Logo - C&C please!

[badgerW]

My initials are "WBW," giving the unimaginative business name "WBW Photography." I have had the rough idea (the B on its side superimposed over two W's) for a long, long time... probably 10 years or so. I finally sat down in PS to try and make something out of it so that I can have a nice-looking website and business cards. Please let me know your thoughts. It is B&W for now but I am thinking about colors, either in the background or for the letters. Of course there are many possibilities, but I can't put anything together color-wise that looks decent, and I'm thinking maybe the B&W is the way to go.

I am going to re-make the whole thing in higher res and get all the centering/etc. right down to the pixel, so I don't need that kind of criticism at the moment. :)

CURRENT VERSION:
http://wbwdd.com/Logo-6.jpg
initial version:
http://wbwdd.com/Logo-2.jpg

[snyderman]

not 'seeing' the Ws. If you hadn't said WWW Photography I wouldn't have been able to put the black rectangles together and make out Ws.

Perhaps try the 'less is more' approach for your logo.

dave

[WaPat]

Have to agree with Snyderman here......

But....consider deemphasizing the graphic and stating the business name so folks can snap to the fact that the graphic is, indeed, a "B" and 2 "W"s.

Also, the heavy W "sticks" pretty much shouted "chaos" to me immediately upon opening your thread. Maybe consider toning them down or making them narrower and more "W" looking.

Just food for thought.

Pat

[fadetoblack22]

Hey, good start. I'm not sure if I would be able to work out what the logo says just from the first look though. Are you interested in doing it yourself or would you consider getting someone else to do it? I know another forum where you could get a good quality one done for $15-20 and have a selection to choose from.

[badgerW]

Ok, good criticism all. I think instead of just "PHOTOGRAPHY" at the bottom I will put "WBW PHOTOGRAPHY" to make it clearer what the logo is supposed to mean.

Also I understand about the heavy dark slashes to form the W's. Maybe the image as a whole is too contrasty. How about this?

http://wbwdd.com/Logo-3.jpg

[WaPat]

Seriously better, badger.

Have you given any consideration to narrowing the "typeface" of the entire graphic.

It still is overwhelming.....almost to the point of not noticing the name of your business.

Pat

[badgerW]

Seriously better, badger.

Have you given any consideration to narrowing the "typeface" of the entire graphic.

It still is overwhelming.....almost to the point of not noticing the name of your business.

Pat

Gotcha. But keep in mind, this is more about the design of the logo itself, not necessarily its scale. I know that it is kind of a heavy design and would probably not do something like make this graphic the entire front of a business card.

As for narrowing the typeface, yes I definitely considered it (basically making the stroke width of everything narrower). This would be easy to do with the B since it was just a stroked path anyway, but I would have to re-do the W's since they were text (Helvetica) that I rasterized and stretched to fit the B. I might just go ahead and do this, as it might indeed make for a better logo. I will try it tonight, thanks for the suggestion.

I am also thinking about turning the whole thing on its side so the "B" is upright and the W's pass through each of the holes in the B. I don't think it would be as compelling though.

[WaPat]

Good idea.

Leave it horizontal (I absolutely agree....vertical ungood). Then make the "B" narrower...emphasizing the "W"s.

Have a whack at it.

Pat

[hypertech]

Its way too busy and difficult to figure out what it is supposed to be. Maybe try a color for each letter so you can tell how they go together?

[Hikin Mike]

What do you specialize? The logo has an industrial (looks like a bridge to me) feel to it, at least to me. If that's what you are looking for, keep it, if not...maybe a re-design.

[badgerW]

What do you specialize? The logo has an industrial (looks like a bridge to me) feel to it, at least to me. If that's what you are looking for, keep it, if not...maybe a re-design.

Haha, yeah, I was kinda goin' for the bridge design. :) I don't plan on specializing in it, but I do like architectural photography.

I re-made the W's with stroked lines instead of the stretched Helvetica font I was using before. I also changed the way the W's "wrap" around the B, making it look more consistent.... I'm on the fence about going consistent or changing it up a bit. Anyway, Version 3 is now up.

[Hikin Mike]

Haha, yeah, I was kinda goin' for the bridge design. :) I don't plan on specializing in it, but I do like architectural photography.

Then you're done! I do like the 3rd try. :D

FWIW, Look at my logo on my avatar/website. I used the tree and mountains to form my initials, 'MM'. Since I'm a nature photographer, I think it fits quite nicely. ;)

[veeloo]

watch out with the 'w' overlapping the b, you can see a tiny segment of the top of the w when it is behind the curve of the b - looks awkward.

[badgerW]

watch out with the 'w' overlapping the b, you can see a tiny segment of the top of the w when it is behind the curve of the b - looks awkward.

I know, I have been debating whether to get rid of this from the beginning. I guess I will try it....

http://wbwdd.com/Logo-5.jpg

Hmm, I think it works. I contradicts some of my initial vision, but it does give a cleaner look without that tiny distracting strip hanging out there.

[dreamcatcher23]

maybe make the center of the W's lower and see how that looks

[badgerW]

maybe make the center of the W's lower and see how that looks

Yeah, I was just looking at that and thinking it looked a little funny....

http://wbwdd.com/Logo-6.jpg

[dreamcatcher23]

I mean so they're totally inside the B.. might make it more obvious that it's letters. to me it looks like a barbed wire fence or something right now. I definitley think you're onto something though.

[gooble]

I don't care for it. Looks like a bridge.

[veeloo]

I know, I have been debating whether to get rid of this from the beginning. I guess I will try it....

Hmm, I think it works. I contradicts some of my initial vision, but it does give a cleaner look without that tiny distracting strip hanging out there.

Cleaner professional look should outweigh your vision. A client is not going to pick up on your 'vision' for the logo, they dont care about that. If it looks crap, they think you will be crap. Thats the reality of business.