Need Advice Please :)

[john713]

I have been using Xara for about a year now and haven't mastered it at all. Im more of a programmer than a graphic designer.

I was wondering if I could for some advice on a logo for my company. I don't want to be a mouch but I can't decide what font looks good.

Thank you for your advice in advance.

John Furr

[john713]

I have been using Xara for about a year now and haven't mastered it at all. Im more of a programmer than a graphic designer.

I was wondering if I could for some advice on a logo for my company. I don't want to be a mouch but I can't decide what font looks good.

Thank you for your advice in advance.

John Furr

[Mike S]

i am not a graphic artist or designer (a meer hobbist) but i think the 1st one looks the best. the 3rd one looks more like someones name and the 2nd one is to "busy" of a font. just my 1/2 cents worth.

[dporter]

Hi John,

I agree with Mike, but I think you should keep trying other fonts. I'm sure you will find one that looks better still !!!

Also, for me the blue and green don't work !

HTH - Dave Porter
DJ-Software.
Perth, Western Australia

[drew]

i am seconding Dave's thoughts. The first's font is nice an quickly legible. And as a color-challenged male, the green sort of throws me for a loop, but i never hold another's color selection against them Ü, drew..

[John Rayner]

Dear John,

Always wanted to write that... Got many a dear john letter myself, never got to write one... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Okay, okay, on to my point...

the main rule of thumb in designing logo's is KISS, Keep It Simple Stup--. The simpler the type face the easier it is to translate into different media, different sizes. The font that looks great going halfway across the screen will not be readable on a business card or a pen, or other novelties. TV advertising will be hard if not impossible.

[amoore]

#1 is the best of the three, typeface-wise, for its simplicity and accessibility, as the others have mentioned.

About 10% of the population is "color-challenged", and that 10% is predominantly male. So if your primary target audience is male, you may want to take that into account.

I'm not "color-challenged", but the particular green/blue combination strikes me as a bit sharp (meaning uncomfortable, rather than hip http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif). OTOH, it does stand out. Do the colors have any particular significance to you, or is it just a combination you worked out? You might want to consider a combination that's a tad warmer.

I'm also concerned about the number of complicating factors -- the bevel highlight on the blue, the bevel on the disk and the drop shadow. They look nice and provide interesting depth, but they may not work well in some situations. For example, I can see the full-out version as a big, lovely sign on the wall, but I'm not sure it will read quite so well on letterhead. And reducing this logo to fit on a business card could turn all that detail into mush.

Some of the experts here can give you guidance on considerations such as commercial printing and use in multiple media. Why don't you do a search on logos in the forum? There've been several threads on the subject, and Gary has some excellent tutorials.

Even with all that, it's a pretty decent start for a guy who's just a programmer. http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Kman]

Hi. I didn't alter your design, just played
around with the colors, to give you perhaps
some alternate ideas. Though these jpgs are
not the best, they should give you something
to "bounce against".

Ken

[Kman]

Idea group 2.

Ken

[Kman]

Last idea group. Don't mind the shadow colors
I'm showing here; stay with your original shadow
colors. Instead, see how the main color combos
grab more of your attention. Find what appeals
to you.

I hope this helps you.

Ken