My Logo redesign concept (opinions?)

[radiantm3]

Some of you might have seen my current logo (my business cards and my website):

Basically I'm a freelance designer who mostly does work for the web, but I also illustrate and do occasional print work. I was never really satisfied with that logo, but I am my own worst critic as most artists are. Radiantmark.com was originally supposed to be my blog/portfolio. I decided that I want to separate my work (professional), from my blog (casual). Since "radiantmark" does have my name in it, I decided that I should just keep my blog there and find another domain name for my work. I wanted to keep the theme and the concept of my logomark, yet still have a fun name so I decided to go with "radiantmars" for my work. I also think the logomark is a bit more fitting for it. Anyways, that's how it came to be.

While searching for a font that might fit the style of the logomark as well as the overall feel, I came across Chalet-Tokyo from House Industries. I made a few modifications to my mark and ended up with this:

And I quickly threw together the logotype with the mark just to get a feel for things here:

Now I know it's not perfect and I want to go in and modify the type a little so it's unique and blends with the logomark better, but I'm just wondering what the general consensus was regarding the typeface? I have to buy this typeface as part of a set and I don't want to drop $150 on it unless it's going to work.

Any feedback you wish to give me will be appreciated.

 

[Kardashian]

Originals better.

 

[AppleMatt]

I much prefer the new icon, but the new type is quite hard to read first time - I prefer the old type.

AppleMatt

 

[darrengreer]

I like the design, with the gray/color, but when you converted it to all white, for the black background, it lost a lot I think.

Stick with a light background and your new design, and you are fine.

My 2 cents.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

I gotta say, Mark, I like the original better. I think the new mark looks like a jellyfish or some kind of alien, which I don't see nearly as much in the old logo. The new typeface seems trendy, but not in a good way. Would the adjustments you make to the typeface change that? I don't know, maybe. I still think that your original logo is a stronger piece.

Philosophically, I understand the desire to separate the professional from the casual, although I'm not quite positive I agree with it. I'm really undecided about that, personally. That's just my personal opinion that I through in there for free.

 

[redbandit]

The new mark is an improvement over the previous one. However, it feels top heavy. But, before I go into that, the concept behind the logo mark is the Japanese Rising Sun merged with an Alien, is this correct? So, my question is, what does mars have to do with your work(or is it just that Mars and Mark are one letter away from being the same) and how does Japan tie in with you or your work?

That being said...

The mark feels top heavy, I realize that is it perfectly symmetrical but I think it could use a little reworking to find the proper balance. I like the typeface, and Chalet certainly is an interesting one, many styles within the one face. However, if we look at consistency between your mark and your type, you will see that the logomark has rounded corners and edges, and while the type has rounded joints, the terminals, ascenders and descenders are flat. This is the cause of the slight disconnect. Also, I am not sure how I feel about the red circle, on one hand it is a small small rising sun and on the other it is maybe an alien eye? But, it really is neither and I think you may be able to find a different way to make that work, maybe not but I would give it a shot.

So, to jump around a bit more, what other typefaces did you consider for your logotype? And, what is your reasoning in choosing Chalet-Tokyo? What message does it relay that you are in touch with?

That's all for now, I hope my critique helps. You obviously have ideas down that you are keen on keeping, but a few more rounds of tweaking are in store.

 

[michaelrjohnson]

I gotta say, Mark, I like the original better. I think the new mark looks like a jellyfish or some kind of alien, which I don't see nearly as much in the old logo. The new typeface seems trendy, but not in a good way. Would the adjustments you make to the typeface change that? I don't know, maybe. I still think that your original logo is a stronger piece.

I think I agree here, but that might just be because we (MacRumors) don't have a full understanding of you and your business. But I think the original type is more legible.

As for the mark... I probably would have gone the other direction by making it more crisp instead of more rounded. That's just my personal taste, so I don't expect you to agree. But overall, I agree with most of the above posters that the new mark seems like it's trying to read like something, but it's failing. (i.e. jellyfish, sunset, etc) I think it's in your best interest for your business identity to not raise those types of questions.

(But you're doing a great job, btw. I love your site.)

 

[radiantm3]

First of all, thanks for everyone's opinions. It's good to hear other voices instead of your own when it comes to personal work sometimes. Everyone had very good points, but redbandit touched on some points that will help me explain my concept a bit better.

...But, before I go into that, the concept behind the logo mark is the Japanese Rising Sun merged with an Alien, is this correct?

When I originally came up with the design for the logo mark, I wanted it to have some mystery to it. I was playing around with the idea of a circular shape and a rising sun, and started to see this jellyfish/tripod alien which I liked. I grew up with the passion to draw, my style was heavily japanese anime-inspired, and my focus was always on character design. Oddly enough, this life long passion led me to my career as a designer. It's really something that I will always remember. I feel this mark is a great symbol of that.

I know this is not the way concepts should be created normally, but since this is not a "company" and more of my personal "brand" and a place to show my work and express myself creatively, I feel it doesn't have to make sense to everyone, it just has to catch interest and look good.

So, my question is, what does mars have to do with your work(or is it just that Mars and Mark are one letter away from being the same) and how does Japan tie in with you or your work?

Well I decided on radiantmars specifically because my logo mark looks like an alien from another planet. I liked the sound of it, it is only 1 letter away from radiantmark and it gives me a lot of room to push this concept into my design. I like the idea of my work being unique and "out of this world". Not that it is, but it's what I am striving for.

As far as the japan thing, I explained above. Most of my work tends to have a japanese feel to it in the sense of a simple and minimalistic design approach. Probably just an extension of the influence of japanese art and comics.

That being said...

The mark feels top heavy, I realize that is it perfectly symmetrical but I think it could use a little reworking to find the proper balance. I like the typeface, and Chalet certainly is an interesting one, many styles within the one face. However, if we look at consistency between your mark and your type, you will see that the logomark has rounded corners and edges, and while the type has rounded joints, the terminals, ascenders and descenders are flat. This is the cause of the slight disconnect.

I was aware of that as well. I was hoping to use Chalet as a springboard and modify it a bit to feel more like the mark. If it didn't work, I could always flatten out the rounded legs in the mark.

Also, I am not sure how I feel about the red circle, on one hand it is a small small rising sun and on the other it is maybe an alien eye? But, it really is neither and I think you may be able to find a different way to make that work, maybe not but I would give it a shot.

I tried to explain as best as I could above. The viewer doesn't necessarily have to "get it", just be interested by it and feel that it indeed a visual representation of radiantmars.

So, to jump around a bit more, what other typefaces did you consider for your logotype? And, what is your reasoning in choosing Chalet-Tokyo? What message does it relay that you are in touch with?

I went through my own collection and found nothing that really fit well. I searched linotype and veer and still nothing that really caught my interest. Chalet Tokyo was the first that I came across that felt right to me. The circular motion of the letters and it's simplicity yet somewhat unorthodox styling just seemed to fit the direction I'm going in. I know both the mark and the type need some tweaking to work together. I guess I shouldn't just settle on it just yet.

Does anyone else know of some good foundries that I could look into? Maybe I can find something better.

That's all for now, I hope my critique helps. You obviously have ideas down that you are keen on keeping, but a few more rounds of tweaking are in store.

Thanks, it helped a lot. I hope, in turn, I was able to explain the idea of the mark and the direction I'm trying to go in a little better.

Again, I'm not trying to start a company called "radiantmars" so the logo doesn't have to scream "design studio". It just has to scream "creative" and be fitting to me. I freelance under my name and radiantmars is where you go to see my work.

 

[radiantm3]

I've been playing around a bit more and when I outlined the graphic, it seems to take on the form of the type a bit better: