Our main offerings as a company are photography, graphic design, web design, & identity/branding. We also want to stay open to adding other things as we both have a wide variety of things we can do and could possibly offer.

Both of us like this concept and the variations and flexibility of this logo concept. We Narrowed it down from an original 15 seperate ideas, then I did about 10 variations of one we liked, and we've landed on this concept. But before I take into the final stage I'd love some critiques and ideas.

The idea is vaguely resembling a camera lense while remaining simple enough to represent other media types

http://www.iotsolutions.com/on.jpg

[Logo-Mechanix]

I didn't get camera lens from it at first glance but I think from what your saying that was the idea. I personally think the bottom one works best, I like that one. I would extend the left and right sides of the black box slightly though. Also maybe try it without the box just to see.

[danedawg99]

what does "on Studios" mean? I think the black circle is a bit too obscure, and that white opacity/reflection will not reproduce well for you. I like the reflection of the name idea, maybe run with that? the jaggy edges remind of a coffe/ink spill.
hope this helps. :o

[G-Man79]

Colonel-
The concept and design doesn't work for me. I dig the stylized S but the represenation of the camera lens dominates all three version. Perhaps you could manipulate the O in On to reflect the camera lens idea. Good luck with it and keep us posted!

[rockem]

I didnt get a camera out of it, I dont know what I got out of it, I was staring at it forever trying to get a feel for what it was. Same logo shown 3 times,The shadow type thing is a bad idea and will not work in alot of ways. As has been said the name needs some work IMO. The type, why is the concentration stressed onto the "S"? What you see in this logo will not work in alot of ways I would say back to the drawing board, if your set on staying with it, it needs alot of fixing

[EC]

I don't love the relationship of the text to the circle; it doesn't seem purposeful for some reason. G-man's idea is interesting -- changing the scale a bit and pulling that lense in as the "O" maybe?

I also think that the "mirrored" text is a bit overkill -- the "lense" makes a big enough statement that you don't need additional fancies.

The circle said "bottle cap" to me upon first glance, not camera lense.

[typographics]

hey colonel,

i also didnt get that it was a camera lens. i thought it was simply a photoshop filtered bubble thingy. i would rethink the drop shadow. it doenst seem to have a purpose. i guess youre trying to further communicate that the circle is reflective, like a camera lens. but thats really not necessary, and makes the mark look kinda hoakey. is hoakey a word?

i agree with rockem. id step back from this and rethink it some more. maybe forget about it for a couple of days, and start on it again with a fresh mind and new ideas.

matthew~