Critique my latest logo please.

[Christian223]

Hi, im looking for some learning experience in the shape of constructive critisism, im hoping to learn from people who is better than me at graphic design, because basically ihave recently finished school, and im finding many obstacles, mainly lack of respect from my clients who dont really listen to my profesional opinion and just want me to draw what they imagine, anyway, here the logo and a short description, thanks in advance:

The logo is for a business who builds relationships between entrepeneurs, they help build business by gathering knowledge from other more experienced businessmen and so they get some percentage of the earnings of the business built, they told me they wanted to be the guiding light of their associates, so i wanted to show a very serious company that looked like a leader, so that their clients could really see someone who they could rely on, and at the same time i wanted to show an honest and human company, a friendly one, kind of oposing concepts but i figured out that looking serious was more important. The client didnt like it, it looks like a church he said, he wants me to do an illustration of a lighthouse to use it as a logo, what should i say to him?.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo3Final-A.jpg

[wez312]

Right now what I'm getting is some kind of church program, it looks like a steeple and the 'light' in the shape of the cross just kind of enforces that, I don't really like the font either, it seems very...plain.

I think you're idea's solid though and I'd stick with it.

[Christian223]

Thanks wez, what do you think i should do to make the font look less plain?.
Do you think that it really matter that people might interpret the logo as something not intended?, i mean, any logo is subjective isnt it?, besides his clients are not going to belive that his business is a church... they allready know what kind of business is about...

[seamas]

Do you think that it really matter that people might interpret the logo as something not intended?

Of course it matters. This is why we do what we do, try to create a mark that is appropriate to the business/organization. It can be fine to have an ambiguous mark, but to have one that really does say something different that what it should represent is just plain wrong. This one looks like a Christian Ministry.


besides his clients are not going to belive that his business is a church... they allready know what kind of business is about...
Well, that is fine for the clients he already has, what about future clients?
Doesn't this person what to grow their business? Doesn't he want to project an appropriate image?

[frankster]

Do you think that it really matter that people might interpret the logo as something not intended?

Here is a very extreme example of why this matters...

http://fourtwentydesign.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/bad-logo-1.gif

"Lighthouse Vision" itself sounds very born again religiousy, so it would be best to try and take the logo as far away from reinforcing that incorrect association as possible.

[BJMRGTIVR6]

Frankster, though i see a lighthouse-ish (maybe Japanese pagoda?) image but i also think the orange looks like a butt and i am getting a very different image altogether there.

As for the OP, seeing the image first before reading the info got me thinking about a Christian Counseling service or a company that has a connection with religion. as the logo stands right now, i too think the logo looks a bit plain and neesd some dynamic parts to bring the concept further. The font is so-so.

right now, it looks like you just interepreted the client's thoughts. I think you should also think about the feeling between the company and their clients. Think about how the logo may be used on other elemtns like a biz card and such to get some other ideas artwise.

[frankster]

Frankster, though i see a lighthouse-ish (maybe Japanese pagoda?) image but i also think the orange looks like a butt and i am getting a very different image altogether there.

That was my point. The person who designed that dodgy pagoda-ass logo obviously didn't see what pretty much everyone else was assuming when they saw it for the first time.

Most people seeing the OP's logo for the first time are likely to make the religious assuption and although that isn't as detramental as the butt plug assumption, it's still not going to do the business any favours.

[BJMRGTIVR6]

whew! i was hoping i wasn't going to be the only one that saw it that way.

[Christian223]

Thanks everyone, now i tried to get rid of the church thingy, i think i got it now, but you tell me.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo3Final2.jpg

[BJMRGTIVR6]

still a bit so-so to me.
although at first glance the graphic confuses me.

check out www.logopond.com (http://www.logopond.com) for some inspiration. see what people are doing there and then go back to teh drawing board and sketch out some more ideas.

[wez312]

Maybe make it a little bit more obvious of a lighthouse shape.
Simple doesn't have to be abstract.

And again the font, I know its not but it just gives off this default, time new roman feeling...

[Christian223]

Do you think that abstraction is a bad idea?. I admit its a little confusing, ill see what else i can do.

[wez312]

No the idea of abstract in itself is not a bad idea, I'm just saying that in this case I think maybe a more obvious shape would be better...

[lattequeen]

I would definitely change up the font and the leading and possibly try making the words a different color each, such as maybe a darker orange and a brighter orange. The text really needs some kind of spin.

[wez312]

I actually wonder if you could maybe use a bolder font and incorporate the lighthouse directly into the font as the i or the t in the word lighthouse.

It can always be pulled out and used by itself if needed, it integrates the concept more, and it gives you a good direction to go with the font.

[martyng]

With a name like 'lighthouse vision' why not try an eye where the light is. Now I know this idea could come off a bit tacky but it might be another concept to run with

[Christian223]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, i appreciate it.

Well, i think that abstraction is good here because there are millions of logos that use illustratons as a recourse to represent a lighthouse, many of them come from churches, and i think that representing a lighthouse in abstract rems will help to make the logo even more unique and separate from the rest... and also i belive that abstractions make the company look more serious, and i think it fits.

A lighthouse in the font, someowhow i belive that that kind of logo would not fit the company, because the name is so long i would need to make the lighthouse very tiny and i also dont want to put so much attention on the typeface but on the isotype, i allways think that shorter simple things are better, and the name doesnt help.

Why an eye on the lighthouse?.

Here are a few more tests, i think the last one is the best, you tell me again, thanks.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo3Final-3.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo3Final-4.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo3Final-5.jpg

[martyng]

Why an eye on the lighthouse?

:) Have you read the company's name?

[budafist]

I still think it looks like a church logo.

The star shape you have got there is very odd. The arms aren't evenly spaced and it also looks turned the wrong way. I'm used to seeing a point (the head) at the top of the design. Try an evenly spaced, mathmatically correct star perhaps.

There are other ways you can represent light. Have you explored these?

The light house (http://www.alloregonrealestate.com/images/cape%20blanco%20lighthouse.jpg) may benefit from having straighter sides instead of such sloping sides. Sloping sides make me think church. Also, the top should be rounded with a knob on top rather than a point.

If you're going to go the illustration route, it should be instantly recognisable. Abstract is confusing.

[Christian223]

Oh yeah, "that" vision, but i think that an eye has more to do with seeing, watching, than the kind of "vision" that the company refers to, i belive they mean to be visionaries, not eye doctors heh.

I think this is a tough one... you know, i allready went through what you suggest, and with different tweaks i managed to go through something that looked like a tunnel with a light, a door, a train and a public movable bathroom, and the problem with equally spaced lines is that when shrinked the logo tends to look blurry, so i had to visuallu space the lines to make it look crispier, also, with a rounded top i fear that the logo will be too "falic"...

[budafist]

Hmmm....I guess it could look phallic. Is there anyway you could make it more accurate without it looking phallic?

[wez312]

Try looking at these...maybe that will jumpstart your thought process a little more...

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&tab=wi&client=firefox-a&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=lighthouse%20silhouette

[BJMRGTIVR6]

how about makeing a space in the lighthouse as there would be with a circle of glass at the top. I think this would keep it from looking phallic. i think in order for one to see this company with trust, it needs to represent the lighthouse head on. just as Wez312 showed with the Google search. Those look like lighthouses without seeming phallic.

I think a company that comes in to help guide another company should have a very clear logo. Think about this if another company sees their Abstract logo, what does that say about your client? sure, they may be thinking different but if their logo is unclear at first glance, i don't want my company working with them.

You place trust in something you recognize. an easily recognizable lighthouse (not a specific lighthouse but a silhouette of something that is unimstakable) is seen as something that helps to guide.....though it is really to help guide away i suppose since they are on teh land so as to let ships know not to continue full force...but still, most people see a lighthouse as a guide and i think the logo should be more realistic to gain that trust that their client's want.

but, just my two cents.

[Christian223]

Thanks for taking the time to help.

Look at this, i looked for logos that had ha lighthouse in them:

http://images.google.com.ar/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=es&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=lighthouse+logo&spell=1

They are all the same, so i really belive that it wont help my client to have a logo thats looks just like millions of other logos, so, i try my best to stay away from an illustration and be as abstract as posible, but, as you all say to me, this seems to be a bad idea... in the end i guess ill just do what my client tells me, wich is just draw a lighthouse, this is sad...

You say we place our trust in something we recognize, but many banks and business like that also have abstract and un-recognizable logos, and all business want to communicate trust... i mean, if all business want to be trusted then not even one logo should be an abstraction, but all would need to be illustrations, well, the thing is im am not so sure of anything, i have readed the article about logos in this site and, if a logo gets its meaning after the business it represents, then why do i bother to impose a meaning on a logo that not one person can understand as i do?... should i just draw pretty thingies and say they are logos and thats it?... im in doubt...

The last version of the logo ill do, after this i think il just draw a lighthouse if my client insists:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo3Final-6.jpg

[budafist]

I don't think this latest logo will work. The implied lighthouse in the large empty space isn't something many people will "get" or appreciate. They'll think "Why is a big chunk of the logo missing?".

[lattequeen]

I agree. The white space is really confusing. The text is looking better but the empty space is not working.

[tZ]

The logo isn't working.

I think part of the promblem is you have no concept.

I hesitate to call a light house a concept.

Non of versions shown say anything about building a relationship between two people. When I think of a light house I think of guiding or directing someone rather then:


builds relationships between entrepeneurs, they help build business by gathering knowledge from other more experienced businessmen and so they get some percentage of the earnings of the business built


If you must use a lighthouse though perhaps use the counterspace of the two o's to create a spot light. That would be a bit more unique then just a literal light house graphic.

[budafist]

Good point tZ. There is nothing conceptual or clever about a company called lighthouse that has logo that is a lighthouse. In fact it's the first idea that comes to the drawing board when brainstorming. You should move on from the first idea that comes into your head. It's elementary and as a designer you need to think further than elementary.

Start with some sheets of blank paper and as an excercise, brainstorm 20 concepts quickly. I don't mean 20 pictures of lighthouses, but 20 ideas that can be linked to the company. Hopefully that will give you something to work with. When I was at Uni I would get high and do hundreds of these quick concepts! I don't do that anymore, but it really helps when you are stuck conceptually...

[wez312]

Very good advice, i would elaborate but I think they basically covered everything.

Get the lighthouse idea out of your head and start over....to put it bluntly

[Christian223]

I agree, there is no concept just an abstraction of a lighthouse. But i dont think that the client would like a concept, just a pretty looking illustration of a lighthouse... ill try to do some anyway, as an excersize, who knows, maybe he will accept it. Thanks everyone for the good advice.

[Christian223]

What do you think about this one?, its a drawing, and it also speaks about the relationship (i got this after 14 concepts by the way).


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-conceptT-1.jpg

[Christian223]

I mae a new polished version of the previous concept, wich one do you think its best?, do you think this one suits the business?.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo4Final2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo4Final1.jpg

[mac.FINN]

The second sailboat is definately better. (although it looks like the boat is trying to get away from the shore instead of coming in).

Do you really need three different colours in the logo?

[martyng]

Yeah, turn the boat round, change the 'vision' to blue and have only about 2 wave lines in the image. Tidy it up a bit and you should have something worth showing

[wez312]

I really like this concept alot more.

[Christian223]

Thanks for the feedback :) , here is the new one, boat is changed, colors too, proportions, the two lines, what do you think about all this things?, i changed the colors to have more contrast in the isotype, because if i use a lighter color i think that its harder to notice the forms, also the two lines, i love the simplicity, but is it enough to make it look like the sea?, thanks.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Christian223/Lighthouse-Vision-Logo4Fina3.jpg

[lattequeen]

The logo is looking a lot better! I would pull Lighthouse in closer to the image as they seem too separate at the moment. Also, it looks like two different colors. It might work better if you used either all one color or a color scheme. Maybe the image quality is just distorting it, though, if they are both the same color.

[tZ]

The clarity and composition have greatly improved.

The only promblem I am seeing is design is not unified. The typography looks very seperate from the symbol and doesn't create a unified whole like it should.

My suggestion would prombably start with introducing letterforms that have a higher contrast in their thick and thins. Currently, the typeface you have choosen has very little contrast in the thick and thins but, your mark has many differing line weights. So by introducing a font with more contrast in its thick and thins unity may be created through repetition rather then without.

Another suggestion to maybe push this to the next level and add yet another layer to the design would be to use the ascender of the h in lighthouse as a wick. Then have the candlelight form site on top as if it was also a wick with a candle. This could imply the production of a relationship since, a candle produces light and the ship is drawn to it. Its another layer to consider introducing into your design since, it looks somewhat like a candle light.

[griffoso]

The "Lighthouse Vision".. this brings to my mind 1.) the light 2.) church shape 3.) an eye of sorts... I might try using the name using fonts in the shape of a church with shading to depict light and an eye. Does this spark any ideas?

[BJMRGTIVR6]

i thought this wasn't church oriented?

[griffoso]

yes thst's another thing I forgot..listen to details..sorry missed that post..oops