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Logo Critique

M

megageorge

macrumors member
Original poster
May 16, 2008
35
0
Sorry for another thread about logos. They seem to be quite frequent in this forum.

Anyway, I am a 14 year old from London with a strong interest in print and web design. I want a website to showcase work that I've done and I didn't think I could do that without first creating a brand for myself which could then be used later on in life.

I've taken a shot at creating some logos for myself but none of them seem to be right. They all seem to be lacking something and none of them seem particularly memorable.

This is what I have so far:

J3H7XA7.png



Just a quick note - In some logos I have grouped the letters as D ZI NA, as a common problem with the name was that people often thought it said D ZEE NA.

Any critque, comments and crictism are welcome and are much appricated.

Thanks in advance
 
As for the logos, it's hard to tell you which one I like the best. Clutter is bad. Anyway, it's the bigger one, top center I guess. With all characters touching. However, where the "n" and "i" come together is far too thick and the eye goes there right away. I suggest just putting the dot for the "i" above the "n", thus keeping it all thin, and both letters are still there.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about creating a lasting brand for yourself at the age of 14. If anything, just put your own name on the site for now.
 
Do you really need a brand, you're only 14 after all, your style/personality etc is all going to change in the next few years (well all of your life really to some extent)

Personally I would say the issue you have isn't the design of the logo's but the name, it feels a tad immature and it sounds too much like something a chav would say to me. If you must have a brand take a look around and see what other designers etc use, then try to come up with something on a similar wavelength.
 
I think the logo is supposed to read as -designer (dee-zeye-ner)- in teenage "thug" speak. For that reason, I don't like it.
 
Problem -- the word reads dee zee na

like magaZIne

No amount of graphic design will get around that.

If that's not what you intend, then it's time for a re-think.

krebstar: What possible difference does it make that the OP is 14? As an exercise alone, this is valuable, and the OP is showing some forward thinking. My caveat on this would be that the OP disclose to any prospective clients exactly the experience level that they would be hiring -- that's when it's relevant.
 
Logo critique

The problem is it only reads correctly in a southern/London English accent. Wouldn't make sense to our American friends, most of whom would roll the 'r' at the end of 'designer' instead of you saying a truncated 'designa', and because they would naturally pronounce the 'zi' as 'zee' instead of 'zye'.
This isn't necessarily a problem because I don't think you're ready to take on the US market just yet, but it's the reason why some people on this site have misinterpreted it.
Basically as far as logo design is concerned, if the audience has to think too much about what it is/means then it's failed already.
I agree though, I wouldn't invest too much thought in it at this stage. Get a decent portfolio of work and you won't have to worry too much about a logo.
 
Stop relying on the font designer for originality. Also, don't use Century Gothic, Futura, or whatever that is. Also, the "creative spellings of design" thing is way overdone and hackneyed.

I'd start from scratch and get a more creative concept for your business. The most important skill in working with clients is to be able to dispense with your preconceived notions and start over when they hate it--or else they'll never be repeat business. Think more outside of the box with this one.
 
wongulous said:
Stop relying on the font designer for originality. Also, don't use Century Gothic, Futura, or whatever that is. Also, the "creative spellings of design" thing is way overdone and hackneyed.
Click to expand...

Can't agree more, it's say n00b not professional IMHO. If you want to build brand, CV, portfolio, etc.. spell things correctly and use proper grammar, people do not thinks it's cool or "edgy" they think uneducated.
 
Do not do anything with boxes, its hard to make it work and its especially not working in your case. However I kind of like the one that looks like its in brackets the [dzina] looking one. Second it does need a name change, try to brainstorm for something more catchy, or a word that would fit in a viral marketing scheme. Third it needs color thats the something its lacking. You don't need to go crazy with color but something as simple as making the Z red, or blue or a color of your choice. Finally the typeface is not extremely bold and authoritative try to pick a typeface that screams elegance, and boldness. Also one last thing try to make at least one letter a different typeface than the rest (I think the letter you chose to change the color should also have a different typeface, this may or may not work just experiment).
 
CanadaRAM said:
Problem -- the word reads dee zee na

like magaZIne

No amount of graphic design will get around that.

If that's not what you intend, then it's time for a re-think.

krebstar: What possible difference does it make that the OP is 14? As an exercise alone, this is valuable, and the OP is showing some forward thinking. My caveat on this would be that the OP disclose to any prospective clients exactly the experience level that they would be hiring -- that's when it's relevant.
Click to expand...

Forward thinking and trying to create a brand for yourself to actually use on a website are two different things to me.
 
I'd go with the one on the bottom left as my choice (with underscore.)

But I'd keep working on it and evolving it if I were you.

Good start!
 
Krebstar said:
Also, I wouldn't worry too much about creating a lasting brand for yourself at the age of 14. If anything, just put your own name on the site for now.
Click to expand...

Definitely, use the time you'd be designing your own logo making your portfolio look as good as possible. Having a logo for yourself isn't important, your name at the top using nicely, elegant, simple typography is the best way to go. Choose a good typeface and your done! :)
 
AlexisV said:
Does it? I'm English, but I read dee-zeen-a!
Click to expand...

Ok admittedly I'm from the south east but I was in Yorkshire for a few years too and I would never have said dezina as deezeena, I can't even think of a work which has an i sound like an e, not saying his approach is good but I'm not getting all the issues with its pronunciation :confused:
 
Being a designer and having your own logo is a good thing, despite what other people say. It identifies and reinforces (if done well) your brand.

The logo itself is not the brand. The logo is an identifier of your brand. Hence the name brand identity. A brand is a persons gut feeling about a product or service. If I said to you 'Ferrari' you immediately think of quality and perfection. If I said 'Ford' you would think they're 'ok' nothing fancy. This is the brand.

Regarding your logo you need to think about how you want to be 'seen' as a designer. Are you a funky designer with a grunge deconstructivist style or a more reserved corporate style designer etc.

Once you know your identity then you can go about creating a logo to represent it.

Regarding the work you have posted here I would advise you move away from the 'thug speak' as someone called it as this instantly says 'unprofessional'. You wouldn't spell designer 'dzina' in an email when looking for work or when sending correspondence to a client. Get as far away from this as you can.

All designers are 'dzinas' so there is no point calling yourself a designer when people already know that. You are missing out on an opportunity to tell the audience something unique about you and your work.

My logo for example: http://www.stuartluff.co.uk/

Apart from reinforcing my name with bold type it shows how insanely organised I am with the perfectly spaced dots (which also loosely reads as an S and an L) enclosed in a perfect square but also tip the hat to my design influences - The International Typographic style, better known as 'swiss design'. Basically this is a very minimalistic style with good typography as the base. The colours, simplicity and typeface in my logo reflect this. My logo represents me!

So think who you are, what you want and how you want to be 'seen' and it should give you a good starting point towards designing your own logo. A great logo together with a fantastic service will help build a positive brand.
 
gradient mac has a good point, and if you cram together that many logos, don't display them to anyone because they wont be able to isolate it if you really want to keep the logo, but to me, the name sounds childish and macboobspro (giggle) explained it all
 
MacboobsPro has good advice as do the others. Depends on your market, but using a slang usage of the word designer might not work against you for more formal design work.Just thinking of DJs - do designers have more than one name though?
 
'GradientMac' seems to have solved a small part of the problem.

d•zyna

Seems like it'd be pronounced correctly to me.
Click to expand...

This would look pretty good.

But I know its hard to just think of a name for your brand and then come up with a logo that goes with your brand and identity too but I believe its best to just keep it very simple, and I also think you may need to think of a new name for your brand BUT for now this is a good learning curve for you and you should try to design a nice typography of d•zyna and see what you come up with.

Colours are needed most of the time but for now leave out all the colours until you have a logo to colour in

There's some good graphics designers on this forum :p a good resource, good to see your using it :)

Good luck!
 
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