Posted 14 May 2007, by Aaron
A few days ago I posted a personal logo conceptual design and asked for your feedback. What became clear from the comments I received was that everyone’s instinctive first response upon seeing the logo was not the response I desired. It drew the wrong connotations in the viewers mind.
So, back to the sketchpad I went, and taking the previous comments on board I have a new concept to present:
So once again, I open it up to you guys to give me your honest feelings about this design?
I promise later in the week to write a detailed post on how I came to this second design, and my rational behind this and the previous design, with a shed-load of sketches chucked in for good measure.
Many thanks for the previous posts’ comments: David, Asgeir, Paul, Tara and Rob.
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Tags:Branding, Design, Logos, Marketing, Personal
Hi Aaron,
I think you’re heading in the right direction. This one is an improvement from the last.
I’d find it a lot easier to give a critique if you give some background on it, such as who you’re targetting, what message you want to deliver, how the logo represents something about you etc.
Perhaps the five circles each represent an aspect of your brand for instance? Does the transparency say something about you? The particular colours chosen? Why circles and not triangles or squares?
When I was designing my own logo I found it very helpful to write a project brief, as you would if you were your own client. If you have something similar it’d be great to see what you came up with.
One quick point about this idea, I don’t think the underline is working. It’s too closely associated with hyperlinks in my opinion.
Oh well, that saves me writing much then… 
Mr Airey has just said exactly what I was going to say - apart from the bit about the underline, and how much of a problem that might be will depend on the context and placement.
However… Much better than the last one - and definitely heading towards a brandable design, which I’m assuming is what you’re after?
I like this one much better than the last. I didn’t comment on it before because everyone had pretty much beat me to the punch that it resembled a charity ribbon. But this one is clean, modern, and the color is fun. I like the way your name is laid out horizontally now instead of stacked.
I do agree with David about the underline. I guess it bothers my eyes how the A and last L in your name grab onto it. I think it would look just as well without it.
I am interested in how you came up with the 5 circles as well. If you know me, you know I love color .. the more the merrier, but what prompted the circles and the color choice for them?
Logos are definitely not my strong point, so I applaud what your work here. When someone says they need a logo, I cringe .. to me, it’s one of the hardest things to design. I’d rather do 20 brochures than one logo =)
Once again, thanks for all the comments. I purposefully havn’t provided much background thinking for this design yet - I wanted your honest and instictive feelings of looking at the logo at a glance. Over the next week I plan to write a series of posts detailing how I came to this concept and the various stages I went through.
Unfortunately I don’t have any time to alter this much, but luckily I’ve woken up feeling really positive about the concept - it’s here to stay. I hadn’t thought about the underline representing a hyperlink, so I will experiment with the typographic part tonight, but then im drawing a line under it… so to speak. 
David - Rest assured, I haven’t just decided on a whim that ‘I need a logo’. I didn’t write a brief as such, but I have written a faily comprehenseive personal marketing plan I can email you if you’re interested?
Paul - Indeed a personal brand is exactly what I’m after. I’m already picturing lots of ways I can use the colours and circles.
Sera - Thanks for the kind words. The reason I picked those colours is that they are the same colour pallete I use on this site - I wanted a subtle way of linking this site with my new personal website (currently being built). Like I said, keep your eyes peeled for a more detailed explanation over the next few days.
I like the circle design but for me the line jars with the circles - do you need that line at all, the same with the line under your name? Have you tried using a sans serif typeface to see how this would change the personality of the logo?
Tara - Initially I tried this without the seperating line. I felt the triangle of the circles looked unbalanced alongside the typographic part. The small seperating line was added, and I feel helps compared to how it was without it. The underline I will experiment with tonight. I might get rid of it based on everyone’s feedback.
Throughout the whole creation process I’ve experimented with lots of fonts - although most of them serifs. I’m actually rather fond of Garamond - it’s by far the most beautiful and elegant font in my collection. It kind of makes my knees go all wobbly.
Wow, I have never known someone so passionate about a font
When your knees have stopped wobbling I’d love to see your marketing plan.
The circles don’t look proportionate in size to the lettering in my opinion, but I’ve always been a bit cross-eyed, haha. I think you’re heading in the right direction though! The typography is elegant and bold at the same time.
David - I can assure you it’s not the most interesting thing you’ll ever read, but it should be in your inbox now
Scot - I did play around with a few size options. To be honest, I envisage using the circles a bit flexibly depending on where I’m using them. Sometimes they might be smaller, sometimes bigger. Glad you too are a fan of the Garamond… does it make your knees go wobbly too?
I quite like the overlapping colour circles forming an “A” - not sure about the serif font though. And I agree with other posters re the underscore. I also think that it would be interesting choose one of the colours from the circle-composite “A” to use for your name.
You’re definitely heading in the right direction. It’s nice to be able to share in the creative process, so thanks for posting.
Johno - I did try the text using the colours and in black, but settled on the grey shade.
Also, I experimented with moving the underscore last night… and didn’t like it. I’m going to have another play tonight, but need to move on to other projects too. Therefore I may end up going against everyone’s advice and leaving the underline in…
However, I’d like to thank everyone for your input over the last two posts concerning this personal logo. I’m actually really happy with this design, so I’m especially thankful for the tips that helped move me on from the previous design.
Shared the same sentiment with David and Tara.
I’m curious to know what the 5 colored circles meant to you. Usually, there is always a story behind a logo. Nike has a goddess legend, Addidas has a “mountain” story. What’s yours? This logo can very well be an ice-breaker in a social environment. I would definite ask
I can understand your explaination to Tara on balancing. Still, the logo is you, the type font is also you, why separate them with a line?
Overall, I like this logo better as it eludes more personality than the rather clinical treated version 1.
Any news on the logo, Aaron? Did you tweak the above one further? You’ll use it on this site?
Vivienne - Welcome to my site and thanks for commenting. There is a rationale behind the logo, all of which will be revealed soon. As soon as I get a spare evening to write a decent article I intend to post the entire process - from brainstorming, to thumbnails, to Illustrator - which led to this logo design. I’ve currently got a few other pressing projects, but it will come.
Johno - News is, I removed the underscore… then put it back again. That’s not to say it wont be emmitted again.
The logo is for my personal publicity material (business cards, etc) and personal portfolio website. It’s not for this site, which is more of a networking site for me than a portfolio site.
I need to have the new site up and running within two weeks, hence all my energy is going on the website now, and not on the logo. If I get time to, I might look at that underscore again.
Well done for sharing the process. The Garamond italic ampers and does it for me!
Hi Aron
First would like to let you know that this card looks more professional than the initial one. And like others even I would like to know how you finalized on this logo design. Is this something you always had in mind or you just came up with it all on a sudden.
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David Airey :: Creative Design ::
14 May 2007, 9:55 pm