SwimtopiaLogo Design Contest

Please note -- we are flexible with regard to capitalization of the name - Swimtopia, SwimTopia, swimtopia are all acceptable.

Variations that include '.com' are also welcome.

Brand brainstorming notes:

Swimtopia is ...
- Fun
- Easy
- Fast
- Uncomplicated
- Enjoyable
- Lively
- Energetic
- Friendly / Warm
- Positive
- Stress-free
- Comfortable
- Cute
- Vibrant
- Playful
- Organized
- Active
- Fit
- Family-friendly
- Connected

Swimtopia is NOT ...
- Complicated, Confusing, Frustrating, Boring, Tired, or Rude

If Swimtopia were a CAR it would be ...
- Convertible
- Luxurious, but not pretentious
- Sporty
- With the personality of a Mini Cooper but not tiny/uncomfortable
- perhaps a BMW 3 or 6 series convertible?

Imagery suggestion: one bit of imagery I like is a pool umbrella or beach umbrella. Would like to see some concepts with this idea. Examples of pool/beach umbrellas:
- http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=umbrella+(pool+OR+beach)
- http://www.ombrelloni-poggesi.com/pool-umbrella.html

I'm seeing a lot of Blue + Green combinations (not necessarily bad) but I would love to see some other variations. I like the 'vibrancy' and 'luxury' of purple, and the 'energy' of orange, for example. More than two colors is also fine by me.

ADDITIONAL LOGO IDEAS FROM THE CH:

- Swimtopia wordmark shown 'underwater'/submerged with light refracting/filtering down, as if the viewer were underwater
- Showing the wordmark in a pool, from above, perhaps with swimtopia as a design on the pool bottom?
- Incorporating a pool edge into the design (e.g. wordmark sitting at the pool's edge)
- Showing a wordmark that appears 'wet' or 'moist' (e.g. with glistening water droplets)
- Showing a wordmark standing/semi-submerged in a pool of water w/ reflection + ripples
- Swimtopia wordmark formed from water
- Swimtopia wordmark as a tile mosaic

SOME MORE IMAGERY IDEAS:

Would like to end up with an iconic symbol that can stand alone but still represent the brand.

Ideas:
- Pool/beach umbrella
- Palm tree
- Beach ball
- Sun
- Wave
- Tropical Island (a verdant mountainous island, like Hawaii, not a deserted island)

Looking for a symbolic representation of the above, not a literal illustration.

NOTE: while I'm open to and fond of beach-related imagery -- the focus is really more on pool-bound swimming - and so I'll prefer those images over beach-related images, all other things being equal.

IMPORTANT FEEDBACK --

Thank you to everyone for the excellent logo concepts we've received. Reviewing with our decision-making team, one important point of feedback is that we are missing any concept of competition or team in the current designs.

We would like to see some concepts that incorporate symbols of competitions, such as a trophy or medal or ribbon. Ideally the concept would incorporate the concept of 'team' and 'topia'.

Again, using overt swimming imagery is less desirable because the swimming context is a given in this market.

Thanks again. We are very impressed by the LT community!

THANKS EVERYONE for the recent flood of submissions. I am buried in work at the moment, will provide feedback and rank these entries later today. Thank you for your patience.

Some preferences are emerging:

CAPITALIZATION:
- we are definitely preferring the capitalization form of SwimTopia over other variation.

FONT:
- we like clean, readable, simple typefaces -- complexity is a minus
- prefer roundness over sharp edges (e.g. not 'pointy' like Helvetica/Arial)
- need clear shapes for 'a' and 'p'
- smooth curves for 'S', 'w' and 'm'

CONCEPT:
- we like simple iconic designs over complex illustrations
- prefer concepts that focus more on the 'topia' than the 'swim', but bringing both together is ideal
- concepts that are purely about the 'swim' part are less likeley to win
- for 'topia' we like concepts that express fun, enjoyment, harmony
- BUT they also need a sense of energy and motion
- symbols that are resonating:
- latent yin-yang symbol (we really like the concept, but haven't seen an execution we really like)
- need to avoid resembling a Pepsi logo
- waves -- like the idea of showing energy and calm in same symbol. Water seems like a good conduit for both of these concepts
- Sun -- we like the warmth and energy, it is also an encouraging, comforting, happy symbol
- beach ball -- like the simple iconic shape. BUT we have concerns about this being too "playful" -- and not "competitive" enough for our target audience. Would like something that expresses more strength or energy.
- Palm trees -- this is a good solid symbol, but is perhaps a bit too beach-y. Struggling to find similar imagery that is more closely associated with a pool
- Umbrellas -- we were enthusiastic about this idea at first, but after seeing concepts and thinking about it more - the umbrella suggests sitting idle the shade which is counter to a site that is about competitive swimming. (We realize our brief may have lead in the wrong direction down this path. We apologize for that.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: we have updated the contest brief to give clearer direction and to reflect the thinking that has taken shape during the course of the competition. We have also extended the contest by 5 days to give designers more opportunity to respond to this feedback.

Thanks again to everyone for the concepts that have been submitted. We are truly impressed by the talent and professionalism of the LT designer community.