Branding and Logos

[Trek420]

Personal is attractive, but professional is key. I'd have to see the logos, I find it hard to say what I find professional and not.

I would have to see the art but understand that you can't release it and have to explain it. First impression is key.

It makes no difference if you're explaining "My logo conveys blah blah blah while this corporate id proposal reflects such and such etc". I often found if I had to explain a corporate identity it's a bit like explaining a joke, "well the reason this is so funny is ...". So we need to find your market and meet them where they are.

You can have a friendly approachable tone in a competitive cyclist market with materials, art, texture, words, placement, graphics or vice versa.

So are we gearing towards recreational/new cyclists who are learning the benefit and value of professional fit or are we preaching to the choir and competing with other local bike fit companies or offering a service they had to go far away for? Always remember your audience.

It's a logo. You can't please everyone but you can do a lot with a good one.

Sounds like you've narrowed it down to 2. If you haven't already done so I'd take them down to black and white. A lot of things we think of as "fuzzy, friendly and warm" like color, texture of paper or sign materials just won't be there. You can't control what people do with your logo on an ad, the back of a race jersey etc. So strip it bare bones to black and white, enlarge it, put it across the room and quick impression. What do you think? Play with it.

The most successful logos are either; square, triangular, or circular. Also once you pick it do the xerox test. Copy it, copy it again, fax that, copy it, fax it again .... and see if it holds up. That's your logo because that's what people will do to it.

Have fun and good luck! Trek - California College of Art, graphic design major, class of '83

Check out this feedback http://www.seattlebikeblog.com/2014/...logo/#comments

[Wahine]

Thanks for all the feedback ladies, there's lots of good information here. Trek420 - thank you for such a detailed, informative response. It's very kind of you to so freely share your expertise.

It makes no difference if you're explaining "My logo conveys blah blah blah while this corporate id proposal reflects such and such etc". I often found if I had to explain a corporate identity it's a bit like explaining a joke, "well the reason this is so funny is ...". So we need to find your market and meet them where they are.

Exactly.

So are we gearing towards recreational/new cyclists who are learning the benefit and value of professional fit or are we preaching to the choir and competing with other local bike fit companies or offering a service they had to go far away for? Always remember your audience.

Well here's my thoughts on this. The more elite riders/racers will get their bike fit if they want it (I know several elites that wouldn't let anyone change anything about their riding position) and they'll either go to someone at the club shop if they have a fitter or they'll ask around. I have a very good reputation in town, so I'll get plenty of those types of riders if they're looking.

What I see that I would like to change is the average cyclist and especially recreational female cyclists that won't go for a fitting because they think that's something that just serious riders do or they are intimidated by the egos and attitudes at some of the ohter shops. This is the group I want to draw in, not just because it's a relatively untapped market here, but also because I feel like to could help these people a lot and the work would be very gratifying.

Sounds like you've narrowed it down to 2. If you haven't already done so I'd take them down to black and white. A lot of things we think of as "fuzzy, friendly and warm" like color, texture of paper or sign materials just won't be there. You can't control what people do with your logo on an ad, the back of a race jersey etc. So strip it bare bones to black and white, enlarge it, put it across the room and quick impression. What do you think? Play with it.

The most successful logos are either; square, triangular, or circular. Also once you pick it do the xerox test. Copy it, copy it again, fax that, copy it, fax it again .... and see if it holds up. That's your logo because that's what people will do to it.

Check. I'm actually my design choice is weighted heavily on this concept.

Thanks again.

[maillotpois]

Interesting thread. I'd love to actually see the design to weigh in. I would go with the more creative/whimsical one, but that's based on what I chose to do with my business.

I'm in a very "professional" profession (law), but went fairly lighthearted in terms of both my logo and my website, which reflects the logo. Most people who do my job (private judge and mediator) have terribly boring websites with a horrible picture of themselves. And the written content is generally just their CV/resume. I worked with a (cyclist) friend and he came up with a fun visual website that is VERY different from others in my field. I don't get a lot of business "from" the website - no one in my field does. (It's all word of mouth and referrals). But I like to think I'm providing something that shows a sense of creativity when people are evaluating whether to use me. Creativity is critical in what I do.

Here's mine:
http://www.BurkeADR.com

Would love to see yours when you have something on paper.

[Wahine]

Thanks for the feedback Sarah. I like the simplicity of your logo and I really like the way your page is set up. Very cool.

I will post images of the logos when I get a better draft of them done. Right now, they are so rough that the first impression would not be right. I wanted the feedback mostly so I could decide how much time and effort to put in to what direction. Based on what I'm hearing, I'm going to develop both logos to near completion (and maybe even a third). Once I've done that I'll start another thread with a poll maybe.

[rebeccaC]

this is kinda what I was thinking about….maybe not such a blatant take on the da Vinci image

[Trek420]

Check. I'm actually my design choice is weighted heavily on this concept.

Thanks again.

You're welcome. You'll get our bill