Computer Consulting Company Logo "Anagnosis": $130

[Jer Smith]

(Admin code added by 2square - 11236462)

"Anagnosis Consulting" is the name I use for all my technical consulting gigs. I have been sitting on the creation of business cards and a website for a year or two now largely due to my lack of ability to come up with a logo. This logo will be used for my website, business cards, and possibly t-shirts and other products. The closest thing I have to a logo is the name "anagnosis" written in the "Village" font from "The Prisoner" television series (similar to the Albertus font). There is no requirement to stick with that font or family.

I am an all-purpose computer consultant but I specialize in UNIX operating systems and high-tech enterprise applications such as the Oracle database, Web Servers or Java application servers; I.e. most of the stuff you're asking me to work with you've already paid at least several hundred thousand dollars for. I try to provide my clients with solutions that can only be provided with a deep understanding of the technologies involved. The kind of work I do includes: systems administration, design of enterprise infrastructure and architecture, teaching high-level technology classes, technical book reviewing, building integration tools to glue together heterogeneous networks, security and performance analysis, technical writing, and some limited software development.

My strengths are deep knowledge of many, many areas and ability to synthesize new information and new technologies very quickly (e.g. lock me in the room with it for a day and I'll understand it), and in imparting that information to other individuals and groups. I want to be the guy who a company calls when a problem is simply too hard or a solution requires too much knowledge or experience in esoteric areas. Like that "computer guy" who you call in when you really need help and all the normal "pretty good" folk haven't been able to help...except for large business's computer problems instead of your personal PC problems. So, the logo should appeal to an IT director or manager of a fortune 1000 company, not so much to the end-user or entry-level technologist.

Other little factoids to give you an idea about myself and the company: I'm 28. Most of my work is for large companies and government but I also work for small businesses. I strongly prefer to work with non-Microsoft technologies. I was a competitive "college bowl" player for many years, so I know a little about a lot of things besides technology, and I bring that to bear in what I do. I wouldn't call myself a "high-buck" consultant but my bill-rate is at the "expert" level so you wouldn't call me for a contract where you could find lots of competition.

Anagnosis itself can be broken down as "to not not know" and is a very uncommon word which has been used as a synonym for "exegesis" or "public reading" in a philosophical/theological sense. The other meaning (which I based the name on) is a term from literature which indicates the moment of realization when a character who has been searching for the answers (who knows he doesn't have them) finally finds them. In other words, a super-fancy term for the "a-ha!" moment.

Right now there are no plans for the company to grow beyond myself but there is no reason it can't, so there shouldn't by anything which indicates a "one-man-band."

Guidelines for the logo:
+should be able to be done in greyscale for letterhead but most every other use will be in color.
+should use either all-lower case (UNIX is all lower case) or mixed case
+shouldn't have anything that points to "Microsoft" eg any of their primary colors or their standard fonts (ariel, verdana, etc)

I have some ideas for themes but I thought I'd hold off on giving them until I let you all go at it "tabula rosa." I've seen in earlier contest where those types of suggestions really limited the variance in entries.

Thanks,

Jer Smith

[Jer Smith]

BTW, I haven't set a date for the contest ending yet. I'd like to give it at least a couple of weeks.

[Tyler]

A tribal representation of your unique eye for solving problems.

[Jer Smith]

RadicalSeed:

I like the arrangement of the two words with "consulting" underneath...(I would prefer to leave out the word "consulting" altogether but then no one would know what the company or word meant. :P)

The tribal eye looks a little "complex" for a high-tech firm. I'm not adverse to the eye concept...but this one reminds me a bit of the "Eye of Horus" hieroglyph and I'm concerned that might be a little overused and imply "new-age" which I'm definitely not going for.

[Bill]

Here are sone initial ideas...

[Jer Smith]

Bill/Penny Lane,

These fonts are good--similar to what I was using I think--I like a's and the g's in the "older" style. Not so sure I like the exclamation point that all of these center around. The association to me is similar to a smiley--kind of pedestrian and wal-mart-ish. Probably more importantly the "a!" is very similar to the logo of one of the companies I work with, Apress (http://www.apress.com).

As far as the other elements go, I'm interested in the negative space look but wouldn't want to lock into it.

[Bill]

Here are some more ideas...

[nvoke]

here are some more ideas...I'm not sure why I fell in love with this font for you, but I did...
let me know what you think..
enjoi!
amanda

[Tyler]

This set combines a keen eye with the most primal of questions. One or Zero?

[Jer Smith]

Sweet. Now we're getting started. :)

Bill:

#1 The company name itself and what we do is probably complex enough without introducing the greek. There's also a greek book company with a web presence with the same name so we woudln't want to overlap on that.

#2 That's nice and simple and looks professional to me. I like the "a" although I kinda wish we had something more unique than the first letter, if you know what I mean. I like the colors too but I'm wondering if blue-grey is too typical? Maybe something brighter?

#3 Don't like the block A in this one.
#4 Frankly, this one I'm not a fan of. Since the name is not a word most people know I'd think people might wonder if it was just made up letters. Probably not where I want to go
#5 &6
I like the name wth a little bit of a simple flourish...the sun is better than the dot, I think. I wonder if there's any way to play around with the g and how it's cut off...

Amanda:
I don't know if I like either of the three top right images fonts...but the bottom one on the right is a good font. Of course I want more than just the name eventually.

I like the look of both of the other logos (the name in that font with something over it) but I'm not sure that either graphic is quite what I want. The atom might be too science-focused and the sun too prominent. If I were to use a sun logo it would probably be more understated like Bill's negative one...but I also wouldn't want it to look too much like the Solaris Logo (http://wwws.sun.com/software/images/logos/solaris_logo.gif) (this is another of the products I work with)


These are great...I'm excited.

[VisualSense]

Here's a few new designs... hope you like.
Diane

[Raja]

heyy, here's a 'thought'...

[Raja]

...

[Jer Smith]

RadicalSEED: I like the colors and the bold look of it...The whole one and zero thing I'm not so sure about. A circle with something in it, though...

Raja: Like the thought bubble, but not the "lite brite". Overall I'm concerned it is a little too "sixties" though or is that just the bright colors?

Diane: I like the top one and bottom the best. The second one I don't really understand what the swirl is.
The lightbulb is close to overused, but along the right track...something that indicates rational but intuitive.

Jon Engle: The rendered sphere and color scheme works for me but see below

Everyone: I seem to be liking the idea of a small graphic as part of the written name, over or next to the text--but no one has hit on a graphic that really gets me excitied. I've decided that using an "a" in any of its permutations as the "graphical" piece I'm not really fond of...it doesn't really tell me about the company other than all the "A number one" stuff which is pretty much used everywhere.

I'm thinking that the symbol I'm looking is probably something that alludes to applied science and/or scholarship (but not academia). I'm thinking of a bunch of things probably too complicated for a graphic, like a tesla coil or an oscilloscope. Ideally it would be recognized by those with a solid technology or science history background. Something abstract that gave the same "feeling" might also work.

[Radu]

Here are some new ideas based on "g". Let me know what you think.

Thank you.
-Ruairi

[MUTE DESIGN]

A bit more Hi-Tec look...
-Anthony

[Raja]

here are some loose concepts I was 'thinking' about

[Mowling]

how is this concept?

[nvoke]

ooh hey... I am captivated...mowling

[beatz]

Some suggestions ( anything like colors shadows etc can be altered/added of course):

<img src='http://flyservers.registerfly.com/members4/logodesign.tv/images/anagnosis.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

[Mowling]

here is another one

[1on1]

A couple from me :-

[VisualSense]

Here's a few logos going with your tesla coil/oscilloscope idea... these are some abstract designs along those lines.

Diane

[Mark]

I understand you not wanting an "A" as part of the image, but I thought this one would make more sense.

[Tyler]

:blink:

[Eagle]

*
Hi Jer

Here's my first entries... B) *

[1on1]

Another one :-

[Jer Smith]

Wow. This is great, I'm having a hard time keeping up.

OK....

Ruari: I'm not sure the spiky G is the way to go. It was a cool thought but I wonder if it's a dead end.

Anthony/Mute Design: I think the fonts are way too out there for me. I want to look extremely professional, and although I consider it a creative biz most people hiring don't.

Raja: The thinker guy is a cool idea...and I like the wireframe one although it's a pretty complex and it seems to pull a little away from the name. I don't like the other two as much. Please explore this if you have a mind to.

Mowling: For the bubble ones: The bottom one with the logo on top...seems too much...better to the left or right but I don't know so much what the bubbles are supposed to mean...
I like the ?-->! one a lot better...it's a really cool idea and I think people get what it means.

Jon and Beatz: These look a lot like the logo for an airline or a something that implies "speed" or movement. they do a good job of that but I don't know if that's where I want to go.

Disturb Reality: I like your two a lot. Probably the bottom one more than the top in terms of the logo, the top more than the bottom in terms of the color scheme.

VisualSense: Of those, number two and four I like a lot. One and three don't work for a logo to me. Two is nice and simple and I particularly like the sort of 50's high-tech look to it. I also like the fact that you managed to make the tesla-coilish thing less, well, phallic. I also like the ground...I hadn't thought of an electrical symbol, but that works pretty well...and it's not so esoteric as to be not understood.

MarkBeaudry: I like the pixels but I can't get over not really wanting the "A."

RadicalSeed: Good playing with logo concepts but I don't really know what most of those are supposed to be. The bottom two look too much like Atari graphics (which was perhaps the intent) and the upper two are nice but I can't really figure out the business.

Eagle: Fonts on the top two are very "athletic" to me (to top one might look like a shoe logo) The third one is better, but I'm not inspired by the bubble-lightning logo.

Probably the ones I'm most excited about are the two from "DisturbReality" and "VisualSense's" 1st and 3rd. I haven't discounted the ideas from Raja, or Mowling's ? though.

I hope that those of you who I've basically said no to keep trying...I'm very happy with what I've seen so far.

[hheine]

I was thinking if the nautilus shell could be used to represent that "science feel" that you want. It´s simple, relates to logic and growth (like the anagnosis sense).

<img src='http://www.openmarket.com.br/DesignOutpost/anagnosis_01.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

[VisualSense]

Here's one of the logos with a few different color schemes and font styles.
Hope you like :)
Diane

[1on1]

You seemed to have overlooked my designs :blink:

[Jer Smith]

Sorry 1on1, no offense, thought I'd done everyone. Like I said I'm really not sold on anything "A" based, and some of the abstract A's (yours and others) look a lot like airplane wings to me...which implies speed to me more than anything which isn't really the focus of the things I do.

disturbReality: I like the coil and I like the color scheme on that one. For some reason the capital A works well with the large circle even though I still tend towards all lower case. Even though I personally like the coil, I'm going to have to get some third-parties to look at it. I'm a little concerned that people won't know what it is...or possibly that people will think it's one of those "stack the rings" infant toys like my son has. I will get back to you when I get some second opinions.

hheine: I think the shell would be great with a more business or art focused company, but the truth is I'm mostly about technology and communication and I don't see it as much for me. Although I like the look of that font the particular one seems too blocky on the 'a's.

VisualSense:
I like all three colors except perhaps the red-orange. With that logo, I do like the small caps for "consulting" although I'm not sure about the proportions--the relative widths and font spacing.

All: OK folks, two I like as of tonight are roughly 50's high-tech future based...which I like, obviously: dawn of the atomic/digital age. Let me throw out one other idea if people want to run with it, cool. How about something scientific revolution/enlightenment (the age of reason) based? I don't know what it would be, exactly, but a logo that evoked those ideas would be great as well.

Also, I've gotten so many good entries in such a short time that I can't see stretching this on for a really long time...so why don't we say I will close submissions exactly one week from my first post (Monday afternoon). That way I can have things printed up by the holidays.

[hheine]

Although I like the look of that font the particular one seems too blocky on the 'a's.

This is the village font type. :) When I saw it, I had the same opinion. I´ll be modifying it. :D

[Mowling]

few more concepts

[AlexKogan]

Hey, Mowling, that "a" with a question mark rules! :tup: ;)

[Mowling]

Thanks!

[ejlain]

Hi. Here are a few ideas.

Thanks.

Ed

[Tyler]

These ones followed lines of the tesla idea, unique vision(eye), and a subtle "A" formation.

[Tyler]

A variation on the previous

[hheine]

<!--QuoteBegin-Alex_Kogan+Dec 3 2003, 10:49 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Alex_Kogan @ Dec 3 2003, 10:49 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Hey, Mowling, that "a" with a question mark rules! :tup: ;) [/b][/quote]
:lol: :lol:

[Jer Smith]

Mowling: I think the a with the question mark is a cool idea, but I'm concerned that no one could really tell it is an A. You see where I'm coming from? As far as the rest of the logo, I'm not sure it would be clear really what people were looking at. If you're creative, you can see it as a crecent moon with a sickle, especially with the upside down one. It's really cool ideas...I'm just concerned about generating more confusion than the name already does.

ejlain: You'd should probably read back through my comments. There's a couple of things about your logos that I'm not looking for...

RadicalSEED: A lightning bolt in the eye? That doesn't seem very pleasant to me. :( The capital A looks more like two hands holding things up...which is kind of cool. I don't know about the whole disembodied eye thing. I guess I'm having a hard time being sold on the "eye" motif.

VisualSense: Can you give me the second color scheme, and the first font and layout. Also, could you enlarge it a little and play a little with the bottom part (below the sphere)? I'm not sure it's a good idea, but it seems pretty simple...I'm just curious as to if you had any ideas with it. I like the sphere and the lightning pretty much as is.
Also, can you should what it would look like in pure back and white on a letterhead or an invoice?

disturbReality: The comments I got were mixed. Two of the things it was confused for were a microphone (not so bad) or...an "adult" toy. :unsure: Can you think of any way to change it so that's less likely to happen?

[VisualSense]

Here's the logo in 1 color, 2 color and a black only layout. I've added some little design elements to the base. Let me know how these work for you. Thanks :tup:

Diane

[Just_G]

my new entry,

[Michael]

Hello Just G haven't seen you around for sometime..been busy have we? :)

[ejlain]

Hi. Back with a few more ideas.

- Ed

[Just_G]

Hello Just G haven't seen you around for sometime..been busy have we?&nbsp; &nbsp;

:D I miss you guys... and I miss to win again :tdown:


G

[Jer Smith]

DisturbReality:
That last one looks pretty good. Leave it like that and see if there's anything you want to play with the colors. I appreciate all the tries. I'm still struggling with whether most people will "get it."

VisualSense:
Looks good. I guess I like the plain one better (without the dots or the stripes)
Can you try something? Can you make the sphere a different color...lighter, more metallic? A good grey/silver to go with the blues in the second image? It's obviously inspired by a VanDeGraaf generator, which I think is great...so I was wondering what it would look like...
One more color thing to try...what does it look like white-on-something (e.g. a T-shirt or a darker webpage)

Just G:
Those are pretty good...are those supposed to resemble upside down Q?s You can't really go wrong with compass and arrow...but they may be a little plain and I'm not really there with the font.

ejlain:
Well, the guy with the head I like pretty well. It reminds me of something, though. Is it inspired by some character or design?
The happy cyborg I can't say I like--sorry. It was a good thought...but it looks kinda creepy to me.

Thanks all. Everyone has at least two more days if they want to try out some new ideas on me.
I'm happy with several of what I've seen but I don't think we have the 100% perfect yet.
Please set me up if you have a mind to. I'll be making my decision on Monday sometime.

[dbenton25]

Eureka!

[Eagle]

*
Hello again Jer :)

[tragu]

Hi! Jer Smith,

Take a look at my entry for this contest below.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

T Ragu

[VisualSense]

ok, so I was having some trouble making the 2 tone thing look good. : )
I've provided a sample here of the sphere in a gray metallic with the base still in blue. I know you mentioned making the sphere lighter also, but you really lose the metallic effect without having the darkness on the outer edges. Check these out and let me know what you think. I also played a bit with the base on these for you to check out.

I added a little sample of a photo of a metallic sphere for some reference... the outer edges are very dark with a strong highlight... that's the look I've tried to replicate.

[VisualSense]

Here's the logo on black :)

[Eagle]

<!--QuoteBegin-Jer Smith+Dec 2 2003, 12:20 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Jer Smith @ Dec 2 2003, 12:20 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> *
I'm thinking that the symbol I'm looking is probably something that alludes to applied science and/or scholarship (but not academia). I'm thinking of a bunch of things probably too complicated for a graphic, like a tesla coil or an oscilloscope. Ideally it would be recognized by those with a solid technology or science history background. Something abstract that gave the same "feeling" might also work. [/b][/quote]
Hi Jer

Heheh, we've been busy in your absence!

I had fun doing this one. I've taken on your suggestion of a tesla coil and applied an abstract feeling as you hinted at...

The "I" shape used here could also symbolize "information"...leading to a solution :)

[Raja]

hi!

[Jer Smith]

Welp, I said I'd wrap this up on Monday...and since I'm not asleep I still consider it Monday. Sorry for anyone who was hanging out.

First of all, I'd like to thank Eagle and Raja for their late entries which had I wanted to take a few more days to work with...could have been contenders. The { was simple but I liked it...and the I Tesla coil was a good spin on something very simple. And both of your strategies of showing it on Letterhead and Business card is really very effective for those of us without the eye for these kind of things. A word to everyone---that's a great strategy.

I also really want to thank Jon Engle of Disturb Reality studios for trying really hard to find a logo symbol which matched my needs. In the end, although I loved the original Tesla coil design, many people couldn't figure out what it is and what it represented, so for that reason I can't go with it--really sorry.

So, you can probably guess I'm going to go with * Diane from VisualSense *for this one. I loved the original VanDeGraaf generator design as it has three meanings:
1) produces high voltage electricity
2) makes your hair stand up on end
3) is really impressive and always a hit at science museums and the like...but when it comes down to it it's a very simple device.

We'll have to talk about the specific iteration I want...definitely one of the blue white on blacks (middle one on December 6, 2003) the plain greyscale, and the white-and-blue on black (the last one posted).

Also, if there's no objections, I intend to credit this website as well as Diane on my company site when it arrives sometime over the holidays. I think this is a great concept and I really felt like I got a bargain.
:D

If I get too frustrated in Dreamweaver over the next few months I'll be back for some help in that arena.

[VisualSense]

Coolio :)
Thanks Jon (Distrub)
You gave me a run for my money :blink:

So I'm a recent addition and this is my first contest won, that's very cool.

Thanks Jer Smith, for choosing my design, we'll definitely work to get it "perfect". The logo looked very cool on black to me. :) I'm really glad you liked the design.

Talk to you shortly, tomorrow if you're available to fine tune... or anytime that is good for you. I'm always here.

Diane

[Palmer]

Thanks Jeremy :)

Congrats Diane. :tup: send me your PayPal email address and I'll send the prize right away.

[Eagle]

*
You can use mine if you like!...heheh! ;)

Well done Diane...good competition that was! B)
*

[Mowling]

Yeah Congrats Diane

[VisualSense]

Jer Smith,
Just wanted to make sure these are the ones you were referring to.
The logo was created in Adobe Illustrator (vector based). I can send you eps files, or any other format you prefer.

Just drop me a line and let me know :)

Thanks,
Diane

[AlexKogan]

Way to go, Diane! :tup: :D Great generator, perfect Van de Graaf :P

[beatz]

Congrats, Diane - verrry nice work! :D

[hheine]

Perfect Diane ! This was a hot competition. ;)

:lol:

[Jer Smith]

I thought I'd posted this...yes, those are the three I'm interested in. I don't have a professional quality drawing program, so I guess:
Illustrator
EPS
and does SVG work for these type of images? Does illustrator export SVG?

I imagine I can do the conversion from those into a bitmapped image when necessary.
I may play with the colors a bit just to see...but those would look good on any background I think.

(BTW, Palmer or someone...you know, it would make sense to include for those of us who don't know how graphical designers usually work, what the standard formats are and what people normally deliver)

Thanks again. I'll send an email to Diane with my email address and she can either email me a .zip or put the up for download.

[Palmer]

<!--QuoteBegin-Jer Smith+Dec 10 2003, 01:05 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Jer Smith @ Dec 10 2003, 01:05 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> (BTW, Palmer or someone...you know, it would make sense to include for those of us who don't know how graphical designers usually work, what the standard formats are and what people normally deliver) [/b][/quote]
Each designer does things a little bit differently so there isn't a "standard" amongst them. I will work on a little tutorial that will help to guide the contest holders as to what file formats they will need for various uses of the logo.