[ProjectComplete] Due Feb 11 : $300 : Logo : Kikin Internet start-up

[kikinone]

Admin code added by Abby - 5J2262715S713020W

Project Summary:
We need a logo and logotype for website and all company materials.

Because we are initially focusing on partner deals (B2B), our logo/logotype needs to communicate professionality, trustworthiness and integrity. As our service gets more and more exposed to consumers later on, it would be great to have balanced design that also works for B2C usage later on.

What text should be included in the main part of the logo?
The logotype should include the word "Kikin" (can be mixed-case, or all upper/lower case).

What type of product or service do you offer?
We integrate relevant information sources into existing web sites (think widgets).

How long have you been in business?
Just started out.

What do you hope to accomplish with your new identity?
We want a logo that helps reinforce our desired brand attributes (see project description).

What are your long term goals?
Worldwide network of partnerships that deliver relevant information to our users.

When is the deadline for final entries before choosing a designer?
Monday, February 11, 2008

Audience Profile:
Please describe your existing audience
N/A

Who would you like to add to your audience?
On the B2B side there are mostly Internet, media, mobile and hardware companies (very tech heavy audience). On the B2C side it is a mainstream Internet audience.

Perception/Tone/Guidelines:
What type of logo would you like?
We need a combined logo and logotype. The logo will also be used by itself when there is less space.

One possibility could be to use the first letter 'K' as logo itself (if it is "stylized"/"accessorized"). Coming up with a logo that is not part of the type is an option as well.

Do you have any colors in mind for your logo? (if so, why?)
We will consider all submissions, but our feeling is that the desired attributes will be communicated better with less colors involved.

All files should be delivered with transparent background (so that they look fine if they are displayed on top of a variety of background colors).

For the large images, a version with a white background should also be delivered.

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

See above.

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

Trustworthy
Integrity
Professionality

What is your tagline or slogan?
Don't have one yet.

What is the overall message you are trying to convey to your target audience?
See project description.

Where will your new logo be used?
Logo+type for:

1. Website
2. Various company materials

Standalone logo for:
1. Favicon (16 x 16 and 32x32)
2. 16x16 png with transparent background (for icon)

File formats to be delivered:
Vector graphics image (Illustrator)
Photoshop file (psd)
Gifs optimized for usage on website
Favicon of logo (for browser tabs).
16x16 Png of logo for icon, transparent background

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

Google, Yahoo: we like their logos, but they are consumer focused, so they don't communicate the attributes we are looking for
www.mahalo.com: interesting visual concept, but we don't like it, too "childish", not obivious what it is supposed to communicate.
www.baidu.com: dislike font, paw print and colors
www.eurekster.com: font is hard to read, communicates something futuristic, but not clear why
www.wunderloop.com: like the font, duotone colors and the no-nonsense look.
www.kosmix.com: don't like mirror effect, not crazy about the font and the star


List competitive URLs if possible
See above.

What sets you apart from your competitors?
Open platform, focus on partnerships.

Targeted Message:
State a single-minded word or phrase that will appropriately describe your company:

Choice.

[Leclerk]

Hi!

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_01.jpg

[dbenton25]

I read through your specifications and studied the logos ofm your competitors (especially the one you like best) and did my best to emulate the same sense of quality, sophistication and trustworthiness.

The arched shape blend symbolizes a document (information) morphing into a sphere (earth/global internet reach.)

I hope you find the design to work well for your company. Please don't hesitate to ask for any revisions at all.

Thank you,

:cool: Dave

[Leclerk]

And second, kikin' :) concept...

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_02.jpg

[Leclerk]

And a wordmark/logotype with standalone icon.

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_03.jpg


Cheers,
Bojan

[Blesseville]

http://www.blesseville.com/do/kikin1.jpg

[dbenton25]

Hi,

I thought I's enter another stylistically similar but unique design for you to choose from.

Please let me know if you'd like to see and revisions.

Thank you,

:cool: Dave

[xpressions]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/nemagazine/kikin.png

[kikinone]

Thanks to everyone for the quick replies. Already seeing some good ideas. Ideally we would like to see a few more logo ideas before starting to refine an existing one.

@logoholik: like the typeface of #2, the stylized "k" ball doesn't quite work for us because it reminds us of a tree branch. Also it is not clear why the "K" in #4 and #5 looks the way it does and reminds us more of a construction company? We looked through your portofolio and there are quite a few logos that we like in there. e.g. fiveblocks, websitefloat, projectforum, technologyvisionaries, tmiint

@dave: interesting idea with #3, not crazy about the funky looking "k"s and what the standalone logo would look like. Just a single blue ball? That is probably a bit boring. In #7 the typeface and the logo does not work for us at all.

@blesseville: like the logo idea of symbolizing the "plugging in" of information (yellow) into an existing website (blue). The typeface does not work for us (size, too light?)

@xpressions: like the typeface (very clean look). The ball looks interesting but not sure how it relates to us.

Once again, thank you for all submissions and keep them coming.

[Leclerk]

Thanks. Here are additional proposals. A hidden k in information related symbolism...

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_04.jpg

Cheers,
Bojan

[Leclerk]

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_05.jpg

Cheers,
Bojan

[Leclerk]

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_06.jpg

[dbenton25]

Again, Thanks for the feedback, I found it very helpful. Hopefully you'll agree that this design complies with your expectations. I think by subtly suggesting that the :K: Is kicking reinforces the memorability of the mark and that tjhe clean shapes and colors achieve the sophisticated style you are after.

Please let me know what you think.

Thank you,
:cool: Dave

[kikinone]

@logoholik: Thank you for coming up with so many ideas. Right now, #10 and #12 are two promising directions.

@dave: #13 like the typeface a lot better compared to your previous submissions, but we still have a hard time connecting with the logo.

We are still encouraging new designers to enter their ideas, before we start focusing on our favorite designs early next week.

Thanks!
:)

[Fabian]

Hi,designed to work best on a black or dark background.Also no gradients have been used just flat colours.

[Fabian]

on white :)

[Blesseville]

http://www.blesseville.com/do/kikin2.jpg

[Leclerk]

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_07.jpg

[OffbeatDesign]

Thanks

[OffbeatDesign]

v2

[OffbeatDesign]

v3

[OffbeatDesign]

v4

[guetizo]

Hi kikinone,

Here's my entry.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin.png

:)

[OffbeatDesign]

v5

[dbenton25]

Hi, Once again, I've taken your critiques and done my best to design a truly uniqye "K" motif. Please let me know what you think.

Thank you,

Dave :cool:

[guetizo]

Hi kikinone,

Here's another idea.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin2.png

[guetizo]

Hi,

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin3.png
:)

[OffbeatDesign]

v6

[guetizo]

Hi kikinone,

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin4.png
:)

[Fabian]

v3

[LutFi]

Hello, :)

This is Version # 1.

Thank you.
LutFi

[LutFi]

Version # 2

Thank you.
LutFi.

[LutFi]

Version # 3

Thank you

[LutFi]

Version # 4

Thank you.
LutFi

[LutFi]

Version # 5

Thank you.
LutFi.

[kikinone]

First, a big thank you to Fabian, Blesseville, logoholik, OffbeatDesign, quetizo, Dave and LutFi for their new submissions. All your ideas and work are very much appreciated.

We reviewed every submission and selected the 3 ideas that resonate the most with us (see attachment below).

First up is #26 from quetizo.

What we like about it:

* Rounded/soft typeface that goes well with a "soft" name like Kikin.
* Logo metaphor of many things "mixing" into one
* How the logo relates to the typeface (brush stroke equals font weight)

Things that we think could be improved:

* Right now, the colors mix into a sort of gray. Gray as a color relates more to "inert" and "stale" than to "better". Because ideally, the metaphor expresses that many things mix into something better. Ideas in that direction could be: mix into white (maybe with a small abstract starburst to signify "better"), have the font color relate to the "mixed" center color of logo.

Runner up is #17 from Blesseville

What we like about it:

* The metaphor of plugging things into something existing and how that metaphor is represented by the shapes.
* The rounded corners of the shape relate "softness"

Things that we think could be improved:

* The typeface is "hard", which we think clashes with a "soft" name like Kikin
* The proportion of logo to logotype seems a bit "off" (logo a lot bigger than logotype)
* We also feel the shapes could be improved by relying less on gradient fills. The duotone version itself looks too plain/simple. Maybe a colorized version that uses the outline of the black and white version?

Our third choice went to #10 from Logoholik

What we like about it:

* Logo and Logotype work extremely well together in terms of position and proportion
* The metaphor of providing parts/plugging into something existing

Things that we think could be improved:

* While we like the typefaces very clean/no-nonsense look, we are starting to lean towards more rounded/soft fonts.
* We like the look of the logo in general, but it has a "TV/Video"-ish component to it (rectangles equals TV screens). Given that we don't have a TV/Video focus, that association is not helpful
* The stylized "k" is hard to catch. Some of us only saw it on the second look. Not sure if many consumers would catch that. e.g. compared to the new Xerox logo where the "X" is more obvious

We would love to hear if people agree/disagree with our choices and the reasonings behind them.

[Blesseville]

Thank you for the feedback. Here are some options.

http://www.blesseville.com/do/kikin3.jpg

[Blesseville]

And with icon on the left.

http://www.blesseville.com/do/kikin4.jpg

[dbenton25]

Based on your final comments, I thought I'd take one last stab at this. I hope that this meets the criteria you set forth.

Thank you,

:cool: Dave

[Leclerk]

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_08.jpg

[Leclerk]

http://www.logoholik.com/do/logoholik_kikin_09.jpg

[LutFi]

Version # 6.

[guetizo]

Hi kikinone,

Thanks for the prompt and precise feedback.

Here are the revisions based on your comments.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin21.png

[guetizo]

Hi kikinone,

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin22.png

Feedback is appreciated.

[kikinone]

@Blesseville: #37 with the white rectangle is our new favorite of this series. Not crazy about the red version or the one with the logo on the left. There is still something missing, but we can't quite put our finger on it.

@Dave: #39. Thank you for another interesting submission, but we are not quite sure what the people are supposed to represent in our case.

@logoholik: #40, #41. Thank you for submitting new ideas. We like the general visual style of both of them, but we aren't sure how the symbolism is related to our concepts. #40 looks like a "cycle", and #41 like a lensflare.

@LutFi: #42. Thank you for your new submission. The design is too "loose" and "messy" for the logo message that we are looking for.

@quetizo: #43 (version 2.1) is our new favorite, because of its dynamic look, the speed that it communicates and it generally looks cleaner when directly compared against 2.0 and 2.2. It would be interesting to see a version where the "whitespace" in the middle is reduced by a edge (~15%) and where the symmetry is 100% (right now there are slight variations in the spikes). Also what is the name of the font that you are using?

Thanks again to everybody for your ideas and your hard work. Very much appreciated.

[guetizo]

Hi kikinone,

Thanks for the prompt and, again, precise feedback.

Here are the corrections and revisions requested in your previous comments.

The font use is VAG Rundschrift D.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin23.png

[dbenton25]

One last time here... I took a look at the logos you preferred and tried to match their simplicity and memorability... as well as their meaningfulness about what you do.

Hope you like it.

:cool: Dave

[Blesseville]

http://www.blesseville.com/do/kikin5.jpg

[kikinone]

@Dave: #47 Thank you for continuing stream of ideas. A bit too flashy for our taste though.

@Blesseville: #48 Interesting idea, not sure that the SkyPe/Web2.0 style is really it though.

@quetizo: #46 Hard to say if the smaller version was really an improvement or not. Could you make another version that reduces the whitespace by lets say an additional 25%, a version that has slight overlapping brushstrokes but preserves the whitespace in the middle, one version that has a different color scheme and another version that features a differently shaped brushstroke?

Thank you for all your hard work.

[guetizo]

Hi kikione,

Thanks for the prompt feedback. Sorry about the revision time. :)

Here are the revision requested. Smaller whitespace.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin24.png

[guetizo]

Hi kikione,

Thanks for the prompt feedback.

Here are the revisions requested. Slight overlapping.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin25.png

[guetizo]

Hi kikione,

Thanks for the prompt feedback.

Here are the revisions requested. Different color scheme.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin26.png

[giant]

here's from me...
thank you :)

[kikinone]

The time has come to pick the winning design. We want to thank everybody who has participated for their ideas and their work. This was the first time we listed a project with DesignOutpost and were very pleased with the wide variety of submissions and ideas that were brought forth.

After a final review of all the submitted designs we selected quetizo's 2.5b logo as the one that works best for us.

quetizo: could we see a version of the 2.5b logo where the brushstrokes have 100% opacity (meaning the colors don't bleed into each other). Also if you could take that version and have the top brushstroke cast a slight shadow on the underlying brushstroke to give the logo a tiny bit of depth again. For the B/W version it would be interesting to see how an outline version like the on in version 2.2 would look like. Thanks.

Design Outpost Moderator: please move this thread to the revision forum. Thanks.

[BlueCherryGraphics]

Congratulations Paulo.

This thread has been moved to Revisions.

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

Thanks! :)

[guetizo]

Hi kikione,

Thanks for choosing my design for your logo project.

Here are the revisions requested.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin251.png

AS you can see i made two overlapping versions. One with a solid shadow (a "normal" shadow at this scale made the mark blurried... didn't like it) and another with it, just the colors overlapping.
I also made the b&w outline version for both ideas.

@Jennifer: Thanks! :)

[kikinone]

We think we are going to stick with 2.5b. While 2.5.1b has a slightly "cleaner" look, the colors look "flatter" as well.

For the B/W version, could we see a 2.5b version with a white outline (basically an inverse of 2.5.1b). So one can see the general shapes still.

Thanks.

[guetizo]

Hi Kikinone,

Great! 2.5b it is.
Attached you'll find the final version along with the revisoins requested for the B&W version.

http://pvdesign.com.sapo.pt/kikin/originall_kikin252.png

[kikinone]

Hi guetizo,

Great, I think we are done with the revisions.

Could you send me the project files as outlined in the proposal?

Thanks!

[guetizo]

Hi kikione,

Sure!

A link to download your files has been sent to you by private message. Please go to the following link to find the message http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/private.php?

Thank you!

Paulo Vieira

[kikinone]

Hi Guetizo,

I received the files. Thank you very much for all your work!

Moderator: Please mark project complete. Thanks.