[ProjectComplete] Due Aug 17th: $300 : Logo for ERN

[MrFandango]

Admin code added by Abby - 8NJ82145M8724314A

ERN is 'Entrepreneurs Retreat Network'
* ERN is an invite-only club for business-owners.
* ERN is a chance for business owners to get AWAY from their business to work *on* their business.
* The focus on ERN is the YING+YANG concept of "Escape to Engage" or "Disconnect to Reconnect" or "Disappear to Conquer" or "Breath In to Breath Out"
* We want a logo that is SIMPLE, ICONIC, MEANINGFUL, HIGH-CLASS, EXCLUSIVE, and FUN
* And the logo must capture the YING+YANG concept as mentioned above.


Good luck!!! Feel free to ask questions. I can reply from my iphone, so I plan to be pretty quick with my replies.

[MrFandango]

Ohh -- I should add that we *don't* want to use the cliche ying-yang symbol (the two tadpoles in a circle) -- we need the logo to represent that concept, but in a different and new way...

[abby]

Please highlight these questions http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7819 and then paste them into a new message in your project along with your answers. This will help the Designers better serve your project. Thank you

[MrFandango]

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

Just the acronym ERN and the tag-line 'Escape to Engage'


What type of product or service do you offer?
A business retreat -- For just $100 per month a business owner
has full access to our 1.6 million-dollar ski lodge in Breckenridge,
Colorado as much as they want. After we hit a certain memebrship
level, we'll start buying more properties around the country and
elsewhere

How long have you been in business?
1 year

What do you hope to accomplish with your new identity?
To communicate our core principle that you need to get away
from your business to work *on* your business.

What are your long term goals?
Become an essential membership for every entrepreneur in U.S.


When is the deadline for final entries before choosing a designer?
Aug 17th

Audience Profile:
Please describe your existing audience
Small business owners with less than $2MM in revenue

Who would you like to add to your audience?
Nobody else -- that's our focus -- small business owners

Perception/Tone/Guidelines:
What type of logo would you like?
Something that conveys the concept that ERN is *ESSENTIAL* to their business because it is the OPPOSITE and COMPLIMENT of what they are doing right now -- Most business owners are nose-to-the-grindstone people.... we help them escape (but still focus on their business while escaping)


Do you have any colors in mind for your logo? (if so, why?)
Goal is to be WARM and INVITING... Most of our customers
are men, so we don't want to be too feminine. So colors should be warm and inviting without being too feminine.

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

Not yet -- that's why I'm here.


Communication Strategy:
What attributes would you like your logo to reflect about your business? SIMPLE, ICONIC, MEANINGFUL, HIGH-CLASS, EXCLUSIVE, and FUN






What is your tagline or slogan?
"Escape to Engage"

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

That ERN is the *essential opposite* for their business -- it is what their business is missing. Ying to the yang


Where will your new logo be used?

Website primarily

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

Competitors are either too serious (seminars and workshops) or too "woo-woo" -- e.g. crystals, phychics, spirtual retreats. We're in the middle -- offering serious people a chance to relax a bit with like-minded peers.

List competitive URLs if possible
None we like

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

"Escape to Engage -- A Business-Building Retreat Experience for Business Owners"

[pracus]

:)

[Unorthodox]

this symbol joins two concepts into one...
1) ying yang / balance
2) two people holding hands / union

PS: I just read your second post lol, i will try to come up with a different example without using the ying and yang concept

:)

[tini1]

thanks:)

[MrFandango]

here's some feedback...

Red logo: it hides the name (ERN) which should be the focus. Plus it is not very warm / friendly, and it does not bring in the retreat or ying yang aspects

Yellow ying yang logo: I specifically asked for this cliché symbol not to be used

Orange spiral logo: this one has some potential, but it has no clear meaning or symbolism. It looks a bit like people (and that's good) but it needs something more. I also am not wild about the colors.

[Rongie]

Symbolic 'ern' with a touched of Colorado

[glyphica]

:)

[glyphica]

:yes:

[MrFandango]

We have a winner! #10

I love the concept of people coming together to form a meaningful shape. It's the clear winning concept.

But we need a lot of work done to it...

* First, we need to work on the colors... these are too bland. We need more energy.
* and we need ERN to be upper-case because it's an acronym
* Also, we've decided to replace 'Escape to Engage' with 'Entreprenurs Retreat Network' because otherwise it becomes confusing what the ERN acronym stands for. .
* Also, I'd like to see some different configurations of the 'people' in the logo. This one is a snowflake and so it implies only winter. Is there some other configuration you can think of that has less of a seasonal meaning? I can imagine animating the people between different poses -- (which is why I really love this logo) but we need to find the *primary* pose.

[glyphica]

Thanks for choosing my design! :) I will rework it and post a few variations for you :yes:

[glyphica]

I guess I kind of thought of the configuration of the people as more of like a star/sun... maybe branding for different seasons could be based on colors... since when you saw it against blue you thought snowflake :yes:

Here they are configured more like a star :)

[glyphica]

Here's the original with the brighter colors and font adjustments :)

[MrFandango]

I like 14 with the Bold ERN (with the people separated) -- that looks like a star, and that's neutral enough of a shape to work for me.

The 'Entrepreneurs Retreat Networks' is very hard to read. Part of the problem is the color, part of the problem is the small lettering size.

SIZE: Lets put 'Entrepreneurs' on one line and 'retreat network' on a second line. I'll let you decide if it looks best centered, justified, all-caps or initial-caps. But doing this will let you use a bigger font.

COLOR: I don't know how to advise you here... what if we tried the reddish-brown color from the house on this picture: http://entrepreneursretreatnetwork.com/specialinfo/houseDeck.jpg

Please try a few other colors you think might work...

Maybe you can pull them from these other photos... maybe the trees? Maybe something else...

http://entrepreneursretreatnetwork.com/specialinfo/backyard.jpg
http://entrepreneursretreatnetwork.com/specialinfo/greatroom.jpg
http://entrepreneursretreatnetwork.com/specialinfo/kitchen.jpg

[glyphica]

Thanks for the feedback :)

[MrFandango]

ok -- the actual layout is solid -- no more changes needed there.

Colors still aren't right somehow. Can we try a few where the ERN name is in dark letters and the background is lighter? Let's play with it a bit... maybe pick other colors you like better... I'm open to anything.

[MrFandango]

ok -- the actual layout is solid -- no more changes needed there.

Colors still aren't right somehow. Can we try a few where the ERN name is in dark letters and the background is lighter? Let's play with it a bit... maybe pick other colors you like better... I'm open to anything.

** The colors seem too FALL like -- which is similar to the photos -- however just aren't quite hitting yet. Reversed text for ERN and Entrepreneurs Retreat Network are too hidden. A lighter background and darker ERN will help bring the most important aspects front and center. Colors -- maybe a test of more of a primary colors palette -- remembering professional and modern.

[glyphica]

:) more options

[glyphica]

:) Are there any other color combinations you have in mind?

[MrFandango]

Let's go with Post #21, blue+green (lower right) Just deliver all the usual filetypes and sizes for a logo and I'll mark this project complete

[glyphica]

Final files sent to client via pm :)

[MrFandango]

I approve the project as complete. Thanks!