[Project Complete] Jan 4 : $300 :KnowWater logo

[HighGrove]

Admin code added by Abby - 3848755170

Award for this design is $300. We will make a decision on our designer by January 4th and expect the finished design to be completed by January 11th.

As you may know, the Southeast is in the grips of a historic drought; with every challenge comes opportunity. We believe there is a need for water-efficient solutions to irrigation, planting, etc. that is largely untapped. We are a landscape company with 18 years in the Atlanta market under our belt, and we believe our clients, as well as potential new clients, are looking for ways to be smarter, greener, about using water.

We look forward to everyone's ideas and designs. Thanks for taking the time to submit an entry.

Here is our brief:

Design Outpost Creative Brief Worksheet

Project Summary:
What text should be included in the main part of the logo?

KnowWater

We would like to include this as a URL. Right now, we own the knowwater.info domain, but we are in negotiations to purchase a different extension. So, if that changes, we will want to be able to accommodate it within the logo.

What type of product or service do you offer?

We currently maintain, install and design landscaping for commercial clients.

We are launching a new suite of services and solutions for water-efficient landscaping, including efficient irrigation systems, drought-resistant plants, grey water capture and re-use, etc.

How long have you been in business?

6 yrs (in our current incarnation), but this is a new business area for us.

What do you hope to accomplish with your new identity?

To establish and build awareness of our position in the marketplace as a thought leader in the area of water-efficient landscape products and services. Our business may eventually evolve to include non-landscape oriented offerings, so we would not want the logo to be limited to landscape-specific solutions.

What are your long term goals?

To become a successful solution provider for water-efficient products and services


When is the deadline for final entries before choosing a designer?

Jan.4, 2008

Audience Profile:
Please describe your existing audience

Current clientele includes commercial property managers, owners, engineers and developers.

Who would you like to add to your audience?

Perception/Tone/Guidelines:
What type of logo would you like?

The logo for this initiative must incorporate our existing logo in some form or fashion. We have a strong brand identity associated with our current logo and we would like the logo for this initiative to accomplish two things: immediately let people know that we are at the forefront of water-efficient, eco-friendly solutions and 2) that this is definitely a HighGrove Partners offering/initiative. Attached is our current logo.
Some potential ideas (and we are most certainly not limited to these) could be:

• a water droplet through which you see our logo (perhaps slightly distorted by the water)
• an entirely separate logo that would integrate our current logo in some way or have our current logo beside it or below it

Something along those lines. Essentially, we want this brand to be clearly tied to our current brand, but clearly display a new, different offering.

Our web site is at http://www.highgrove.net

Our logo PMS colors are the following:
Black
#187 (Dark red)
#187 at 50% (Lighter red)

Do you have any colors in mind for your logo? (if so, why?)

Blue or green, something that will immediately convey the idea of water visually.

Do you have any specific images or icons in mind that you would definitely like to see incorporated into your logo?

See above guidance regarding our current logo

Communication Strategy:
What attributes would you like your logo to reflect about your business?

Leading edge, green/eco-friendly, inventive, innovative, responsible, expertise, professional

What is your tagline or slogan?

We promise your landscape will be the first thing you see and the last thing you worry about.

What is the overall message you are trying to convey to your target audience?

That we are on the forefront of dealing with water efficiency

Where will your new logo be used?

Signs, trucks, web, printed material, various promotional material


Competitive Positioning:
Who are your competitors and what do you think about their logos?

I can’t really think of any of our competitors in this particular arena.


List competitive URLs if possible

What sets you apart from your competitors?

We provide valuable solutions that our clients will appreciate but not have to worry about.

[Bill]

Here's my entry...

[imot]

Hi,
Can you post your logo in a verctor format?
Thanks

[imot]

Hi,

Here is my entry. Let me know what do you think :)

http://www.myoujou.com.ar/outpost/knowwater.gif

[plum74]

:)hello

[HighGrove]

Bill, thanks for the quick submission.

It's quite creative, and we like the blue and green colors.

We feel the design is not strong enough in the sense that we don’t think it is iconic enough, however.

It needs to be easily recognizable from a distance and rather than having lots of small elements (I.e. small raindrops and multiple plants), We’d like to see something that is more integrated with more bold graphics.

Thanks for your time!

[HighGrove]

Good morning Imot,

Sorry for not getting this to you sooner, but for some reason I did not get an e-mail notification of your reply.

I have an EPS of our logo, and I assume that's the vector format you're asking for (I'm not a graphic designer :) ). If it's not just let me know.

Thanks for your submission! I'll get back to you soon with some feedback.

[HighGrove]

Hi Plum74, thank you also for your submission. Let me reflect on it and I'll get back to you soon, also.

[shnickerdoodle studios]

One from me...
Thanks,
Deanna

[HighGrove]

Good morning Imot,

Thanks again for your work on this. We have couple ideas and suggestions for you that could get this even closer. It's a strong start.

Here's our feedback:

We like the upper drop better, but feel the shading may not translate well on signs, such as on our trucks. So let's work with the lower version, which is quite clear.

We like the water drop in conjunction with our existing logo, especially the refraction/magnification you show with the trees behind it. Could you try increasing this effect? If you needed to make the drop larger or the other trees smaller, that could work.

Regarding the text, please combine "Know Water" into "KnowWater". We like the way you included the "by HighGrove" tag-line, simply correct the spelling and remove the space and it will be good.

Let's explore a different font for the "KnowWater" text. We're looking for a more modern, progressive feel, probably a san-serif font. Any ideas?

We're curious about what the water drop would look like centered on the existing tree logo. How hard would it be for you to offer a single example of a centered drop? We're probably fine with the off-center drop, but if it's not too much trouble, we'd like to see the other.

I've uploaded an image of your logos with some of our notes.

Thanks for your time!

[HighGrove]

Good morning Plum74,

We are intrigued by your submission; it's a cleaner, simpler look that might work well for us, too.

Just a couple suggestions; some of these will be similar to our advice to Imot:

Please combine "Know Water" into "KnowWater". Could you include a "by HighGrove" tag-line? We were going to suggest this anyway before Imot hit on it :).

Let's look at a different font for the "KnowWater" text. The script-style is a little too staid, even though it does flow. Can you suggest a more modern, progressive, cleaner font?

Can you remove the "HighGrove Partners" from the existing logo so there would only be the trees in the middle?

Finally, we like the blue swooshes, but wonder if we developed that theme to be in the shape of a water drop, what would that look like. Could we try that?

Thanks for your time and talent!

[HighGrove]

Hi Deanna!

The rain is interesting, but we don't think it really changes or differentiates this logo from our original one enough.

As a reminder to everyone, the original logo can be integrated into the KnowWater logo, but that is not an absolute requirement. This could be a completely new logo that would simply be displayed in conjunction with our existing logo (imagine side-by-side on a panel truck, or on the same page in printed marketing material).

Deanna, if you want to take a different tack with the logo, the same advice that applies to Plum74 and Imot's designs applies here: look for a different font for KnowWater, and change "HighGrove Partners" into a "by HighGrove" tag-line.

Thanks for your time!

[BlueCherryGraphics]

v1

[BlueCherryGraphics]

v2

[plum74]

Hello there. Here's my updated logo. Thank you for your suggestions:)

[plum74]

Here's my try again:)

with water ripple effect

[plum74]

Hello here's my alternatives:)

[elogonics]

:)

[imot]

Hi,
Thank for the detailed feedback :)
Here is a revision

http://www.myoujou.com.ar/outpost/knowwater2.gif

[imot]

And the centered drop water...

http://www.myoujou.com.ar/outpost/knowwater3.gif

[plum74]

:)

[HighGrove]

Jennifer,

Thanks so much for your submissions. This is really good! We prefer this font to the blockier second version. Especially neat is the yin/yang earth/waterdrop. This logo looks great in black and white, too.

We're thinking the "Know" in black might work better if it's in green instead.

Happy holidays!

[HighGrove]

Hi Plum74,

Thanks for your revisions! We're definitely moving in the right direction. Let me address each version:

Version 2 - Getting closer, we like the drop/swoosh changes.

Version 3 - We like this. This has some good potential, the ripples are cool. Pretty iconic and looks good in b&w. We wonder if this is immediately recognizable as water. We wonder if the trees look weird in the water drop, maybe they could be moved to the end of the "by HighGrove" tagline?

Version 4 - Interesting idea with the hands, but not the direction we want to head.

Version 5 - We're not crazy about the star at top. Has potential, but does not look as cutting edge as some of the others ones.

Thanks again, and have a great holiday!

[HighGrove]

Good morning Elogonics,

Thanks for your submission! We really really like this. Simple, straightforward, clean, and it looks good in black-and-white, too.

We wonder how it would look with our trees to the right in the tag-line. Our trees have brand recognition, but it might make the logo look less crisp.

[Leclerk]

Hi!

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_know_water_01.jpg

Cheers,
Bojan

[HighGrove]

Good afternoon Imot,

Thanks for the revisions! I think version 2 is pretty much there, as far as conveying the concept for your design. The improved drop and magnification work well. Thanks for putting together the centered drop; the one to the left does look better. The KnowWater font will need to be tweaked if we go with your design, but it's closer.

Thanks for your hard work. Happy Holidays!

[plum74]

simple

[plum74]

here's my updated logo

[plum74]

v8

[plum74]

v9

[elogonics]

:)

[plum74]

:)My try again thank you

[plum74]

v11

[plum74]

v 11.2

[plum74]

:)

[LutFi]

Version # 1.

Thank you.
LutFi

[LutFi]

Version # 2.

Thank You.
LutFi

[LutFi]

Version # 3

Thank you.
LutFi

[LutFi]

Version # 4.

Different color. With Green and blue.
Thank you.
LutFi.

[plum74]

:)

[plum74]

:)

[HighGrove]

Good evening all!

I've been very enthused by all the responses from the past week and a half. I just wanted to let you know, I am watching, and I hope to get some feedback to you all soon.

Our office is closed for the holidays, and I want to get opinions from some of my fellows before posting, but thank you all for your latest submissions. We won't reopen until after the new year, but I'll see if I can get some feedback before then.

I know with our Jan.4 deadline, you're eager to hear from us an I'll work to get back to you soon.

Stay tuned.

Happy new year!

[HighGrove]

Good morning everyone,

First, thanks again to everyone who has put their heart into designs for our new logo. We've been very impressed with the creativity and skill that have gone into them!

We've narrowed our choice down to two designs; we're having a tough time deciding between them and would like to suggest a couple of tweaks on each and then make our final decision on Monday.

Our two finalists are Jennifer Johnson and Plum74.

Jennifer, could you make the yin-yang symbol larger in relation to the text? Maybe increase it by 50% and 100% to see how it looks. Also, we like the font in your first design better than the second, but could you also show us how it would look in small caps in Copperplate?

Plum74, we like your leaf design in message 30. It's labeled design 7, but there are two design 7's, so please reference the leaf one. The leaf floating on the water ripples is definitely a good look, but it is too close to some of our competitors' logos. We use a red maple leaf (see attached) in some of our marketing materials, so can we see what replacing the green leaf with a graphic drawing of a red maple leaf looks like? Also, we'd like to see the "KnowWater" in Copperplate small caps.

Thanks for your time. We look forward to your designs!

[plum74]

hello. here's a couple of schematic designs. Thank you for your opportunity;)

[plum74]

hello. here's a couple of schematic designs. Thank you for your opportunity;)

[plum74]

:)

[BlueCherryGraphics]

v3

[BlueCherryGraphics]

v4

[plum74]

:)

[HighGrove]

Thanks to again to everyone who submitted designs for our project. We are impressed with the talent you all bring to the table.

After reviewing the final submissions from our two top designers, we're pleased to award the design to Plum74! Plum74 provided some great ideas and really got us to the look and feel we were hoping for. A special thanks goes to Jennifer Johnson for her design as well; it was a tough choice.

Plum74, once this gets moved to the revisions forum we'll give you feedback on your recent revisions; we're excited about the direction this has taken.

Thanks again!

[BlueCherryGraphics]

Congratulations Plum.

This thread has been moved to Revisions.

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

Thanks! :)

[HighGrove]

Thanks again Plum74 for all your efforts to hit upon our goal. We think your version 15, 3rd from the top is the closest to the final product we're looking for. We have a few tweaks in order to finalize it, of course. Here they are:

1. Let's drop the "By:" in "By: HighGrove". "HighGrove" is good on its own.

2. The font for "HighGrove" should be Goudy Old Style.

3. Can we tuck our tree logo underneath the end of "KnowWater" and see how that looks? We're concerned the whole thing might be a little long.

4. I'm uploading a black-and-white version of our trees logo that should be used in the black-and-white version of this logo(sans the text). Also, I have .eps formats of both the color and b&w versions. Will that help?

5. Let's color the rings the same way you did in msg.30.

6. Can we see how it looks with the leaf the same color as our dark red tree color? PMS #187

7. Let's try reducing either the size and/or length of the veins in the leaf.

8. For kicks, can you drop the maple leaf into your design from msg.30? We just want to compare the look of the rings/ripples.

9. Finally, we need to work with the font for KnowWater. After seeing your example, we feel the Copperplate font is too mechanical-looking and does not match the natural/organic feel of your leaf-in-water image. We like how your original font matched the look/feel of the image. We’d like something more “natural/organic-looking” than the Copperplate, but also a bit more modern than the original one.

From looking online, here are a few fonts that we like (I don’t know how well these will match with the image). We certainly are not limited to these, we just wanted to give you some idea of what we're thinking.

• Optima / Optima Nova
• Linotype Universe
• Neue Helvetica
• Avenir

Thanks!

[plum74]

Hello Highgrove,

Thank you for slecting my concept.
I will post my couple of revisions for your logo soon then.
Thank you for your comments.


regards,
Plum74:)

[plum74]

:)v19

[plum74]

:)

[HighGrove]

Good afternoon Plum,

Thanks for your revisions. We're getting closer.

The font for HighGrove looks like Goudy Old Style now, but remember it should be in Small Caps. Also, can we see how it would look if we included the "PARTNERS" under it in the same red as the leaf. We're having trouble visualizing it, and aren't sure whether we like the cleaner "HighGrove" alone or not. Please note, the "PARTNERS" spacing is a little funky, and I can provide you with an .eps file if that helps. Just let me know.

We do like the tree logo underneath "KnowWater" where you moved it better, but can you please right-justify it?

Thanks for trying a different look on the leaf veins, but let's go back to your original look with 4 veins.

Thanks for trying out the leaf with the other design, but we want to stick with your ring/ripple design from version 20.

Finally, we're really like to see some other font options, definitely a sans serif. In our earlier post we offered four options that could give you an idea of what we're looking for, but you're welcome to offer other suggestions as well. One piece of advice we can offer is not to let the font get too "thin". Some of those fonts we listed have some pretty thin examples, but the heavier weight versions look closer to what we want.

Thanks for your help!

[plum74]

Hello Highgrove. here's my revisions let me know your pick:)

[plum74]

One more. thank you.

[plum74]

here's from me again:)

[plum74]

v24

[HighGrove]

Hi Plum74!

Boy, you're quick on the turnaround - thanks!

Let's go with version 22, the font is clean and timeless. We just have a couple of tweaks to finalize it.

Let's make the "Water" in "KnowWater" the darker blue like version 23.

Let's keep the trees to the right of the "HighGrove Partners", but otherwise the alignment is good. I did a quick edit to see how it would look with the trees on the right, and I've uploaded it to help explain what we're looking for.

Now we just need to get our logo looking right when included with KnowWater. As you can imagine, we're pretty picky about keeping the look consistent with our existing logo :) .

If you'll look at the color logo eps I just uploaded, the spacing of the letters in both "HighGrove" and "PARTNERS" is different than what you've got, as is the ratio of the word "PARTNERS" to the "HighGrove"; notice where the "p" in "partners" lines up. On our logo it is aligned with the "h", but in yours it aligns with the "g".

Does having our eps help you with this? I don't want to make this too big of a pain, and I'm not a designer so I don't know how much I'm really asking of you. Please let me know.

I tried to upload the b&w eps version of our logo, but for some reason it is big... too big for the site to allow it. So I can e-mail that to you if you need it.


Thanks for your good work!
:)

[plum74]

Hello HighGrove,

Thank you for the comments, will work on your revisions. Yes an .eps would be helpful. I will be sending nt email address via private message shortly.

[plum74]

hi here's the revised logo. sorry for delay:)

[plum74]

Here's a more realistic ripple. Here is another version with a different ripple.

[HighGrove]

Hi Plum74,

We were very happy with your final version 25, and then you come out with v.26. Very nice! I think we may go with that instead... we're discussing it now, and will get back to you soon.

Thanks!

[HighGrove]

We really like your latest version (26), and want to go with it. We just have one request: the difference in the color of the rings is not very noticeable, so could we please try adjusting the color of the lighter rings? For the lighter color, here are a couple that I think offer greater contrast to the darker (PMS 299) color:

PMS 290 or 291 or perhaps we go with a reduction of 299 (i.e. 299 at x%)

What do you think? I'm excited at where you've taken this design, Plum74, and we're grateful for your patience and hard work.

[plum74]

concept in 3 colors, PMS 299 AT 30%,

[plum74]

4 colors

[plum74]

Hi Chris,

I posted both to show that with just 3 colors you can achieve almost the same shade as the 4th color in the 4 color scheme.

[HighGrove]

Plum,

I'm running out the door as I write this, but wanted to get back to you as soon as I could. Thanks for trying out the lighter version of the rings, but let's go with the original version 26 as the final. I'll post more later, but wanted to get the word to you so you could begin to prep the package of .eps's and whatever.

Thanks!

[plum74]

Hello,

Printer-ready files are now in your private message inbox. Kindly confirm receipt and acceptance. Thank you.

[HighGrove]

Plum74,

We've received the files and they look good! Thanks again for your hard work and talent. We're very happy with this logo and excited to start using it.

Thanks!

[BlueCherryGraphics]

PROJECT UPDATE: moved to Logo Project Archives.