Want to thank everyone for participating in our contest. The team met today to discuss all the designs. We had so many elegant choices and it was hard to narrow the field. We chose 11 designs that were possibilities.
Our team agreed that many of our top contestants could produce a winning design if we worked directly with you. However, the majority of the team felt that RainDesign had more designs and elements in his designs that were our top picks.
We have labels and ads that are on hold waiting for a final design. Our team felt we need to expedite our process and concentrate on combining some of RainDesign's elements to make a final design that we can approve and award very quickly.
I called LogoDesignGuru . . . they suggested I add this comment to notify everyone that we are working with RainDesign to finalize a design. RainDesign needs to know that his award is safe to devote the time and effort to present us with a final combination of ideas.
It has been an amazingly positive experience to work with LogoDesignGuru. Every designer gave us a fresh perspective on our brand. The only negative is disappointing some great designers.
We will recommend our top designers at LogoDesignGuru to many people who ask us how we designed our logo. You have been a joy to work with.
Wow you all came back strong. We are meeting tomorrow to discuss the designs but
wanted to give you a little insight into where you stand. We are probably going to close this contest early.
Our judges have strong opinions. There is no clear winner yet. Each judge has a favorite designer and favorite elements of designs that they feel the final design has to have.
Many opinions differ as to what has to be included or excluded. We are going to try to come to a consensus tomorrow.
Graphics
#29 Fwwaz's grass and #30 RainDesign have the most votes. Maybe a slight edge to RainDesign because the combo of his green wave plus the sun makes it closer to our old design but the jury is not in on which to choose.
#9, #10 Crystal's graphics are 3rd just because they are in a seal without a standalone font. Some judges have said that seals are the best direction. Some say seals don't work in every situation for us. Her votes get divided because of this debate. My guess is a seal format probably won't win.
Standalone Fonts
#24 Vector, #30 Raindesign, #29 Fawwaz all have beautiful fonts but each need minor tweaks
Some judges want to take pieces from every designer and put them in one final design. However, we can't do this.
Could A Designer Try This For Us?
We would love for a designer to take our sun without the domain name, make it brighter and with straight rays like the suns in #30 or #10 (thicker and fewer blades on #10). Add wheatgrass on top with the vibrancy of #29 (upright with no embellishments on the tips). Combine with your signature font that can stand on its own without the sun and grass. Don't copy anyone unless it is your graphic.
Everyone likes the colors and lighting of #9 and #10. The design looks natural, is the most colorful and best captures the feel of walking on our ranch. More then any other design there are strong advocates and strong oponents because of the seal.
Would love to have a horizontal alternative of your design using a customized sans serif font (that can standalone without a graphic) with a minor change of larger sun rays and upright wheatgrass.
You came back strong. We are grass lovers and you captured beautiful sun shining on blades of grass. Several loved your black version for T shirts. It was a work of art in full size.
Here are a few changes that we would love you to try. We prefer your #29 layout because it can standalone without the graphic and is a customized font. We like the sans serif of #28 if it had the R swish of #29. The swish almost looks like a walkway/path on our farm. Very cool idea.
Make the R and C very slightly larger in Rain Crow.
Can you move your graphic to the left side and add a sun in the background of your grass?
Also, remove the extra embellishments at the tip of the grass. They look great but in a small graphic no embellishments look more like our pasture wheatgrass. Also can you slightly darken the silver font so it stands out more on our small labels?
Some judges want your grass without a sun but we want to look at this sun option which might save our branding.
Thanks for your out of the box thinking on #26 and #27. Everyone thought it was a fun concept and it looks amazing in black. It would be beautiful on a poster.
For a logo, we prefer #24 in darker silver then your #26 on a white background. Darker silver or some translucent grey that looks like silver would show up better on small labels. Your current silver is stunning on black but many of our uses are for small white labels.
Try a slightly bigger R and C and sans serif type font. Many on our team love your swooping R. Remove the last embellishment on the R in Crow.
Your diamond graphic would work well for many companies and the lighting is beautiful. We need more of a wheatgrass look with no embellishments to match the look of our pastures. Also can you try a sun and grass combo like I described in the paragraph "Could A Designer Try This For Us?"
You are a strong contender with a lot of judges loving #30. If we had to choose today, you would probably win because you are the closest to our old logo at the moment. However, #29 grass is compelling, too.
One judge wants to see a variation of #30 where the R in Rain is slightly taller. Also, slightly fade the tip of the R as it goes through the W and O of Crow. Try a little more silver throughout the lettering. The color is good but needs a touch more metallic. Add one more green swoop to make 3. If the green swoops looked more like horizontal green grass maybe that would work.
One other version would somehow add upright wheatgrass to your sun with your lettering. Unsure how to do this. Maybe bring your Rain up so your silver swoop forms a base for the upright wheatgrass and sun.
Final Thoughts
#30, #24 and #29 have standalone words that are unique. Now it all comes down to the graphic picture that gets the most votes.
Wow . . .thanks everyone for your submissions. We learned what works for our brand by studying your designs.
We rated by stars in the order we liked and eliminated some of the designs so designers could focus on our favorites.
#13 Raindesign is our favorite so far. We will lose years of brand recognition if we choose #13 but it is such a compelling design that we might just take the chance. #13 captured the elegance and sophitication of our brand.
#15, #14 are beautiful but we need at least our grass and some graphic that brings in the gold tones of the sun so that is why #13 stood out.
#10, #9 Crystal came closest to our current brand. Your grass and sunlight captured the sunny, healthy feeling of our grass farm. There was an energy to your logo that we liked. However we have to have a unique signature font so our words can be put in a standalone layer and are a separate trademark . . . that is why #13 is ahead. Also, we prefer an upright wheatgrass look for grass.
#4 Vector - We need trademark lettering. Your designs here http://67.192.74.105/drafts/small/445121-5477.jpg and http://67.192.74.105/drafts/small/607123-4471.jpg are closer to a unique font. Your design here captured the sun hitting a tree http://67.192.74.105/drafts/small/645421-5482.jpg . . . nice energy. Your sun here has potential http://67.192.74.105/drafts/small/207559-9641.jpg. We are impressed by your other contest winning submissions so don't give up.
To summarize our observations:
New Requirement 1:
Silver or gold unique lettering for our words. Probably touches of silver will the the winning lettering because it is darker. Need the impact of light hitting words of silver but don't overdo it.
New Requirement 2:
Make sure your words can standalone with a trademark look without a graphic. The words have to be sophiticated and elegant. #13 is an example for requirements 1 and 2.
New requirement 3:
Make sure your grass has the upgright look of a wheatgrass tray WITHOUT the tray. Look at Google images of wheatgrass trays for inspiration:
If a designer gave us a graphic more like a sun with blades of upright wheatgrass in front (like our current logo http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/images/americangrassfedbeef4fin2.gif with creative improvements) combined with unique lettering with some silver tones in a seperate layer for our words, we would have a little of our old brand combined with a fresh new elegant look. We are thinking that this combo will work.
If designers have a better idea . . . throw more ideas our way. Creative ideas are always appreciated.
(e.g. draft #1) DCGragphics - How exciting!!! You are our first submission on our first project with LogoDesignGuru. Thanks for your design.
Sorry if I wasn't clear in my brief. Guess my requirements must have been confusing. Let me summarize:
Requirement 1 - Sun and Grass Image
Any design has to have at least a graphic of sun and grass. This graphic can look like our current brand's sun and grass OR you can express your creativity by redesigning these two elements. Add additional elements you feel are needed.
Check out our blog home page to see our logo as well as a photo of wheatgrass to get a feel for sun shining on healthy grass.
The design has to contain the letters RCR (our brand) or the words Rain Crow Ranch (our ranch). We aren't sure yet if we are going with our brand or our ranch in the logo.
Requirement 3 - American Grass Fed Beef
The design has to contain the words American Grass Fed Beef. Leave off the .com. Probably the word beef needs to stand out either by font size, angle of the word or color.
Requirement 4 - Recognizable Word Brand
The fonts used in our logo need to look distinctive so they can be recognizable without the graphic. The final design will have the graphic in a separate layer from the words so we can turn the graphic on and off.
Requirement 5 - Maintain Our Brand Recognition
Our current logo is a recognized brand. We have to maintain our brand recognition but at the same time we want to update our look.
Please express your creativity while still acheiving these 5 requirements. We will provide feedback to help designers narrow in on design ideas that work for our brand.
5 Commentaire récents
Porteur du Projet
Our team agreed that many of our top contestants could produce a winning design if we worked directly with you. However, the majority of the team felt that RainDesign had more designs and elements in his designs that were our top picks.
We have labels and ads that are on hold waiting for a final design. Our team felt we need to expedite our process and concentrate on combining some of RainDesign's elements to make a final design that we can approve and award very quickly.
I called LogoDesignGuru . . . they suggested I add this comment to notify everyone that we are working with RainDesign to finalize a design. RainDesign needs to know that his award is safe to devote the time and effort to present us with a final combination of ideas.
It has been an amazingly positive experience to work with LogoDesignGuru. Every designer gave us a fresh perspective on our brand. The only negative is disappointing some great designers.
We will recommend our top designers at LogoDesignGuru to many people who ask us how we designed our logo. You have been a joy to work with.
Thank you for your time and effort.
Congratulations RainDesign.
Porteur du Projet
wanted to give you a little insight into where you stand. We are probably going to close this contest early.
Our judges have strong opinions. There is no clear winner yet. Each judge has a favorite designer and favorite elements of designs that they feel the final design has to have.
Many opinions differ as to what has to be included or excluded. We are going to try to come to a consensus tomorrow.
Graphics
#29 Fwwaz's grass and #30 RainDesign have the most votes. Maybe a slight edge to RainDesign because the combo of his green wave plus the sun makes it closer to our old design but the jury is not in on which to choose.
#9, #10 Crystal's graphics are 3rd just because they are in a seal without a standalone font. Some judges have said that seals are the best direction. Some say seals don't work in every situation for us. Her votes get divided because of this debate. My guess is a seal format probably won't win.
Standalone Fonts
#24 Vector, #30 Raindesign, #29 Fawwaz all have beautiful fonts but each need minor tweaks
Some judges want to take pieces from every designer and put them in one final design. However, we can't do this.
Could A Designer Try This For Us?
We would love for a designer to take our sun without the domain name, make it brighter and with straight rays like the suns in #30 or #10 (thicker and fewer blades on #10). Add wheatgrass on top with the vibrancy of #29 (upright with no embellishments on the tips). Combine with your signature font that can stand on its own without the sun and grass. Don't copy anyone unless it is your graphic.
http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/images/americangrassfedbeef4fin2.gif
We are trying to see if we can save any part of our brand recognition.
Now for our specific comments:
Crystal #9 and #10
Everyone likes the colors and lighting of #9 and #10. The design looks natural, is the most colorful and best captures the feel of walking on our ranch. More then any other design there are strong advocates and strong oponents because of the seal.
Would love to have a horizontal alternative of your design using a customized sans serif font (that can standalone without a graphic) with a minor change of larger sun rays and upright wheatgrass.
Fawwaz #28, #29
You came back strong. We are grass lovers and you captured beautiful sun shining on blades of grass. Several loved your black version for T shirts. It was a work of art in full size.
Here are a few changes that we would love you to try. We prefer your #29 layout because it can standalone without the graphic and is a customized font. We like the sans serif of #28 if it had the R swish of #29. The swish almost looks like a walkway/path on our farm. Very cool idea.
Make the R and C very slightly larger in Rain Crow.
Can you move your graphic to the left side and add a sun in the background of your grass?
Also, remove the extra embellishments at the tip of the grass. They look great but in a small graphic no embellishments look more like our pasture wheatgrass. Also can you slightly darken the silver font so it stands out more on our small labels?
Some judges want your grass without a sun but we want to look at this sun option which might save our branding.
Vector #24
Thanks for your out of the box thinking on #26 and #27. Everyone thought it was a fun concept and it looks amazing in black. It would be beautiful on a poster.
For a logo, we prefer #24 in darker silver then your #26 on a white background. Darker silver or some translucent grey that looks like silver would show up better on small labels. Your current silver is stunning on black but many of our uses are for small white labels.
Try a slightly bigger R and C and sans serif type font. Many on our team love your swooping R. Remove the last embellishment on the R in Crow.
Your diamond graphic would work well for many companies and the lighting is beautiful. We need more of a wheatgrass look with no embellishments to match the look of our pastures. Also can you try a sun and grass combo like I described in the paragraph "Could A Designer Try This For Us?"
RainDesign #30
You are a strong contender with a lot of judges loving #30. If we had to choose today, you would probably win because you are the closest to our old logo at the moment. However, #29 grass is compelling, too.
One judge wants to see a variation of #30 where the R in Rain is slightly taller. Also, slightly fade the tip of the R as it goes through the W and O of Crow. Try a little more silver throughout the lettering. The color is good but needs a touch more metallic. Add one more green swoop to make 3. If the green swoops looked more like horizontal green grass maybe that would work.
One other version would somehow add upright wheatgrass to your sun with your lettering. Unsure how to do this. Maybe bring your Rain up so your silver swoop forms a base for the upright wheatgrass and sun.
Final Thoughts
#30, #24 and #29 have standalone words that are unique. Now it all comes down to the graphic picture that gets the most votes.
Thanks everyone.
Great job.
Porteur du Projet
We rated by stars in the order we liked and eliminated some of the designs so designers could focus on our favorites.
#13 Raindesign is our favorite so far. We will lose years of brand recognition if we choose #13 but it is such a compelling design that we might just take the chance. #13 captured the elegance and sophitication of our brand.
#15, #14 are beautiful but we need at least our grass and some graphic that brings in the gold tones of the sun so that is why #13 stood out.
#10, #9 Crystal came closest to our current brand. Your grass and sunlight captured the sunny, healthy feeling of our grass farm. There was an energy to your logo that we liked. However we have to have a unique signature font so our words can be put in a standalone layer and are a separate trademark . . . that is why #13 is ahead. Also, we prefer an upright wheatgrass look for grass.
#4 Vector - We need trademark lettering. Your designs here http://67.192.74.105/drafts/small/445121-5477.jpg and http://67.192.74.105/drafts/small/607123-4471.jpg are closer to a unique font. Your design here captured the sun hitting a tree http://67.192.74.105/drafts/small/645421-5482.jpg . . . nice energy. Your sun here has potential http://67.192.74.105/drafts/small/207559-9641.jpg. We are impressed by your other contest winning submissions so don't give up.
To summarize our observations:
New Requirement 1:
Silver or gold unique lettering for our words. Probably touches of silver will the the winning lettering because it is darker. Need the impact of light hitting words of silver but don't overdo it.
New Requirement 2:
Make sure your words can standalone with a trademark look without a graphic. The words have to be sophiticated and elegant. #13 is an example for requirements 1 and 2.
New requirement 3:
Make sure your grass has the upgright look of a wheatgrass tray WITHOUT the tray. Look at Google images of wheatgrass trays for inspiration:
http://www.google.com/search?q=wheatgrass+tray&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1246&bih=556
Summary
If a designer gave us a graphic more like a sun with blades of upright wheatgrass in front (like our current logo http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/images/americangrassfedbeef4fin2.gif with creative improvements) combined with unique lettering with some silver tones in a seperate layer for our words, we would have a little of our old brand combined with a fresh new elegant look. We are thinking that this combo will work.
If designers have a better idea . . . throw more ideas our way. Creative ideas are always appreciated.
Porteur du Projet
Sorry if I wasn't clear in my brief. Guess my requirements must have been confusing. Let me summarize:
Requirement 1 - Sun and Grass Image
Any design has to have at least a graphic of sun and grass. This graphic can look like our current brand's sun and grass OR you can express your creativity by redesigning these two elements. Add additional elements you feel are needed.
Check out our blog home page to see our logo as well as a photo of wheatgrass to get a feel for sun shining on healthy grass.
http://blog.americangrassfedbeef.com/
Here is a larger version of our current logo:
http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/images/americangrassfedbeef4fin2.gif
Requirement 2 - RCR or Rain Crow Ranch
The design has to contain the letters RCR (our brand) or the words Rain Crow Ranch (our ranch). We aren't sure yet if we are going with our brand or our ranch in the logo.
Requirement 3 - American Grass Fed Beef
The design has to contain the words American Grass Fed Beef. Leave off the .com. Probably the word beef needs to stand out either by font size, angle of the word or color.
Requirement 4 - Recognizable Word Brand
The fonts used in our logo need to look distinctive so they can be recognizable without the graphic. The final design will have the graphic in a separate layer from the words so we can turn the graphic on and off.
Requirement 5 - Maintain Our Brand Recognition
Our current logo is a recognized brand. We have to maintain our brand recognition but at the same time we want to update our look.
Please express your creativity while still acheiving these 5 requirements. We will provide feedback to help designers narrow in on design ideas that work for our brand.