A three-color logo strikes me as something they might shoot down just because it would cost more to print.

Can you discuss why you chose those three colors? That particualr font?

Are those supposed to be suitcases? Lunch boxes? 1960's portable radios? Diaper bags? I suppose any of those could say "destination," but how do three of them, identical except for color, say "development"?

Pitch us this design! How did you sell it to your CEO? Did s/he say anything about it before fobbing the decision off on old clients? (By the way, that's a very strange group to use as a test market.)

Mara

I'm not hating it...

I think the idea is strong, the scalability isn't

Thanks, Shanda. While awaiting your response, I had a look at your Web site. Nice stuff there!

Did you see the few extra comments I added to my first post? (Sorry, my mother must have rubbed Strunk & White on her tummy before I was born; I'm a pathological re-writer.) They may be germaine.

I think what might be a problem is that the target audience -- correct me if I'm wrong -- is probably hung up on the historic attractions of their towns/cities as tourist destinations. For that reason, they may find your more modern approach quite incongruous.

Maybe if you could do something super-over-the-top-faboo in one color, and could find a printer who'd do great work for you fast and cheap, maybe they'd get off the color copier kick. It's got to be more expensive. I'm thinking you could work with the passport theme, shipping labels, or any number of things that would make cool use of the least expensive papers. With the right gimmick, you could even work out inexpensive but imaginative packaging for special promotions.

Could be fun. Too bad it isn't so far.

Mara

Opinion on the current logo: harsh, unimaginative colors. Generic use of compass could be a travel agency rather than a consulting group. Looks too retailish to warrant the kinds of dollars they no doubt expect municipalities to cough up for their services.

Knowing City Fathers (and Mothers) as I do, it might be that the lack of imagination indicated by the current logo translates as comforting. But as those Fathers and Mothers retire, to be replaced by hot-shots fresh out of their local universitys' economic development/urban planning programs, that's going to be less bankable.

Mara

You need to understand a few things about the folks who manage their towns' tourism programs. They tend to be very old-fashioned about things like civic pride, history, voluntary service, and economy. They are usually working with taxpayer dollars or grants, and are sensitive to how they account (in more ways than one!) for the decisions they make. Often, tourism is a town's last resort, after years of economic decline. The "look" of any consulting company they employ cannot be too flashy or whimsical, or their defenses will go right up and stay there. Look at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Main Street USA program, or any other outfit that specializes in hyping tourism to help backwater towns out of their economic doldrums.

The challenge here is not to come up with the shiniest geegaw at the carnival. It's to come up with a logo that says "trust me, I know what's best for your backwater town with the tourism fetish." As you wrestle with this challenge, please try to imagine that the people served by your employer are trying to do the right thing for the towns they love, and want more than anything to be sure they choose a consultant who'll make them proud of their involvement in whatever projects come out of the consultation. Rent "Doc Hollywood" if you have to. Think Squash Festival. Then start drawing.

You have the chance to generate enthusiasm for a service that holds the potential to save a whole lot of wonderful American towns from turning into Wal-Mart parking lots. Go for it!

Mara

It looks too much like a tour operator or travel website for me.

I quite like the colours but don't see it working well in greyscale.

I like the suitcase motif but I dislike the typography.
It's all a bit too modern for the brand and purpose.

Clean it up, look at a more classic font.
I really try to avoid using a whacky font for a logo.
If their current brand looked fresh ten years ago, think how yours will look in ten years time. It's relying on what's cool now too much and bizarrely is reminding me of a coffee chain.

Take the initials out of the cases, lose two of the cases, use that motif as a brand device and develop the idea, try a font like Gill Sans or Helvetica, something classic and non-offensive to even the eldest of eyes.

The fact their current logo is so old fashioned does suggest that you need to take baby steps, first wean them off the serif fonts and the colour.

Keep it simple.

Choose one colour, use that well with black on a white background.
Choose another colour, use that reversed on black with white.

My biggest problem in retrospect isn't the scaling, it's the longevity of the design, it's going to look pretty old pretty fast.

I work solo, mostly, and it can feel like I'm the last dried up little raisin rattling around in the bottom of the can.

You know, any designer can crank out fabulous stuff in the best of all possible creative environments. When you can come up with a winning idea on peanuts (or one dried-up little raisin), that's when you know you've got some serious design chops. You CAN do this!

To get you thinking along different lines, I took a few minutes to tinker with a rejected logo from my client archive, thought about your employer, and came up with this: (note the ##s in the globe = $$$)

Mara

I live in a small city that hired an agency such as yours. The fallout was terrible but that's another story. ;) Anyways, I'd go in the direction of something more civic and business minded and not too retail. Remember, the travel aspect isn't as important as the people visiting the city are going to be spending money.

I am by no means an expert in logo design but I usually sketch pages and pages of ideas - bad ideas, good ideas - it doesn't matter. I've had what I though were bad ideas transform into something really good. Then I start picking the best ones to work on computer. When you start working on computer you start to get a feel for which ones won't work. Then just keep refining and refining. If anything, don't come up with just one single concept because you'll get attached to it and if it fails you have to start over again.

Another trick I use is purely typographic solutions. They're abstract so that you can easily post-rationalize them. ;) Plus, from what I've seen on your website, you've got a nice fresh take on typography.

I think you did an excellent job. I really like that logo.

The only problem is, I think it is too casual. Make something a bit more business like.

Good luck!

If you can't come up with 20 new ideas for a logo, then you need to learn how to recreate creativity. you can never get stuck on one thing - it will hurt you as a designer. be able to come up with infinity ideas - there is something out there that both of you are going to like.

with that said, it doesn't seem like you need to create anything new. just give a nice upgraded facelift to the current logo, possibly with a more modern typeface, and a new color palette, and you will be good to go.

verhine.com

I can see why they didn't go for the new idea. Something about it feels to me like it's about "going" somewhere versus "being" somewhere new.

It's too bad that they couldn't give you better feedback. I always push for more information... it's a good way to learn what works for regular folks.

I'd try stacking the words and trying something with the two 'D's. A compass is very generic... so are the words "destination" and "development".

Maybe you can do something that uses arrows that remind them of a compass - but simplify it. Use the negative space inside the D's for the arrow shapes?

Just off the top of my head....

Maybe because I love a retro styled logo that it immediately caught my attention. I think the type treatment works for what you're trying to convey. The ONLY thing I think that could make it more successful instead of repeating the suitcases 3x—leave one suitcase up there, and then maybe add a silly little compass (to please the CEO) and then as a third element, add an airplane, or a cruise ship, or something like that. This way it's not so repetitive in its execution.

I still cannot believe that the CEO loved it and chose to show it to 50 of his clients??? What was he thinking? Get some balls, buddy (not you) and make a decision based on what YOU want, not your clients. It's a logo, it doesn't mean that the business/company is changing their ways, it's just updating a look. To send a logo to 50 clients—well, I can't imagine that all 50 of them would love or hate it. That's just silly. I have never heard of a business owner doing that.

Sorry to hear it got shot down, I think it's great other than the 3 inline suitcases. I think the colors are really cool, too. Once again, a nice retro feel.

Good luck on this one! I hope he ends up changing it because that original logo is just hideous—and very outdated. =P

suzanne maestri-walters :: graphic designer :: www.onegirlcreative.com

FWIW, I really see the image of a compass as something that says "go" rather than "come" or "come & stay". Really, the same applies to the suitcases. I really dig your version of the logo in-and-of itself, but as we've already established, it probably doesn't fit your target audience very well. I think it would work extremely well for an organization in the TRAVEL industry, but not TOURISM.

That said, I don't think your version is any less appropriate than the old version. The "go" image the old one portrays bothers me at least as much as the dated look.

Now, what would be more of an icon that suggests, "come over here and enjoy your stay!"? A rocking chair would be headed more in the right direction, but probably still a little too cliché, and inappropriate for some client towns. I'd look at photos from some of the past client towns and see if something jumps out at you... perhaps the ornamentation on a lamp post or some kind of architectural detail that suggests American History. Just don't make it look like a mom & pop realty company from 1978! ;-)

As far as something fun would go...Need to do something with a landscape/horizon line..maybe keep the compass but work into a cool horizon design or even a sun. When thinking of destinations, to me it is what lies around the bend or what is waiting beyond the horizon.

On the other hand, they may not want a total redesign, but may want to maintain their current brand/logo. In that case I agree with the above poster who recommended a typface change and an minor stylistic update to the compass rose.

Just my thoughts at first glance.

"When I grow up, I want to be a little boy." Joseph Heller

The clients for this company are towns or cities that are trying to boost their economies by enhancing existing attractions and making them more (a) appealing; and (b) accessible. The attractions might be sweet little bed-and-breakfasts in a small rural town, but in a city, it might be a new convention center or close-in airport, or revamped downtown business district with several upscale hotels.

Whatever the local attraction is, the people who would be hiring Shanda's company are as serious as death about their mission, which is probably a last-ditch effort to keep a town or city from going under, economically. So Shanda's company needs an identity that speaks leadership, trustworthiness, and a certain amount of creativity, in that order.

It's not a travel agency. (That's the main thing wrong with the original logo; it does suggest that.) But Shanda's initial design seems a little too soft to hit the target.

I'm eager to see what Shanda comes up with a second time around.

Mara

In my experience it's always best not to stray from the briefing.

From what i read, the client likes their current logo but they think it's a bit worn out. And by the looks of it, it wasn't made by designer.

Maybe all they want from you is to freshen it up a bit: redraw the compass a bit cleaner, use a similar but nicer font and rearrange these elements so they'll fit better on stationary etc.

But i must admit i was inspired by the comments here, to design something completely diffrent! I'd love to show it you, but i don't know how to post a jpg here. Could i mail it to you?

717

PS soz for any typo's

studio shanda

I totally agree with the suggestions made by others here about evolving the elements of the existing logo. Keep the colours, use a 'safe/conservative' font, adapt the compass device - and add some freshness.

I had a little play with it and came up with this:

Maybe that's taking things too far, but maybe it will inspire you if you haven't cracked it already?!

Good luck :)

@717 - to post your image here, first save it as small-ish JPEG, upload it to http://imageshack.us (a free image hosting service) then copy the 'Hotlink for Websites' code it gives you and paste it into your reply. Preview your comment to make sure it's worked!

www.ImageShack.us" />

The second color one. Also the tack idea is great, I almost want to put a Hawaiian Lia around the tack for color and life.

you have a specific market, and a bold business name. why not play on/with them?

what occurs to me is something iconic that suggests putting a city 'on the map'. the tack idea above could be reworked slightly to suggest a city or something indicative of a city being put on the map, or becoming a destination?

i'd try to mock a few up, but i'm more an ideas guy and technerd round here than an executor/implementor O_o