This is great! I love that you've incorporated the fountain - it's one of the key icons around town. If there are any other fonts/colors that you've considered, I would love to see those!
Thanks for the feedback, Elizabeth! I've got q few other ideas that I can incorporate with the fountain. I was trying to do something creative, combining the two words but looking at it again, I think it's not as legible as it could be.
Entry #9 is GREAT!!! Could you try a version of this logo where the red rectangle is a splash of paint or somehow incorporate a splash of paint??? I'm toying with the idea of adding an exclamation point "!" at the end (Cincinnati Innovates!) to make it more like the Pittsburgh logo.
The silouette of the Tyler Davidson Fountain is great!
I'm glad that you liked #9 - I think one could remove the black "incinnati nnovates" part and use the red portion in places where you know your audience will already be familiar with the full logo. I think the red with the "CI" and the fountain has a really strong presence (with or without the black text) and it is vaguely reminiscent of something from the Periodic Table of Elements.
Here are a couple of ideas using the splatter (I can provide more if you like). Note the "I" in #13 serves as both an I and as the exclamation point! I can show a version with the exclamation at the end in black but since both words currently line up on both the left and right sides, adding another character would mean we would have to shrink the size of "Innovates" to maintain that same balance.
I LOVE # 13!!! You're right - I like the hint of the Periodic Table and how eye-catching it is. Also, I love the way you've incorporated the "!" into the "I". The paint splatter suggests a little more creativity.
Now I'm on the fence. I think if you added the "!" into the "I" on #9, that one would be awesome.
The only thing about #13 that is giving me reservations is that since the splatter is red, it looks like blood... and makes me think of the race riots in downtown Cincinnati. Could you show a couple creative colors? I like the black, white, and bright color/high contrast combo.
Lots of new versions! #18 Simply changes the "i" to an exclamation point. If you would like to see this one in another color (or all colors), please let me know! #19 , #20 , #21 , #22 , #23 and #24 are all versions of #13 with different color variations. I tried to stick with the boldest of each color. I still love the red but (unfortunately) I think you might be right about how it suggests blood. Personally, I think the yellow is a little weak (and comes too close to Philadelphia's). Is there any sort of color connected to Cincinnati? I chose the second, lighter blue to try and match the color of The Roebling Bridge.
As long as the orange is always printed on a white stock, there should be no problems with contrast. I just uploaded #28 without the gray background to demonstrate. If you would like to see a slightly deeper orange or if you would like to see #18 in orange, please let me know!