[Project Complete] Logo needed for Loups du Soleil kennel - $250

[malnborder]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 32271279LA497413D)

Design Outpost Creative Brief Worksheet

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

Loups du Soleil
Working Belgian Malinois

What type of product or service do you offer?

We breed Belgian Malinois for competetive dog sports (Schutzhund, Ringsport, Flyball, agility etc.). We offer progressive reward based dog training and coaching for competetive dog sports.

How long have you been in business?

Over ten years

What do you hope to accomplish with your new identity?

What are your long term goals?

To have an easy to recognize logo that captures the spirit of our dogs and training philosophy that owners of LduSol dogs and followers of our training methods can wear to show their pride at being part of the team.

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

February 14

Audience Profile:
Please describe your existing audience

Who would you like to add to your audience?

Perception/Tone/Guidelines:
What type of logo would you like?

An illustrative logo with a hip feel. Possibley a tribal/tattoo feel.

Do you have any colors in mind for your logo? (if so, why?)

We would like a logo that can be used in BW as well as color. Orange, magenta, or other "hot" colors used as accent. In truth we are open to all options.

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

Our name, Loups du Soleil, means "Wolves of the Sun" so we would definitely like a sun (full or rising). The dog used must be easily identified as a Belgian Malinois (a generic dog would not be appropriate). The dog can be illustrative or stylized (similar to the Husky designs in Logo Project Archives under "Due Dec 15th - Logo for HuskyLabor - $175". The dog should be shown in action, running or jumping. The dog should look fit and athletic, strong but not aggressive (although these are police/protection dogs).


Communication Strategy:
What attributes would you like your logo to reflect about your business?

Our dogs are bred for their drive and athletisism They are fast, agile and powerful jumpers. The image of the sun also reflects our "illuminated" positive approach to dog training.

What is your tagline or slogan?

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

Where will your new logo be used?

Website, cards, clothing, gear bags. Ideally we are looking for a balanced logo that will look good both off center in the pocket area of a t-shirt or centered on the back. More of a "square" or circle shape that a longer rectangular shape.

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

http://www.malinois.com/otvitosha/
Boring! Ugly Malinois

http://www.vonschoerling.com/4sale.html
Like the enclosed circle style. Like the graphic but prefer a little more stlylized dog that will lend itself better to black and white.

http://www.endeavorwdc.org/mals/gear.htm
The design on the blue t-shirt is great, love the action (this is one of our dog's "Feist". I love the stylized yet detailed head at the bottom but am looking for a whole body illustration.

http://www.spreadshirt.com/shop.php?sid=18352
Pretty Malinois but not in action



List competitive URLs if possible

What sets you apart from your competitors?

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

[malnborder]

Here are a few pictures of jumping Malinois

http://www.hondensport.com/zoekertjesMH.html

http://www.tng-flyball.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=66

http://www.malinoishandler.com/malinoisinaction/mia_photos/267377603203_0_ALB.jpg

[pracus]

let me begin :)

[malnborder]

Pracus,

Thank you for getting us off to a start. We were starting to worry! We think our logo has some fun elements to work with but with the added challenge of designing a dog that is breed specific (and our breed is an uncommon one).

The basic concept is depicted here but could we try it with a more stylized sun...a little more like a tattoo or spiral look? The same for the font...we were looking for something less blocky, more "hip". The basic outline of the dog is correct (if a little pudgy) but we need a dog that is easily recognized as a Belgian Malinois. The most salient features of the breed are the black mask and ears. They have the outline of a basic shepherd type dog (more fit and trim).

Some sugesstions given to us by a couple of Loups du Soleil dog owners were:

A rising sun over the words Loups du Soleil with the words Working Belgian Malinois smaller under them with the dog jumping through the sun.

A circular design (quite similar to the one linked to above under "von schoerling") with the words "Loups du Soleil Working Belgian Malinois" inside the outer circle and a sun depicted inside the inner cirlce again with a Malinois jumping through it.

Overall when polling our people the concept of the dog jumping through the sun is a favored design.

As far as colors...we would like most of the logo in black with just accent colors to pick up the colors in the sun. I like the idea of deep orange and magenta...hot colors.

Have fun with this...we have been amazed with talent at Design Outpost and from browsing the archived forums I can see you get plenty of practice designing dog related logos.

Keep them coming!

[Radu]

Here's mine. Let me know your opinion.

Thank you.

[malnborder]

Not bad Ruairi. I like the color scheme (simple black with accents of orange and yellow). I like the "tag line" below and smaller than the "Loups du Soleil" I also like the letters on each line all being the same size and in alignment. The font is still too blocky...we are going for something more tribal or with the feel of a tattoo. The dog is obviously shepherd type but is not obviously a Belgian Malinois. I like the style of the sun inside the petals but the over all effect is of a sun flower. Could make the black "petals" shape match the flames/rays on the orange sun?

I would like to see a design where the words are more incorporated into the illustration. Such as a rising sun where the words are the "horizon" the sun is rising over or a sun with words going around in a circle on the inside edge. I know we want a balanced/centered logo where the art is in the "middle" not off to one side or the other so it will work well on the front pocket area of shirts as well as the back.

The dog is the most important feature of our logo and the sun is a strong second. Again, the dog must clearly be a Malinois. What about having the dog jumping straight out of the logo (the first link in the examples of jumping dogs I posted in my original email.)

Thanks for the effort and keep those wheels turning.

Lisa

[malnborder]

http://www.tng-flyball.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=72&g2_serialNumber=1

Instead of a dog jumping horizontally across the sun could we see a dog jumping through the sun either straight into or at angle through the sun? The link to the picture above seems like a good angle with an intense look on the dog's face.

Lisa

[malnborder]

Tattoo/Tribal Suns (http://www.tattoojohnny.com/tattoo-design-gallery.asp?k=sun)

Just to give you a better picture of the style of sun we are looking for.

[malnborder]

Fonts (http://www.myfonts.com/browse/category/myfonts/glyphic/)

Maybe a font similar to these?

[gig]

mine :)

[Radu]

Hi,
here is a new one. Comments are more than welcomed. :)

[Radu]

variation...

[Titania]

http://www.titania.myown.com.ar/do/titania_loups.jpg

[malnborder]

Thank you again for the variety of your responses. Seeing our idea brought to life is amazing...but also has made us reasses some of the design elements we though were crucial.

Although we do believe it is important that the dog in the logo be easy to recongize as a Malinois, we are discovering that the dog has to be very simple (silhouette) or very, very realistically detailed or it ends up looking a bit "cartoony". Because of the image we are trying to project (strong dogs for police type work) we need to stay away from "cute" dog designs. So it may be best to stick with a silhouette. I will post a link to several pictures of dogs jumping and running that may lend themselves well to this design.

In reviewing the designs it seems that suns with a solid ring around the interior end up looking like a dog jumping through a hoop (like a circus act). So we may need to go back to a dog jumping or running across a sun with a solidly colored interior.

As far as color, I love the red/orange PMS 032 C and the bright yellow PMS 116 C. I prefer the fonts in Gig's design 1 and Ruairi's design 2 and favor a bold black

We really like the idea of part of the sun showing behind the letters in Loups du Soleil as well

Thank you again and I will make another post with individual comments.

[malnborder]

Comments in on individual designs:

1 Pracus-not really what we are looking for. Need brighter colors, a more centered design and less block font.

2 Ruairi-I really like the basic concept here and love the strong black with the bright yellow and orange. The colors and the balance between them is perfect. I especially like the idea of black outline on the sun. The yellow outline around the dog's silhouete is great and makes the dog look back lit. I do not like the blocky font but like the words Loups du Soleil on one line and smaller Working Belgian Malinois below on one line. The dog is a bit to heavy and German Shepherd looking and the style of sun look too much like a sunflower but overall it is a nice design.

Could we try it with a different style sun and a different dog silhouette? How about with a font similar to the font in Gig's design but a bit bolder? Maybe even make the sun a bit bigger and drop part if it behind the words Loups du Soleil.

3 Gig- this is at the moment our favorite overall. Could be try it with a bolder red orange and bolder font? Maybe make the sun larger so it drops even more behind the words? We like the style of the sun but this particular one looks too much like a Ninja star in black and white so maybe something a little different but of a similar style. We think we would like to go back to a dog running or jumping across the sun horizontally as you wonder where the rest of this one has gone.

4/5 Ruairi- I thought I liked the idea of the dog jumping through the sun but now that I see it I find it makes me think of a dog jumping through a ring of fire. I do like the choices of font. Again, I think we may need to go back to a simple silhouette of a dog.

6 Titania-are you a mind reader? I had just sketched out a design with a very similar format to yours. I love the concept but in looking at it it reminds me of a dog jumping through a life preserver! I appreciate the work you did on the jumping dog but I am afraid it needs more detail (or less) to get that "strong" working dog look. This would be the perfect design for an agility club!

[malnborder]

Here is a link to a few running and jumping pictures for silhouette.

Running and Jumping (http://www.loupsdusoleil.com/RunningJumpingPics.html)

[Titania]

http://www.titania.myown.com.ar/do/titania_loups2.jpg

[Titania]

http://www.titania.myown.com.ar/do/titania_loups3.jpg

[gig]

like this ? :)

[malnborder]

Hello again,

We are going to need to extend our deadline by just a few days as the 2nd opinion is stuck out of town with no access to a computer. We would like to extend our deadline until this Friday, Frebruary 17. We feel the designs are getting very close to what we are looking for.

Lisa

[Radu]

Here is my revision.

Thank you.

[gig]

hi, this is my another revision :)

[Titania]

:)

[Radu]

small variation - made the dog to look more gender neutral :)

[Radu]

small variation

[malnborder]

We are so close to our deadline and really like the basic concepts shown by Gig, Titania and Ruairi. Thank you again for your efforts.

Titania-

We really like the dog in version 3 but his head needs a little work (the expression looks a little like a sheep). Could we see the words under the logo? Maybe the sun could be a little bigger to tie it all in. We like the effects on the dog but could we see a few variations on that? also the brown needs to be a little richer. Maybe a bit more black on the head, chest and underbelly.

Gig-can you do similar design with one of our dogs?

Ruairi-your final designs are probably our favorite. We love the tie-dyed sun...in your experience how easy is this to use for silk screening and embroidery? We like the non-gender specific dog with all four legs. Could you try dropping him down a bit into the running position? Could you show us the same design but try a couple of different silhouettes? Particularly these:

http://www.malinoishandler.com/malinoisinaction/mia_photos/267377603203_0_ALB.jpg

http://www.loupsdusoleil.com/

Also, we liked the black around the sun on your first design. Do you think it is possible to keep the middle tie dyed sun and make the longer rays black with the dog outline yellow? How do you think it would look with the words Loups du Soleil outlined in yellow? Also could we see it with the sun larger and the dog and the words centered in the sun?

Lisa

[castell]

Hello,

Here is one entry from me... I hope not to late and close to how you see it...

http://www.visualadv.net/projects/loupes/loupes.jpg


Thank You,

Sincerely,
Castell

[DesignGeneral]

:)

[malnborder]

Design General,

WOW! That is a perfect dog. Not sure about the sun or the font but this really is about the quest for the better dog.

Lisa

[DesignGeneral]

Hi Lisa,

Here's a cleaner variation with another font.

Cheers,

Adrian

[Radu]

Here are a couple of variations.

Thank you.

[Radu]

and no 8

[DesignGeneral]

:)

[malnborder]

We have really enjoyed seeing all the creative designs and interpretations of our suggestions. In the end, we have chosen to work with Ruairi to finalize our design. Thank you all again.
Lisa

[malnborder]

Ruairi,

What now?

Lisa

[Radu]

Thank you Lisa for choosing my design.

Let me know what version you like and if you want any changes.

Thank you.

[gig]

cangrats Ruairi

[Radu]

Thank you :)

[malnborder]

Hello Ruairi,

Just let me know what we do next...I would like to see a few more options and a few changes before we make final decision. I just am not clear how we go about it.

Lisa

[Radu]

Well, you either email me your reqirements/changes or post them here and I will reply as soon as possible.

My email address is: radune@gmail.com

[malnborder]

We really were impressed with the effort you put into our logo and how quickly you put our changes place. We feel we are very close but would like to try a few options.

We love the last dog but did not think about the fill color. Could we see this dog filled with a reddish brown?

We love the tie-dyed sun but would like to see the same sun with the outer rays in yellow and black and also in orange.

We would aslo like to see a couple more dogs in straight silhouette including the last one.

We really like the body on this one but the front feet are together...
http://www.loupsdusoleil.com/

Here is a dog in a similar jump position but front feet seperate. Do you think you could put these feet on the body above?

We also really like your version 05. Could we see this one with the rays behind the sun black and the words outlined in yellow? Also if you could drop the front end of the dog down just a bit so the rear foot is in a more natural position.

Thank you.

[Radu]

Hello Lisa,

here are some variations based on your comments.
Can you please post the URL for the dog in a similar position with the one at your present URL. It seems you forgot to add the link.

Please let me know your opinion.

Thank you.

[Radu]

7-2

[Radu]

7-3

[Radu]

7-4

[Radu]

5-1

[malnborder]

The dog in version 7-3 is our winner! You have done a great job capturing power in action! Can we see a few other shades of brown/tan? Less orange/red, maybe. Also can we lose the yellow outline and see one with no outline and one with a black outline?

We are still not quite satisfied with the sun. Could we see the design with the sun just a bit larger overall so more of the "rays" fall behind Loups du Soleil? We would like to see this with the original tie-dyed sun as well as one with all the longer "rays" yellow and one with all the longer "rays" orange.

I think we prefer no yellow outline behind the words.

We are almost there and appreciate your efforts. We start showing off our final design!

[Radu]

Hello Lisa,
here are some new options based on your comments.

Thank you.

#7-3-1

[Radu]

#7-3-2

[Radu]

#7-3-3

[Radu]

#7-3-4

[Radu]

#7-3-5

[Radu]

and #7-3-6

[malnborder]

Ruari,

Sorry for the big delay in getting this finished...we were asking owners of our dogs which they preferred. It looks like the yellow sun in 7-3-2 is the winner but we have a tie between the brown color used on the dog in that version and the redder color in version 7-3-1. Could we see one more version with the yellow sun and the no outline dog in the redder color?

Lisa

[Radu]

No problem. Here it is.

Thank you.

[malnborder]

Ruairi,

We are still having trouble deciding between the brown and red dogs. Is it possible to get one of each both with the yellow sun. As you may guess the folks with brown dogs want the darker dog, those with red dogs prefer the more orange dog! We also would like a black and white version. Is it possible to send these with a "clear" background?

You can email the files to [email removed]

Thank you, we have a huge international competetion in a month and cannot wait to sport our new logo.

Lisa

[Radu]

Files sent by email. :)