Thanks for the feedback, I've just put up a few more submissions with a more memorable mark, and incorporating the cross into the 'j' lettermark for #3 and #4.
Just a question: which part of JoshuaMHood would you like emphasised, ie the intials JMH, just J, Joshua, or a totally abstract mark?
I'm happy to make any changes and welcome any feedback. (p.s you can comment individually to designers when you click on the logos - that saves the main contest page getting filled up with comments down the track. :)
Catherine, Thanks for your work on these. To answer your question, I would like to emphasize the 'J' or do a totally abstract mark.
Two elements you've incorporated that I really like are: 1. The gray M on entry #6. I really like the way it looks. 2. I kind of like the way "Christian life & leadership" looks above joshuamhood on entries #3 & #4.
Although it does make it more 'memorable', I'm not crazy about the cross/J.
Catherine, This new batch of logos is fantastic. We are really getting close to what I am looking for. I like the more elegant font of "Christian Life & Leadership" on entry #10 than the cursive on #9 and #11. I like the abstract logos, and would love to see some more variations. Also, the logo doesn't even have to incorporate the 'j'. It can be totally abstract.
#14 an abstract mark, signifying growth, progression, life, and could be seen as a J, but that just seemed to happen unintentionally! #15 inspired by the image on your blog against the brick wall, and a metaphor for life, building brick by brick on the Word, shaped by the Master Builder... kind of abstract...let me know what you think anyway.
Catherine, I am loving your work more and more! REALLY like two of the three new ones (#15 & #16) I like the brick look (#15). Classic and elegant, yet kind of rough and modern. I like the way it looks. My concern with it is that it wouldn't be very brandable. (i.e. gravatar, etc...)
My favorite is #16. This is very close to the abstract logo I had in mind. Really like this one a lot. Very simple and clean looking. Would make a great gravatar and memorable, identifiable image. I would really like to focus on this one. The curly in the middle almost looks like a J. Could we play around with some variations of this? (If a J doesn't look good, I'm not opposed to a totally abstract mark) #16 is by far the best, and very close to what I want. Would really like to see some variations and fine tuning of this one.
You're doing great! (And by far in the lead for $375!)
Thanks again for the helpful feedback Josh, will do some fine tuning on #16 over the next day and see what I can come up with... #17 was something that I thought might work, but drawing it up didn't work as well visually as I thought it might!!.. see what you think..
I really like the 3D-ish look of the logo on #17. Would like to see that incorporated into #16 a little bit. #16 is still by far my favorite. I like the squarish/rectangle-on-its-side design. I would love to see some variations of curly-que, J, and abstract designs in the middle of the square-on-its-side design. And like I said, maybe incorporate a little bit of the 3D depth that #17 has.
Hi Josh, some variations on #16 posted with the 3D look of #17. #24 was a bit of a 'happy accident' where the 'J' resembles the Christian 'fish' symbol.. Happy to make any changes you'd like to see.
Catherine, You are amazing! Exactly what I was talking about. I like the 3D look a lot. I'm not sure which J design/font I like best. I'm getting feedback from an evaluation group and then we will go from there.
Hi again Josh, #36 original #16 logo with 3D depth added. I've also given a couple of font changes, but the font is easily changed depending on your preference.
Catherine, Can you create these two variations?: 1. #16 with the J/squiggly in the box gray instead of black (but the box still black around it)? 2. #16 with the box gray but keep the J/squiggly black?
Catherine, Thank you for all your hard work. There is only a few hours left in my contest, and you are definitely the front-runner. Could you make one more adjustment? #16 is the one I think I will end up going with. The squiggly line in the box looks very similar to the way I write J at the beginning of my name. To make it look even more like my signature, could you make the loop a little bit smaller?
Thank you! I believe you've about got your 10th gold medal in the bag. :)
Catherine, Yes, that's better. As I said, I would love for it to look similar to the way I sign my name. Here is a picture of several signatures: http://joshuamhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/J-in-signature.jpg Can you give me a few final variations that combine the look of the mark we have with my signature J?
Wow the ones based off the signatures were great work! But I still like #16 better than my sloppy J. :) I'm struggling between the free-form look of #16 and the more professional look of #23...
Sure, it's no problem, it's important you get the logo right! I'll try a few variations in an hour or so - the 1st ranked designer can still upload entries even while in 'Judging' mode anyway. (just getting kids fed lunch and off to bed for a nap!)
Catherine, Thank you for these! I appreciate all your hard work and help. I will review these and get back with you in the morning. (It's bedtime here in US) Sounds like you are a busy lady! Thanks for working me in between the kids and meals! :) I noticed you were from New Zealand; were you effected by the earthquake?
Hi Josh, the recent submissions I just used script fonts, but do let me know if you'd like to see something less 'curly'. The quake was at the other end of the country, so we didn't feel anything. All our family and friends that live there weren't hurt but a lot have had to leave the city and find other places to live. Big death toll for a little country like ours! The support and assistance etc from other countries and from everyone in NZ has been amazing, and amongst the sad stories there has been some really really touching ones!