Pickings.com.au (Pickings)Logo Design Contest

Thank you all for your early entries.
My preference will very much be towards inclusion of a symbol/image which is unique and very distinctive. It also needs to represent what we are trying to do which is to reduce waste by making it available to the public. Whilst we are recycling symbols for recycling like arrows and the triangle are used by many organisations and I'd prefer an image/symbol which is quite unique. The public should see our logo and think about Picking up a bargain.
The word "Pickings' is a term we use to describe items left behind by a tenant that we fight over to take home. The pickings are leftovers or items which have been left behind and we want to find them new owners.
When I think of picking I think of the image of a hand about to pick something up. This is an example:
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/picking-up-hand-sign-3360172.jpg
I hope this helps.

Dear Designers,

Thank you for taking the hand element and running with it. I definitely think a hand in some form should be included to symbolise picking. I had a moment of clarity this morning and I have another element to add. I'd like the logo to be comprised of three general elements:
1. A hand to symbolise the picking - this can be a very defined hand such as those in the existing logos or something hand-like. For example, The Chiropractic Association of Aust have a logo for all their members made of up of 2 hands close together to make the shape of a person. I like this logo because of its simplicity and how it symbolises chiropractors using their hands to support people. See the link below:
http://cdn2.perfectpatients.com/childsites/uploads/15/files/CAA-m-horiz-digital.jpg

2. A diamond. A diamond is symbolic of value and treasure and suggests rarity. I think a diamond shape with soft edges might look as a backdrop to the hand, or perhaps part of the hand.

3. Green. I do like green as the dominant colour as it suggests freshness and recycling which is what we are all about. It needn't be the only colour though.

I hope this helps. I'm very much liking what I'm seeing so far.
Thank you everyone.

Hi All,

With regard to Item 2 from my previous comment I think I may have confused the brief by saying 'a diamond'. I was thinking about introducing a diamond shape (i.e. square rotated 45) rather than an image of a diamond. There are also other shapes which are equally as symbolic for our purposes so I would like to remove the diamond shaped requirement in order to allow for more lateral and creative designs. The circle is equally as important as one of our features is speed and a circle can signify a clock. The triangle is also associated with recycling and change so again please feel free to let your minds explore all possibilities.
The font and text part of the logo are not as important to me as is the graphic. The graphic needs to be strong and stand on its own as a design element. I'd like someone to be able to look at our graphic without seeing our name and know what we were about. I'd also like the main feedback we get from our logo to be "That's clever"

Again, I hope this helps rather than hinders..

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for your amazing designs. I am extremely happy with the quality of the logos and confident that our company will have a new corporate brand soon from the entries submitted. I thought I would leave some general feedback as to my current top 5 selections.
I have chosen #76 as my first choice as it ticks many boxes for me. The logo is very simple, the green hexagon resembles a hand, the small black link looks like something being picked up whilst also resembling a diamond and the hexagon itself makes me think of a bolt or a nut, both very relevant to the construction industry.
I have chosen #73 as my second choice because the image of the hand quite strongly suggests something being picked up, thus re-enforcing our name, the circle to me represents time, and speed is a strong aspect of our service and the broken nature of the circle represents the items that can be picked up.
#88 is third for similar reasons - the logo is very simple but conveys the same symbolism, although not as strongly as does #73, just without the use of a hand. The black dot inside a large green cycle also resembles a target (i.e. what people are looking for) and from the white in between the two I can make out the letter 'p'.
#79 has a black dot and hands which are shaped to resemble a recycling logo. Whilst I think the recycling logo is a little too cliche and overused for my liking, I appreciate this different take on it.
#74, #54 and #63 all have a different twist on the same idea which is the logo made from multiple hands. Whilst I like the shape and the idea I don't feel either logo has the strength to stand on its own as a representation of the company and its goals. Great logos in their own right but perhaps not enough to make me appreciate the complexity behind their simplicity.

Anyway I hope this helps everyone understand my thinking at this point.

Thanks again.