Natalie's CoffeeLogo Design Contest

Thanks for the first designs entered. It's amazing how quickly the entries were made. I will try and comment and rank as often as possible, and again thanks and we are off and running

coffee cups, coffee mugs, coffee beans, coffee leaves might be good to see. I also like fonts similar to "comic sans"

Most of the worlds coffee is grown along the equator, hot tropical, rainforest type areas. It might be nice to see if something clean and professional can be done with that info.

the best combo features of #7,#10 & #6 (Beans, splash of color, Script) - I still like comic font the best but i'd like to see an easier to read script that can be read as your driving fast past the store. Great start with great designs.
I like the towle look of #8 but it's a little too country farm. I'd like to see some variations maybe with some burlap with more coffee plantation feel over country fee

I have been "only" an internet merchant for so many years and now that we are opening our first retail store with our eyes on expansion from there, I'd like to express my desire to see logos that embody, internet, retail, & wholesale together.

Because we are a "coffee roaster" and not a cafe, I think the leaves, beans and burlap types of imagery may work a little better than the coffee cup/mug etc. (I do like the aroma waves though)

All the great logos are really starting to shape and funnel which is great.

I like both the fun and the sophisticated although after seeing both together I'm leaning more towards fun I think.

I'm also leaning more towards the pictoral marks over the emblems but I'd like to see some of the pictoral in emblem variation to compare.

Very important. I noticed that the words "Not InterestING" are used if I decide to remove an entry. I want everyone to know I sincerely appreciate your efforts and if a design is moved out it just means that it is no longer part of the new funneled direction that the designs are heading. All the designs are "interesting" and even the ones removed contained comments I wrote that have helped towards the end goal and have helped drive the direction to this point. Thanks to everyone for the awesome efforts and can't wait to see more. From what I've seen so far I'm confident we'll get a fantastic end result.

llt006, are you planning on using the logo for usages other than just on your website? I have concerns that the entries with the burlap look will run into issues if embroidering, scaling, black and white printing, etc. Just be sure the designer's entry is 100% vector; if the burlap is a bitmap image (bitmap images enlarged often will cause distorted images and other problems), it most likely will have issues.

Many designers who enter competitions on sites like these do not always have a full understanding of some of the basics of print and logo design. You just need to be cautious and informed. You may want to request to see the logo in black and white and/or without the fluff (drop shadows,gradients, etc.) to be sure the logo will reproduce well, no matter how you use it.

The logo will be used for:

storefront sign
shirts
mugs
business cards
Website
basic full identity

yes it should represent well in B/W for newspaper ads etc and we should have true vector for billboard and truck wrapped graphics as well as .jpg for the mugs, cards etc.

* Note * I would like all the designers to keep in mind that we are coffee roasters and importers, not a cafe, which is why I've been moving away from coffee cups/mugs etc. and more towards things that would represent my industry. Full burlap bags overflowing with beans, coffee leaves & berries (also know as coffee cherries) coffee grinders, roasters, old world "hand crafted" "artisan roasted" coffee. We import the green coffee in 135 lb bags and roast each order fresh as the customer orders it.

Feel free to ask any questions

I hope this gives the designers a little extra direction.

Thanks

Sound advice, onesummer. Signage and embroidery especially could be either expensive or problematic (or both) with some designs. A good test of a design is how well it translates to black & white -- not just grayscale. You will find a single color logo highly useful in some applications. It's also helpful to print it out or step back from the monitor a few steps and see how well it retains recognition. Small details can also get lost at smaller sizes (Business cards) or may be impossible to capture in embroidery.

I want to extend a BIG BIG thank you to everyone that has submitted designs so far. They are so awesome, It's just the beginning and it is already getting real hard to rank them.

The designs have come so far in such a short time.

I will continue to give as much feedback as I can, as often as I can. Be patient as the ranks start flip flopping because there are some real close calls and sometimes all it takes is a coffee break to change the order.

Thanks and keep up the great efforts. I love to see how creative you all get .

@Nancy, Thanks.

@APE, just trying to help out the Contest Holder. I've seen way too many times clients on crowdsourcing sites end up with an unusable logo. it pays to be well informed. I read the brief; I was double checking again due to the entries the client is ranking highly, as I find them (as they currently are entered) far from usable for all applications a logo is often used for. Sure, a concept can be altered to work, but the client is surely expecting the entries to work for anything as they're currently entered. APE, I certainly don't know where your so-called 16+ years of experience is coming from, but if I were you, I'd definitely look elsewhere from now on for industry knowledge. Your #93 is not even legible at its current size. You may find it beneficial to improving your design skills by reading: http://identityworks.com/issues/issues1.htm, for starters. But hey, the client is always right. It's the client's happiness that matters. I was just trying to provide some general advice. I appreciate your concern, though.

If a design fills one side of a business card, a two sided card would be *required* for contact information to be included - usually that's an option, not a necessity. Depending on the print vendor that's an extra cost. Most logos can be printed on the same side of a business card with contact info. If a logo requires a full side of a card, there might be an additional cost at the printers for the second side of the card... a card is, after all, meant to provide contact info.

CH should know that logos with a great amt of detail will require reworking for common applications. Another added cost. Vendors charge set up fees for artwork not prepared to spec.

Even highly illustrated logos (Gerber is a great example) can scale well and retain impact at smaller sizes. Execution is key.

CH -- sorry for the back and forth... I hope that *some* of the information discussed is helpful. Perhaps reexamine the sample logos you selected in the "Styles that we are interested in" section of your brief. Each retains impact at small scale. They are prime examples of good logo design. Scalability is not only desirable, it's quite standard in the industry.

Perfect example: highly detailed elements used in conjunction with the logo to create a brand.

The company still has a highly recognizable, scalable, well-branded, single color logo. The basic logo can be found here: http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/search/94482116/32502.html

Even with a *huge* marketing budget a single color logo is quite essential.

There is a difference between branding and a logo. The basic, single color RFC logo is just that - their logo. The context in which they use it, the detailed characters and environment, is part of the branding. The logo is not dependent on the branding elements at all. It is used independently quite effectively.

Thanks for the well wishing, APE! Right back atcha :D

APE, it's "onesummer", not "onesource". Anyway, we obviously have a different opinion of what "good design" means, so I'll just leave it at that. It's subjective after all. I'd be curious to know what print/design companies you've worked for and/or are working for now, if you don't mind me asking?

Dear Competitors,
I'm following your discussion for a long time and i really surprized to see the comments of designers. I have to thanks APE. Obviously he's so talented designer and also so knowledgeable about print technology. He's kept tryin' to tell u about print technology and budgets. But we're designing logos and that's why here. CH giving us some briefs and direction and we're updating our works. If CH likes simple based logo is free to choose, right. Of course, we have to give some information if CH want. But, i believe all the works which is participated this contest are precious and nobody has a right to comment about them. This is not a Forum or Discussion Area. This area is for General briefs and i don't think it's ethical to talk about 1st or 2nd or 3rd ranked designs are busy or not.
I'm in this job with 25 years experience. Of course we all know generally the logos with gradiant can be problem with nonlaser fax and similar areas. That's why i left the name (Natalie's Coffee) white in dark background. But, c'mon we're talkin' about the fax etc. Besides, if this is a very big problem that means we have to talk about all of the gradiant works (winners) in this site:)
As a result, this discussions r unnecessarily. Don't worry i know my job very well. I know very well
which result will be good or bad in fax or similar applications or which object will be visible or invisible in businnes cards. Please, stop this conversations and do your designs directons of CH's briefs.
Thank u very much...

My thanks for great designs and great designers...

When the tournament is over...

Every designer with a design ranked in the top 10 will get a free bag of coffee sent to them any where they are in the world.

Thanks for the designs, the efforts, the excitement to date, and I look forward to seeing what other designs are entered or modified.

Actually I'm going to increase that previous comment to:

Every designer with a design ranked in the top 20 will get a free bag of coffee sent to them any where they are in the world.

esa!! ojala me toque . gracias!!!.. ( thanks!)

I hope i've earned the coffee :)

Absolutely - - see no problem in getting you some awesome coffee :o)

No offense in any direction.

My comments were 1 on 1 with the client and listed under my particular design, not out in this public comments area. I wasn't commenting on any particular designs, just responding to design requests made my way as well as making a general observation about the totality of design entries.

Not calling anyone out ... just trying to provide sound advice.

woohoo! I love good coffee!

I want to thank all the designers that submitted entries. You are all very talented and I plan on recommending this community to friends and business owners in need of great design work.

Natalie's Coffee