Paint Total Joy Logo

Hey yall i came up with another logo BUT i cant use it because I am not a painter! so kinda is misrepresenting Its nice but not good for my company eh?

What you all think?

Hey yall i came up with another logo BUT i cant use it because I am not a painter! so kinda is misrepresenting Its nice but not good for my company eh?

What you all think?

Its a neat concept, definitely could use a little refinement. The Paint palette could definitely be cleaned up. The line that makes up the palette is not connected to the other one, the paint on the palette does not look realistic. You have too harsh of edges. I would definitely smooth that out. As for the "D" in designs, Not sure if you need it to be a drop of paint im assuming. I think it would look fine with the font.

Also make sure you pay attention to the kerning inbetween the letters. They seem like it is all over the place.

Now as for your name, "Total Joy Designs". You need to ask yourself what you think of when you hear that. When i hear that I am thinking im going to be seeing some designs that are very illustrated, fun, uses brite color palettes. I immediately think of the little Japanese collectable toy figurines. Maybe try and get some inspiration from some of that.

Keep at it and take your time, this is your baby that will make you stand out.

Uh The name is final sorry but thats final im NOT changing it AGAIN I like the name anyway and to each his own it may not make others think about that... Any way I am not using this design any way i just wanted to know what people thought of it and yes i know the pain is rather messy i kinda like it sharp though

Uh The name is final sorry but thats final im NOT changing it AGAIN I like the name anyway and to each his own it may not make others think about that... Any way I am not using this design any way i just wanted to know what people thought of it and yes i know the pain is rather messy i kinda like it sharp though

I don't think the suggestion was to change the name. I think the suggestion was to use art that MATCHES the name. Your name is Total Joy - but you designed a logo in black & white. That doesn't exactly scream "total joy".

As for critique - I think you might want to explore some more concepts. If you're doing design, I think the palette/paint brush imagery is a little off mark (as you said yourself, you aren't really a painter) You also may want to steer away from free fonts - the one you're using has some hiccups that aren't very attractive (a few jagged edges on the rounded parts). It's also a little dated. The stars are kinda hokey. Also - when you do set type for your new logo - remember to properly kern the letters. There are some real inconsistencies as it is now.

When you're designing your logo - yes, it is yours to design - but I don't think "to each his own" is the direction you want to go. You aren't advertising to yourself - you may want to consider a logo that will represent "Total Joy Designs" to the majority.

Just some thoughts I had. Good luck with business! You're obviously passionate about design and that's the most important thing.

Every design is a solution. It is important, when designing, to understand the problem. Because a solution that does not solve a problem is no solution at all - and hence, no design at all.

It's also important to note that a solution may actually introduce more problems. Like if I were to save someone from drowning by shooting them in the head. A designer must be sensitive to the problems brought about by applying a given solution. The best solution not only solves the original problem but also brings about a minimal set of subsequent problems - ideally zero of them. When a designer has been designing for many years, their intuitive solutions naturally flow towards the ideal. Until that point, it's best to look over and analyze your designs.

Here are three good points of analysis:

1. What problem is this design intended to solve?
2. Does the design solve the problem it was intended to solve? and
3. What subsequent problem(s) is the design creating?

The first two questions require a knowledge of the problem, and are therefore usually intended for the client and designer. As the designer, you should always try to identify the problem. Even if you are just experimenting, you cannot ignore that the very nature of the design you are creating aims to solve a problem. Suppose you just want to create a pretty design. The problem, then, is that you need to express "prettiness". In order to do that, you have to know what prettiness means to the people who will view your design, or at the very least what prettiness means to you (e.g., what examples of prettiness can you find in your life, and what makes them that way?) In evaluating an idea, you have to ask whether it has accomplished the goal of expressing prettiness, as it was defined at the outset. Prettiness is quite an important problem in design, although others do exist, and they differ from client to client.

Let's also not forget the third question - what subsequent problems is the design creating? This is one that others can comment on, so here are some possible answers:

- As it has been mentioned, there is some issue with the kerning. This makes the text look uneven. To professionals, it might signal a lack of skill. To potential clients (those who observe the issue subconsciously) the design might just seem "a bit off". This could be enough to repel certain clients who value the greatest attention to detail.

- There are too many concepts packed into this single design: the pallet, the D shaped like a paint drop, the unique letters T and J, and the star above the J. More importantly, those ideas are not tied into one central point. Imagine watching a movie where there is no obvious point. Things just happen randomly and are not connected to each other at all. I think most people would walk out and demand a refund. Getting the main point across is essential in any form of communication.

- There is no consistent style. The style of the font is different from the style of the pallet, which is different from the style of the paint drops. The weight of the pallet is also quite different form everything else. Consistency is super important. The problem without consistency is similar to that of having too many concepts. It only adds to the confusion by making parts of the design look and feel different (divided).

- There is not enough attention to detail. Some designers might say they are pursuing "natural imperfection", but they are often doing it in the wrong way. Nature takes a painstaking amount of time to achieve that look. A single leaf does not form without months of continued growth. To try and mimic natural beauty in one or two strokes takes thousands of hours of practice. Until then, every attempt at this will look like nothing more than a kindergarten drawing - clearly problematic. A designer MUST be willing to dedicate a good chunk of his/her time to understanding beauty and trying to synthesize it. For someone who is relatively new to design, that means spending hours, weeks, or however long is necessary to perfect the simplest things (like drops of paint for example).

So that's my take on it. A design like this one is still very beginner-ish. You have to start applying some of the more intermediate concepts, or you will be stuck on this plateau. I know of people who have years and years of experience and they are stuck like that. It's unfortunate to see that they have wasted their time so badly. So yeah... keep up the learnin

Edited by _Redrum, 11 April 2009 - 08:14 PM.

So that's my take on it. A design like this one is still very beginner-ish. You have to start applying some of the more intermediate concepts, or you will be stuck on this plateau. I know of people who have years and years of experience and they are stuck like that. It's unfortunate to see that they have wasted their time so badly. So yeah... keep up the learnin

that is a brilliant reply

that is a brilliant reply

Hmm ok Ya i know i have a lot to learn... Uh The reason i just did it in black and white is cause well lots of people say design in black and white and then change color later! So should i try and fix this logo just for the practice or just go on because im not planing on using it any way..? And jerct you are totaly right about the "to each his own" thing but i had not realized the black and white gave a certain feel to the logo (though i should have known it would) And Redrum i like that problem solving concept! I just need to stop and think about things for a while as i design!

Hows this?

try some tighter curves for the "D" of designs

try some tighter curves for the "D" of designs

on the new one?

I still think you should move on to another concept. I think there are too many problems to solve with this one logo. A few major problems: there's no connection between the icon (palette) and the name. The rendering of the paint palette is a little too loose for the font used. The icon itself isn't a memorable one. The paint drops don't really look like paint drops - especially the one used for the "d"...it's bigger than the other glops of paint on the palette. The font used is amateur-ish. The layout is way off-balance. VERY heavy on the right side - more towards the top half.

I hope that's not too harsh. Some concepts are winners, some...well, aren't. No big deal. If I were you, I'd start with a solid wordmark and then see of you even need an icon to correspond. If you do, make one that's relevant to you. just my opinion though.

I still think you should move on to another concept. I think there are too many problems to solve with this one logo. A few major problems: there's no connection between the icon (palette) and the name. The rendering of the paint palette is a little too loose for the font used. The icon itself isn't a memorable one. The paint drops don't really look like paint drops - especially the one used for the "d"...it's bigger than the other glops of paint on the palette. The font used is amateur-ish. The layout is way off-balance. VERY heavy on the right side - more towards the top half.

I hope that's not too harsh. Some concepts are winners, some...well, aren't. No big deal. If I were you, I'd start with a solid wordmark and then see of you even need an icon to correspond. If you do, make one that's relevant to you. just my opinion though.

NO NO KEEP IT COMMING any thing else wrong? lol I need to learn this stuff and yes now i see what you mean by the right top being heavy your right! thanks so much ok ya i will try something new i just hate to leave unfinished maybe i can make it into a different fake logo or something... any way i will try something else...

NO NO KEEP IT COMING any thing else wrong? lol I need to learn this stuff and yes now i see what you mean by the right top being heavy your right! thanks so much ok ya i will try something new i just hate to leave unfinished maybe i can make it into a different fake logo or something... any way i will try something else...

definitely keep it for something. I have a folder with tons of scrap illustrations, type treatments, etc. I've done but didn't use that I'm constantly looking through to recycle. Who knows - maybe you'll need a logo for a painter that works exclusively in black monochrome!