I am general contractor who long ago went to graphic design school. I need a logo for my business and thought it would be cool to work on the design myself. My company is HPL builders and at first I designed a character which gave the impression of a handy man not a GC. This current idea is the best I got so far. Any thoughts?
You just hit one of my pet peeves. Showing a roofline for any sort of home-related service is a huge cliché. And it’s not just limited to roofing companies. Gutter companies, real estate agents, junk haulers, contractors, window cleaners … anything related to homes and the go-to solution is a roofline.
If your goal is to blend into the marketplace, you did it. If you want to stand out from the competition, you might think about hiring a professional that has some brand-building experience.
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You know, if they removed the rooflines and left the lettering as is, just moved it closer to the tagline it works much bettter.
You don’t need the rooflines if the letters are angled in the shape of a roof. It will work much better.
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I hope you don’t take this as rude and too direct, but you asked for a critique, and I’m trying to help you avoid a problem for your business.
The logo looks amateurish. It’s a mish-mash of cobbled-together ideas, awkward shapes, clumsy letters, and cliches. It’s counter-productive to a positive first impression since it implies those qualities about your business.
Building a house is probably the largest investment that average people will make during their lives. And most know very little about what’s involved. They will be relying on the general contractor to make the right decisions and hire the right people to construct their home.
You might be a fantastic building contractor, but your logo could easily suggest otherwise. You need a logo that communicates professionalism, not amateurism and do-it-yourself quality.
I assume your logo will be on the side of trucks, on signs, and on all promotional materials you might have. Those will be your first impressions, and they need to communicate the right message.
As a general contractor, you know which subcontractors to hire despite their possibly less-than-good logos. That’s your job, and you’re familiar with their abilities. However, your potential clients probably aren’t in the building trades — they’re regular people who need someone they can trust to make the right decisions for them.
You need to inspire confidence by making the right impression, and as you said, you don’t want your logo to imply that you’re a handiman or a do-it-yourself amateur.
I’m sure you wouldn’t hire amateur electricians, roofers, or framers — the results of doing so could be disastrous, so don’t make that very mistake with your logo.
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