Self Identity

[zantedeschia]

Hi, I recently created a logo to represent myself and my work. I understand that I may or may not modify this piece but I would love to hear some opinions to which how I may improve it. Cheers.

The name Zantedeschia, is my favourite type of lily flower which is also known to be as the green goddess.

How it represents myself, this type of flower is particularly persistant in growing. They are able to withstand frosts, boggy conditions and even harsh sunlights. I would like to think that, as a designer/illustrator, I have the abilities to adapt to changes, to persist through tough times and finish with a beautiful flower, just like the Zantedeschia.

The idea of the logo is to have subliminal message that Zantedeschia lily is emcompassed with in a lightbulb, which represents the budding of an idea.

I chose a font that look handwritten and modified it from there. Im not sure about the rest of the crowd, but Ive always had the feeling to treasure a hand written greeting card more than an emailed one. It provides a warmer feminine feel, which I feel is important to represent myself.

Im still unsure about centering the logo on the brown side of the card and would love to hear some suggestions

[RoT]

Hi zantedeschia,

The self branding is really important to on designer. Your logotype will be the first "work" that a client will see, and it is important that you make a good impression. Also you must have in mind that this logo must represent you in some way.

The flower idea is nice - it represents you, its something that you like. By far this is good, but your graphical representation of the idea doesn't "fit". If I haven't read that this is a flower, I would have never guessed.

The whole logo gives the feeling of a quick traced image. This is because of the sharp and strange angles that you have. Try just to simplify the flower, for example find an image, import it to your Illustrator/Corel/Xsara/etc. trace it by hand and then little by little remove elements, simplify, until you reach a point when your "image" is simple yet recognizable.

About the font - again the feeling is quick trace. Search for some free handwritten fonts in the web (there are plenty), and keep it all clean and understendable.

Also the colors - they are dull, melancholic, and I don't think you want to present yourself with that. Use something more vivid/contrast.

I hope you find those advices helpful.

[brandyarnold]

thanks for posting! I agree with the last post, it feels a little rough around the edges. Mostly, though, your font while it does appear handwritten, is pretty uneven, and your "Z" looks like a "T".

It's hard to critique abstract design, because it can be interpreted any number of ways, and sometimes the vague, choppy appearance is intended, but in this case, you might want to clean it up, smooth it out a bit, so that it is more universally appealing, less polarizing.

Show what you're capable of, keeping in mind that in commercial design, an unidentifiable abstract design isn't common.

Good luck!

[Coy]

to be completely honest I looked at the design (first) and thought it looked like a sperm. After looking at the design I read where you were going with it and can see it. But when you present this card to someone they aren't going to get the "back story" and what it's ment to be.
I happen to like the color choice as I feel it give a sefisticated(sp) look to it in a way.

I'm not a fan of your font. it just looks unfinished, rushed, or just doesn't work. as stated the z doesn't look like a z.. maybe use a printed z instead of the cursive z that would make it much more reconizable to others.

hope this helps.

[Brewman2010]

I think its a great concept. I like the organic feel to it. However, as suggested, The Z looks like a T. I think the color choices have an ellegant feel and in my opinion don't seem dull at all. I would agree too, that the font doesn't seem to fit. I would suggest matching the font style to the feel of your piece. In other words, your colors and balance have an elegant nature. Try a font that is elegant as well. All-in-all, nice work!

[ZukiH]

- The first time i look at your design (without reading your concept) i thought it was an abstract lamp, representing "the idea". I think its missing some color or shadows to understand that its a lily.
- Z looks like a T
- you can find cool and free fonts @ dafont
- about the colors i agree with Rot, its a bit melancholic.

Good luck

[zantedeschia]

oh wow hehe, thanks for the wonderful responses. I wasnt expecting to get that many.

to be honest I sort of free hand drew the design without a reference.. ie from a sketch. Im more of an artist than a designer at the moment even though I recently graduated in design :< I will try to find a good photo or take one at an angle that I like of the flower and do what RoT says


Coy: that was what my bf first said as well when he looked at it Lol.

As for color choices. id have to agree to Brewman2010 that I may well stick to it but maybe choose a different hue/gradient for it? I would love it to look more towards elegant and sophisticated than cool and spunky because that dosnt represent the person I am.

I only just started with my website but the color schemes and style are to match. (dont go look there yet I know the wallpaper looks fugly and there are a few stickmen my awesomefriends drew me, I only just started to gather what I want in it)

I just thought of an idea to reseach winery/perfume logos? I think they might suit the style that I can direct myself towards.

[sharie]

Thought I would add to the thread.....About flowers. Flowers in general are very sexual and sensual. Certain flowers are more than others and this flower happens to be one the of the more than others.

If you are set on using a flower for your logo, playing with different positions might help unless you are set on the sexual feel this flower has.

The colors to me look fine I wonder what a rose color mauve type colo with the brown or green.

A funny note about flowers, My son a few yrs back not quite 18 at the time...woudn't wear pink colors and any color girly like but he would wear swim trunks with those big hibiscus flowers on them. I asked how in the world is it ok to wear these enormous flowers on the trunks but won't wear pink. Well I got the Moooooooom thing as he was telling these are manly flowers, I said how so and got the moooooom thing again and he said if you can't get it then it best I don't say why because you will not let me wear them. I turned around and went into the kitchen and the light bulb broke over my head! Amazing it took an 18 yr old to show me how men see into the flowers just as much or more than females

sharie

[zantedeschia]

sharie: I completely agree to your insight of how men view flowers lol.. hopefully I had refined it to look less sexual.



Im still unsure about the type face, but I rather like the logo itself more now.
The trouble is that, I like the clean look of sanserif typefaces, but it deducts the "warm feeling" from the logo itself. I must agree they look somewhat more elegant then the current handwritten font I have at the moment.

I may yet try more different types of font, thank you ZukiH for the link to the website

[Coy]

Personally I like the square around them cause it's different, but it's not the direction you're going for. Maybe try that version with a more thin to fat outline.

I like the yellow orb w/ the green and the sanserif fonts look more professional. But I think with a little more looking you could find a nice handwritten looking font to complement it. The one you have I just dislike the trailing stroke looks, maybe take those off and it'd improve it some?

[Brewman2010]

A great resource I've found for color combinations and color 'moods' is "Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color" by Leatrice Elsemann. It not only gives colors and color combos, but it also shows how industry professionals have used them - everything from product packaging to magazine ads. I highly recommend it. I think your colors are great, but if you wanted to tweak them - yet still maintain a sophisticated/elegant look, this book will give you ideas on appropriate color pallets.

[zantedeschia]

eeps sorry for the lack of productivity, thank you for your feedbacks once again. Im currently recovering from a art flu(one where you feel stuffed and dont want to look at your works).

Brewman2010: I love color schemes books. I will certainly look it up in my library when I go there.

on the logo..
I kept looking back and I feel that coy your actually right, I do like that "square" one. and I finally realised why i liked it! it wasnt because it was square, but it stood out in its own way having the "abstract" bulb support the lily bulbs onto the front.

I manage to harvest the working idea and reshaped it into a circle. I tried to remove the trailing bits but I think in the end I still like the sanserif font better.
In an effort to re-input the warm feeling, I tried out some color schemes and also attempted to make my typography "whole"

at the moment im prefering the ones on the right than the left, as an asian, red always comes to mind(and as a female + birthstone color= garnet) but im worried that it might come across too strong.
Green/brown and pastel yellow were my original color schemes for my self Identity, it feels alot more calm then the red one.
the blue and pastle yellow is purely experimental but it gives me quite a kick.
oddly enough, while writing this post, I realised that I have somehow included pastle yellow in all my color schemes.

[Coy]

A ton better in my opinion. I like the abstract bulb and how it plays with the flower elements.
As for the colors and font. I'm liking the top right overall. I like the blue color more but the yellow dissapears to where you almost have to strain your eyes to see clearly. I'm a huge burnt orange fan and like what you did with that but as you stated you're wanting a more calming look.

Perhaps mixing the green and blue in someway would look nice. Or use a lighter blue in place of the yellow. and let us see how that looks.

[reeni_]

to be completely honest I looked at the design (first) and thought it looked like a sperm. After looking at the design I read where you were going with it and can see it. But when you present this card to someone they aren't going to get the "back story" and what it's ment to be.
I happen to like the color choice as I feel it give a sefisticated(sp) look to it in a way.

I'm not a fan of your font. it just looks unfinished, rushed, or just doesn't work. as stated the z doesn't look like a z.. maybe use a printed z instead of the cursive z that would make it much more reconizable to others.

hope this helps.

i like that lol

[noxieCreative]

Hey Zan,

I like what your doing as far as the mark goes on your latest concepts... The green is the best because it varies in shades (do the same thing with the other colors)

I still do not like the fonts... try for something handwritten but still legible (your first one was VERY hard to read) Also.. the underline is really distracting I would try to stay away from that if possible.

But overall you have a fantastic mark just find the right font for it!

[sharie]

I agree I'm not liking the font either but looking at the design it is growing and turning into a nice design. It has the look of an abstract painters pallet, unique and very original

eeps sorry for the lack of productivity, thank you for your feedbacks once again. Im currently recovering from a art flu(one where you feel stuffed and dont want to look at your works).

Brewman2010: I love color schemes books. I will certainly look it up in my library when I go there.

on the logo..
I kept looking back and I feel that coy your actually right, I do like that "square" one. and I finally realised why i liked it! it wasnt because it was square, but it stood out in its own way having the "abstract" bulb support the lily bulbs onto the front.

I manage to harvest the working idea and reshaped it into a circle. I tried to remove the trailing bits but I think in the end I still like the sanserif font better.
In an effort to re-input the warm feeling, I tried out some color schemes and also attempted to make my typography "whole"

at the moment im prefering the ones on the right than the left, as an asian, red always comes to mind(and as a female + birthstone color= garnet) but im worried that it might come across too strong.
Green/brown and pastel yellow were my original color schemes for my self Identity, it feels alot more calm then the red one.
the blue and pastle yellow is purely experimental but it gives me quite a kick.
oddly enough, while writing this post, I realised that I have somehow included pastle yellow in all my color schemes.

[atondex]

Some contrast between the font and the graphic would be a good idea.

For example, if the font has irregular lines, the symbol should be cleaner, and if the symbol is irregular in shape, a cleaner font is suitable. That provides some interest to the whole design.

The latter versions are better.

[ArtFX]

Creating a logo for yourself is harder than creating one for a client. I agree with the other posts, and I like the revisions. I do feel as though you have lost the elegance that the original logo had both in the text and the lily. I like the separation, it just doesn't have the flow.
Maybe an elegant script font with a softer 50-60% fill on the flower. Build them separately and work with the placement and balance. The concept is really good.

[williamconklin]

Is this a fair representation of yourself? All your values, motivation, inspiration, creativity and personality are in that mark and type? As of now, with what I have seen, You are telling me that you are a fresh and new designer eager to capture your audience, with that said there isn't always good with fresh and new, the execution of your mark is rather generic like most commercial illustration these days and the type is unresolved. Scripts and beautiful Serif typefaces can be like a bully on the playground. A script typeface may be the best representation of yourself, but not knowing you, I would have to say make yourself look more professional and affirmative, I think your name would look gorgeous in "compressed light Trade Gothic." Either way if you take my Advice of not, be respectful of the design process, you need to properly assess this project as tho yourself was an actual client. I wish you the best.

[emdesign]

It looks like I am the only one that thinks this, but wanted to share my thoughts anyways. The flower name Zantedeschia to me is not a very easy name to remember. I'm just thinking practically about people trying to email you or find your website and I can just see people typing all sorts of wrong spellings in to try to find you and in turn not be able to find you at all. I think the concept is great as far as what the flower does and how it relates to you, but I'm just worried for you about the actual name and how easy it will be for people to remember it.

I hate to put a damper on your idea, but just wanted to give my thoughts.