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I need your opinions on my logo design!

ShowboxersShowboxers subscriber Posts: 3
edited November 2013 in Marketing
     A very talented boxer artist friend of mine is designing the logo for my future online boxer retail store Boxerhaus.com  She sent me a copy of what she had worked up but I would like to get your opinions.  The logo can be seen online at:
http://www.amityhallboxers.com/BoxerhausLogo.htm</A>    
 I think she did a beautiful job on the artwork but I feel like my name gets lost in it.  I want the customer to be able to put the logo and name together at the same time and I am not sure that is accomplished here.
      Any suggestions/ideas/recommendations I can give her would be most appreciated!
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Comments

  • NuevolutionNuevolution subscriber Posts: 30 Bronze Level Member
    I like the design.Remember though, that`s a full color CYMK logo right? or is it RGB? regardless of what it is...It`s going to be pricey when you start printing out Marketing stuff for your company.I would go with something two color or one color, it does look good for a web site splash page. Let`s animated it, in flash...
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  • iouone2iouone2 subscriber Posts: 14
    excellent comments Nuevolution and Engraver.
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  • NuevolutionNuevolution subscriber Posts: 30 Bronze Level Member
    Yes, the image is nice for t-shirts, Cups, and promotional items, but remember you will run into high prices just because it`s a full color logo.  for 1000 business cards you will be looking at around $180.00 as to having a two color logo, it would run you about $59.00 dollars. Big difference, so imagine you decide to hire 4 people with their own business cards. It will get in the 600`s very easy.
    Like everyone is saying stick to something, that even if you don`t put the name of your company, they will still know it`s you. It took me 14 Logo designs, before landing the Logo that represents my company. It also took time and money for branding and marketing my logo. Now at times I don`t have to incude the name "nuevolution web design & Consulting" I`ve tried using the logo by itself and people did recognize my company. I have some good logos, if you`d like I can send you samples... of what may work for your company...
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  • KimDushinskiKimDushinski subscriber Posts: 0
    Beth:Honestly, I don`t care for it. Before I go any further let me assure you that I am saying that with a warm and caring heart. The dog is cute and very well illustrated. It is obvious that your friend`s talent lies in drawing boxers. I would keep the dog and scrap the rest of it. If you used just the dog and the name in a much better font it would be much more powerful and make the dog stand out even more (and your name too).Good luck with this and I can`t wait to see how it turns out.
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  • DavidDavid subscriber Posts: 3
    I tried a little stylization of your logo, Showboxers.  I tried a more stained glass effect with the dog but it came out looking like bad modern art.  Here`s what I did come up with in terms of stylizing it up a little bit.
    Regular-sized
    And my attempt at a smaller version.
    I apologize if it looks bad in any way and while I`m sure mchutch would definitely do a better job, this is my little crack it.  I can try a little font redesign too.
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  • mchutchmchutch subscriber Posts: 7
    Actually, I can visualize all the logos of all the .com companies listed by TJG.

    I have to disagree with the idea that a logo is not as important to an online
    business as it is to a brick and mortar store. The Amazon logo though
    it looks deceptively simple went through a lot of design iterations
    before arriving at this. It is not only a smile but the arrow points to
    "everything from A to Z" which was one of the goals of Amazon. I should
    know, I worked on the early logo designs with a team of designers at a
    Seattle design firm I used to work for prior to starting my own studio.
    Jeff Bezos had retained several design firms in town to explore logo
    designs because he thought the logo was important enough to do so. You
    know you have a shipment from Amazon when you see the logo on the side
    of the box.

    Hotwire has a red arrow, it is an offshoot of Expedia.com. Ebay and
    Priceline are nondescript logos. They have managed to promote their
    brand through heavy marketing. Priceline does it with William Shatner
    as a spokesperson (creepy if you ask me). Most startups do not have the
    budget to do that. These sites are also function based "get the
    cheapest price" sites so they do not necessarily have to look good,
    just functional.

    Boxerhaus seems like at first glance a niche market, and it is what
    could be a boutique specialty store (Beth, please correct me if I am
    wrong). So, it would not necessarily be the place to get cheapest
    things. The logo should convey a sense of being a premium store for
    owners of boxers. I do agree with TJG that a memorable name is
    important too, but that is a given when building your brand and only
    part of the story. A logo is also important to building a brand, even
    more so when as a startup you don`t have a large marketing budget. It
    is only one of the components in a brand but it is one of the first
    calling cards or impressions a business can make to an audience or
    customer base.

    Beth has a great name for her busines, all she needs now is a logo (not an illustration with type attached to it).

    Best of luck Beth.


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  • NuevolutionNuevolution subscriber Posts: 30 Bronze Level Member
    Hello Beth,TJG is right, Someone needs to donate an idea to you.. Or perhaps lead you in the right direction to what your logo should be.Well, I took some time to lead you in the right direction, Maybe everyone can elaborate on the concept. ckup.jpg
    I hope this leads you in the right direction, or jump start your creativity..
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  • mchutchmchutch subscriber Posts: 7
    I think Beth already has someone on board that is helping her with logo design. She just needs some art direction. I also do not think that she needs a "corporate" logo.An example of a logo that is hardly corporate looking and has character it (and incidently that uses a boxer in it`s logo) can be found at www.baguettebox.com.They have excellent gourmet baguette sandwiches. There is something quirky, charming and boutique feeling about the logo, not corporate at all. The site was designed by a design colleague of mine. I don`t know who designed the logo but I think Eric the owner/chef may have started it and it was refined by the designer.Beth, I hope this example helps as reference and it helps you to develop your own unique logo for your own business.
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  • ShowboxersShowboxers subscriber Posts: 3
        WOW!  I truly appreciate all of the help that is being offered in my direction from everyone!  Thank you Nuevolution for the suggested design, TJ for looking for an artist to help me out, and to everyone for their advice and opinions.  Some differing opinions for sure and I honestly can see and follow everyone`s point.  They all make sense and what it all comes down to is for me to process all of the information and suggestions provided me and pick a direction.
        And yes Mary, you are absolutely right in that the online store I am opening will be akin to a boutique/boxer specialty store. 
          Good news is, I think I do have a direction and I have worked up some sketches of my vision, discussed them with my artist friend, scanned my sketches and am e-mailing them to her.  Like myself, she is a fellow boxer breeder and dogshow exhibitor who specializes in fine art as well as graphic art so I know she will portray the boxer in the form I am looking for.  The boxer is not a breed that is easily replicated and, because I am a bit of a boxer breed snob (not truly a snob in a general sense but I love a well bred boxer), I know my friend is the perfect artist for this job!  After discussion with her, she is going to work up some new samples for me that are more graphic art in nature and which combine the business name with the graphic more intimately (I can`t believe I just said that! ).  Anyhow, you know what I mean; putting the name and art together like they are with companies such as McDonalds, Pepsi, Amazon, Nike, etc.
          I can`t wait to get the new sketches and would like to share them for opinion when they arrive.  I told my friend how much I did love the artwork she presented to me initially and she said she would be happy to allow me to use it on my website in addition to the logo name so I am excited about that as well!  She even suggested using the original submission as a watermark on the page which is definitely something I will be considering.
           Thanks again to EVERYONE for all of your wonderful advice and for taking the time to help me with this!  I appreciate each and every one of your comments and because of your efforts, I know I will absolutely love the finished product when I have it!! 
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  • RojgieanRojgiean subscriber Posts: 0
    I would focus in on the dog, possibly even try something like a certain pose, so that you could create a "shadow" version for a simpler logo.
    By utilizing a solid one-color image, with your text, you would have a definate logo.  The way I like to approach this sort of thing, is to look at it, and say: "Will it look good, and be legible, if I shrink it to a 42x42 pixel size (A standard Icon size for your desktop) -- if yes, it is a good log; if no, it is a good design.  For a logo, it is good to stay between one (1) and four (4) colors, for simplification and ease of use within a wide array of concept implementations.
    A logo is used to symbolize a business on business cards, labels, and tags.  A design is used to embelish a website, splash page, and products to help promote your company, like t-shirts, hats, and mugs.
    While I feel somewhat like I am repeating what most of the others above have posted, I feel tat sometimes, it is simply the way in which something is said that brings it to light.
    I hope this helps!
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  • LogoMotivesLogoMotives subscriber Posts: 15
    Mary (mchutch) -I`ve got to agree with iouone2.  You provided some excellent advice in this thread.I came into this topic very late, so I read it with interest and found your perspective very informative for any business owner setting out to create a business or product identity.- J.
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  • mchutchmchutch subscriber Posts: 7
    Thanks Vince and Jeff.

    Mary
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  • ShowboxersShowboxers subscriber Posts: 3
        First I want to thank everyone for their input and comments in this discussion.  Everyone made very valid points and I appreciate the excellent advise and opinions on what a logo should be to in turn be effective.
       I wanted a logo that would stamp the Boxer Haus name in people`s memory.  I wanted a logo that not only pictured a boxer but also represented the company name and should someone see the picture standing alone after seeing it as part of the name, they would identify it as being Boxer Haus.  I wanted the name and the picture to work together jointly.
         And I am VERY pleased to announce my artist was able to capture my wishes perfectly!  She came up with a logo that is exactly as I had hoped it would be.  The name Boxer Haus means of course House of the Boxer and the new picture she integrated with the name is represented of a much simpler window in a building with two boxer puppies hanging/looking out.  
         If you would like to take a peek, the new and final logo is already up on my store website which is currently under construction.  The logo is in the header on each page of the website.  Please go and have a look at www.BoxerHaus.com</A> and let me know your thoughts!
         Thank you again to everyone!  I am very much looking forward to opening for business soon and settling on a logo design that achieves exactly what I had hoped for was most certainly a very important step in the process! 
     
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  • RojgieanRojgiean subscriber Posts: 0
    Looks good... can prolly be done for "flat logo" with three to four colors.  Good job!
    I hope you find great success with it!
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  • patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    looks cool.  are you going to register it as a federal trademark?
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