Hi, here's my first concept for your consideration. The outer shape is meant to represent the less-than symbol, surrounding "pixels" in a 3-dimensional cube shape.
Very cool concept on both #10 and #11. Thank you so much, Lindsey. I'm wondering if #10 could be even simpler with the < sign and a single pixel inside it. Color combination is good but not strong enough for what we're after. #11 is very clever and it's growing on me too. I wonder what it would look like with the name stacked to the right of the image?
Yes, it's working now. I promise I'm not an idiot. I tried it a few times earlier and in different browsers too. Maybe a temporary server glitch. Sorry to bother.
David, wow. Best feedback ever from a contest holder! Thank you so much for letting me know your goals with this idea, and for giving such specific feedback. I promise it will pay off.
Thanks Lindsey. Glad that was helpful. Better than typing it up, right? I know that this is a process that takes time to evolve, so if you're willing to work together until we get it, I think we'll end up with something very exciting. Looking forward to seeing further refinements.
Hi David, please let me know what you think of these.
#123 - #126 - All show the same tweaks but different colors for the pixel with a gray F with stacked text as requested. I think the proportions of the F are improved here, but you be the judge.
#127 - Still the same as above but with a different idea for arranging the mark with the text.
#128 - The entire shape comprised of separate pixels. These proportions may not be quite right, but I think I can improve them.
#129 - A different concept for coloring the pixelized F. You mentioned zooming in on an image and seeing hairline separations. When I think about zooming in on an image, I think of how what looks like a solid color at 100% zoom is actually made of pixels that are slightly different in brightness or hue. The pointilist effect, as it were. So this F uses the same Pantone color at slightly different tints to play up that effect.
Thanks Lindsey. Let me let these simmer for a while. I'll respond in a few hours. One additional thought which kind of looks cool in my mockup, is stacking the text UNDER the mark. Not convinced with the grey F yet either. Stay tuned...
Text stacked under the mark, and a different idea for coloring it, showing both the F and the pixel in the same color family but with a slightly different hue. #130 shows the mark a little narrower than the text, and #131 shows at the same width.
David, I think you're right about that, especially when the text is stacked below the mark. See #132. I think the reason it works is this: the mark is made from squares, and proportionally over all the whole thing is a square (4 units wide by four units tall). Since pixels are square, that's fitting.
Yes, I like it. But I'll also need to use the logo with the text to the right in some instances. If you could experiment a bit at refining it further, that would be great. As for colors, I think the bolder, primary colors (red, blue, green) for the F are going to suit better rather than the lighter orange or teal. Not sure yet so the more possibilities I see, the better. Thanks again for your extraordinary efforts.
#134, so here's a thought... If we take the entire image and reverse it out of a solid square, leaving a slight outline, the positive space is actually made of fewer "pixels". Also, notice that aside from the pixel to form the P, the reverse of the F shape is the exact same F shape rotated 180 degrees. Gives it symmetry.
#137 and #138, more colors and a side-by-side arrangement.
The thing about colors is this: I typically choose colors from the Pantone library, because it will ensure that you can get a color match from one use of the logo to the next. But Pantone colors are built with CMYK instead of RGB, so on screen the color isn't perfectly representative, and it varies from monitor to monitor. CMYK colors tend to look a bit flat on screen. You may already know all of this, but my point is that even if you find a color on screen that you're happy with, it won't look exactly the same way when printed.
Wow! That's cool Lindsey. Amazing how that works in reverse. Let me mull this over a bit more. Thanks for the point about the colors. I appreciate that information and agree with you on the point of choosing from Pantone colors.
Hi David, #174 - #176 show some variation on the reverse logo. #176 would allow the outline to be a separate color from the pixels. #175 is the same as #176, but in one color.
Thanks for all your entries, Lindsey. I really appreciate your work. The hairline separating the pixels idea didn't really work, did it? I'm liking #137 the most now but I'm wondering how it would show in reverse, on dark background. Some designers have provided that which is quite helpful.
Hi David, #183 reversed on a dark background, per your request. I pulled the colors from your website, but if you'd like to see it on another colored background, let me know. Also #184 and #185 show the logo in black and white only.
Thanks Lindsey...I appreciate that. My website will be completely redone after the logo is finished, and it won't be purple. But it's good to see the logo with that background.
Thanks for all your ideas, Lindsey. Your logo is definitely still in the running. Still weighing various factors on our end. Need to sleep on it for a few more nights.
Hi David, per your request see #208. Ironically the red already had the CMYK values you provided (10, 100, 100, 0). I was using Pantone DS 77-1 C, and when I converted it to CMYK, those were the given values. The blue is quite a bit different. The original color I used had CMYK values of 75, 80, 0, 35.
The blue definitely has more depth, and it's closer to primary blue.
When you ask what the rules behind the logo would be, what do you mean? Are you asking for my opinion about the content of a style guide for use of the logo?
Lindsey...once the contest is over, do you provide just one version of the logo? How does it work exactly? The reason I ask is because I'll have several treatments for it...some with the text below, as you have it, and others with the text to the right or even stacked. I won't change the mark at all, just the position of the text.
Hi David, this is a tough question for me to answer because Logotournament rules prohibit designers from offering additional services beyond logo design, and writing a style guide is very often additional work that designers earn from clients after winning a contest. In other words, it's common freelance work that designers here are hired for after a logo is chosen.
So I worry that if I go into too much detail, I might be violating the rules. I can tell you that if I were to write a style guide for the logo, it would describe the meaning of the logo, specify the logo proportions and minimum sizes, it would describe and show all variations on the logo (such as position, color, etc.) and designate how each should be used, and it would specify things like the exact colors (for both cmyk and rgb) and font used. In the end, the style guide isn't really a matter of opinion though. It's about ensuring -- through a bit of craft combined with some math -- that the logo is used in a consistent manner across mediums. It's also about declaring ways the logo should not be used in order to maintain the brand integrity.
A style guide is a vital thing for any professional brand, and would help if you decide to trademark the logo. Does this at least help answer your question?
It's pretty standard for designers to provide -- if requested -- the same mark and text in both a vertical and horizontal arrangement, and each of those in both color and black and white.
Here's what the site's FAQ says about it:
What file formats will I receive? Your final file package will include an EPS vector file (industry standard) and various sized JPGs for different uses. Additional formats can be requested directly from the winning Designer via PM or email. You have 2 weeks after the winner is chosen to request file types and variations of the original design as stated: (1) Color (PNG for web), (1) Black and white (JPG), (1) Solid color (JPG), (1) High Resolution color (JPG). You may switch file types if you do not require the above. Please be specific. Any other variations and file types will need to be worked out with the designer at his or her normal rates.
Thank you for your most comprehensive explanation, Lindsey. I wasn't aware of all this. I guess I should read the rules more carefully, eh? We'll see how it all goes once the contest is over.
Lindsey. Don't kill me, but would you be willing to try another color combination for me? We're decided on the logo, but just not the color combination. I'd like to see a turquoise F and a tangerine pixel treatment. If you have any other color combinations that you think would work well, feel free. Thanks for your patience.
Hi David, no worries. I haven't a murderous bone in my body! I've uploaded three new versions, all based on a turquoise color combo. I actually think the turquoise looks really good with a bright red (#210). The other two each have slightly different shades of the blue and orange tones. Thanks!
If I were to add a tagline to this logo, how might that look? Let's say for now it just said "Social Media". I'm thinking of various uses down the road and don't want to mess up your work by tacking on some stupid looking thing after the fact. So I'm more interested stylistically how you would add something tagline"ish" to it. Another one we're thinking about is "Impress. Impact. Buzz."
Via the links below, you'll find some rather crude photos, and the lighting isn't great, but they are some examples of the turquoise I'm after. The tangerine isn't quite as bright here as I'd like it to be, but what I'm after is a pixel that's just going to POP. I want people to see a color on my biz card that they've never really seen before. Maybe even have the printer use a spot print for it. Maybe a kind of foil effect. Not sure. Still processing. But I figured if you knew my intent, it would help. I know that this is now a ways off from where we began, but that's the creative process - which of course you're eminently familiar with.
To answer your question about ending the contest, I think we should try to finalize the colors at the least before you close it. Let me see what I can do with the photos you posted, and I have another idea about communicating on colors that will help make this a bit easier, I think. As opposed to sending images, maybe you could try looking at color swatches and color schemes online.
I love the the colourlovers website for this purpose.
I'll go look at it myself right now and find a few palettes that I think might be up your alley.
Also, I'll try using some Pantone spot colors in the design instead of process colors. These are premixed inks that tend to be a little brighter than CMYK.
I understand what you mean about pop, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a color that people will feel like they've never seen before. I don't mean to burst your bubble here, but everyone sees color a little differently, and I worry that an expectation like that will make finding the perfect color an impossible feat! I think the real key is finding the right two colors so that the color of the single pixel seems unexpected, rather than completely new.
Also, just so you know, I have a full-time job that I go to during the day, which is why I'm only active here in the evenings (eastern time). So when long periods go by without a word from me, it's because I'm working for the man designing web applications! :)
#212 - #214 are new versions using the photos you posted, but I didn't grab colors out of the photos, I matched them to some Pantone spot colors.
For organizational purposes, can you mark as Not Interested the versions I've posted that you know you don't want? That will help make my entries a little easier to look through.
I definitely think you should do a tagline with single words and periods, like Impress. Impact. Buzz., even if it's not those exact words. In fact, it could just be one word and a period.
This gives you the opportunity to color the period(s) the same as the pixel and the word(s) the same as the F to reinforce the concept. Also, the abbreviated nature of a tagline like that also reinforces the concept. Social media specifically is all about saying a lot in few words (like the 140 character limit of twitter). App design also requires designers to say a lot with few words and to SHOW more than to SAY.
Thanks for all those resources, Lindsey. In the process of this "process" I've realized that I'm going to go crazy by over thinking this. In the end, I want two colors that look great together and that evoke confidence and trust. So I've decided on these two colors: #ff5400 and #001897
#221, the colors are exactly what you referenced, but converted to CMYK. I can't apply hex colors in Illustrator because they're specifically for screen (CMYK and RGB are allowed though).
#222, I had another idea for the tagline - squares between the words instead of periods after. Just an alternative for your consideration.