Hi :) Here is my first concept - a visual welsh rabbit actually made from beer & cheese! It is a bit subtle, but I thought that would give it a bit more fun & whimsy. The whiskers (in case you can't see the green) are intended to be green onion (or generic "herb cutting") I kept the palette subdued, but it can always be bumped up if you prefer.
Any comments/tweaks/revisions are welcome! Thank you for yo time & consideration. josh
Thanks for being one of the first to get the ball rolling! My wife was intrigued by some of your designs from other tournaments, so we're glad you threw your hat in the ring. Your first concept is indeed subtle, whimsical and unexpected. While we enjoy it from a purely creative, and out of the box, idea...we are committed to having a rabbit on the vespa. We've been running around a bit today, so we'll take a closer look at the other elements, but I wanted to give you some immediate feedback.
Hi Dean - I completely understand. I always like to try something a little "beyond the brief", just so you have options :) How do you feel about that style of illustration? Is that something that could work for the rabbit on vespa theme? Or are you looking for something a little more shiny/vector/modern?
thanks for the feedback. It's much appreciated. :) josh
Josh- we do want to be open to "beyond the brief", however, I didn't want to send you down a (watch out, pun ahead) rabbit trail. Having said that, we do like the overall feel and definitely do not want something more shiny/vector/modern.
Hi Dean! Here's another concept in the same style as the previous. Rabbit on vespa zipping along the countryside with a bag of groceries precariously bouncing on the back. I thought the boater hat and flying scarf added a little whimsy. I've done a few different renditions.
I'll keep thinking - I think I have a couple more ideas rattling around in my head. I think your branding/name is great - and I love cheese shops - so I'm having a lot of fun with this contest!
Sunday is a slow day for us...so we're just seeing these. This new concept is starting to bring some visual expression to the "feel" of this wild hare of an idea we are trying to create. I'm pleased that you are inspired by our branding/naming concept...and we are excited to see what other ideas you have bumping around in your head. I'd like to let you get those out before we start talking about tweaking this concept, so keep the ideas coming and then once you've "run dry" (if you ever) we can start dialing in one of them a bit more.
A couple practical questions from newbies on Logo Tournament: 1) Since I've clicked on your submission, are these comments only viewable to you and us, or can all the other developers see them as well? 2) Is there a way to view these pictures in more of a full screen? We'd like to see more of the details...
Hey Dean - no problem :) I did the sketches in church that morning and vectored them last night - they weren't up that long.
I was going to try another illustration style - maybe something a little more graphic and less detailed. And then something a little dirtier/painterly (in the style of the Bicycle Gallery logo) If you have any tweaks, ideas for revision, etc. I'd love to hear them! I can take them into consideration on future renditions or can be thinking about solutions to any problems sooner :)
Yep - all of the comments on my designer page (when you click my submissions) can be seen only by me and admin. They do this to keep original concepts or working concepts between the designer & client. (One of the few downfalls of the crowd-sourced model is the "borrowing" of developed ideas...Logo Tournament does a great job of keeping that sort of thing to a minimum and respecting designers' work. )
I've emailed admin to see if there's a way we can do a more detailed view. They're typically pretty fast to respond.
#11 - here's another side-view rendition of the same character - rabbit with boater hat, flapping scarf and bouncing bag of groceries in a style that's a little cleaner. (30s/40s-era).
...I'm out of ideas right now - the "painterly style" sketches all seem really close to the #6 -styled entries. I'll keep thinking of course, but nothing that's "in queue".
Ok, all three of us are all together so here's amalgamated comments.
Regarding your 2nd concept Entries 6-10: ~> The rabbit comes off too much out of a story book. ~> We would prefer to have a more realistic rabbit. While the bowler hat is cute, we are wanting a rabbit that looks like it just hopped out of the fields and onto the scooter. Think classic Peter Rabbit (w/o the clothing) and less Velveteen Rabbit. ~> We like the grocery basket w/ the cheese and piece of bread and a bottle of wine/beer peeking out of the top. ~> We like the fact that this design works both with the color background and that it can go fully black and white. ~> The font is not script (or perhaps we’re thinking handwritten-like or flowing) enough in either your 2 or 3rd concept. We want it striking so that it can be seen from a distance; however, we want it to also communicate whimsy. For instance we kind of like the “amienne” font from the Word library. Regarding your 3rd concept ~> We do like that this builds on concept 2 that it is recognizable even though it is a solid and not painted concept.
We were doing the “church thing” on Sunday as well ;) What type of church are ya’ll attending? My wife and I go to a Vineyard Christian Fellowship and my brother is at an Anglican church plant.
cool - thanks for the feedback. Just to be clear - you'd prefer the rabbit "au naturale", correct? Funny didn't think velveteen rabbit...I was actually think Alice in Wonderland white rabbit haha...didn't realize here were so many!
I'll work on a more realistic rabbit (can I swap out with the existing rabbit?) and work on new font choices. Would you be interested in that, or should I stick with the entry #11 line of thinking?
awesome! I'm not too terribly familiar with those - I've heard of them, but have never had the chance to visit. My wife and I (and our two little boys) attend a church of Christ.
yes, au Naturale. I'd be interested in seeing just the scarf, but those other two (erg, my wife and brother ;) want him completely nekked. Yes you can just swap out the current rabbit. And #11 is in our radar, but in my mind I like the idea of nailing down #1 as this seems like it could become the foundation from which we could develop other similar ones for different applications.
Church of Christ has had some great influence in the church world, not to mention the 3rd Day Band!
perfect timing! I'm working on new sketches now, but wasnt' sure on some things that you just cleared up! I'll probably have two renditions - one side-view and one 3/4 view (#6 is 3/4 view) I'm going to have to redraw anyway...I thought maybe I could just swap in the new rabbit, but the linework is pretty heavy around the shape of the OLD bunny (the scarf and boater hat take up a lot of silhouette real estate), so it'll be less mess to just start from scratch.
I'm sure you can convince them to go with the scarf, right!? haha. Scarves are haut couture in the rabbit fashion world! (probably)
yeah - I've been a "c of C'er" all of my life...we're decent :)
the font we were playing around w/ earlier was zaphino. I'm not sure if it is a family of fonts or what. But the specific one had the the first "T" in the "The" where the cross swooped low on the left up to top of the perpendicular part of the "T" and then the "R" leg swooped under the "a" in "Rabbit"
I can't believe this - Illustrator just crashed as I hit Save on a completely new drawing. JUST finished...drawing straight for the last 5 hours...somehow didn't save it until I had finished and I lost it all. I can not believe it. :(
SO
since I have to draw it over again anyway, I'll ask - would you prefer the rabbit from the side or as it is in #6...kinda head-on from an angle?
Ugh! There are not "autobackups" anywhere...like in Word?
Like I mentioned earlier, we like the orientation of #6 as we feel that it is a good foundational position which will serve as our primary logo. However, at the end of the day we are going to want to take this initial brand and "tweak" it for other applications such as a rubber stamp, t-shirts, and then also a sign "shingle" that hangs down above our door.
I had no idea you were sketching these out by hand....so that means for each different angle, it's a new sketch for you?
Not in Illustrator (the vector program I use). I have a 3rd party one that I usually use, but my mac's kinda on its last leg (I can't complain - I've had it forever) and after a recent crash/restore of the operating system, I didn't restore the autosave program. Basically - a long chain of events that ended in me yelling at my computer screen prior to dinner tonight.
yep - all of my work is 100% original, custom artwork - so for each angle, it's a new drawing. That said - My entries so far are just the one angle (#6) and then the beer/cheese rabbit - so only two drawings. The one I just lost was side-view (a mix between #6 & #11 - the same style, but less linework so it works a little better at smaller sizes) Originally, I was thinking for #6 that if it didn't work at a smaller size, you could take elements (like just the scarf & boater) and use them with the type. Or just the rabbit on vespa alone. So that you'd basically have a series of related logos for different usage & application.
We've moved away from that concept though - but that was my initial plan anyway.
I will rework a new rabbit image tonight in the #6 orientation and we'll see what it looks like from there...(if you think you'd want to also look at a side-view or not)
Josh, the other designer, Mike at Cr8tive just backed out. However, he asked me to pass this font along to you: http://www.dafont.com/shangri.font We like this font quite a bit, but couldn't say this to you per the LT reg's :)
yeah - he just PM'd me a few minutes ago saying that same thing...not sure why he's dropping out though? You should get a ton of entries in the last day or so - a lot of designers kinda work that way. Your prize amount is good and you're activity level is green - so I'm sure you'll get more. I was initially drawn because I love rarebit!
Did you at one time say something in your brief about craft beer being popular in the area? Does that make you from Colorado or Washington? Or did I imagine that whole thing?
We're at the center of the craft beer movement, Fort Collins, CO!
He told me that he had two other competitions, plus full time work, plus life, plus...
It's not that we don't like what you're doing (we do!), but part of what drew us to LT is the idea of having multiple designers working on the same concept. Honestly, this is our second pass at trying to get a logo, we went w/ a highly recommended design house before, and they did great work...but just didn't get our concept. I keep reading that alot of submissions come in late, but I am a bit nervous.
That's where I would have guessed! I'm a homebrewer myself - I actually have a small freelance branding business for microbrewers and homebrewers (homebrewers pay a smaller percentage in agreement for only partial license) - I started it mainly to cover the cost of ingredients.
Bummer - yeah - I guess that's all I can say is that a lot of designers enter late. Mention something to Tyler - maybe he can stir up some entries.
I used to work in agencies in Boston/Providence-area, but the we moved out to the midwest and find it much more relaxing being self-employed (it lets me do fun stuff like this in-between jobs!) Hopefully I can give them a run for their money. I'm working on a new version now.
I just went to post in the designer area and saw that Mike (Cr8tiveMeans) just did as well - I put in a good word for you guys, so hopefully some more illustrators will drop in (although, hopefully no one too good - I'm still trying to win here after all! haha )
Hi :) - so, I know that you were really clear about liking the #6 orientation - but I was thinking about you discussing application at small sizes and got to looking at that version and it seemed a little busy. I can provide a version with and without the background (it is technically the same logo), but I did like how small the #11 version could go and still be recognizable. SO - I mixed the two ideas (which is what I did earlier and then lost it...this version is much better, so I'm glad I lost it) This is attempt 2. The single color version can probably could even smaller - I didn't tweak it other than removing the color. If I were to do a "small-use" version, I'd increase the kerning between the letters and increase the stroke size on the box.
This version also features the more-realistic rabbit (in the buff!). If you'd still prefer the #6 orientation, I'd be more than happy to put a version together.
I also used the font that Mike suggested, I have some other fonts that are similar in feel that I can try if you'd want to see those. I'm definitely "all in" on this contest, so anything you want to see, tweak, try, etc. just let me know. thanks josh
you are definitely all in! My wife is thoroughly enjoying your work. We're off to bed here, so we'll give you some specific feedback tomorrow, but this is a great new concept.
Hi :) Just checking to see if you had any feedback regarding the newest entry? Did you still want me to go ahead with the #6 orientation and the new, more realistic rabbit after seeing the new side-view rabbit? (Not trying to direct you in any one particular way - was just thinking about the "small application" size...)
Ok, we are torn down the middle on this new concept. We're having a hard time putting our finger exactly on what is going on so this may be a bit long of a post. In regards to #12:
~> If Nancy, my wife, was in this gig alone, this would probably be about 95% right on. She loves the rabbit, the background, and the Vespa. The protruding shoulder bone seems to be a bit much though.
~> From Nate's and my perspective, we like this about 75%. I think this is what is not working for us: 1. The shoulder blade protruding perhaps the rabbit seems a bit hunched over? 2. The rabbit seems to be a bit serious like he's worried about the bills he has to pay, can you "interpret" some more joy in the journey into his face and/or ears? 3. This frame seems to be in a vacuum, completely still, no sense of motion/movement. Perhaps this will be taken care of by addressing 2. above? 4. Having said these things, we do think it is wise to have a profile view as well.
~> We would like to take you up on taking the rabbit (with the tweaks) from #12 into the background of #6.
~> The font of the Welsh Rabbit, can you make this all caps like Mike did? Also, I'm wondering, what do you think about putting it as an arch that transects the box above the rabbit? Or does this break all the design rules? Then "Cheese Shop" (we like the dots on either side) could go below but perhaps in the box?
~> Like I said in an earlier post, I think if we can get the concept in #6 nailed down, then all the others will flow out of that one. Is it possible in the program that once this is drawn (and rendered?) to separate the rabbit/vespa from the background and then rotate it sideways for the profile version as in #12 (and even #13 or #11)?
Thanks,
Dean (and the others too)
P.S. My wife likes the rabbit...she wants to pick it up and cuddle w/ it...I guess that means I'm on the sofa tonight, erg, thanks :/
I've got a nearly solid 1/3 of the vote - that's progress!
1 - Rabbits have a lot of extra fat/tissue/fur stored up there - which is why you can pick them up by grabbing that section without hurting them...so that's why that's there (I raised rabbits for 4H when I was little :) - haha) That said, I'll tone down the realism (i.e. the shoulder area) so you don't have to give a rabbit anatomy lesson everytime someone sees your logo! hahaha
2 - Will do! I think I erred on the side of too real with this version
3 - Yeah - I know what you're saying...changing the face/back could help - the scarf would help a lot, too - that's an easy way to show motion...I'll work on it both ways.
4 - I like the clean, "recognizability" of the side-view as well.
5 - sounds good - I'll start working on the sketch later this afternoon after I finish up some jobs...might take a little longer (I won't have it ready to look at tonight) - it's a trickier angle to imagine
6 - I'll work with all capitals - see what I can move around, etc. The arch could work - I usually place text at the bottom to act as a visual anchor (to avoid a "top heavy" feeling to the logo) If it takes the place of the border, though - it might frame it, rather than act as something ON TOP of the box (if that makes sense at all)
7 - nope :( It's just a flat image. Each new perspective has to be redrawn into corresponding background, resulting in (technically) a new & different logo. I CAN seperate the rabbit/vespa from the background, but it would remain in the same juxtaposition. (as seen in #6 & #10)
thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate how quickly you guys respond, answer and offer input - it's really helpful!
#17 & #18 Here are the revisions with and without a scarf. Llet me know if I need to flatten the shoulder a little more. I also changed the expression (and some of the shading) to make him happier. And tried the a few different ways. Initially, I was thinking I could use the type to close the box (and not have that top curved line - but the varying baseline of the type looked weird against the smooth line of the striped background. I think it feels more complete being enclosed with the type above it. I also adjust the box size to put more "visual weight" at the bottom with the vespa. I think it feels balanced, even with the type up top.
So - I have the rough, rough sketch for the #11 position - should I continue, or are you starting to like the side-view rabbit more?
For me, this is great improvement (am I splitting hairs?!). Save yourself the time and do not sketch out a #11 at this time. Nice job on the slight smile and softening of things I don't even quite pick up on. Nate is liking it more as well (he prefers the scarf, I could go both ways...). What are your thoughts about getting this into the #6 background?
Super work Josh. I've been inviting others to jump into the fray, but once they see your work most of them are opting not to compete ;)
splitting HARES? I knew I'd get a pun eventually. (yuck!)
I'll work up a new background tonight for the side-view (unless I can salvage the #11 one, but I think it's the wrong perspective AND there'll be a bunny-shaped hole to fill :) )
#23 - I drew up a new background (similar to #6 -- I meant that in the previous comment, by the way -- not #11) to match the side-view perspective. I also have the background in #23 isolated on a separate layer, so that the background can EASILY transition from the outdoor scene to the striped background or empty background for small application. :)
Let me know if there are any other version you'd want to see.
I just wanted to touch base and let you know that we are still thrilled with your work. You'll see in the public posting section or our tournament me stumping for some more submissions. This is because we are wanting to see a diversity of submissions, and NOT because we are unhappy with your work. Part of what drew us to LT was the idea of getting "over 30 unique submissions". From what I've read there is supposed to be a flurry of activity in this last day and 1/2, but, honestly, I wonder if we wrote the brief w/ too much direction, thereby shutting down the creative flow from others.
~> THANK YOU for making the effort to split the layers of the rabbit/vespa from the background. ~> My wife still isn't sold on the scarf, so we may request to see it w/o at some point. ~> We'd also like to see, at some point, how this would look in a silohuette (ala #11) and also as a line drawing (ala #13).
However, you have put in so much effort for us on this, that if you want to wait and see how the other designers step up to the plate (or not) that is fine with us. No matter what happens, you will be going into the final round and then we can work on other permutations then.
We truly appreciate not only your gift, but also your willingness to work your pencil to a nub for us!
thanks for keeping me up-to-date :) nah - I know - There's a pretty active thread about this contest (I've actually received quite a few PMs from designers with a "kudos" - I've been suggesting that people enter) I think numbers are usually lower for illustration contests because you typically 1) can't recycle an old "catch-all" emblem (like an abstract circle, etc.) and 2)there just aren't as many illustrators.
oh yeah! I forgot to mention - the scarf is also an add-on. It's also a separate layer/item - so I could easily provide separate with/without versions. I'll have the other two versions (silohuette & lineart) tomorrow. I drew this rendition in layers so that it would be versatile...see - I CAN learn - haha!
Thanks again for your gracious words and incredible feedback. This is definitely a highlight in my portfolio, regardless of how the contest plays out. :)
off to bed for me - I might have the changes tomorrow morning - most likely not until afternoon.
josh
(also - I did have to change the nib on my pen yesterday due to wear! LOL)
Do we need to have everything finalized before the next 2 hours? Or can we finalize the "jot and tittles" we may want to see changed during the 7 days? We are very close.
nope - we can sort it out later if you want to think about it a little more. I just didn't want you to think I forgot about the contest. You HAVE 7 days to use, but you can end it whenever you're ready...not that I'm trying to rush or anything! :)
What are your thoughts on the font (what was the name)? As I think about the different applications we'll use this in, some will be larger some will be small...I'm concerned that if we go smaller then the logo will all run together. Is the font is separate correct? So we can kern and tweak as needed? Can this font be "less bold"? Also, did you tweak the letters at all so that some were up and others were down? Some of us like this look, but it may drive the more precision of us nuts so we're still talking this through ;)
Finally, as a designer, are there other thoughts/tweaks you have? You're the professional, and I want to be sure that I'm not missing anything!