Logo needed for pet sitting company $115 [Archive]

DPS

10-07-2003, 10:34 AM

(Admin code added by Palmer - 5196002)

Hi. My name is Donna and I own a small pet sitting business suprisingly called Donna's Pet Sitting. I know you are probably all sick of pet sitting logos but you've been doing such an awesome job that I just had to get in on the action. I hope you are all not out of ideas.

I am in need of a logo that I can use on my website: Donna's Pet Sitting (http://www.donnaspetsitting.com) I would like to keep the multi pet banners on the top and just replace the left hand side that has Donna's Pet Sitting.com. (I don't care for the .com part and don't want that in there.)

I would also like to use my logo on letterheads, newspaper advertisements, and T-shirts. For T-shirts I will mostly be using it only as a small pocket area logo but possibly may also use it full size on the back on occasion. Right now my letterhead looks like the Donna's Pet Sitting with the animals surrounding it that's near the bottom of my home page. I've attached a copy of what I'm using now. I like this and I'm actually looking for something similar only would like my own animal design rather than generic clipart animals and would like the pets tied in with my name better.

For colors I like black, white and blue. I don't want cutesy cartoonish animals. I like realistic looking ones. I'd like the design to be simple but bold. I don't want a lot of detail since it will mostly be used for black and white ads and also my letterheads. I definitely want a dog, cat and horse in it. I also wouldn't mind a goat and/or a bunny. I don't usually take care of birds so I don't want a bird in it. I would like to continue using a pawprint for the "o" in my name.

One font that I'm particularly fond of is Comic Sans MS. I like the look of it and find it easy to read. For my website I think I would need the logo with that same blue background behind it or the logo at least matching it so it will blend in nice on my page.

I'm setting a tentative closing date of October 24. I'm looking forward to seeing your great work TIA!!!

Donna

DPS

10-08-2003, 08:09 AM

I know you all are busy and probably sick of pet sitting logos but doesn't anyone have any ideas left?? Please??!?? I have been so impressed with some of the other contests. If you need any more information please just let me know.

Thanks!!
Donna

Nfrack

10-08-2003, 08:46 AM

Hello DPS, here is a little something I came up with.

I will redesign your logo and post tonight

DPS

10-08-2003, 09:59 AM

Hi Nfrack! Thanks for getting things started!! The colors work for me and I like the dog and cat. The horse doesn't look quite right though. It's neck is too long and it needs a tail. I would also like to keep the writing all on one line. There was another contest (that I can't find now) where someone had a cat stretched out sharpening its claws on the name or something that I really like.

Thanks!
Donna

DPS

10-08-2003, 10:21 AM

Also just for a few more ideas of another direction I might be interested in is Coxy's design of the cat and dog head in this contest: Coxy's Design. (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=1147&st=15) I love that one though my kids had a hard time making it out. Also along those same lines I love this print that I have in my livingroom of an old white dog sleeping on a bed. There is one for sale on Ebay right now: Print (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3556193773&category=20149#ebayphotohosting) I'm not sure if these things will be eyecatching enough though because of the plain colors. I do like the feel of comfort that the pets have in them though.

For more along my original idea a few pets peeking out around or on top of the writing might be nice.

I'm looking forward to some more entries.

Thanks!!
Donna

Bill

10-08-2003, 04:31 PM

Here's my shot

DPS

10-09-2003, 03:47 AM

Very nice, Pennyln!! I love the color that you chose! These would work great on the back of a T-shirt or on the pocket area on the front. I didn't know if it might be a bit boxy for a letterhead though. Could you try putting the animals around the edges somehow to see how that looks? Also on this design could you make the words pet sitting bigger and bolder? I'm from a small town and many people know me but not what I do as I just started this business last year. Many don't even know what pet sitting is so I need the pet sitting to stand out. We are definitely headed in the right direction here. Thanks so much for your entry!

Anyone else want to jump in? I'd love to see some more ideas. Was I too specific? I'm not very creative myself so if any of you have any other ideas please give it a try. I'm open to anything.

Thanks!
Donna

DPS

10-09-2003, 03:07 PM

OK. I'm getting a little worried about not getting much response here. I was hesitant to do a contest because it seemed to me that the first few pet sitters got lots of great ideas but then maybe people got tired of the pet sitting theme?? I've been so impressed with some of your work that I finally decided to give it a chance even though money is very tight for me right now. I'm trying to get my business going and thought a few newspaper ads with a catchy logo might help. Please help me! Am I not offering enough money? Please let me know what I can do to get this rolling.

Thanks!
Donna

Julie

10-09-2003, 04:16 PM

Here's an entry for you...

Bill

10-09-2003, 06:24 PM

How's this?

DPS

10-09-2003, 06:44 PM

Hi Julie! I was hoping you would come by. I loved your "Big Dog & Miss Kitti's Pet Sitting" and "Stay At Home Cats" logos!! Thanks so much for coming up with something for me. This isn't quite what I'm looking for though. I don't want the pets quite so prominent. Maybe if they were on the side instead of on top of my name. Or another thought I had was maybe a horse looking over a fence and a dog peeking through and a cat sitting on it. For the horse I'd like it to look like the horse is waiting for me. When horses are happy their ears are perked forward. Here is a picture of some horses with what I mean: Horses (http://www.colorfulimages.com/productDisplay/displaySingleSpread/1,8487,252304|1||full|L|abbrvert|L|nonext||nonexts ec|,00.html)
For dogs I prefer shepherds or lab types.

I don't mean to sound so picky or be a pain. I appreciate your efforts and hope you'll work with me a bit. Also don't be afraid to try any other ideas you may have of your own as I'm not very imaginative and some idea you (any of you) have might be perfect.

Thanks!
Donna

DPS

10-09-2003, 07:00 PM

Thanks Pennyln (Bill)! I can picture those latest ones as letterheads. The first ones you made have been really growing on me. I like the middle 2 best. Could you try making the pet sitting letters a little bolder and/or bigger with one of those? The color you chose is right on. I love it. If it's not too much trouble I'd love to see it on a T-shirt - either as a pocket logo or on the back.

Thanks so much! :D

Donna

Bill

10-09-2003, 07:06 PM

Like this?

Nfrack

10-09-2003, 07:18 PM

Hello DPS I just wanted to try again and add my logo for your contest.

DPS

10-09-2003, 07:38 PM

Bill (Pennyln) - I like it a lot! Thanks for putting it on the shirt. It looks good! My only comment is that I liked the original font you used for pet sitting better. Hey - I'm a woman. I'm entitled to change my mind, right? ;) Anyway - could you go back to that but maybe just make it a tad bigger? I can't make up my mind whether I like the pawprint in my name or in between pet sitting better. I think I'll try to get some others opinions tomorrow.

Thanks!
Donna

DPS

10-09-2003, 07:49 PM

Nfrack - Wow!! What an interesting design!! Very intriguing and eye-catching! I can't quite picture how it would work on a shirt or letterhead but I love the pets! It's very unique and I like that! The horse is my favorite. He just captures my heart. Can you think of a different way to incorporate these animals? I have to head to bed but you've definitely got my attention and I will sleep on it and see what happens. Keep working it please!

Thanks!

Oh - and please don't delete it again like you did your other one. There were things about your first design that I really liked and things grow on you sometimes. I like to keep looking at them.

Donna

Nfrack

10-09-2003, 08:19 PM

Hello Donna, I apologize about deleting my first design after posting it I wanted to design something better and did so but if you would still like to view it here it is again.

Thanks for your honesty in your posts it really helps. I will rework my new design showing you what they will look like on a shirt and post here shortly.

Nfrack

10-09-2003, 08:43 PM

ok Donna, here is my new design on a shirt

Nfrack

10-09-2003, 08:45 PM

and here are the revised logos of my new design.

DPS

10-10-2003, 07:32 AM

Nathan - I still really like the animals in this design but they just don't mesh with my company name like that. If you could come up with another idea on how to present them that would be great. Forget what I said about them in and around my name. Try something totally different.

Thanks!
Donna

Huhhso

10-10-2003, 08:46 AM

hello here is my entry
Thanks!

DPS

10-10-2003, 03:56 PM

Thanks for entering Huhhso. I appreciate the effort. I'm looking for something a bit different though. While I love the idea of the kitty in place of the O I'm not looking for anything cartoonish and cutesy. I'd rather any pets look more realistic. I also need something in blue or colors that go well with blue as that is the dominant color on my website and I'd like to stick with that. It's also important to me to have a dog, horse and cat in the design. I'd love for you to try again though using the above ideas.

I've also raised the prize money to $80. I know that's not a lot more but it's the best I can do at the moment.

Thanks!

Palmer

10-10-2003, 04:50 PM

Designers, the prize amount has been raised to $80.

Good luck :tup:

DPS

10-11-2003, 06:19 AM

I was hoping someone might be interested in trying my fence idea. Please? :)

TIA

Julie

10-12-2003, 06:34 AM

Donna,

Here are my changes. Sorry for the time lapse, but these take a while to do, and I've been quite busy outside DO.

Any feedback is welcomed.

Julie

PS--the link you gave to Colorful Images didn't work this morning.

DPS

10-12-2003, 05:33 PM

Hi Julie,
Thanks so much for trying my fence idea. No problem on the time lapse. I understand you all are very busy and that's why I gave my contest quite a bit of time. I don't mind waiting at all. I just wasn't sure if anyone was working on anything. As you can imagine I'm very excited about this.

I absolutely love the fence and the horse! They are perfect and just what I was looking for. Sorry my link didn't work. You did a great job with the horse anyway. If you (or anyone else) still want to look at it try the Main Site (http://www.colorfulimages.com) and search for Country Corral Doormat or Cuttin Loose Murals.

The dog and the cat aren't really doing it for me though. The dog still isn't what I was looking for. I don't care for his floppy ears. Could you try a german shepherd type dog? And that cat I have in my clipart. I was hoping for something a little different. Another thought I just had was maybe the cat could be reaching up scratching the fence post or something. Feel free to try them different places instead of just where I say or maybe different colors. I would prefer a color more similar to the one Pennyln used. If you use 2 colors black and blue would go with some other stuff I already have. Could you try a pawprint in somewhere, maybe for the O or in between pet sitting? I hate to sound so picky and difficult but could you also try a different font? Something a bit boxier. I like lucida console, chantilly medium, comic sans ms, arial rounded and others on that idea. You are on the right track and I really like it. I truly appreciate all the hard work. I will give the designer of my logo credit and a link on my website and recommend them to everyone. I do understand how much effort and time you all put into this and I'm very grateful. I'm sorry to be so much trouble but I just want this logo to be something I will love for a long time.

Thanks so much!!

Julie

10-13-2003, 04:16 AM

Donna,

Don't worry about it--it's my job to change it. I'll use another color and give you some choices. I had stayed with one-color to keep printing costs down, but if you don't mind, then I'll add some more.

Julie

DPS

10-13-2003, 02:07 PM

Thanks, Julie! I don't want a lot of colors but two colors such as black and blue would be nice. I'd also need it to look good when converted to just black and white for the newspaper ads. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

DPS

10-14-2003, 11:04 AM

I just wanted to mention that I have been following the dog training (DogStar) contest and I love some of those designs. I'm open to something along those lines, too. Maybe just the heads of a dog, cat and horse in a circle or something. I love how the dog is so realistic looking!

DPS

10-15-2003, 05:25 PM

I know Julie is working on something but I had kind of hoped I'd get some more entries. Is no one else interested in trying something? I'm kind of hoping people are just busy and plan on doing something. Is there anything I can do to get people interested? Do I need to change anything or am I being too restrictive or asking too much? Or is it just that I gave the contest until next Friday and there's quite a bit of time left and I'm just being too anxious? Let me know.

Thanks!

Palmer

10-17-2003, 07:20 AM

Designers, the prize is now $115. Best of luck. :)

DPS

10-18-2003, 05:18 AM

Anyone have any more ideas? Mark Beaudry - I've really liked some of your other entries. Are you interested in trying something? Coredesign - You've had some awesome submissions, too. Nfrack, Pennyln or Huhhso - do you have anything else? I'd like to wrap this up this week as I have another newspaper ad due soon.

Thanks so much!

Bill

10-18-2003, 06:19 AM

Donna,

I think our problem is that you may be looking for too much in your logo. A logo really should be simple and memorable. With three or more animals in the logo-then trying to incorporate a fence (that is complicated enough) it really clutteres up the design. You've seen a number of designs now, and we know what you are not looking for. Can you help us any more with explaining what you would like? Remember... simple and memorable. This is a logo not an illustration to tell your whole story.

This may help us come up with something that will be even more than you expected.
Cheers!

Julie

10-18-2003, 12:49 PM

Ditto :) I've been trying for ages to get the fence/cat/dog/horse thing down, making it memorable, and keeping it simple, but it's been quite hard. You do like some of the things in the Dog Star competition, and we know you like realistic-looking animals. Is there something else you could tell us?

You could also take a look at our gallery and find logos that you like and provide links to them--it would really be helpful.

Thanks,

Julie

DPS

10-18-2003, 04:09 PM

Thank you Bill and Julie. That's exactly what I needed to know and was wondering about. This is all new to me and I respect your thoughts on it and I appreciate the feedback. Forget the fence (though I did like your Palomino Lawn Care one :D ) Forget most everything I've said and go with some ideas of your own. The only thing is I'd really like is a (realistic - not cartoonish) cat and dog in it at least.

Current contest designs that catch my eye are:

Kimber's dog in the DogStar contest.

Swanfield (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=1707) I really love both Pennyln's and Coredesign's swan entries on here. Something about the simpleness and the bold colors just really grab me in Coredesign's, especially his second one.

Burnham Lawn (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=1685&st=15) I liked markbeaudry's lawn design here.

Other Pet Sitting designs that I liked were:

Elkootcho's one here: Creature Comforts (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=692&st=60) I love that cat!

Raja's one here: Creature Comforts (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=692&st=75)

Raja's here: Purr-furred Pet Care (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=1006&st=15)

And like I said before, I love Julie's one here: Stay At Home Cats (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=854&st=30)

I also love all 3 designs on the T-shirts by Kimber on the Stay At Home Cats. I love the pose of the cat hanging down off the name.

These are just so you can get a feel as to what kind of designs I've liked. PLease feel free to try anything. Bill, I do really like the design you came up with for me and if I had to pick today that is the one I'd go with as I like it the best so far but I was just hoping for something that grabbed me a bit more.

Thanks so much for your time and effort.

DPS

10-19-2003, 07:05 AM

I've been thinking this logo a lot and about just what it is that I want to convey with it. I've realized it is a feeling of safety and contentment of the pet being left home (vs. going to a kennel). I think that is why that although Pennyln's design met everything I was asking for it just didn't quite do it for me. It didn't have a "warmth" to it. And I now realize that the fence idea wouldn't have it either. As I keep scanning through the other posts and designs the ones I keep coming back to are Pennyln's: Relaxicat (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=1455&st=0), and Julie and Kimber's ones: Stay At Home Cats (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/?showtopic=854&st=30)

Pennyln's cat looks very relaxed and happy and content and that is what makes him appealing. The same with Kimber's cat hanging down off the letters. They feel safe so they can relax. Julie's cats also seem very safe and peaceful in their own home. Does this make sense? Sorry for changing directions on you all here but I think Bill hit it the nail on the head that I was trying to tell a whole story and all I really want to convey is a sense of peace of mind for the pet owner that their pet will be safe. happy and content staying in their own home. I do feel I need both a cat and dog but as of right now that's my only requirement. And while I'm asking for realistic vs. cartoonish that doesn't mean they have to be perfect specimens or anything. Please don't let that put you off. The pets in the designs I mentioned are exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks for being so patient with me. I hope this helps and I hope someone can come up with something.

Mark

10-19-2003, 11:54 AM

Hi Donna,

I've would've posted earlier, but I had a hectic schedule. Anyway, here's my submission. :)

Mark

Mark

10-19-2003, 11:56 AM

Here's how it would look like on your exisisting website :)

Bill

10-19-2003, 02:33 PM