I'm actually developing #33 further, and will make it a bit more fancy. In the meantime, I wanted to let you see where I'm headed.
Also, as to #34, I'm going to be adding some fanciness to that one too...in a slightly different, more ornate route. Very old school. But, with a modern flair.
Of course the base of all these approaches is your idea to have an "authentic old-world Italian" feel to it. Which is....awesome. Looking forward to turning out some great designs for you.
If you have any feedback or comments as to what you think of the designs I've presented you with so far, please do share your thoughts. Would love to hear them. Also, any requests you make of me at all, I'll be happy to accommodate. Just let me know what you prefer and I'll put something together for you -- whether it's more of the same direction I've taken or a completely new one.
I actually really like it but after showing it to some of my bosses we don't want an olive since we will be selling a variety of foods. Can I see one without the picture and just the words in it? Slightly distressed looking maybe? And another option with a sun, tree or italian landscape?
So I went ahead and made the revisions you mentioned, sans weathering. I'll go ahead and do that next (as it takes some time) if this is the direction you like. Is this a good one? Soon, though, if I don't "make it" into the Top 5 I won't be able to submit anything. If you would please provide feedback ASAP so I can get you the best revision possible, that would be very helpful.
By all means -- the logo would be yours after the contest, so if you want to change anything (color included) it's fine by me.
I'm happy to make minor revisions for you, at anytime by the way. You name it -- it's yours. All minor revisions are always included, so no worries on being charged anything extra. If the contest ended and you wanted a major change that would be a completely different story.
This latest round of refinements includes a few things of note: -muted colors *-smaller 'dot pattern' -streamlined outer border *-font that is better legible at small sizes
In regards to the points starred above...I've uploaded an example to show you how well this design shrinks. Which will be important when it's on products that are small.
I made the dot pattern as small as I could without having it disappear at smaller sizes; if I made it any smaller when the design is small and on packaging you'd just not see any dots....at all.
To illustrate how well this approach shrinks, please take a look at the two entries I've uploaded to demonstrate this quality. Entry #242 shows you the enlargened version, like all other submissions here...but entry #241 shows what the logo will look like on your typical bag of pasta, or canned good, or even placed on a business card, or letterhead, or an envelope. When you look at a logo such as this -- a badge concept -- its ability to shrink well becomes even more important. Because you have such limited space to begin with. It's a typical Designer challenge to attempt to balance all elements of a design...make it coherent, make it legible, make it mean something to the viewier...make it look appealing. :)
I muted the colors and so forth to give it more of a calm, old-world demeanor. I'm happy to make any color adjustments that you ask me for; more than happy to accomodate any requests.