I saw your thread in the forums! My entry combines the RSS symbol with a lighthouse, playing off their similar use of transmitting information. I kept to a more square shape overall so that the logo can be used on hats, shirts, etc. without having to alter it's overall shape. I've also tried to convey a web 2.0 feel without using gradients and shadows so (again) it can be used in all scenarios without being altered. Colors can be easily changed per your request - I chose black and red because I believe that they are the colors used in the map symbol for a lighthouse.
You know, I like it. I need to show it to my partner - I'll put it on top for that.
I'm not really loving the font - looks too spread out - not sure how to describe it. If possible, could you experiment with that? Something doesn't feel right about the left margin of the slogan either although I can't figure out what I don't like about it.
OK, my partner looked at it and their first reaction was "barber shop pole". Yikes. That can't happen. What do you think can be done to fix that perception? Is it the color?
A few different concepts to eliminate the barber shop pole effect.
The font was a little more spread out to compensate for the "puffiness" that occurs when embroidering but these new submissions feature a more regular space between letters.
OK - lots of people have looked at your design. We like it a lot. The combination of a "pulse" (which says "connected" to us and is the perfect message) along with the lighthouse (a great nautical directional image) is a nice fit. It's especially clever how you use the RSS pulse type of thing as the light for the lighthouse.
Here's the only thing we don't like. We don't want to split the words "Active" and "Captain". Too many people do that already. We want it as one word and kept together especially since it's the domain of our site. Is there a way to blend your image with our text requirements?
The difficult thing is making it all work on a hat. As you realize, keeping it all square makes it "bigger" for hats, etc. Making it rectangular causes difficulty because the text ends up smaller. But you're the designer! Is there something in-between that will work? We like the handling of text in our other top entries.
We're down to three designs for the final selection as of today, Saturday. We'd be happy to get others too. But it's pretty clear to us that your lighthouse image is in the final set.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Tell me the type of feedback you need and I'll provide it.
#243 and #244 show 2 different approaches to the idea of bringing the two words together yet trying to avoid a completely horizontal layout. I've tried to differentiate the two words through color and by splitting them with the lighthouse. If you would like to see them differentiated with font style or font weight, please let me know!
This version has the color of the dots fixed and the slogan adjusted to fit the width of the name. I used a wider font for the slogan this time so that the letters didn't get too big. I like both placements for the slogan - I think it's going to come down to how you use it. I think the only time the left-side version wouldn't work well is when the logo is aligned along the right side of something (page, business card, etc.) but left justified or centered it would work fine.
All 3 look great on the hats - you're going to have a tough decision to make!