[Project Complete] Code Canvas Technologies - Application Logo & Icon

[rdillon]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 25372023)

DEADLINE: 29th November

Hi, I am looking for a logo and an icon for a Java software application.

The logo will be used in several places including the website, the application splash page and the about box. The icon will be used in the standard places (ie top left of window, in task bar etc). I will only need one sized icon, that is 16x16 pixels. The icon should look similar and capture the main features of the full sized logo.

The name of the application is "RapidJ". It uses code generation techniques to allow developers to rapidly develop new Java web applications. It is aimed at corporate Java developers.

I would like the logo to include the words "RapidJ", the tag line "Rapid Java Web Development" and somehow graphically convey the "Rapid" message. The icon does not need either the name or the tag line, just a smaller version of the picture in the logo.

I would like the design to be professional but a little bit fun as well.

I have attached a (very bad!) example of an idea that I have for it. Feel free to try another angle if you can think of something better.

Also, here is screenshot of what the application looks like: http://www.codecanvas.com.au/images/screen-shot.JPG It probably goes without saying but the icon should look compatible with the application.

I am generally online from 8:30am - 4:30pm (GMT +8:00) so i should be able to answer any questions then.

Looking forward to seeing some designs!

Ryan

[rdillon]

Oops, forgot this:

[QuirkDesign]

:)

http://www.quirk-design.com/DesignOutpost/rapidlogo1web.gif

[rdillon]

Hi there.

That looks quite nice but I dont know if the flame quite fits with what I am looking for. It reminds me too much of a decal on hotted up car, or something like that. Good try though :)

[Tyler]

Hi Ryan, here I have a concept that creates a connection to the original Java logo. I hope you like! :D

[rdillon]

Thanks RadicalSEED.

I think the logo part is a little too plain/simple, but the (familiar!) colors are good. I dont really like the font used for the tag line, it too seems a little plain.

[eziey]

:)

[Tyler]

Ok then hows this for flare!
:D

[rdillon]

RadicalSEED: :yes:, much better!! The comet/flying J is very nice. And I like the font/colour you have used for the tag line. Not sure about the font for "Rapid J", but maybe if you took the space out to make it just "RapidJ" I might like it better. Looking good!

eziey: Hi there :) A good start. I like the way you have incorporated the "Rapid" into the graphical "J". And i like where you are going with the J, the little ones do look good. Not sure about the font though for the "Rapid", maybe try something different there.

[Tyler]

Hows this?:D

[rdillon]

Looking good! That font is much nicer, and removing the space looks better too I think. One thing that slightly bothers me is that the two big J's are leaning in opposite directions. I wonder would the flying J look ok if it was leaning to the right also? Also, how would the 16x16 icon look?

[Tyler]

:)

[rdillon]

:cool: Yes that's better! For the moment I cant think of any improvements for the main logo. The small icon is ok, but is a little on the small size. I realise 16x16 pixels is not a lot to work with but due to the shape it does leave a lot of empty space. I dont know if theres much that can be done to remedy that though?

[samoyloff]

http://samoyloff.com/rapidj.gif

[rdillon]

Hi samoyloff :)

The swooshy J is kinda nice, and the thing on top reminds me of a flying Java bean (thats probaby what it's supposed to be!?). The fonts seem a little plain to me though. And maybe could you try the "Rapid" text slightly above and to the left of the swooshy J? Possibly even with the tag line through part of the bottom of it as well? And possibly add a little more colour too.

[samoyloff]

Ryan,

You're right, that's a Java bean going lightspeed. :) Here's the revised logo, please let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Alex.

http://samoyloff.com/rapidj2.gif

[rdillon]

Very nice!! :D The bean looks very cool, and i like the location of the name and tagline. Could I possibly see it in some different colours, maybe a bit of blue in there somewhere? Thanks.

[samoyloff]

:)
http://samoyloff.com/rapidj3.gif

[Paula23]

Your art was the inspiration:)
Thanks,Paula

[Paula23]

One more. Thanks,Paula

[rdillon]

Thanks for that. I think I prefer the red one though. With the red one, would it be possible to see dark and the light red swapped over on the "Rapid" so that the dark is on top?

[rdillon]

Hi Paula :) Hope i didnt confuse you with the previous post, it was meant for samoyloff, you got in just before me!

The first one is nicely done and very cute but I dont think it quite fits the image i am going for. Maybe the character could be a little more abstract and less prominent? Im not sure about the curly font either, it doesnt seem "techo" enough if you know what i mean?

I like the illusion of motion on the second one. Again I'm not sure about the font though. Thanks!

[samoyloff]

http://samoyloff.com/rapidj4.gif

[rdillon]

Thanks, I think that is an improvement. I cant think of any other improvements at the moment but I'll let you know if I think of anything :)

[dbenton25]

Hi Ryan,

I've done the best, with the time I had, to develop a concept for you that adheres to the specifications you set forth. I think I was relatively successful with the full size logo, but I have to admit that trying to convey the same visual message within the confines of a 16x16 pixel is a rather dificult thing to do. (that has got to be the understatement of the century! :-) Nonetheless, I've given it my best shot and I hope it will work for you. I''ll be glad to give it another shot, but I can tell you right now, there's no way I'm going to be able to fit the entire name "rapidJ" into a 16x16 pixel icon and still have it remain legible. As you'll see, The main logo graphic is centered around the "R" in "Rapid" so I took the "R" graphic and simply used it as the icon. I don't think it's perfect, but I do think it's recognizable after having seen the actual logo first.

Let me know if you think the the logo and Icon are working for you. If you have any clever ideas or would like to see any changes made, please feel free to ask and I'll be glad to take as many stabs at it until you are satisfied.

Thank you for the opportunity to present my work to you.

I look forward to receiving your feedback.

Until then, Take care

-Dave:cool:

[dbenton25]

And here's the icon...

[rdillon]

Hi Dave and thank you for your entry :)

I dont really like the design on the R very much, the lines remind me of heat waves rather than something moving rapidly. Maybe you could rework this some? Also with the RapidJ letters, it looks like a mixture of upper and lower case ("raPID") which makes it hard to distinguish the r and the P. Possibly it would look better all in one case. Also the tail on the J seems a little long and clutters it a bit. Maybe it would look better as a regular J (but I like the different colour constrast between the "Rapid" and "J") such that just the R is flashy. Sorry if that seems like a lot of negatives!

And the icon is fine with just the R in it. Like you said, as long as it is possible to make a connection between them then it works.

[eziey]

:)

[AlexKogan]

Hey :)

I got an idea for you :) Will be posting soon.

[AlexKogan]

...here it is :)

How's that for "professional but a little bit fun"? :)

[rdillon]

eziey: Thanks. The font and blue text look much nicer now. Now I cant really explain this, but the whole graphic doesn't seem to fit together that well. Maybe the text needs to be bigger, or moved around a bit, I'm not sure.. :confused: Or maybe a different version of the lightening J?

[rdillon]

Hello Alex :) Thanks for entering. Your designs look good but it really is too close to Suns Java logo (http://java.sun.com/) for my liking. I was also hoping it to be more to do with "Rapid" than anything else. I do appreciate your efforts though.

[dbenton25]

Hello Again Ryan,

Thank you for the thoughtful comments on my previous logo. I took into consideration all of the remarks you made and came up with the following design. As you requested, I greatly shortened the "tail" on the "J", used all caps for the letterforms and did my best to convey a sense of speed graphically rather than confusing it whith what appeared to be a "flame job" in the previous design. :)

My hope is that you'll find this iteration to work much better for you, but if you'd still like to impart any creative input, I'll be glad to see what I can do to implement your ideas.

Again, thank you for the great comments. I look forward to hearing what you think of this latest design.

Until them, take care and best of luck to all the other participating designers!

-Dave:cool:

[dbenton25]

Hi Ryan,

Here is the new icon I designed to go along with the revised logo.

Let me know what you think.

Thank you,

-Dave:cool:

[eziey]

:)

[rdillon]

Dave : Thanks for those changes. I still do not like the R very much, there is just no connection with "Rapid" there for me. The J as well is still to big I think. Maybe if it the top of it lined up with the rest of the letters, and the bottom lined up with the bottom of the tag line? The "Rapid" font is better, maybe could you do it with lower case "apid"?

Oh, I just noticed something.. was looking at your design at a reduced (more realistic) size and it seemed to look better!

The icon is definately an improvement on the previous one. Much more distinguishable :)


eziey: Mmm, I think you had it the better way before :oops: Though this way I can see the fonts better.. I quite like the blue Rapid, but is it possible to reverse the kicks on the bottom of the letters so they all (top and bottom) point left? Also would it be possible to try a different variation on the lightening J? It's just not clicking with me at the moment.

[AlexKogan]

Originally posted by rdillon
Hello Alex :) Thanks for entering. Your designs look good but it really is too close to Suns Java logo (http://java.sun.com/) for my liking. I was also hoping it to be more to do with "Rapid" than anything else. I do appreciate your efforts though.

There's a reference in the logo icon to the original Java logo, it was done on purpose, of course :) Try showing the icon to somebody who's dealt with Java and he/she will tell you: "it's about Java", that was the effect I was aiming at.

As for "rapid" - isn't an expresso coffee maker rapid enough? :D The idea behind the icon: "we do 'expresso' Java for you to use!". It's a shame it doesn't work as I thought it would.

[rdillon]

Agreed it does shout "Java" and I can follow the logic behind your reasoning. It wasn't quite what I was after but thanks for giving it a shot! :)

[eziey]

:)

[rdillon]

Thanks eziey. I like the way you have turned the J into a cup (I think) but the cup/mug/coffee concept is really not doing it for me. For me the "J" is enough to say "Java" (think IntelliJ, JBuilder, Jedit, Jext, JUnit etc) and I am really looking for something that also says "Rapid".

[eziey]

:)

[p_karetko]

rapid as ... hmmm ... a ROCKET ! Professional in its look, but fun at once , isn`t it :)
P.

http://pkaretko2.webpark.pl/rapid_f1.jpg

[rdillon]

eziey: The J is looking much nicer now, and I am happy with the way it looks as an icon also. One more thing I would like to see if possible is a different colour for the font. I know I said before that I liked the blue, and I do, but I'm not sure it goes with the colours on the J. Maybe the "Rapid" could be shaded dark/light green similar to how it is shaded now? Thanks for your patience!

P: Thank you for your entry :) Yes I think you have captured the requirements quite well. Some comments: I'm not sure about the pink! Could I see it in a different colour, maybe blue or green or whatever you think looks good? Also the name is "RapidJ", could I see it with that name and the tag line in there somewhere too? Thanks.

[p_karetko]

I`ll post my revision within next 12 hours ...

[p_karetko]

Hello there,
Here is the revision,
P.
http://pkaretko2.webpark.pl/rapid_f3.jpg

[Carl]

J wing...

[rdillon]

Ok, only 2 days to go! I thought you guys might appreciate a run down on the current "standings" as I see them.

samoyloff: Currently your last design is my favourite. If possible I would like to see a darker blue version to compare with?

RadicalSEED: Your last design is my second favourite. The only thing that bother me slightly and has been mentioned by some others who have seen it, is that the J is duplicated, making it seem like JRapidJ. The only thing I can think of there is if the flying J was moved to the end, but then the flame would interfere with the letters a bit.. and if the J flew in from right to left I dont think that would look quite right. Maybe you could think of a better alternative?

p_karetko: Your last design has impressed me too. However a couple of people I have shown the logo thought it was a bit cute for the image I am looking for.

eziey: The quality of your designs have been excellent, but I have not yet been able to really connect with any of them.

Carl: Hi there! I like the wing concept of your design and I wonder if I could see them a little bit more stylized? Also could you change the dark green to another colour? I like the colour/style of icon in the leaning box.

Thanks to the other people who entered :)

[samoyloff]

http://samoyloff.com/rapidj5.gif

[Tyler]

Hmm Well then lets work in the image

[Tyler]

:)

[rdillon]

samoyloff: I'm sure it looks great, but I just can't see it! :D

RadicalSEED: That fixes the double J problem alright :) I do and I dont like it though :confused:. It does look good and has potential in that regard, but as I have mentioned before I am not that keen on having a coffee mug. All I can think of as a replacement is a Java Bean! Then the "comet" could be round again too :)

[p_karetko]

Hey, I`ll try to make rocket a bit more agressive ...

[eziey]

:)

[samoyloff]

Originally posted by rdillon
samoyloff: I'm sure it looks great, but I just can't see it! :D

Ooops.. Sorry.. Must be my hosting provider or something.. I''m attaching the logo to this message, please let me know if you can see it.

[Tyler]

Alright, Java bean it is. :D

[rdillon]

eziey: Thanks for those revisions. I dont really see any potential in either of the J's though sorry.

samoyloff: Yes I can see that one thanks :) Mmmm. I'll stick with the red one thanks :)

RaidcalSEED: Hey that looks pretty good! I like the change you made to the text where the dark shade is on top, but I liked it a bit darker as you had it before, and I preferred the smaller text size relative to the "comet".

[Tyler]

:D Howz this?

[rdillon]

Very nice! And quick too! :D Thanks.

[Fabian]

Hello Ryan,

Wanted to show you something different,if you like the general concept we could work on getting the colours right:)

Looking forward to your feedback

Cheers
Fabian

[rdillon]

Hi Fabian, thank you for the different idea. However I dont think the rabbit quite fits what I am looking for. Thanks anyway :)

[DesignGeneral]

Hi Ryan,

Here is my entry.

Feedback is appreciated.

Cheers,

Adrian

[p_karetko]

maybe something more not-cute :)

http://pkaretko2.webpark.pl/rapid_4.jpg

[rdillon]

DesignGeneral: Thanks for your entry :) I'm really not sure what the J is supposed to be though! A java bean tree maybe? :confused:

p_karetko: Thats better I think. Your design is looking good but still not in my top two at the moment.

[Just_G]

#1

[Just_G]

#2

[rdillon]

Hi Just_G, thanks for your entries :)

I like the font on the first one, but I don't really like the lightening. Your second one is interesting. I quite like the way it conveys the feeling of motion. The shape of font is nice too, though I'm not sure about the pipe look. Maybe you could replace the > with the J somehow and make the font more solid?

[Carl]

...

[rdillon]

Carl: The wings look better, but maybe a bit too dragon-like? Maybe more bird-like would be better. I dont think the colours on the large design (yellow/blue/purple) are working well together. Or maybe it is because there seems to be 3 seperate groups of colous. I'm way outa my depth there but it just doesn't look right. Maybe the letters could be stylised somehow too? Shading? Outlined?

[DesignGeneral]

Originally posted by rdillon
I'm really not sure what the J is supposed to be though! A java bean tree maybe? :confused:

Yes, that's it ;)

Let me know if you want to see any revisions.

Cheers,

Adrian

[eziey]

:)

[rdillon]

CONTEST CLOSED

A really big thank you to everyone who participated and especially those who posted several revisions. :D I have been very happy with the quality of designs and with the number of different concepts presented and I will definately be recommending Design Outpost to other people.

Sorry I can't announce a winner at this very moment. There are a couple of designs that I am having a hard time deciding between! I have asked several other people what they think and hopefully their answers will able to help me decide. I will announce the winner tomorrow.

[Carl]

Here is my revision. Don't know if it is too late, but wanted to get it in for your review.

[rdillon]

Carl: Wow cool wings! I do like where you are going with the design but in fairness to others in the contest I think we should leave it there. (Plus I have already shown my final few choices to over a dozen people for thier comment) Thanks anyway :)

[rdillon]

DESIGNER CHOSEN

I am pleased to announce the winner of the contest is.. samoyloff! :clap:

For what its worth, RadicalSEED was not far behind and p_karetko your rocket design was very well received also. Thanks guys!

[samoyloff]

Thanks for choosing my design! :) Do you need any revisions?

Thanks,
Alex.

[rdillon]

A couple of things with the icon. Could you try a version with transparency where the white is. Also could I see a version with a square grey border surrounding the J. It's very important that both of these versions fit inside 16x16 pixels and that they are not too squashed. Ie a little bit of whitespace ("transparenspace"!?) around the first and enough of a gap between the border and the J in the second so that they dont look cramped.

Also, is it possible to get a larger version of the main logo (640x480?)? Something that I could possiblly use to print onto shirts later on.

Oh, and what file formats do you usually provide the images in?

[rdillon]

Hi samoyloff. It's been a while since I have heard from you. How are the revisions going?

[samoyloff]

Hello,

Sorry. My primary hard drive died, and I was almost sure I've lost all the files for ongoing projects, but a local computer service magician restored all the info, thank God!

I'm working on converting the logo into .ico files, it will take a couple of hours, I think, as it's quite hard to keep the image at this small size.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Alex.

[samoyloff]

http://samoyloff.com/ico_stroke.ico
http://samoyloff.com/ico_transp.ico

[rdillon]

:eek: I bet there were a few choice words being thrown around that day huh!? I'm glad you managed to recover everything.

How about we forget the transparent look. I thought it might be a bit hard (ok, impossible :) ) with so few pixels. Instead, if you could just make the icon a 16x16 image with a coloured background (that means you can anti-alias right?) and a single pixel square border around the outside, and if that image is in all the layers so that i can fiddle with the background color, then i will be happy with that. Does that sound ok? What format could you provide that in? Hope that makes things easier :)

[samoyloff]

I can provide a 16x16 pixels layered .psd file, so you could change the background. But, you will have to convert it to .ico each time. Will that work?

[rdillon]

That would be perfect :)

[samoyloff]

Please try this file:
http://www.samoyloff.com/ico.psd

[rdillon]

The file format is good, I can play around with the background etc easily. A couple of things though, the bottom left hand side of the J seems to have lost some of its curve. Also I think the border can go. Just the J (current size is perfect) and the background will be fine.

So, If I can have those changes and the regular and large sized logo as psd's, then I think we will just about be done :) With the large logo version, could I make that even bigger, in the range of 2000x1000 pixels. Is that possible? Thanks.

[rdillon]

Sorry to rush you, but I would really appreciate it if we could finish this by the end of the week. :)

[rdillon]

Alex, is there any chance of having this done by the end of the week?

[samoyloff]

I just sent you a PM with a link to download the files. :) Please let me know if they're OK.

Thanks,
Alex.

[rdillon]

The images look great. Just one thing though :) The top and right sides of the bean and the bottom of the J seem to be slightly truncated where they are too close to the edge of the canvas. (I'm looking at the large psd file). Could you increase the canvas size? Would that fix it?

[samoyloff]

Updated file sent. :)

[rdillon]

Thats better. I just noticed, this version does not seem to have the outline around the J like before. Can you add that back in please :)

[samoyloff]

Fixed files sent :)

[rdillon]

Awesome! :D

Thank you very much Alex for your efforts. Project closed! Take care :)

Ryan