My Business Card and Logo
cRiMiNaL_Design (29 pencils) | Thu, 2011-05-05 16:06
This is more or less my logo, now i know one of the first things that literally screams at you is the name, and I mean one of the most obvious questions (most redundant at times) would be what prompted me to give my self such a "distasteful" name...
The thing is of course its an acronym, out side of that i have always had a liking to that cliche about not judging a book by its cover... in any case feedback appreciated...
Commenting on this Image is closed.
Well, besides the name attracting the wrong demographic if you're planning to make money..
Too many font types... it looks like you used 3-4, maybe 5? You should also upload the jpeg so we get a proper look at it.
I'm glad you mentioned the bit about the font, I've made the necessary changes thanks for pointing that out for me, I've been making toying with various fonts for a while I suppose the just got lost in the process
well the naming has been the source of much debate the thing about it is, I sometimes dislike individuals who only look at the surface, granted this really shouldn't necessarily apply to designs of this type, but if you're to to immediately assume that I'm a thief or some deviant without even giving it a second though, then quite likely you are not someone i'd want to work with any way...
thinking about it though deviantart is a well known site, and of course we all know what deviant is usually thought to mean
the versions black/white were intended to be a bit different, but i took what you said about the fonts into consideration see attached versions
i'll have to fix it size is off
What does the acronym stand for?
Leaky Penny
Check out what I've been up to lately!
http://petersonjoseph.com
I'm going to print it out and eat it.
-Unknown Artist
Conceptually Rich... Impeccably Manicured... Illustrious, Neat All be it Lovely...
Who's your target audience?
Leaky Penny
Check out what I've been up to lately!
http://petersonjoseph.com
I'm going to print it out and eat it.
-Unknown Artist
My original target audience was mostly people in my niche, in my view i figured they'd appreciate it more, that was my original assessment, as it is now however i guess I've made a dent so I'm being referred quite often to more and more clients who insist that do up a business card, there in lies my situation, as someone rightly said the name is a bit dubious, but I've gotten this far on talent, not based on any misguided preconceived notions about what i choose to call my self.
I really do appreciate the comments though they've been really helpful, actually came up on the site by accident i suppose I'll be sticking around though
Well, if you intend to go beyond your niche, I suggest a name change.
No one will take you seriously if they ask you why your company name is "Criminal Designs".
"Conceptually Rich... Impeccably Manicured... Illustrious, Neat All be it Lovely..." ?
It also sheds a bad stereotypical light on you. And honestly, it's sounds ridiculous and shows no creativity.That's unfortunately the world we live in.
A lot of people can pull off a name like that but go no further than club flyers, mix tape albums, event posters and badly photoshopped vanity pics. If you intend to make your business a serious one with a more varied clientele then you need to come up with a less devious name. You can claim it's misguided preconceived notions as much as you want, but when you start losing business over it (or potential clients being turned off by the name), then its a serious matter. And when *most* people start being turned away by the name, it'll no longer be misguided notions, but just tackyness.
Sorry to be harsh but I rather be straight up with you and let you know how some, if not most people outside your niche will see your business.
Leaky Penny
Check out what I've been up to lately!
http://petersonjoseph.com
I'm going to print it out and eat it.
-Unknown Artist
Hmmm, i think you probably took my statements out of context, the fact that you quoted them would suggest the like... let me assure you it wasn't directed at you it was a generalized statement.
I do get what you're saying though, the name is a issue on some levels, but a very wise... very rich old man(a new client mind you) told me just this morning that he could care less what I call my self at the end of the day he just wants to ensure that i can get the job done which is what I think is the most important aspect of all this
oh and its cRiMiNaL_Design without the 's. The connotation of pluralizing design suggests something else, though i suppose it has been the subject of most of the debate so far...
i hate to pee in your cornflakes. but grammatically, you're using that phrase incorrectly:
first, the correct word is "albeit" - all one word. not "all be it"
second, albeit is used to show comparison or contrast in place of something like "however" or "although"
example: "albeit functional in the acronym. the op has used the term incorrectly"
third, rich, impeccable, manicure, illustrious. are all "lovely" things. so even if it were spelled correctly. its not used properly.
i say this whole concept as well as the execution needs a complete rethink.
sorry. its just the truth.
Well i suppose i wouldn't care much for pee and corn flakes but i intentionally did not use albeit for the same reason you mentioned... its for comparison/contrast... all-be-it as used to refer to all the words being lovely, I mean I guess its subject to interpretation because you stated all of what I just said in your post, so as I said its the interpretation... all the words as you rightly said are.. well... can be used to define something lovely and if you were to re-read it with that in mind, I'm sure you'd agree that there's no reason to offer up pee and corn flakes :)
Its quite nice to give input when asked but designs are not black and white so to speak and the thing about it is.
You know I do like the fact that it has garnered a bit of interest, but I'm not sure it warrants a complete rethink.
let me try to get my head around what youre saying here. are you saying that youve used "all be it" to reference the previous words all being lovely things?
as if to say "they all be it"?
Ah well no... "they all be it?", I'm not sure how you got that but anyway... the words together aren't necessarily meant to be a "proper" sentence they were originally just though up as words that connotes a nice or lovely looking design...
yeah, i get that the words are simply descriptives (descriptives better suited to a day spa in my opinion. but thats a whole other conversation) and arent supposed to read like complete sentence.
but there is a common conversational understanding of what the words all, be and it mean when used consecutively. and the way youve used it makes no sense. and just makes you look marginally-literate.
Well i suppose that better than being totally illiterate :)
wzgn - You beat me to this comment.... that was seriously bugging me.
Regarding the design (presuming that you're going to make whatever decision you want about the name, and I doubt my input would change that), you came here to get input. It seems that most posts are recommending you rethink the entire image, if not the entire brand.
Rather than taking time to critique and prompt you to defend something you did years ago and recognize on at least some level needs work (otherwise you wouldn't be here), let's brainstorm some solutions.
First, decide if you are stuck on the name. If yes, just say so, straight out, and we'll all move on. If not, you could post a list of options and we'll help you explore said list further.
Second, to me, the image is a blend of 80's-tech font and what comes across as a great pattern for an action-adventure video game. The font combos do not work well (as stated above) and there are far more clever ways to use the name, if you are stuck on doing so. Sooo... you should examine work being done in the genre you are committing to with this name, and try to go from there to update the look of your companies identity.
Hope this helps! We all look forward to seeing where you go from here :)
From success to failure is one step. From failure to success is a long road.
Also, if you're stuck on the acronym, maybe try "...Neat, altogether Lovely". It would at least be grammatically acceptable.
From success to failure is one step. From failure to success is a long road.
I like that :D thanks, i had explained the use of all be it as opposed to albeit but i think this is really quite nice :)
I don't like the blur you used on the CRIMINAL part of the colored design. The solid white type already stands out nicely against the dark background. The outer glow effect makes it almost look pixelatted. The pink type also seems odd, especially with the darker red lines directly above. I would say tone it down to 1, maybe 2 colors for all of the fonts. Pink and yellow together remind me of Easter.
Actually its not blurred it was a problem with the image in and of its self i re-uploaded them so you could check back, the outer glow was unconsciously wasn't a part of the original design accident i suppose.
The pink, now this might sound a bit gay but I like pink I mean, i like red but its a bit painful on the eyes sometimes, i get what you're saying about the yellow combination
Thanks for your input though its been really informative, i'll make the edits and re-upload.
This will work fine until you get out of highschool and start thinking seriously about a career.
Ok I hope there's no problem with editing a post because i just change the pic the original ones were a bit odd on the page not that there's been a huge improvement but anyway. Art D. well to be honest I'm out of high school, university as well, more or less I've been using the name on designs for quite a while now even with corporate designs, just that I've never really had a logo of it or a business card for that matter. I posted the meaning just now but in any case
Conceptually Rich... Impeccably Manicured... Illustrious, Neat All be it Lovely...
Yeah - I got it the first time around. It doesn't work. It's not an acronym either. The point of my post was this whole idea seems very amateur hour to me. It's the kind of name a gamer would come up with - not a designer. You can justify it a million ways in your head (don't judge a book by it's cover, etc...) and sure you'll find a client or two who will love the idea. Bottom line? You'll lose more business than you'll get with a name like this. And the nonsensical tag you created to fit the word "criminal" just compounds the problem imho. There will be a few people who think you're a creative, talented artist thinking outside the box when they see this card - a few. But most will think you're a poseur imho. Look on the board here - you have plenty of responses - how many support your name choice? How many are (politely) telling you it sucks?
I am a gamer, a hardcore gamer actually, that's partly how i got the name, not that i cheated or anything...
I suppose all I don't mind the suggestions I'm appreciative of the feedback, even if i come across as being shape in my replies its just the way i talk
yeah, as a general practice you should NOT change a picture once someone has commented on it. if you do. someone else reading later will likely be unable to make sense of whats going on.
if you want to change something. either add it further down the discussion. delete the post, or create a new one.
Sorry about the i changed the original picture because it was positioned incorrectly, I didn't expect comments to be coming in so soon....
very bad combo (types, colors) at bc.
if you want a 80's american TV series logo than it's done.
the all caps 'n' show us some conflict with 'design' one.
definitely there are two logos on one
I think it's too much trip by square inch.
yes I'm brazilian xD
Ah, I'm having a difficult time understanding exactly what you're saying here, I suppose its quite clear that you are not particularly fond of it but, I'm not getting much else...
Maybe you could offer a suggestion, in plainer English... ah no offense :| :| :|
let's try again babe
your bc is a rubish IMHO
your logo is a bad trip IMHO
suggestion: none can help you.
yes I'm brazilian xD
ok, bottom line here - because somebody needs to say it.
you keep talking about your "niche" but lets be honest. what you mean is black people. people of color. or african-americans...call it what youre comfortable with. but probably to narrow it down to a sub-category, "hustlas" or "pimps" or "playas"
maybe im wrong. but what youve presented here is 100% stereotypical design for that demographic.
and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. that is an extremely viable and thriving target audience. just like there is a target demographic of white housewives whove sent "the bachelor" into top ratings ; )
BUT
there are verbal and stylistic tendencies within your stated "niche" that most people outside of it would consider misguided if not outright incorrect. as i have with your use of "all be it"
its clear that you have a very good command of the software and an equally admirable ambition. but from a design and language perspective. youre presenting football to a tennis audience. (same thing happened here: http://creativebits.org/signlime) not that either is any better than the other. but both may find themselves misunderstood and under-appreciated outside of their target audience.
I didn't mean black people... and I've never actually met a pimp or the like, probably not important but I'm not from the states, and where I live we have a healthy mix of races.... outside of that i can appreciate what you're saying... in any case thanks for the feedback
It's hard to comment on your choice of name without knowing your audience type - the logo has something going for it - though needs a little refinement: the bar above 'Design' and the word 'design' itself feel like a bit of an afterthought for a start. The cards feel like club flyers, but as I say, this may be perfect for your audience.
The one thing I would definitely suggest you do is research the name first - there are several well known individuals and agencies already using the name 'Criminal Design' or something similar (Two for a start: http://www.gigposters.com/designer/29062_Criminal_Design.html and http://www.criminaldesigns.com/index.html ).
The main issue there are that they could take offence and/or legal action which can become costly. You could be mistaken for them - which can at best be embarrassing and mean that all you are doing is advertising their business and at worst mean that you end up with some very irritated clients who feel cheated.
That second link is... wow
Whatever do you mean? Green tentacles are all the rage these days!!! :D
>> Cookie cut the chaos >>
Sure is - and that's just the main ones I found. You should've seen some of the others!
Yo Google Jiggles Da Criminal_Design.
yes I'm brazilian xD
Your English? is so weird. :|
Oh my, firstly thank you, I never really thought about looking up the name and I must admit some of the designs look kinda how should i say "fitting" :), this has definitely given me a lot to think about, I suppose i've had the name for quite a while 8years+, but I mean i stuck with it for so long because I though it would be unique in any case thanks for this.
the thing about names like criminal, assassin, con, gangsta, etc... pretty much anything with a possibly negative connotation. you have to accept that you get what you ask for. and people dont have time (ESPECIALLY online) to get to know you or really even give a shit what youre REALLY about.
again, especially online. a book is often only judged by its cover. like it or not. thats reality.
as an example. im a video producer. and many of the video forums have marketplace sections where people buy and sell often very expensive gear. and if i have two guys who are selling basically the same item for the same general price and have reasonably the same forum activity. one is named charliesmith and the other is darkdemon. im going to have to choose the one (based on what limited info i have) i feel more confident funneling my $3000 to.
and all things being equal, id bet the vast majority of folks would choose charlie.
Is it just me or are you comments getting better with time lol, anyway you have definitely helped me on this one and i suppose in general, i mean its quite well and good to point out whats wrong with something which is what seems to be the norm here not that I mind really, but outside of that you're actually given me information that is indeed quite relevant and well... useful, much obliged.
The thing is, well in my view one of the fundamental reasons of asking for a critique is for the critic to analyze and give meaningful feedback (i suppose you can blab if you want to) but you've done the former and you've done a very good job...
Thank you.
Those motorcycle paint jobs are criminal.
Wow - most comments ever??
>> Cookie cut the chaos >>