Identity Crit
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- d_rek
Some background about the client:
Essentially a financial services consultancy that offers up a variety of different administrative and operation services like human resources, payroll, financing, etc.During our research we came across the iconic "alembic" as an alchemical device used to transmute lead into gold. Client liked that idea and doesn't mind using that background to help tell the organizations story.
Anyway, I just wanted to see how the identity was working. The one thing i am looking for critique on is how the logotype is working w/ the icon. There are mixed emotions about it here in the office so I thought i'd throw it out to the wolves. Thanks in advance!
- d_rek0
Sorry, there is variation between the type solutions. If I could get a poll of which is working better - left or right - would appreciate it much!
- baseline_shift0
i would simplify the mark a good deal. As you can see it gets a bit mush on the bottom of that letterhead.
also, work on the type some more. Archer doesnt feel super financial to me, but if you insist upon it, try and work the kerning a bit more. the PPA is too tight.
- inkpink0
i'd agree about archer... the logo is already out-there for financial so you might want to ground it a bit with a safer/ less whimsical font.
re. left or right... right. left is too much.
- dirtydesign0
agreed. a bit too cartooned for an admin service.
the idea of the A dropping down to solutions could be cool. not sure you have the right font for that yet.
- version30
everything no
- funkgawz0
There has to be a distinction between the apparatus and the starburst, having them both in the same color on multiply gets confusing.
Try varying the form of the starburst, then add the perspective -It wants to be a little more organic.
Drop the period after inc.
Cool idea, feels a bit juvenile for a financial services group. But if the client likes it...
- rkrd0
white thingy in the middle disappears at small sizes
overprinting will not look good at small sizes
tagline is too small
if you make the A so big (I wouldn't, or at least make the last letter also big) kern it with the others/loosen the others, there is a hole there atm- I printed it out. You're wrong, nothing gets lost at that size.monospaced
- you mean as long there is at least a hint of that white thing in the middle it is really there? good for you!rkrd
- dirtydesign0
the white molecule thing is pretty cool.
not sure how relevant it is to APPARATUS though.
- version30
that identity, if you want to call it that, does not have longevity or respectable anywhere near it.
did you read blue was safe somewhere?
- I see what you did there.dMullins
- I wouldn't want respectable near me either.Malleus_Maleficarum
- forcetwelve0
– get that icon simplified more. way too complicated. i'd lose the star, just have the other bit.
– get the logo out of the bottom corner of the letterhead.
– don't repeat logo on comps slip.
– change font to something more robust/dependable/grounded. archer is for hairdressers and craft fairs.
- Amicus0
drop the starburst. it looks cheap and tacky - exactly the opposite of the feel you need for this client.
- d_rek0
All good feedback - thank you gentlefolk!
I will reveal some more thinking when the time is right - but for now just keep it coming ;)
- SigDesign0
Do you need the burst? It might simplify the mark to get rid of it... it'd also be more original and easier to identify.
Maybe bring in some of those science circles that connect to some of the flat lines in the type?
- the burst reminds me of Nickelodeon Splatter logos... kinda childish for financial...epill
- raskolnikov0
Looks like an exploding bong, or heart.
Not what I'd consider a sturdy, reliable enough ID for anyone involved in financial services, could be ideal for a smoke shop.
- I mean, ask yourself seriously, how many people are going to recognise the brilliance of your chosen 'apparatus'?raskolnikov
- dMullins0
I don't know about the logo, but those mock-up samples of the card/letterhead are atrocious—talk about some terrible aliasing.
- dMullins0
The kerning is not very good either—especially the "Appa" part, and the, well, all of the superior part of the name is kerned badly. Not sure if this is client-ready, or if you're just asking "do you like Archer with this?"
- epill0
when i think of the word Apparatus i think more of engineered diagrams with cross sections over a splatter/ burst with a chemical flask and chemical compound as its logo. the splatter/ burst with graphic reminds me of the Nickelodeon or MTv2 logos with an image and their graphic with words in it... not saying i don't like the direction i just don't think it fits the financial nature of the client. i think the burst needs to go or re-worked, also the burst reminds me of the gimmicks chain-stores use to grab the attention of a viewer... its too pop culture jimmy neutron that isn't as strong as it could for the demographic its targeted at.
- Amicus0
Take away everything that doesn't tell the story.
"'Think simple' as my old master used to say meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles."
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- dMullins0
The alembic is fine, but I don't (personally) like the form of the cloud, and the exploding whatever-it-is ain't doing anything for me.
I'm normally opposed to this, but if you're gonna small cap the interior type, I would large cap the ending "S," because I think it will help balance that interesting exploding whatever-it-is thing.
Overall, the mark doesn't resonate anything about the client's industry to me, but it sounds like you have a client who is open to neat ideas. I think it still (largely) needs refinement.
- And if you large Cap the "S," bring the baseline of the small caps up a bit to balance the top-heaviness. I dunno really...dMullins
- dMullins0
What if the alembic was cracked across the middle, and you used illustrate the "liquid" exploding out in a similar fashion as the burst. The cloud would still make sense, as the gas would be pushed forcefully from the spout in an explosion, with blowback coming out of the cracked area after the initial bang.
I don't know, just rambling here, trying to be helpful and not completely deconstructive.
- Then again, with a treatment like this, you edge closer still to something that feels even less financial/etc.dMullins