Personal Logo First Draft

I’m putting together a business and personal brand to do some freelance work and I finally have a brand name and logo that appeal to me. My main goals are to do branding and package design for food, beverage, and hospitality companies since that’s the kind of work I’ve done before and enjoy.

Ovenstone is my last name, and since it’s pretty unique I think it’s memorable for my business. I want to portray a competent, innovative, and elegant feel with this logo. I came up with this concept by breaking down my name into two words, Oven and Stone. The “O” represents the stability of the stone and the “S” represents the flame and energy of an oven. I’ve always liked my name from a creative standpoint because an oven is used to create something beautiful and useful.

My issues: The gold star in the logo, meant to give an accent color and to represent a creative spark, seems a little out of place and perhaps not well integrated into the logo. I’m not dead set on the type for the rest of my name, though I do like that typeface for my brand in general. I don’t think it harmonizes with the more organic shapes of the “O”. I’ll try to customize it and round out the corners to make it softer.

I’m pretty set on this concept in general after working through many others, but I’m aware that it needs some fine-tuning. I’d love some feedback to see if I’m on the right track. Thanks!

I get why you did what you did with the O, but it weakens it as a recognizable glyph in an unfortunate way. The inner shape change might be okay without the outer puckers, but both together produce an unwelcome tension, to my eye anyway. And, it might be a bit too tall, relative to the rest of your name.

Also, I’d want to see it with just a tick more space between Ovenstone and Branding & Design. (Personally I’d throw out the Branding & Design strapline, but maybe that’s just me.)

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I can hardly see “BRANDING & DESIGN” out of the black background. Plus what HotButton said.

I’m going to be the party pooper here. Sorry.

I agree that your name is distinctive enough to form the basis of your logo.

You have a rationale for the other aspects of the logo, but the wavy O seems gratuitous — especially considering your rationale behind everything else.

Speaking of rationale, unless you’re there to explain that the O represents a stone or an oven, that the green shape represents a flame and an S, and that the gold star represents a creative spark, no one will pick up on it.

In other words, you’ve designed the logo for yourself instead of for your target audience.

Hello. Can I ask you, why did you distort the shape of the “O” letter?
To look like a stone?
Also, would you consider not to include gradient?
Finally pay attention to letter shapes
For example:
Screenshot_7
Screenshot_8

Cheers!

Trying to be delicate here, but am I only one that sees, um, well, look at it in pink.

pink

Sorry. Not trying to be a killjoy, here. I looked at some of the other work you’ve posted for review and believe you can do better than this.

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Haha!
Anatomically correct!

So it’s not just me?

Before seeing the “pink” version, it was only you, probably.
Now we are two, at least.

Overthinking one’s own marketing designs is easy. I know I have a hard time with it.

The logo I use has no relevance to my business — it’s the icon art I put together for my first Type 1 font back in the '80s. I just keep using it because each time I think I need to change it, I get stuck.

As Steve said, based on other work you’ve posted, you’re capable of doing much better (if you can resist the temptation to overthink it).

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Once you see it, it can’t be unseen :laughing:

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What I see is Ovenstone and a flame.
Makes me think of a ovens/stoves brand rather than anything else.

For that reason I wouldn’t use it. Although your name is unique, it’s not unique enough to lend itself to this type of work.

Honestly, and not being mean about it - I don’t think it’s particularly good.

But just my opinion.

I’d seriously consider not using your name.

One more thing…

You referred to this as a personal logo and something that appeals to you.

A personal logo is something a university design school instructor might assign students to design. You’re designing a logo for a freelance business, but the business is not you. You might own the business, but the business is not your person — at least it shouldn’t be.

I suppose if you’re just easing into the possibility of taking on a project here and there and not being all that serious about it, you and the business are the same — sort of, but it’s still a business logo.

If you’re a little more serious about this freelance business, you’ll separate your business finances from your personal finances. You’ll register an LLC, get a separate business checking account, possibly get a business license, and business insurance, and start keeping records for tax purposes.

If you do that, your business becomes an independent entity with its own assets that you own. However, that business is still legally separate from yourself. It’s a legal and mental shift that many beginning freelancers fail to make, but it’s important.

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That being the case, nothing is more personal than something written by hand. Your initials or signature, perhaps. My initials have been my personal and business logo for decades and I have never thought of anything better.
Here’s mine.

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I have definitely designed the logo for myself because I feel strongly that this brand needs to represent me and my personality. Now, there’s no reason it can’t work for both myself and my target audience with some work. The same can be said of nearly all logos that there are deeper elements that need explaining even when the designer isn’t around to explain them. How many people can tell you off the top of their heads why the Subaru logo is a bunch of stars? I’ve taken the time to explain here what the constituent elements mean because it’s relevant to an audience of designers, but to the viewer, they’re only meant to portray a mood.

Can you please explain what you mean by gratuitous? I may modify the O from the font itself rather than create it from scratch to make it more harmonious.

Oh trust me, I’m aware of how vagin-y it is and I’ll definitely modify it to fit the rest of the typeface better. I even made a note in my sketchbook about it.

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I think we have a fundamental disagreement on the purpose of a logo. To me, they’re devices to help establish a positive brand identity with a target audience. You want that as well, but you also want the logo to be a personal extension of yourself that’s full of personally relevant meaning that no one else will pick up on.

That would be fine, I suppose, if it weren’t for the former suffering to accommodate the latter.

You’ve cited a corporate logo built around company-insider symbolism that means nothing to its customers. In addition, the symbol is conceptually and aesthetically lacking and uninspired. Perhaps you disagree.

There’s a good case for hidden symbolism in logos when that symbolism is clever, relevant, and memorable. The arrow in the FedEx logo and the cyclist in the Tour de France logo are good examples. Once seen, they’re surprising, fun, and hard to forget, contributing to positive brand recognition.

However, the symbolism in the Subaru logo isn’t surprising, interesting, or memorable. Once a viewer finds what the stars represent, there’s only an underwhelmed, “oh, okay.” Then it’s forgotten as miscellaneous corporate trivia that’s too dull to remember, which is anything but positive brand recognition.

The “O” by itself is a fine design, but together with the rest of the word “Ovenstone” the typography is weakened. It stands out next to the precise lines and smooth curves of the rest of the letters. I would recommend choosing one or the other for the sake of repetition

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About the same amount that would rightly identify it as the Subrau logo when seen out of context.

Others have already said most of what you need to hear.

However, what I will say is; if you are hoping to sell your services as a branding and design expert, then I am afraid what you have shown us does not really demonstrate this ability, if I were to judge on this alone.

What branding is not about is, expressing yourself. Very few people who would potentially use your services will be bothered about who you are as a person and what interests you.

Your logo should compound and represent a brand that displays how competent you are as a designer. People want to know that you can communicate their message, their story, and in turn, their brand. Using rationales to justify decisions you make, without clear communication, is pretty pointless. They just become cryptic and self-referencing – leaning more towards art than design.

As a designer, you should already know this, especially if you are selling your services as a branding expert.

Apologies if this all sounds a bit hard, but your logo has a job to do. The emotional take from this is not something that works at all well for a branding and design company. It all feels like you are a bit too close to it and can’t see the woods for the trees.

My take-away from this would be that it is all a bit ‘home-made’. It doesn’t show a particularly sophisticated understanding of typography, or have any sort of inherent confidence. Moreover there is a disconnect with this and the previous work that you have shown us here – like the JuJu Japanese restaurant logo – which feels worlds apart, in terms of a competent solution.

I am not even going to get into the anatomically dubious O.

All of this is potentially going to emotionally alienate the people who, ultimately, you want to attract. Look at people who are at the top of the tree – Wolff Olins, Pentagram, Landor and Interbrand, etc. Look at the confidence they exude – not just the logo, their entire offering.

In addition, visually speaking, it is neither innovative, elegant or harmonious.

My suggestion would be to go back to the drawing board, I am afraid. This all feels far too self-indulgent. Your name might mean something to you, but it means nothing in relation to you being a designer. It might have relevance if you made wood-fired pizza ovens, but as a designer, it as relevant as any other name.

Have a look at it as objectively as you can as see what emotional take you get from it.

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