The Breakthrough GameLogo Design Contest

The Breakthrough Game is a 14 week process that actually shows people how to produce results in any area of their business or personal life beyond anything they have been capable of producing so far. The group meets virtually using videoconference technology on a weekly basis for 14 weeks.

Our website is the first of a group of websites that will all have black and white as a base theme and grey/light blue font (as per apple.com). The logo has to be 'clean', with very few colors. Given it's probably going to have a nautical theme, use of blue may be necessary. But in that case, it really must fit with the blue already used on the website (see headings). www.breakthroughgame.com. The corporate site that will eventually focus solely on the corporate version of this program will be black and white with a gold theme. Since this is a leadership development program, it needs to look up-market. It's about being at the top of your game, but in a classy, powerful way, (think world leader, not sportster). It's a no-nonsense approach to producing spectacular, real-world results. We may well have to split out the logos and create different versions when all the sites are up but for now, we need the interim logo to fit both markets.

We had a first logo created but aren't happy with it. Please see website: www.breakthroughgame.com. It is too 'soft'. The style is more suited to a cafe logo than a hard-edged leadership development program. It's too soft in terms of strokes and also in terms of colors. The colors need to be more dynamic, clean and appealing to mainstream people who may or may not be in the business community. Here are our comments:

1. We really like The Breakthrough Game words stacked the way they are, because 'Breakthrough' literally breaks out - away from the other shorter words in a kind of 'out of the box' kind of way. Will consider other formats but wanted you to know the thinking behind this.
2. Will consider 'out of the box' visual but really were hoping to use a nautical theme because so many of the metaphors that the coaches use are nautical.
3. The idea we had re: what we want the logo to represent was essentially a nautical version of the existing one. i.e. instead of a winding road, we wanted the logo to highlight a little sailboat, very simply drawn (brushstrokes?). The visual needs to convey the following as it sums up the entire Breakthrough Game process:
1. The 'player' (participant) is the boat.
2. The boat is heading off into the distance, to a far away land/port that's very exciting and thrilling.
3. It's being guided by the North Star (Polaris).
4. The wind is billowing out the sails (this is important)
5. The sea is choppy
6. Important: the boat has to jibe and tack (zig-zag) its way to the destination in the distance, using skill to make the best use of the available wind, and to navigate the (potentially stormy) seas and the obstacles (islands?) therein.
7. We know this is a LOT of info to communicate! We were thinking a brushstroke-y image rather than a literal picture was what we were after: it's crucial that the image look clean, professional. It says 'we mean business', 'we're not kidding' and 'we get results'. It CAN'T look kitschy, new-age'y or busy. Simple is good!