[Project Complete] - New photographers logo for pregnancy - $200

[mackdoo]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 2EA285276K1886240)

Design Outpost Creative Brief Worksheet

Project Summary:
Text for the logo – ‘The Pregnancy Photographer’
Either with the photographers name ‘Courtenay’ or with an icon/image, we have no preference.

What type of product or service do you offer?
Pregnancy Photography – www.thepregnancyphotographer.co.uk

How long have you been in business?
Over 10 years

What do you hope to accomplish with your new identity?
Moving the Pregnancy Photographer into it’s own sympathetic brand instead of being tied to the wedding brand.

What are your long term goals?
Courtenay is established as the foremost pregnancy photographer in the UK – we want the brand to reflect that status.

When is the deadline for final entries before choosing a designer?
ASAP, of course! Hopefully by 2nd May, but there’s no exact date to work to.

Audience Profile:
Affluent pregnant families, usually the expectant mother (though not exclusively, expectant fathers book as a gift) - generally in their 30’s, and well-educated.

Who would you like to add to your audience?
We’re happy with the audience we have.

Perception/Tone/Guidelines:
What type of logo would you like?
An interesting type-based logo – with an element that can be used for watermarking images.

Do you have any colors in mind for your logo? (if so, why?)
We use a sage green at the moment, but we’re open to suggestion – needs to be earthy, muted or neutral however, nothing bright, no primary colours.

Do you have any specific images or icons in mind that you would definitely like to see incorporated into your logo?
None – but no pregnant bumps unless they are very stylized and subtle.

Communication Strategy:
What attributes would you like your logo to reflect about your business?
Classic, elegant, stylish, contemporary - with a little fun quirkiness. The feel needs to be gentle, relaxed and calming. It needs to be fairly feminine to appeal to the audeince, but keeping mind the photographer is male so no pink/hearts/butterflies.

What is your tagline or slogan?
Because every bump is beautiful, every pregnancy unique.

What is the overall message you are trying to convey to your target audience?
We are an exclusive, high-end brand. Courtenay is the best.

Where will your new logo be used?
On the website, on stationery and as image watermarking.

Competitive Positioning:
Who are your competitors and what do you think about their logos?
www dot tinabolton dot co dot uk – her logo? Shudder
www dot londonmaternityphotographer dot co dot uk - inoffensive, but not terribly special either.

What sets you apart from your competitors?
Courtenay is almost the only male specialist, and he has a very strong and distinctive style. He was one of the first in the UK to specialize, and is the most established pregnancy photographer in the UK.

Targeted Message:
You can trust us – we will look after you, and make you look beautiful.

[nordy]

V1

[mackdoo]

Hi Nordy, and thanks for the rapid response.
However, I'm afraid the 'pregnant P' isn't working - we really want to stay away from representations of the bump itself and are looking for something more stylised and quirky.
Also the font is nice - but really similar to the one we use already.
Sorry.. that wasn't very positive was it? ;)

[nordy]

No problem,

Its all part of the elimination process!

[nordy]

V3

[mackdoo]

Hi Nordy - okay REALLY don't like the camera/baby thing! But do like the direction you took with the font in the last one - although it is quite similar to other portrait photographers logos we've seen.
However, we are looking for something with an icon as part of it - text logo's don't work very well as a watermark on an image.
Also can we 'quirk' it up a little? Although his style is quite serious, Courtenay is a fun and quirky person, and that should be reflected in his brand - something vintage/retro/organic perhaps.
Gosh, this is harder than I expected!

[xpressions]

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

[mackdoo]

Thank you for joining Xpressions! Weirdly, we had just been talking about a logo with very similar birds - love them! Really like the fun simple feel of it.
Not mad keen on the brush strokes of colour though - is there another way you could incorporate the birds idea? Maybe a stylised tree with the birds in it, or some kind of floral/vine while maintaining the simple, clean feel?
We do use a scroll-type design on the current website, so it might be nice to follow that through, though we want to avoid the over-heavy elaborate swirls of many photographer logos.
Thank you!

[mackdoo]

Just to help things along, these are a couple of logos we've seen recently that we like

http://www.littlestuff.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/logo.gif

http://www.peatreephotography.com/blog/
(also really like the way the logo has the element which the photographer uses in her images on the blog)

Both very different, but both fresh, clean and have that quirky touch of whimsy.

[xpressions]

Thank you for the feedback. Attached please find a revised version:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/nemagazine/pregnancyphoto2.png

[nordy]

V4

[mackdoo]

Xpressions - thank you that is definitely better. But still isn't hitting the YES! button - do you have any other ideas? I was also wondering about the longevity of the birds - they're very on trend right now, but will they look dated in 18mths time? It's tricky because we do love them, but we don't want to do the rebranding thing too often, it's way too painful! Also, one small thing for the next design - it's photographER, not -Y!

Nordy, I'm afraid the duckling really doesn't work for us. Although we want a touch of quirkiness, we need the logo to be timelessly stylish.
Is there anything we can do to help this along, any more questions we should be answering?

[elogonics]

:)

[mackdoo]

Thanks for joining Elogonics! Unfortunately the stork is not working at all.

Okay, I think maybe a little more direction is needed. We are a high end photographers, in need of a timeless and elegant logo to which we would like to add a touch of the quirky; and it needs to have an icon in addition to the text for use on images.
But.
We really don't want too-obvious imagery concerning babies and pregnancy. The name is clear enough - we're looking for something stylised, organic and fresh, and above all something different!
Please, feel free to think away from the word 'pregnancy' - anything with a feminine feel (without being girlie) would work.

Oh and it's photographER, not photographY please!

[nordy]

V5

[mackdoo]

Hi Nordy
Oh I like the flower a LOT! But... one flower on its own is a bit too girly for a male photographer (sorry!). I know, its a big ask, and I'm being a pain...
I'm not sure the font works so well, but I think if we can get the icon right, the font will follow.
Definitely much better though - I've obviously finally been clear enough to help, and it's going in the right direction now :)

[glyphica]

subtle belly and sprout symbolizing growth :)

[glyphica]

one more :) Do you have any examples of logos you like?

[mackdoo]

Hi Glyphica - thanks for joining, and so successfully too! I LOVE your first version (hooray!), it has the exact feel we are looking for. On a purely practical point I'm not sure the 'sprout' (which I do love) is strong enough to work as a stand-alone watermark - although the entire logo could be used, so I'll need to discuss that one!
Version 2 I like a lot too, but I have seen something similar a few times before (maybe because it works so successfully as a watermark!).
I did post links to a couple of logos in post #9, but I'll see if I can find some more.

[nordy]

V6

[nhr]

Hello :)

My concept: flowerbird

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DOO/ThePregnancyPhotographer_ngr.png

Thank you.

[mackdoo]

Nordy - Thanks for trying again - the flower is better, but still not right. The 'shutter' flower is a bit of a cliche, and the whole image is still too strong and formal.

nhr - thank you for joining! I really like the birdflower concept! Can you try it with some different petals - the sharp points feel a bit too harsh, we're looking for a softer feel.

We want something that is obviously created by hand, not machine-generated, perfect and symmetrical. Pregnancy photography is all about the pregnant human form, its beautiful landscape with all its imperfections and curves.

We like the 20's/30's feel, both in the classic art nouveau/art deco sense, but also in the more current contemporary versions in a vintage feel.
We're really not interested in an obvious pregnancy/baby theme - it's more about the feel of Courtenay's style being represented.

Thank you for sticking with it - it isn't until we started this that we realised we had such definite concepts!

[nhr]

Thank you very much for the feedback :)

Revision:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DOO/ThePregnancyPhotographer2_ngr.png

[nutscreative]

v1:) the "P" graphic can use as a watermark.

[mackdoo]

nhr - eek, I made you make it worse! The stronger, rougher lines are much better for a watermark, and I love the loose feel of it - but with the rounded petals it looks far too much like a chicken now! Could you possibly lose the beak, scrap the bird idea and create something more with the organic flowing shape?

nutscreative - thanks for joining, I had a feeling i was scaring people away by being too fussy! I love what you have done with the feminine-but-not-girly colours, flowers and dots, but I was wondering if you could somehow simplify the font of 'pregnancy' a little to make it just a touch less fussy? I know the scrolling P is what makes it work, but it feels a little overstated for Courtenay's simplistic style.

[nutscreative]

v2:)

[nutscreative]

and one more.:)

[mackdoo]

Oh thank you nutscreative, version 2 was great.
Sadly, though, when we try it out as a watermark on the images, it just doesn't work.
Working through these it has become clear that the clean, fresh look is definitely what we need - anything 'over decorated' simply looks excessive when placed on his images.
Does anyone have anything using 'Courtenay' as the icon? I'd really like to see an idea of what could be done with that too before I start requesting any more changes.

[nutscreative]

:)

[mackdoo]

hahahaha... sorry, I thought I explained in the design brief. Courtenay is the name of the photographer! ;)
http://www.thepregnancyphotographer.co.uk/pregnancy/about-courtenay-hitchcock.php
Previously we've always just used the business name of 'The Pregnancy Photographer' - but as he has become quite well known it makes sense to change the branding slightly to be more about 'him' personally, rather than just his photography.
Apologies if I didn't make that clear before - I just presumed everyone would have visited the site and understood!
The fact that he is a male photographer with such a feminine subject is what is causing the issue, we need to appeal to both his masculine style and taste, and also that of his clearly feminine clients!
I am thinking that maybe we would be more successful exploring his name rather than trying to find an esoteric icon that will work for both.

[nutscreative]

Hi, i am sorry...i read the brief once and forgot about you mentioned it. Anyway, i will try to post revision tomorrow. Thanks.:)

[glyphica]

Sorry, we can't communicate via private message until the contest has ended and you have selected a designer. Here is a version with "Courtenay" :)

[mackdoo]

(apologies for the direct message - it's why I asked the question, I wasn't sure!).
I think this is possibly the direction we need to move in.
However, can we try using the 'Courtenay' more as a background, maybe with a small quirky embellishment, or something to make it more visually interesting, with 'the pregnancy photographer' as the main (or equal) focus?
Definitely want to keep to modern crisp looking font styles for the Pregnancy Photographer, and like the contrast of that to the handwriting-style of the name.

[nutscreative]

:)

[nutscreative]

v5:)

[glyphica]

:) no problem. How's this?

[mackdoo]

nutscreative - still really liking the colours, and the top crisp font for Pregnancy photographer is great. Not sure about the handwriting fonts used - the first a little fussy, the second is one we've used quite a bit in the past and would like to move away from! Courtenay's still not convinced by the flowers and feels they're still too feminine for him - is there anyway of making them smaller/fainter/more 'suggested' rather than so bold?

Glyphica I really love this last one! Can we move the signature to the top left rather than bottom right? Also wondering if a larger, looser font but opaque and underlapping the main Pregnancy Photographer text would work?
Not sure about the rose, have a feeling C will feel it just too strongly feminine for 'his' name. Can we try a tiny funky/sketchy bird in there somewhere instead?

[glyphica]

Here are the revisions.:)

I also tried the opaque "Courtenay" behind the text, and it didn't really look good, you can't read what it says. :blush:

[glyphica]

:) with bird

[mackdoo]

Oh, LOVE the bird!
Can you try a different handwriting font? Something a little looser, rougher or more 'signature-ish'?

The company name is the main, important part of the text, the 'Courtenay' is more like the icon, as a more suggestive/figurative image rather than equal emphasis with the name of the company.

Illegibility isn't an issue for the above reasons (a totally unreadable proper signature would work brilliantly I think) so could you show me an opaque version? (you're probably right, it'll probably look horrible, but until I see it I'll always wonder!).

[nutscreative]

:)

[mackdoo]

Okay, we've hit a bit of a wall here. Firstly I want to thank you all so far with the ideas you've come up with, and trying out new directions - unfortunately nothing is working at the moment.
We need to move away from using Courtenay's name in the logo, as we need to be very clear that 'The Pregnancy Photographer' is the brand name. If we use it in the logo, then that confuses the brand, and ties it back in with the wedding side which is precisely what we are trying to move away from - so apologies for my own misdirection. It seemed a perfect idea, but in practice is simply not going to work.
So that puts us back to using some kind of icon...
So. We really like the font styles use by Glyphica and Nutscreative in their version 6's (weirdly) - so can anyone spring a surprising stroke of genius and help us out with an icon to work with that kind of clean contemporary font style?
An icon to be used with the name and as a watermark on images. No horribly obvious pregnancy imagery, but something simple, clean and organic in look/feel.
It sounds so simple when I say it like that, yes?
Sorry for changing direction - and thanks again for sticking with it.

[nutscreative]

simple logo "C" for Courtenay and curve graphic as subtle lens.:)

[xpressions]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/nemagazine/pregnancyphoto4.png

[mackdoo]

nutscreative - I like the idea behind it, and the clean contemporary feel of it, but the 'C's aren't working somehow - I think they feel too corporate, we're looking for something a little softer. Maybe something on just one 'C' would work - that could be a suggestive pregnancy shape as well as linking back to Courtenay. I do like the flower, but C isn't sure... can you make it less solid, or maybe think of a different type? Or maybe something like a dandelion clock/seed rather than a traditional flower shape?
Xpressions I like the font style and colours you've used, but I'm afraid the dolphins don't work for us. The style is a little heavy but mostly it's just that dolphins themselves aren't ringing any bells (sorry!).

[glyphica]

:)

[nhr]

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DOO/ThePregnancyPhotographer3_ngr.png

:)

[mackdoo]

Oooh, am excited now!
Glyphica, I love it... but I have a sneaky feeling that Courtenay will still love your very first sprouting shoot/C/bump even more! It's always been our favourite so far... Let me try it out on an image, and wave it under Courtenay's nose.

Nhr - We LOVE the little art deco birdie! Just a little unsure about the colours though - this is looking a little heavy and muddy, and we were looking for a lighter, fresher feel. Could you possibly lighten the lines on the bird slightly, and try some different colour options for us to see? It really doesn't have to be green, as long as it is bright and fresh - nothing bright and primary; and not pink!

Thank you!

[nutscreative]

:)

[glyphica]

here's a couple slight variations on my version #1 :) Just let me know if you'd like to see anything else.

[mackdoo]

nutscreative thank you so much for trying again - this one definitely works better!
Okay, we're very close to choosing now, these last few have suddenly become everything we're looking for. We're just holding on for the changes from nhr, and then we can compare properly and see which works best.
Thank you all so much!

[nhr]

Revision and color variations :

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DOO/ThePregnancyPhotographer31_ngr-1.png

Thank you :)

[mackdoo]

nhr thank you! Version a is best, but still the colours aren't sitting right, and it's hard for us to visualise it in anything else! Could you try one more version in a very pastel pallette, and another using a really sharp, clean cyan blue/lime green - or anything along those lines you think will work better. So we have one which looks very soft and gentle and 30's sketch/watercolour like, and one which looks very snappy and contemporary.
Last one, I promise. I think. Maybe... ;)

[mackdoo]

We'd really like to thank everyone for taking part, and for bearing with us during the changes of direction. There were a couple of strong contenders as far as we were concerned, but when we put them to the test on the new site there was a clear and outright winner.
Glyphica, your version #8a is perfect, and works wherever we try and use it. And yes, I know, we should have stuck with it when instinct told us it was right-first-time two weeks ago when we started!
Thank you everyone again - Glyphica we look forward to hearing from you!

[glyphica]

Thanks for choosing my design! :) Just let me know if you'd like to see any revisions. If not, I can go ahead and package up your files.:yes:

Thanks,
Stephanie

[BlueCherryGraphics]

PROJECT UPDATE: moved to revisions

[mackdoo]

no revisions necessary, #8A is perfect!

[glyphica]

Please check your private messages for a message from me :)

[glyphica]

Logo files have been sent to client via email :yes:

[BlueCherryGraphics]

PROJECT UPDATE: moved to archives