[ProjectComplete] Deadline Extended to Aug. 22: $300: Logo for Pet Resort

[downtowndogs]

Admin code added by Abby - 27S38033459755845 REF

Hi there,

I have an established pet care facility that I am looking to rebrand, as we have expanded our services and upgraded our offerings. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone come up with.

Cheers,
Mark
Downtown Dogs

Project Summary:
What text should be included in the main part of the logo?
Downtown Dogs, Inc.

What type of product or service do you offer?
Dog Daycare, Boarding, Training

How long have you been in business?
9 years

What do you hope to accomplish with your new identity?
Our current logo (see www.downtowndogs.com) no longer represents our service offering very well. It's too fun, so to speak. We'd like to position ourselves as more upscale and hotel or resort like, but still have a little bit of that fun edge. Nothing stuffy.

When is the deadline for final entries before choosing a designer? August 15th.

Audience Profile:
Please describe your existing audience
Our clients are mainly DINKs (Dual Income No Kids) Although it is usually the female half looking for a facility. Most owners tend to be waaaay into their dogs and spoil them as such.

Perception/Tone/Guidelines:
What type of logo would you like?
Sophisticated but with a bit of flair for fun

Do you have any colors in mind for your logo? (if so, why?)
Open to color choices, but would like 2-3 colors max

Do you have any specific images or icons in mind that you would definitely like to see incorporated into your logo?
Possible cityscape to go with our downtown name, but am open to other concepts.

Communication Strategy:
What attributes would you like your logo to reflect about your business?
Professional, upscale, but still fun

What is your tagline or slogan?
Complete Care for your Canine

What is the overall message you are trying to convey to your target audience?
That your dog will be pampered while staying with us and that he'll go home happy and tired.

Where will your new logo be used?
All marketing collateral and advertising

Competitive Positioning:
Who are your competitors and what do you think about their logos?
Run Em Ragged - Whimsical, but unrefined
Paws Place - same as above
A Dog's Life - fun
Wag Hotels - Like it

List competitive URLs if possible
www.runemragged.com
www.pawsplace.com
www.dogslife.biz
www.waghotel.com

What sets you apart from your competitors?
Basic services are very similar. We offer accomodations that are more upscale, but at a similar price.

[Unorthodox]

:)

[downtowndogs]

Hey Unorthodox,

Thanks for jumping in with the first concept. Here's my thoughts.
I like the dog in front of the city, but the city is too abstract and the dog is in a stiff show stance, rather than running or jumping to convey some fun. I'd like to the the name fit within the width of the design, rather than extending across. Overall I'd also like to take the sophistication up a few notches. I want it to portray a little more sense of luxury.

Cheers,
Mark

[Unorthodox]

Thank you for the feedback, i'll come up with more concepts. :)

[Unorthodox]

:)

[glyphica]

Hello, I would like to jump into this project. Here is my first version, with a generic dog sillouhette. Please let me know what you think. Thank you! :)

[glyphica]

Hi again, here is another version from me with a more detailed dog sillouhette, smiling. :)

[Titania]

working on this, i'll post asap! :yes:

[downtowndogs]

Hey Unorthodox,

The cityscape is much improved. I like the concept of the new dog, but am not thrilled with it's exact look (I know, it's just a concept). I'd like to try and tighten it all together. Each of the elements seems to separate and not part of a cohesive package. Here's a few specific requests: I'd like to see the city wider, to better match the text. Also, I prefer the text to me all one color, rather than two.

Thanks,
Mark

[downtowndogs]

Hi Kekepania,

Thanks for the submission. I really like your cityscape, but the dog is not my ideal. As I mentioned with another designer, I'd like to have the dog showing action (running, jumping, etc..). Let's ditch the "inc." from the name and see what we can do to make it more compact. It just feels unbalanced to me right now. Also, can we try some other color schemes?

Thanks,
Mark

[Titania]

i've just read about the "dog showing action"... :blush:
i had this one done before reading it... so.... hope you like it anyway! lol
if not, just let me know and i'll see what i can do... :D

[glyphica]

Hello,
Thanks for the feedback. :D Here's a revision without the INC., an active dog and some different colors. I look forward to more feedback. Thanks again. :)

[glyphica]

Hi again, another color palette. :)

[glyphica]

Just one more :)

[downtowndogs]

Titania & Kekepania

Thanks for the new concepts. I really like both the cityscapes. (T)The dog is really cute, but it's just not right for this project. (K) I like that it's action, but I don't like the head tilt back. If he's jumping, it should be forward. Also, I'd like to move away from the silhouette. The dog does not need to have a ton of definition, but I'd like to see the face at least.

Here's a a thought. What if a dog was tugging on one of the letters? Also I'd like to dress up the the font some. Something that is a bit more modern, and not so heavy.

Thanks to both of you. I'm excited about seeing the next revisions.

Cheers,
Mark

[downtowndogs]

I guess we'll need to extend the deadline. How do I go about doing that?

Thanks,
Mark

[Titania]

hi mark! thanks for the feedback! a moderator will take care of the deadline change...
i'll work on another version and will post asap! :yes:

[BlueCherryGraphics]

Mark,

Just let me know the new deadline and I'll change it in your thread title.

Thanks! :)

[downtowndogs]

Thanks Jennifer. Let's add one more week and move it to 8/22.

Cheers,
Mark

[Unorthodox]

I will be posting revisions and new concepts as well soon :)

[glyphica]

Hi again, I've made a few changes. The font is lighter and more modern, and the doggie has a face, and has turned his head around. :) Let me know what you think. Thanks!

[Unorthodox]

:)

[downtowndogs]

Kekepania,

Thanks for the new revision. It's just not working for me though. Here's the direction I'd like to see with your concept. Go back to the color scheme in your ver. 3.2. I've decided that the dog needs to be different. Even with the head turned the other way, it still looks awkward to me. As for the font, you went too far. I want something modern, but that still feels upscale and classy.

Thanks, Mark

[Titania]

finishing my new version, i'll post in a couple of minutes... :yes:

[downtowndogs]

Unorthodox,

You have catapulted yourself into the lead. I love your new concept. Things I'd like to change:

1. Squish the bone some. It seems a little to long. Don't squish the city at the same time. I'd like it to fill more space at the top.

2. Add some life to the city
a. I'd like some windows to give it a little more character. Not a ton of them. Just sporadic little pops of light.
b. Thin out the number of buildings. It seems to crowded right now.
c. Chop off the slope on the tallest building. It makes it look area specific, rather than any downtown.
3. Font - The current font isn't bad, but I'd like something a little more unique. As I mentioned in another post, I'm going for modern, but classy.

4. Change "PET RESORT" to "RESORT & SPA

Looking forward to the updates.

Cheers,,
Mark

[Titania]

:)

[Unorthodox]

Thank you for the feedback :)
Here's a revision.

[nhr]

Hello:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DO_/DownTownDogs_nhr.png

Thank you.

[djaka]

:)

[downtowndogs]

Thanks everyone for all your design ideas. You all had clever concepts that each had elements I really liked. The one designer that hit the nail on the head though was....

Unorthodox, with Revision 4.

I'll contact Unorthodox for some changes once the thread moves to revisions.

Cheers,
Mark

[BlueCherryGraphics]

Congratulations Jonathan.

This thread has been moved to the Revisions Forum.

Mark, please post a note in the thread once you receive the final files.

Thanks! :)

[downtowndogs]

Hey Jonathan,

I'm looking forward to finishing things up with you. As I mentioned earlier version 4 is the starting point. I'm not sure where the communication breakdown went, but version 5 veered off from the plan. Here's what I'd like to see:

1. I want to keep the city as a silhouette, but I want to try and make it look a little less crowded.

2. Narrow the bone from left to right or alternatively spread the city out a little further. The goal here is for the city to seem a little more integrated with the bone as if the slope of the bone fed right into the sidewalk of the city.

3. Change the text "Pet Resort" to Resort & Spa

Thanks,
Mark

[Unorthodox]

Hi Mark,
Thank you for choosing my design :)

Yep :) I fully understand that I veered off a little too much with that 5th concept, I was just throwing a style to see if you would like it (I tend to experiment a lot :P), but I will stick to version 4 on the revisions to come :)

What I'm not sure at this point is if you're satisfied with version 4's font (because I recall you saying that you wanted a more modern font)? If not, are there any specific fonts you may have seen that you would like on your logo?

[downtowndogs]

Hey Jonathan,

I figured we'd tackle the font last. I really like the elegance that a serif font brings, but they all tend to look so similar. I want something that stands out as not so "off the shelf", but also has that sophistication to it. I've been looking at some font sites for ideas, but haven;t had that much time to focus on it. Any sites that you recommend for me to go shopping for ideas?

Cheers,
Mark

[Unorthodox]

Hey Jonathan,

I figured we'd tackle the font last. I really like the elegance that a serif font brings, but they all tend to look so similar. I want something that stands out as not so "off the shelf", but also has that sophistication to it. I've been looking at some font sites for ideas, but haven;t had that much time to focus on it. Any sites that you recommend for me to go shopping for ideas?

Cheers,
Mark
Hi Mark,
Here's a revision (sorry for the delay, had to go out of town for a design conference)

There's several font sites that I recommend which carry high end fonts. However, although I do own several font sets from these companies, I don't own them all so if there is any specific font you find that you like, let me know the name of it and I will find the closest font match in my library. :)

www.fontfont.com
www.fontbureau.com
www.myfonts.com

[downtowndogs]

Hey Jonathan,

Thanks for the font site recommendations. I'll go ahead and see if I can find anything I like.

As for the latest revision, the size of the bone looks good. The city though, now looks bitmapped and huge. I've attached a jpg of quick hack I threw together of what I'm looking for. I stole a graphic from a image site, so it's not perfect, but hopefully it'll give you some inspiration. The main thing that I don't like about it is that the buildings are a little to skinny. Also, the voids where no buildings exist or where they are really low don't look good.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Mark

[Unorthodox]

Hi Mark, thanks for the feedback :)

here's a revision with slightly thicker buildings and the voids within the buildings have been reduced to match the skyline :)

[downtowndogs]

Hey Jonathan,

The buildings look great. That's exactly what I was looking for. The only thing that is really bothering me is the transition between the bone and the buildings. It still seems like they are two separate pieces put together, rather than one cohesive object. Any ideas? What if we dropped off the small steps on either side of the buildings and did a smoother curve up into the buildings, like it was pushing its way out of the bone. Does that make sense? If you have any other thoughts, I'm open.

Thanks again. It really is coming together nicely.

Cheers,
Mark

[downtowndogs]

Hey Jonathan,

Here's a couple of fonts I like:
Linotype.com - Present Bold Condensed
Adobe.com - Poetica Std Regular

Cheers,
Mark

[Unorthodox]

Hi Mark :)
I couldn't find a match for the Present Typeface, but I managed to find Poetica :)

I also rounded the corners at the bottom of each building in the endpoints on the skyline as you suggested :P

[downtowndogs]

Hey Jonathan,

Sorry for the slow reply. Anyway, I've been overruled by "The Powers That Be" (my wife) and we are going with version 7. Please go ahead and send files and we'll get things wrapped up.

Cheers,
Mark

[Unorthodox]

PM sent with direct link to files.
:)

[downtowndogs]

Files received. Project Complete.

Thanks,
Mark