design subversive logo prototype

Submitted by 100fires on Sun, 2007-10-21 06:31.

Critique

i am a webdesigner and i have been really struggling with this logo. many many hours later this is what i have. as you might have guessed, the company is called design subversive.

your thoughts much appreciated.

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The symbol is too

Submitted by Ivan on Sun, 2007-10-21 07:38.

The symbol is too complicated for no good reason. The small flame is strange in the speech bubble. I don't like the typeface either.

are you sure you wish to communicate this?

Submitted by wszp on Sun, 2007-10-21 16:29.

The first thing that pops in my mind is flames, as in flames in forums and chat rooms. Are you sure you wish to communicate this? If not I suggest taking a new approach. I second Ivan in that you should look for a typeface replacement too. I'm waiting for where the logo evolves.

The speech bubble is so web

Submitted by natobasso on Sun, 2007-10-21 18:23.

The speech bubble is so web 2.0.

Try designs with pencil and paper first, then only in black and white, no color.

What's your creative brief, and what's the competition doing? How can you differentiate?

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Powerpoint is not a design application

yayyy back to the drawing

Submitted by 100fires on Sun, 2007-10-21 18:57.

yayyy back to the drawing board!

any ideas?

Submitted by 100fires on Sun, 2007-10-21 21:19.

the thing is that this is my third effort. you can peruse my earlier attempts:
http://designsubversive.net/warehouse/first_effort.pdf
and
http://designsubversive.net/warehouse/second_effort.pdf

when you are done laughing at my earlier efforts i would appreciate some ideas. fyi, conceptually i am trying to evoke the spark of change inherent in the idea of Subversive with the match flame, that is all i got. i am going to take a brake from this project and do some other work for a while.
again, thanks for your comments. and stop laughing!

Sorry about my earlier web

Submitted by natobasso on Mon, 2007-10-22 03:27.

Sorry about my earlier web 2.0 comment. You saw it before I could edit it into something more constructive.

It would help to know more about what the company you're designing the logo for. Then I can provide a more constructive critique.

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Powerpoint is not a design application

While I would stay away from

Submitted by olliesan1 on Sun, 2007-10-21 21:48.

While I would stay away from suggesting the Cold War (very mid 80s) I don't think a backwards letter is a bad idea. It suggests non-conformity.
I also don't think the match is a bad idea. I just think it could be executed better. As has been suggested, the typeface isn't working. Seeing it, would you think subversive? To me it looks somewhat friendly and rather commercial. Also the talk bubbles are overused, and wouldn't subversive suggest more of a whisper, something more covert?
You mention "spark of change". How could you illustrate that? A spark perhaps? Maybe some other symbol?
I think your concepts have potential. You just need the elements of your design to all work together. And keep it simple. Some of your designs have too much going on.

thanks ollisan1 for that,

Submitted by 100fires on Sun, 2007-10-21 22:10.

thanks ollisan1 for that, the spark idea.... unfortunately i cant separate spark from cheesy, how would i make an non-cheesy spark? i am sure its just me, i am sure a non-cheesy spark is out there somewhere waiting to be found.
i dont know what to do about the typeface, some inspiration is coming from the constructivist and soviet era poster designs, they all use big blocky lettering.
i agree that on my first effort there was way too much going on, which is why i was a little surprised by ivan's comment about the third effort being too complicated. hmmm.

Submitted by olliesan1 on Sun, 2007-10-21 23:44.

http://www.darlingdesigngroup.com/print-design/id_spark.php Maybe not the best example, but I wouldn't call it cheesy. Of course that logo would be inappropriate for your purposes. You could just draw up different "sparks" and see what happens. Maybe try for something a little messier.
As far as the typeface I can understand your thinking, but the posters are more government propaganda. Have you considered something maybe kind of scratchy/handwritten? Or not so clean?
I can't speak for Ivan, but I do think the ones at the top are definitely too complicated with the speech bubble, staggered letters and the icon. It just seems too crowded. I'd go more in the direction of the lower ones with type and mark, it's much stronger.