Coddled Cats logo - Prize $65

[CoddledCats]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 62405K)

Okay, I'm jumping on the pet care band wagon. I just love the work the designers here do, and I can't resist having you design a logo for me. I wish it could be for more than $50, because you guys are sure worth it, but money is really tight right now. The deadline will be in 2 weeks, which makes it June 19, but is not set in stone.

My pet sitting service specializes in cats, and is called Coddled Cats. I also want to include "personalized, in-home pet sitting" or at least "pet sitting" in the logo. I will need to use this for a web site, tee shirts, business cards, letterhead and brochures.

I only want cats in my design, as far as animals go, and probably at least 2 of them. The image I would like to present is that I will spoil their cats, treat them like royalty, take exceptional care of them. I like colors like burgundy, purple and blue, but am open to anything that looks good. I really like the logos that ElKootcho designed for The Lucky Dog and that cre8or has submitted for Tail Waggers.

I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! :-)

Susan

[Julie]

Here's my first attempt--you said you treated your cats like royalty!

Julie

http://www.bohtieque.com/design/coddled.gif

[CoddledCats]

Hi, Julie. Thanks for being the first to jump in! I like your design. However, I want at least two cats in the logo, to help people remember that the name is plural, Coddled Cats.

I'd like to see some more ideas, but I think we're off to a good start. :-)

Susan

[Julie]

Oops...sorry! I didn't read your description closely enough. I'll make some changes and get you multiples cats tomorrow.

Thanks, Julie

*edit* Well, I guess I got to it tonight! *edit*

http://www.bohtieque.com/design/coddled2.gif

[cre8or]

Hello Susan,
I'm sorry, my entry as well has only 1 cat... but that can change easily.
My cat is loosly based on the Chinese calligraphic symbol for "tiger" (shown, left).
She's sitting on a cushion, like a Queen on her throne.
The top row of kitties (blue) are made with a different brush than the bottom row of kitties (purple).

Any initial thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you.
-Kimber

[CoddledCats]

Julie, yes, that's more what I had in mind. I like it. Please leave the hyphen out of "pet sitting." It seems odd to me, too, but this seems to be the most common usage. No need to change the logos already posted, but please note this for the future.

Hi, Kimber. Your design is very clever and it looks nice, but I'm afraid it may be a little too abstract. I do like the idea of cats on a cushion, but I don't want anyone to have to look twice to realize my logo contains cats. I hope you will try another design, though, because I really like your work. :-)

Susan

[Julie]

Here are a few other quick options...

http://www.bohtieque.com/design/coddled3.gif

[subtract]

here's mine......... :huh:

[cre8or]

Here's another idea: Based on the Ancient Egyptian cat-goddess, Bastet.
I was going to add the tagline: "We treat your kitty like a goddess", but I thought that
might have been a little over-the-top. So I opted for "We treat your kitty like Royalty".

3 Colours -- 3 Font-options.

Your feedback is apprecitaed.
-Kimber.

[CoddledCats]

Julie, thank you for coming up with more options! I do like the one on the bottom, especially because of the more horizontal design, but I still like your original one the best, after you added the extra cat to it.

subtract, I like your purple and blue cartoon kitties. They are very cute! However, I was hoping the artwork would help convey the message that, not only do I sit for cats, but I give them exceptional care. Your first design is more along those lines, with the crown and all, but I like your cartoon kitties the best. Thank you also for showing me how it would look on a tee-shirt. :)

Kimber, I *really* like your last one in blue. It's my favorite of all so far. I like the cats, the font, the color, everything. I like the tagline, too. The only thing is, I think I need to fit "pet sitting" in there somewhere, because it's not necessarily apparent what kind of business it is, and pet sitting is still relatively new as a business. Can you fit it in without cluttering things up too much?

Thanks!

Susan

[cre8or]

Hi Susan,
Here's the last Bastet pair (in blue) with "Professional Pet Sitting" under the company name,
and the tagline running along the same "line" of the stretching cat's back.
Please advise.
Thanks,
Kimber.

[FTIGraphix]

http://www.ftigraphix.com/images/cats.gif

[Julie]

Here are a few more options just to think about...I've come up with a few more taglines.

http://www.bohtieque.com/design/coddled4.gif

[CoddledCats]

Kimber, can you make "professional pet sitting" a bit less prominent, either by reducing the colors or the caps or the size of the font? Thank you!

Susan

[cre8or]

Is this more to your liking?

[ejlain]

Hi. here are a few ideas.

- Ed

[subtract]

okay here's the reformed one:

[CoddledCats]

Hello again. Sorry for the delay in responding.

FTIGraphix, Your image is not showing up on my screen. I don't know if it's just me or not. I'm sorry.

Julie, thank you for coming up with more examples. I really like your "royal treatment" idea. I still like your original design, but most of these new ones are nice, too. The only ones I don't really care for are the last one with the fuzzy border and the one with the yellow behind the cats. No need to submit more along these lines at the present time, but if you have other ideas, I'd be happy to see them.

Kimber, I like that the smaller font at the bottom makes the "Coddled Cats" part more prominent. I would still like to see "professional pet sitting" in all one color, maybe black, and also in a different font that perhaps spans the length of the bottom of the logo, but is still small enough to make the "Coddled Cats" part stand out. I also wonder how the tagline over the cat would work out on something as small as a business card. I do really like this design, though. In fact, I like it so much, I am increasing the prize to $65. Not a fortune, I know, but still better than 50 bucks. :) I'll let Palmer know.

Ed, I like all three of your designs, although none of them contain multiple cats. I like the top one the best. Your tagline is very good, too. However, as nice as they are, they don't seem quite as distinctive as Kimber's Egyptian cats.

subtract, thank you for revising your kitties. They are still very cute with crowns!

The truth is, I am quite enamored with Kimber's design, so while everyone is welcome to submit more ideas, it will be tough to beat hers. I would especially like to see some ideas without the royalty theme, not because I don't like it, but just for some diversity.

Thank you all for your hard work so far. I really appreciate it!

Susan

[cre8or]

Thank you very much for your praise, Susan, I'm flattered... :blush:

I'll make your requested changes tomorrow evening, as I'm soon off to bed.
G'night.

[Palmer]

Originally posted by CoddledCats@Jun 11 2003, 12:15 AM
I am increasing the prize to $65. Not a fortune, I know, but still better than 50 bucks. :) I'll let Palmer know.

Extra money received, prize is now $65. :tup: I'll change the prize amount in the title.

Thanks Susan. :)

[CoddledCats]

Wow, Palmer, that was fast! Thank you. :)

[FTIGraphix]

Sorry Susan. My site server is down now. I'll post it as an attachement here (sorry Palmer :lol: )

[FTIGraphix]

and on white

[CoddledCats]

FTIGraphix, thank you, I can see it now! :-) I like the Coddled Cats font. The graphic seems a bit too halloweenish, though. But I appreciate your effort.

Kimber, as much as I like your tagline, I think we may have to forgo it to make the logo as versatile as I need it to be. So I would also like to see the logo without the tagline, but with "professional pet sitting" or "professional pet sitting service" in the orginal tagline font and color blue.

Ed, although it's totally irrelevant. I also love your sig. :)

Susan

[FTIGraphix]

more fun....less halloween. Can change colors with ease....and fully rescalable....

[FTIGraphix]

what it might look like....

[CoddledCats]

FTIGraphix, I'm not really crazy about the cat graphic. I like the design, but it's not quite what I'm looking for. Thank you for your efforts, though.

Kimber, sorry to be so indecisive about this, but I've never done this before. I would like to go back to the original design without the tagline over the cat, but with "Personalized, in-home pet sitting" underneath in the orginal blue font. Thanks!

I hope I haven't scared everyone else away from submitting their ideas before the contest is over. I really like Kimber's design, but there is tons of talent here. If anyone wants to make my decision harder, please feel free to do so. :)

Susan

[cre8or]

Okay Susan, here goes...

I've thrown together a package to give you an idea how this
logo may work on a business card and letterhead.

I've kept Prof. Pet Sitting in the same font (too many fonts clutter things up sometimes),
I've made it black and made it appear in 2 styles:

On the card, it runs the length of CODDLED CATS,
while on the letterhead it's a little shorter, and centered.

Another thing came to my attention when mocking up the business card: the cats are joined!
(I dunno WHAT I was thinking)
So, if you decide to go with this design, I'll make sure the cats come apart, so the tall cat can be used separate from the long cat. (As in the back of the business card example).

[cre8or]

Originally posted by CoddledCats@Jun 13 2003, 12:48 AM
Kimber, sorry to be so indecisive about this, but I've never done this before. I would like to go back to the original design without the tagline over the cat, but with "Personalized, in-home pet sitting" underneath in the orginal blue font. Thanks!

Susan,
I'm so sorry... I didn't read this before I posted the "Package".
If it's okay with you, if you do choose my cats,
I've kept all of 'em so any minor changes you'd like done are not-a-problem.

I guess what I'm asking is: if there's no ground-shaking changes you'd like to see,
I'd like to help Palmer save his bandwidth and not post the minor changes... if that's okay with you.

Thanks,
-Kimber

[CoddledCats]

Kimber, I'm glad you posted the package. It does help me to get a feel for how it will look. And I agree with you. I have seen enough to know that if I choose your cats, we would be able to work out any details. You don't need to post any more changes to this design here. Thanks for all your hard work and good ideas.

Susan

[sweetpea]

Hi everyone!

I'm a new designer here! I like what everyone has done with this project! It's interesting to see how differently people think! I have a design I'd like to enter. Hope you all like it! :D

[admin edit- Only members of the Design Team are permitted to enter contests, please follow the site guidelines (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=4&t=35&s=). Thanks :)]

[CoddledCats]

Hello again. If anyone is working on a design and would like me to hold the contest open until the 19th, please let me know. I'll be happy to wait for you. However, if I don't hear from anyone by Monday, I'll go ahead and close it. Thanks everyone!

Susan

[sweetpea]

I would like the contest to be held until the 19th. I have designs on the way, I am just waiting to be accepted into the design outpost! :blink:

[Palmer]

I would like the contest to be held until the 19th. I have designs on the way, I am just waiting to be accepted into the design outpost!

It can, and usually does, take several weeks to get an invitation to join the Design Team. Please do not interfere with this contest thread anymore. There are currently 81 designers awaiting approval. If you're application is in the top 2 of those applications, you will get invited. Invitations are based on experience, portfolio, and professionalism. I will add that making demands of the contest holder to extend their deadline is not scoring you any points.

Thank you

[sparkie]

I will post an entry here later today :)

[sparkie]

I had a lot of fun with this! Hope it gives Kimber a run for her money :D

[CoddledCats]

I'm going to go ahead and close this contest now....

Sparkie, your design is cute and I like it. I especially like the paw print in place of "a" in "Cats," and the tagline. The cats are cute, too, but on the practical side, there seem to be a lot of colors, and it seems kind of busy for a logo. (That could just be my taste -- I tend to like them simple.) I do appreciate your efforts, though.

Sweetpea, sorry it didn't work out for you this time. Good luck on getting accepted here. If you do, you'll be in great company!

And the winner is...Kimber's blue Egyptian cats! Kimber, I love this design and really appreciate all the extra ideas you have suggested, such as the tagline and the single cat on the back of the business cards (which I also love!). There are a couple of versions of the last line I would like to see before I make my final decision. (I promise, it won't be that complicated.) Should these be posted here or worked out privately between us? Also, you mentioned you would separate the cats so I could use the tall one on the back of my cards (yay!). Please let me know what we should do next.

Thank you, everyone, for your contributions. This has been a fun and exciting process, and I appreciate you putting your time and effort into it. I'm a little disappointed that ElKootcho didn't submit anything, because I really like his work, too, but I am very satisfied with Kimber's design, so this isn't really an issue. I'll be passing the word along what a wonderful group of designers you are. :)

Susan

[cre8or]

Thank you Susan, for choosing my kitties.
And let me tell you, it was a pleasure designing them.
If you'd like to work out some changes before the artwork is finalized,
feel free to email me, or PM me, and I'll provide you with a link to view your changes.
Then, when all is said and done, and you're happy with the design, I'll prepare
finished artwork and send you a link to where you can download them.

And please, do tell all your friends about the great team we have here at DO!
We appreciate your praise.
Thanks again.
:D

[Palmer]

Originally posted by CoddledCats@Jun 17 2003, 09:13 PM
I'm a little disappointed that ElKootcho didn't submit anything, because I really like his work, too, but I am very satisfied with Kimber's design, so this isn't really an issue. I'll be passing the word along what a wonderful group of designers you are. :)

Susan
Thanks Susan, ElKootcho was in an accident and his time at the computer is limited due to his back pain. He's kind of playing hurt so to speak :)

Kimber would of still won anyway :D Congratulations Kimber! :woot:

[ElKootcho]

Originally posted by Palmer@Jun 17 2003, 05:56 PM
Kimber would of still won anyway :D
Hey! I like to think I'd give her a run for her money! :box:

[CoddledCats]

Originally posted by ElKootcho@Jun 17 2003, 08:39 PM
Hey! I like to think I'd give her a run for her money!
We'll never know now, will we? :) Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you feel better soon.

Susan

[CoddledCats]

Kimber, I'm assuming you got my email yesterday. If not, please let me know. If so, I'll wait to hear from you. Thanks.

Susan