Arriving Above

#1 with the water bubbles is by far the best concept and strongest design of the bunch in my opinion.

#2 you can't see the a's in the background and I don't like the connection on the 'r' and 'b'
#3 reads 'arriving bove' (Not clear what the curly A represents)
#4 is too long and clumsy and I don't like the ascenders on the 'g' and 'e'
#5 looks too much like 'Target' with a weird connection to the 'i's'

That's what "Arriving Above" plants in my mind. I also like the first logo very much, yet when I think about it twice, it suggests that you're surfacing from the ocean depths or something.

#1 makes me think of some kind of trendy laundromat or something...the bubbles don't make sense " other than they rise....float..." Not a strong enough image. But beautiful logo...just not for a design firm. Lose the box around it...although if that's the shape of your business card, it could be interesting....

#2 The double "a" in the back seems redundant...so does the word graphics...you shouldn't need to specify what you do (well, in the perfect logo world anyways) Love the colors though...

#3 Lose it.That big "a" is horrendous, and somehow makes me think of a fork...sorry, I'm weird that way.

#4 I like this one alot, and although I said for #2 that you don't need the word "graphics" there, it seems to blend in just right, nice choice of font too...might be hard to read in smaller formats though...

#5 My personal favorite, lose the graphics you wouldn't be able to see it on a business card anyways. Love the colors, don't quite understand the circle-dot on top, but I don't dislike it.

#6 the graphics looks pasted on, mainly becase of the little black box it resides in....this is the perfect opportunity to look the word "graphics"

True, are you providing simple graphics (i.e. Clip art) or providing communication solutions? Its kinda like Graphic Designer vis-a-vis Graphic Artist....

Did you take design advice from your clients?!

Are the people who suggested the term "graphics" also designers? Just my personal opinion, but if you're planning on changing your name later anyway, it may be simpler and less expensive (ie. trademarking / registering your initial company name) if you go with what you'd rather be named sooner than later. As far as interior vs. graphic design, it's your portfolio that'll clear up that debate though I don't see how they would be confused in the first place just from your name (unless there was something specifically interior-related).

But I agree with the other comments, "graphics" seems pretty low-tech in the world of design and may have negative associations. But if it's mainly clipart and such, I suppose the low-tech aspect of it fits?

#1 makes me think of some kind of trendy laundromat or something...

I feel the same way, actually. It just brings either soap or scrapbooking to my mind. Soap because of the bubble-like shapes, and scrapbooking because of the colours used. However, I do agree that it is the strongest idea here.

I think that if you're going to use bubbles rising for your theme, maybe it would be good to tweak them a little so they look like they're rising. Right now they are just kind of floating around the "A".

I agree about the word "graphics". If you have to have the word graphics, I would change it to "graphic design." "Graphics" brings templates or pre-made graphics to my mind, where "designs" or "creative" bring more of an image of advertising and custom design services.

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Perfectly Lost Designs

Hmmm...arriving above...arising above...rising above....hmm, don't mind me! ;)

does anyone else get religious born-again vibes from the phrase "arriving above" ? Sounds like it's a reference to heaven or something spiritual ...

It may mean something special and unique to you, so maybe it's going to take some more in the type treatment or mark in order to make it unique to everyone else. I don't really think bubbles do it (everyones favorite #1) .

I think "Graphic Design" says something much more specific and may describe more accurately what it is you do. When I see "graphics" it also includes more commercial vendors like production or service bureaus.

I agree with the laundromat look. Maybe if you try different colours for the bubbles it could work. But number one is the best one, the other logos have a lot of reading problems as far as the name "arriving above" specially 3, 4 and 5. My advice is, try some other colours, don't worry, I think they'll still look like bubbles. I would aso try a version of #1 without the big A, maybe the bubbles coming ut of the name...

Good luck!

I like the first one out of that batch. I hate to send you back to the drawing board, literally, but here are my thoughts.

- I much prefer logos that have a strong icon element that isn't necessarily interacting with the company name. You should definitely decide on a typeface for the name because it needs to be there, but I think this is why I like the first one; it has an icon that can stand alone.

- I like the bubbles, but I do agree that is has a connotation of surfacing from some less savory place. Quickly off the top of my head, I'd try: Turning the lowercase "a" into a balloon with a wavy string. Maybe better than that would be two uppercase A's, one flipped on the horizontal axis so they are "feet to feet", then make this graphic a kite. Not sure if either of these would read, and may be a little feminine or childish, but sometimes playful is good in this industry. I think mainly I'm trying to pull it out of the water association that the bubbles have and put it in an air or sky context. Bubbles are generally below something that's rising, and above something that is sinking. I know that's picky, but it's kind of a big difference.

- As for the "graphics" discussion, I'd definitely go with "creative" or "design". Gary is right, you see more commercial production services like printers and such using that word than you do designers. If you don't want to do that, at least consider "graphic design" or "graphic arts". I understand there's an element of a some promotional items being out of context, but it seems to me the only piece that might be is the business card. Everything else (portfolio, brochure, site, etc.) is going to have contextual clues for what field you're in. So perhaps for the business card you could add a single line of services (for instance, "print / interactive" or "illustration • animation", you see this a lot). Barring that, maybe your job description on the card as "graphic artist" or whatever will be the clue they need.

- For the record, I think #4 is really clever! It's a shame it doesn't read well as others.

Hope some of that helps! Good luck!

like most the first one works for me, but try doing variations of it, i like the clean cut font, im big on clean and simple.

you are the designer, the buck stops there, imagine if amani had all those hollyhood girls telling him what to design for his spring collection or how to brand, i know if you starting which you sound like you doing there is a need to please everyone but customer advice deserves a smile nothing more.

arriving above sounds so short term to me, 5yrs from now you would have arrived then what?, of the top of my head, above alone works better, its confidently saying im that good, why tell everyone that you were once beneath. in design (branding) wording works two ways, what it says when it says it and what is says without saying it. keep that in mind.

lastly the bubbles look playful to me, which is not necessarily a bad thing but make sure thats exactly what you want to say, because you might need to convince serious business that you are not some kid with computer skills. Graphics puts things in a box, and leaves little space for your mind and concepts which i take to be more important.

good luck