opinions please

[paul.taylor1990]

ok, i have already written this once before, but it thought it would be funny if it signed me off...anyway. please post suggestions on this.
i designed it for the band, obviously called illusion.
thoughts?
link (http://uk.geocities.com/paul.taylor1990@btinternet.com/photopagetan)

[Vikia]

hmmm, first, it doesn't remind me of a band. Second, it reminds me of a long dark hallway with a series of doors.

[Crimson]

I think for visual interest it would be good to make a contrast in line thickness- some thicker and thinner. The gradient isn't really contributing to the logo. I would think you could still play on the mirror effect with line art and not the gradient. Plus it leaves it in a box. wouldn't the band want to stand out. I would keep working and think outside the box.

Looks like a goos start. What you did wasn't bad- just giving some, hopefully helpful, advice.

[G-Man79]

I like the concept but as Crim and Vik previously stated, the design could be more stylized with varying line weights and by removing the gradient. Keep us posted!

[paul.taylor1990]

thanks for the suggestions, i'll get working on it for a little while. see what happens!

[panzer]

erm one point ? shouldnt you be able to read the bands name

if youve made it alreadyyeah you could probably get away with it but if your just starting in the scene i just dont think this logo works mate

sorry

[paul.taylor1990]

ok, i did the things to the lines like you said. (but you probably won't be able to notice it.
i also took out the gradient on the text, and added an effect. as you will be able to see, they are defintaly different to the first one.
fair enough panzer, do you have any reasons why you might think this? perhaps a colour scheme would be better suited? or just a more outstand section of text, as you say...something a bit more readable? i don't quite know what colours to put them as if you wanted them to stand out more?
link (http://uk.geocities.com/paul.taylor1990@btinternet.com/photopagetan.html)
the link is to the same place as before, just thought it make sense to put it up again.

[cjoe]

what style of music is this?

[paul.taylor1990]

i have been trying to get a link up and running, and i think it has eventually worked...
link (http://dw.com.com/redir?&destUrl=http%3a%2f%2fmusic-files.download.com%2fsd%2fTEuW-GLgN6Y-c5VerTx3LseW2Nmrmk4OpHAILilvQjhjMQzfbATS62Gcqu_wTc wnTfJvw5U6ldNBA6pwq-Bz9Ejyx8EZGuVw%2fmp3download%2f100872728%2f192%2f1 llusi0n-FMblues.mp3&edId=3&siteId=32&oId=3600-8652-100872725&ontId=8652&lop=btn&tag=btn&ltype=dl_192k&astId=2&pid=100872728&mfgId=100872725&merId=100872725)
i suppose that is what the music is like. that was just a muck around track, but you will probably get the idea. also, recording done in my garage, so not the best quality, i say sorry now!

[rockem]

hire a designer

[paul.taylor1990]

problem: i don't have the money to do that...if i have the time, should i really need to hire a designer? i thought these forums were about trying to help each other, not getting cash flow into people's banks... however, i can see that on the right hand side of the page, there is a bit of cash flow going on from the advertising..but you know what i mean

[rockem]

are you in the band?
check out your local schools, go buy the book swank, check out gig posters.com, and thousands of other gig art websites.

hmmmm i wonder what ruber, is thinking right now?


dont know why that popped in my head it just did

[Logo-Mechanix]

You should really do some research like rock said, I am not a fan logos corporated band or otherwise that are twisting, turning or have depth added, it just makes them hard to read I would try a straight on shot and make what you have alot bolder and make sure it always works in black & white first, if it don't work than most likely its not going to when you add color.

[paul.taylor1990]

ok, total redesign coming up!

[paul.taylor1990]

ok, after many of your comments, i can quite easily see that the least design was a pretty bad idea. this is why i decided this time to go for something much more simple...:
link (http://spaces.msn.com/whatahappenin/photos/)

just to remind you, it's completely different, and now you can tell it's to do with a band at least!

[lesliegraphics]

back to the drawing board for you.......look at all the current bands out there today, there are some great logos, and they all are really readable, the band name really needs to be seen and read and understood! If I can't read it the second I see it then it dosen't work. Examples: Saliva, Nine Inch Nails, Nickleback, you'll see what I mean.

[rockem]

ill still stick to my first comment

[EC]

I agree with lesliegraphics -- the main problem with this version is that it's not readable.

I also don't really understand the purpose of all of that distortion.

Good design is all about restraint. Look at what you've done and then ask yourself what is unecessary or distracting and then remove, edit, refine.

Since you're doing D.I.Y. design, my advice is to keep this as simple as possible and shoot for maximum legibility. K.I.S.S.

[paul.taylor1990]

sounds like a job for tomorrow. i hope you can see that it is slowly becoming more simple though?

[EC]

I think you're moving in a better direction, yup. But don't underestimate the power of "sleeping on it" and coming back tomorrow to see what you can clean up. Keep us posted!

[lesliegraphics]

Mucho better!!! I really like it, it works well in black and white and that is key to good design. I did question why you cut off the neck of the guitar. (I live in a house full of guitars and musicans) and it struck a bit off to me. Maybe rough it out with the whole guitar, and it may make more sense perhaps. Just my opinion. But what you have will work well and take color later on well too.

[emmerse]

I'd take any of the filters off the name and just have the fuzzy guitar inthe background.

[lesliegraphics]

Hey I just thought of why that guitar seems off to me without the neck: it says "I'm a broken guitar" to me, I've seen them, they are a sad site. Like I said everyone in my house plays guitar (except me), and whenever we are in the music store getting whatever for a guitar or getting one of ours worked on we see guitars in the back in for repair of broken necks. If it sends that message to me, it will to others that know about music, guitars, etc. Just thought I would drop that one in because design is all about what it means, and sometimes you don't realise that what you have in an image has a completlely different meaning than what you intended. On the other hand, if this band is know for breaking guitars, etc., well then, there you go, you've hit the nail on the head! The shape of a guitar is beautiful, don't be shy about using it, it could balance out the horizontal line of the type nicely as well.

[paul.taylor1990]

ok, again i have looked at the suggestions, taken off the effect on the font, and put in a full guitar.
i can definatly read it now, and it seems to flow a little better too?
it's the same link as before, but i should put it anywhere so you don't have to search...:
link (http://spaces.msn.com/whatahappenin/photos/)

there are actually 2 different ones on there, not just one. they're quite similar, but one has a different effect on guitar, don't know if it's better or not?

[lesliegraphics]

paul.taylor1990:

I am thinking that your design has come really far since I first saw it. I think you a nearly there. I would keep what you have but go a few verisons beyond. For instance, the type is horizontal, make the guitar vertical, so that they sort of cross each other. Just to see how they sit, play with positioning the type on the vertical, upright guitar, making it a bit higher or lower, find just the right position, sometimes being off center in design is more interesting. Even trying the guitar at different angles, like at a 45 degree just to see if this gives a little life to the design. I think you should work it in pure black and white to see how that goes, making it really have a strong graphic look. Try these suggestions and really take it as far as you can, sometimes, even though you like what you have, it's good to keep going with revisions because happy accidents happen that you would not have thought of otherwise.

[paul.taylor1990]

words of wisdom!

[EC]

I can't get this photo to load, and I've been back twice.

[paul.taylor1990]

i just tried it, and if you press the right arrow it seems to make them load up.

[:: JJ ::]

I was going to have a look as I am interested but the link doesn't work.

[paul.taylor1990]

seeing as the link doesn't work, i put it on the same website as before:
link (http://uk.geocities.com/paul.taylor1990@btinternet.com/photo)
this one should work. although i have only put one on there, it is one of the ones on my last post, so you're not missing out on much! i have changed it again, but i don't have it on this pc. it's only small changes, like the guitar at angle etc...

[panzer]

i actually liked the cut off guitar maybe if you did the rest of it very fine as in hardly see it (shaft&neck) / but i dont like that text i think your design has come on a lot tho

[paul.taylor1990]

well i got a friend to do a few designs for me, and i thought this one to be the best. tell me what you think. it is something completely different to mine.

edit, i did post the link but the image is a dud. lost quality.
i'll just make a download instead...
here we go:
link (http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2TJUNB7I9L1UC3S3CG7D2YVSPZ)

[sally_ann6]

Well thats a much better design than the others. Although i like some aspects of the typeface, the 'n' does rather look like an 'h' and also it is a huge file but i assume its at a preliminary stage at the moment.

[paul.taylor1990]

yep i was a bit confused by the file size, but it's because it's got huge resolution i think. and can you see the "e" because i'm not too sure about it. thanks for pointing out the n i hadn't looked it at.

[panzer]

just a thought 300 dpi for print 72 for web
(you prob know already)