ugh. boring logos.

[carolyn]

these logos are my company's branch company - I work for a real estate firm, and one of their companies is called Tamarind Holdings and it includes all the real estate they own/hold. I tend to get discouraged and bored doing real estate logos because how funky can you get with a house, really? They want it to include a house. I don't know what do you guys think, and don't be too rude please I am already frustrated. thanks :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v46/leaksmoke/tam_logos.jpg

[Jackimalyn]

i think 10 has the most potential, im not really feelin the others

[mojoprime]

that was the one originally that my eye stopped on. i think the type treatment feels a little industrial, like "tractor company" or something. you might keep a similar treatment and warm it up a little, with some other type treatment. maybe a light serif and a thin sans serif? i also liek the idea of 7, but i think "barn" when i see the icon.

[MikeTheVike]

maybe make the logo mark on number 7 to look like hands, it almost does already.

[iamallthatiam]

all of these logos look really, well, boring (sorry). i know what you mean about real estate logos though. but that's the target market though. really boring people. i agree with Jacki 10 has potential.

[cornfed]

I think you should make the T and H combine so that they're stems look like columns on a house and take it from there.

[Craig B]

I agree that real estate logos and house icons can get overdone and obnoxious, and my suggestion is certainly overdone as well, but have you considered removing the "'a" in number 10 and moving the roof shape over some and letting it take the place of the "a"?

And why is the line under just "marind"?

[GraphixNPrint]

And why is the line under just "marind"? I think she was going for some sort of balance there ... but I may be wrong .. i usually am! :p

[Drazan]

I agree that real estate logos and house icons can get overdone and obnoxious, and my suggestion is certainly overdone as well, but have you considered removing the "'a" in number 10 and moving the roof shape over some and letting it take the place of the "a"?


^^ditto

#10 does have good potential.

[carolyn]

I think you should make the T and H combine so that they're stems look like columns on a house and take it from there.
hmm interesting idea. thanks, i'll try that.

I think she was going for some sort of balance there ... but I may be wrong .. i usually am! :p
no you're right. when the line extended all the way to the left it seemed to leave a wide open space next to the word holdings.

[Danger_Mouse]

Agreed the real estate "biz" is obnoxious. And they love to put their own mugs on every business card/sign/park bench/billboard/newpaper and so on. Oh and have you noticed its a top seller contest? How can they all be top sellers....anyways...
They are all the same and hard to make one stand out over the other.

As far as your logo....before I comment I would ask, what type of client they are catering too? Are these million dollar homes? Or your basic middle class selling priced homes. Your logos reflect the latter(well most of them). What is your clients target market? You need to appeal to that.

The house thing has been done and done again. These do not stand out above any other real estate logo I have seen. But rather "fit in" amongst them all quite nicely. I like number 6 the best of them but I have to tell you after researching all this recently myself at work, alot of these look like alot other peoples logo as well. Not direct rips offs, I mean they blend in amongst the millions of other realty logos.
I would find a way to communicate that without using a house. If you are catering to the middleclass (I use the term middle class rather than stating actual prices as housing varies place to place) then this style of logo might be right on the money. But I would research and revisit it more. Find out from the client WHO or WHAT money bracket their target market is.

It's not easy, right now at work we are in the process of re-branding a real estate team that catered to 300K homes and have now grown to cater to the upper class and million dollar homes(hence us rebranding them). So I can relate to the struggle.

Overall, they are all pretty good logos. I would just try to think out of the box a bit. You may have to struggle in convincing the client that, but it's worth the struggle if they stand out. Of course the logo alone won't accomplish this, needs to be backed up with strategic advertising.

Anywhoooooo, just some two cent worth of advice.

[carolyn]

basic middle class homes. i know it's easy for you to say think outside the box, but when you are trying to communicate "this is the real estate we own" with a logo, it's pretty tough to not use a house. especially since the name by itself is pretty ambiguous.

well, i'm still thinking :mad:

[Danger_Mouse]

what about Keys? what about a symbol to represent quality/value (like greek columns or some symbol of architecture)? A handshake. (that's why I liked #6, like the house in hands approach)

My point is it doesn't neccessarily need to obviously be a realty looking logo if its branded and backed up with adverts.

I used a waxed seal for our client (but catering to a wealthier market). That's what I mean outside the box. On it's own it's one of my most successful logos and stands out on its own. But it's the branding literature and advertising that will back it up.
I agree it's not easy.

As I said the logos you provided are well done, but just blend in with the rest. If you are satisfied with that, then job well done.

[carolyn]

of course i'm not satisfied with them, that's why i posted them here :rolleyes: i hate most of them actually. good insight though, i'll explore other imagery. thanks.

[WannaBrie]

What about exploring the possiblity of using a tamarind tree or leaves? Just a thought.

[DMG]

i think no.3 works, a bit dull but thats probably what they want

[budafist]

What about exploring the possiblity of using a tamarind tree or leaves? Just a thought.

I think that is a good angle to pursue. I mean, most of these logos could be used for any company in the industry. That's why these feel like they don't stand out from what is in the industry.

Just say you get new client within this industry ask you for a logo you could probably just swap out the text on these designs and give these logos to the new client as concepts. It shouldn't be like that. A logo should reflect your client specifically and give them something to identify themselves over others in their field.

[carolyn]

I liked the idea of a tamarind tree - it would have been a good idea which is why my bosses weren't interested. They choose #2, for some reason they are absolutely nuts about swirlies :(

[Cyan_Ide]

Hang in there, Carolyn, I know how it is as well with real estate. It's my least favourite business to do work for; I had to do 4 firms over the course of my 3 month summer job.

I really like the tree idea as well, but since you have to use the house (because the agents have more graphic design sense than everyone on this forum combined, of course!) I agree that #10 would be the way to go between these . Could you perhaps, if you simplified it enough, create a tree/house combo. I understand this could be way too much info in the mark, but maybe something to consider? Also, they don't have any specialised type housing that they sell, do they? (lakefront, vacation, woodsy, etc.) Because you could also explore that if they do.

P.S. Your post about the "biz" gave me quite a chuckle, Danger_Mouse.

Good luck, carolyn.

[carolyn]

aww thank you for the encouragement, i appreciate it. real estate does suck sometimes, but i don't plan on staying at this job much longer. i just took it to gain some experience and then go for something better.

i think i'll work on some variations of the logo they chose, and try to make it more interesting while keeping the boss happy. the only kind of housing they really specialize in is REO properties, but that's another department with it's own logo (a little house with a ladder, which was kind of cute i guess even though it's still a HOUSE)

[Tsmalldon]

think outside the box

Dammit I hate this quote......I hear it about 1800 times per day, Its almost like its on a tape recorder in here. Nomatter how outside the box I think, its never far enough outside this damn box.

[angelajiniel]

I like 10 as well. Maybe make the "A" a little bigger and make the roof instead of another peak? Just a thought.
2 also keeps grabbing my attention.

[WannaBrie]

Well, ok, how about a house with a tamarind tree next to it? Or a window with a view of a tamarind tree? Just more random ideas...feel free to explore or discard at will :)

[CkretAjint]

Dammit I hate this quote......I hear it about 1800 times per day, Its almost like its on a tape recorder in here. Nomatter how outside the box I think, its never far enough outside this damn box.

I just draw a circle around my design and then tell them that I am thinking inside the circle. At least I am 'outside' the box ;)

[iamallthatiam]

Dammit I hate this quote......I hear it about 1800 times per day, Its almost like its on a tape recorder in here. Nomatter how outside the box I think, its never far enough outside this damn box.

lol, that box must be pretty large...few people i knew actually managed to step outside that box.

[Logo-Mechanix]

maybe make the logo mark on number 7 to look like hands, it almost does already.

I liked Mik's idea here, when I saw number 7 thats the first thing I thought of.

[cre8ivepixel]

3, 9 out. 8 pointless...2, 6, 7 great starts...

[EveningLion]

iamwhatiam...what happened to those who stepped outside of the box? i hear when someone does that they actually dissintegrate... :\