Working on a logo for my dad. Need some suggestions and opinions.

TheCoolGuy

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 12, 2005
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My dad owns a boat company that he recently renamed to Oceanic Boats. He is making a boat that will be known as the Oceanic. He has been on me for some time now to make him a logo and I finally had time today. He really does not know what he wants. He keeps telling me to make something that is appealing and I have no idea what to do. Everytime I try something, he barks at me so now I am asking you. After hours of doing sketches, I came up with what is below. I am no artist so don't make fun. It is just a sketch and as you can see very plain. Either suggest something to add on or think of something totally different. It needs to be kickass and nice. I dont know if you can see but there is an outer ring. The text in the middle is outlined by a gold glow. Please give me suggestions on how to make it better. Even go out and make your own opinion on how it should be. I am not asking for you guys to make anything but it would be better if you can do a sketch to show what you are trying to say. Thanks.

logo1.jpg
 
hmm. Oceanic makes me think of water. The circle is a good idea.

It should be blue. Maybe a map of the world. I think it's called a mercatur map? for some reason that always makes me think of sailing. A compass? A Boat? Try to use things like that. If I can I will try to come up with something tommorrow, but I have a test to study for now....
 
well i'd suggest incorporating a wave but that's been done to death and a half

uhhhhh....

uhhhhhhhhhhhh....

i got nothing
 
its good but from first glance doesnt truly convey what your dad's company does, if your tried incorporating some elements of water perhaps, it could help
 
Which one are you guys talking about, the first or second one? I want it to be really basic and I think the sqwigly line looks like a wave even though it wasn't meant to be one.
 
TheCoolGuy, what type of boat is he building, got a pic?

I honestly don't think the jaggy oval with black/white/yellow conveys the idea here.
 
Here's my take on this: I think it should be at least water themed, as it's a boat, ya know, and I worked using your original logo, just adding some effects and theme to it. Theres 2 different versions, please tell me what you think. You can have them if you want them.

oceanic1.jpg


oceanic2.jpg
 
I think you guys are going off on the wrong end of things --

A logo should be able to stand on it's own two feet in nothing but black. The shape and design should communicate. A logo will face many usages and being deisgned first as a monotone image will benifit in the future. Color can be added after to give effect but shouldn't be relyed on to convey an image. "Waves" described only as the color blue will be lost once the logo is say enbossed onto an envelope. The shape and layout should describe the logo, not the color.

Having said that, in most brand identities there are usually two components. A "name appearance" (a given way in which the company's name appears every time) and a shape or graphic element (most commonly identifed as ' the logo'). Take for example CocaCola. They have a very signature script way that "CocaCola" appears. They have a signatuer way "Coke" appears. They also have a little shape that describes them, the coke bottle shape. Some places will use only one or the other (ie. Walmart has no shape, but they do have the name appearance) and some will combine the two (ie. Burger King's 80's logo had the company's name appearance inside of a burger).

I whipped up something dumb to kinda give you the idea of what i meant by to communicate visually (and don't by any stretch take this to mean that i'm suggesting you use realistic icons for everything)
.

BOAT-vi.jpg
 
wastingtape said:
I think you guys are going off on the wrong end of things --

A logo should be able to stand on it's own two feet in nothing but black. The shape and design should communicate. A logo will face many usages and being deisgned first as a monotone image will benifit in the future. Color can be added after to give effect but shouldn't be relyed on to convey an image. "Waves" described only as the color blue will be lost once the logo is say enbossed onto an envelope. The shape and layout should describe the logo, not the color.

Having said that, in most brand identities there are usually two components. A "name appearance" (a given way in which the company's name appears every time) and a shape or graphic element (most commonly identifed as ' the logo'). Take for example CocaCola. They have a very signature script way that "CocaCola" appears. They have a signatuer way "Coke" appears. They also have a little shape that describes them, the coke bottle shape. Some places will use only one or the other (ie. Walmart has no shape, but they do have the name appearance) and some will combine the two (ie. Burger King's 80's logo had the company's name appearance inside of a burger).

I whipped up something dumb to kinda give you the idea of what i meant by to communicate visually (and don't by any stretch take this to mean that i'm suggesting you use realistic icons for everything)
.

BOAT-vi.jpg


Wow you sure sound like you know what you are saying. Your post was clear, informative and not condiscending. People like you make this forum great.

 
rebelleader said:
Wow you sure sound like you know what you are saying. People like you make this forum great.



Thanks. I'm new to [H] but i've seen some of the knowledge pouring out of the hardware forums and it's amazing. I haven't been doing design for that long, only a few years. I've only had the chance to do 2 logo's. The first time it took me 8 months before the client was happy. 8 stinking months. After 6 months i realized that i was going to have to dig, and dig i did. It was a great learning expirience and i started to put together what's required. My short description above only breezes across the surface. There is quite a lot to putting together a logo, especially when you consider i will be used on hundreds of mediums and last for about 25 years. It's a big task and still scares me. I don't envy those who end up doing brand identity. :p
 
Yeah, same comment here, there was no flaming, straight to the point, informative, and corrective without being sarcastic/flamative, etc!
 
when I do a logo design project
I sketch for a few days, but then I get serious about researching prior art
what is already out there in category
anything in direct competition or even a related field

and Id go back to your dad today and ask him if he really thinks he can own oceanic as a trademark
somehow I doubt its open, lock that down first

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=jpjaek.1.1

I come back with 83 returns for oceanic across category in the fed database

and then there are the state level trademark protections
if he has filed for one in his state well thats something, but if he has any plans for interstate commerce youll want federal
and likely have to buyout other state protected marks


example a friend of mine
Chris Daniels
had a band called the spoons and they had the state trademark locked in Colorado back on the 70s
so in the 80s when a Canadian band named the Spoons landed a record contract
the record company had to buy Chris off inorder to sell records here in Colorado


you can run afoul of the protections in two ways
first the wordmark, basically the name
second the trademark, if it too close to something else enough to potentially cause confusion

generally as far as names go, its "in category"
thus someone that makes Oceanic Paint
cant complain if your using Oceanic to sell Tacos
there are cross category challenges, of course they favor whoever has the most money for legal expenses

Ive been specilizing in corporate identity development for 27 years
its largely about the process, but talent helps considerably
and avoiding committees :p

Committees are, by nature, timid. They are based on the premise of safety in numbers; content to survive inconspicuously, rather than take risks and move independantly ahead. Without independence, without the freedom for new ideas to be tried, to fail, and to ultimately succeed, the world will not move ahead, but live in fear of its own potential.
- Prof. Dr. Ing. h.c. Ferdinand Porsche
 
Alright, gotta straighten some things out.

First, the company is already registered to him so don't worry about that. Second, I don't like the idea of having a boat in the picture. He is only making one boat that will be called the Oceanic. If we make the logo out of the boat, it would have to look similar to it. None of the boats done here even look close. I will upload a picture of it later if I have time but I dont even think he wants a boat in the picture. Let me tell you a little about it though so we can get some creative juices going. It is going to be an oper fisher meaning meant for a bunch of people to fish. The slogan is suppose to be "The No-nonsense Fishing Machine!" but he doesnt want it on the logo. That should help get you guys going.

Also, I talked to my dad about my logo, the one on top with the swigly line and he hated it so I don't know what to do. I will show him all of yours.
 
your dad sounds like a total douchebag.

if he's so stacked and can afford a boat, he can afford a professional graphic designer to make his stupid freakin logo for him.
 
shocksyde said:
your dad sounds like a total douchebag.

if he's so stacked and can afford a boat, he can afford a professional graphic designer to make his stupid freakin logo for him.

Sounds a little harsh. Try being less confrontational in your posts. Nothing good can come from a response like that.

 
Heh, its alright. I am starting to get irritated too though. Everytime I make a logo tha I think is decent, he just says no.
 
TheCoolGuy said:
Heh, its alright. I am starting to get irritated too though. Everytime I make a logo tha I think is decent, he just says no.

Maybe ask him to do a rough sketch on paper so you have a general idea of what he is looking for.

 
rebelleader said:
Maybe ask him to do a rough sketch on paper so you have a general idea of what he is looking for.


Thats the think. Whenever I ask him to do that, he says he cant. He doesnt even know what he wants but he just wants it good which makes my job so difficult.
 
shocksyde said:
your dad sounds like a total douchebag.

if he's so stacked and can afford a boat, he can afford a professional graphic designer to make his stupid freakin logo for him.


and your mother wears army boots :p

Id avoid such personal statements in future unless your looking for an "official" warning about flaming


TheCoolGuy, other other advantage to researching is you can use the results to get an idea of what your dad likes in other identities
 
Ice Czar said:
TheCoolGuy, other other advantage to researching is you can use the results to get an idea of what your dad likes in other identities

:confused: Don't get what you are trying to say.
 
whos the direct competition?
what are the logos of other companies in related feilds that arent direct competitors
but that potential clients have likely seen

you dont want to design something similar to something else by accident
its called prior art when it directly relates to the trademark your working on
(other oceanics)

Im currently designing a new trademark for Silicon Mountain memory
I tracked down the marks for most RAM retailers, and Semiconductor manufactirers
(in category) as well as many marks in related fields, Id guess about 300 to 400 logos in all


now if you did something similar, you could sit down with your dad and get an idea of what he likes about certain trademarks, and why

obviously this is an exercise in guaging your client's esthetic preferences not one to search for a mark to plagiarize, however exposing yourself to a wide number of other marks generally gives you ideas of your own, but just as imporantly familiarizing yourself with marks in category keeps you from inadverently plagiarizing

you might get some ideas here
http://www.logoed.fsnet.co.uk/logos.html

as far as the name being registered to your dad
with the US Patent and Trademark Office?
or just the Secretary of State, for the state the company is in?
 
I honestly dont know how he registered the name but I know its his. I dont think it matters.
 
shocksyde said:
well i'd suggest incorporating a wave but that's been done to death and a half

uhhhhh....

uhhhhhhhhhhhh....

i got nothing

I was actually thinking of a wave too. like curling on the left coming around the O
 
i don't see my comment as flaming but i apologize anyways

he really needs to understand that giving you a sketch would make this a million times easier, especially if he says no to everything you present to him.

every time i've developed a logo for someone they give me an idea of what they want.
 
Ruckus said:
I was actually thinking of a wave too. like curling on the left coming around the O

Can someone do a quick sketch of this because I really dont get.
 
Alright, the reason for the map was because it sounded liek a big boat for traveling and things. This is kinda true. The boat is only going to be a 27'. It is an open fisher so meant for fishing. I really like that graphic tho so I am going to mess with it alittle and run it by him. Keep them coming.

EDIT: Another thing. This logo is going on the side of the boat so don't make it too complex. It will also go on buisness cards and advertisements so feel free to add color.
 
Update: He seemed to like the one jsut submitted alot. The only problem is he isnt sold on the map. He doesnt really get how it fits. I added the word BOATS under it and took out THE. Thanks and keep the ideas coming because he isnt sold on it yet.
 
this your dad?

Florida Profit
OCEANIC BOATS CORPORATION



there are also some legal requirements that you will need to address either in the logo itself or as its applied, those include the full legal name
so im not sure uf you want to play with Inc\corporation\corp ect in that mark or not
if you elect not to, then on the stationary the full name must appear seperately ;)
 
LOL its public info
you did it when you added the state to the logo :p

but Ive edited it out of my post do the same and its off this board
 
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