need your feedback on some designs

Hey guys,

 

I make apps for business. Specifically it's aimed making the lives of service professionals easier. In the past, I've used photoshop to create my logos and art. My existing logo took me an hour to do and I never really put the effort into it as it deserved. So I decided to hire a professional. The artist is part of Smashing Magazine, which is more or less the authority on modern web design. I choose him because he's got a very simple style.

 

He's submitted two drafts for me to review. What do you guys think? At a glance, what message does the logo/character say to you?

 

http://ricardogimenes.com/mhelpdeskB/

 

http://ricardogimenes.com/mhelpdesk/

 

 

Any feedback both positive and negative is appreciated. TIA

Those two logos don't at all lead me to think you make Apps for business. Looking at those makes me feel as confused as when I see commercials for prescription Meds when they don't give you a clue as to what they are for. Just my 2 cents

I like #1 if i had to choose one

I agree with chapstick. Those logos don't give me any impression about what you do and would probably steer me away, not towards you. They don't give me the impression of quality work or attention to detail.

Reminds me a big of those websites which host flash games. Definitely not getting the sense that your business is tied to apps.

Those two logos don't at all lead me to think you make Apps for business. Looking at those makes me feel as confused as when I see commercials for prescription Meds when they don't give you a clue as to what they are for. Just my 2 cents

 

+1

 

out of these i prefer the octopus one.

Just kind of confusing. The designer is talented, I think you need to give him a little bit more specific direction.

 

Maybe if the octopus guy was doing different things with each hand? I like the genie, I just can't really tell what is what on him lol.

Neither one of them make sense to me. But of the two I would maybe play around with #2 some more. I like the robot.

I am currently working on a logo myself and I understand what your are doing/going through. I prefer number 2 with the octopus but it doesn't scream what you're doing, maybe add a tag line, a phone or like others have said doing something with each arm?

 

Also if you want to explore with another designer I am working with Paul (Milligan740) and his girl is fantastic, can't say enough good things about their quality of work, time frame and how easy they have made this for me.

 

 

I am currently working on a logo myself and I understand what your are doing/going through. I prefer number 2 with the octopus but it doesn't scream what you're doing, maybe add a tag line, a phone or like others have said doing something with each arm?

 

Also if you want to explore with another designer I am working with Paul (Milligan740) and his girl is fantastic, can't say enough good things about their quality of work, time frame and how easy they have made this for me.

 

Can you please forward me his portfolio. I really like the guy I'm working with and am confident he will come through. It's only been 2 days.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback. My problem has been using screenshots to tell my story in the past. To be honest, screenshots mean jackshit to 71% of my audience. I purposely did not give the artist any guidance, because I didn't want to influence how he understood what I did. Otherwise, I'd just design it myself. I gave him complete freedom to do his thing.

 

When I first saw both drafts, nothing jumped out at me. It took me 30 seconds to go "Oh, I get the Octopus". The owl didn't mean anything to me until after he explained that owls are wise. It just looked cool to me. A robot owl with his brain exposed was catchy to me. But I did not like the genie theme.

 

I told him to put the owl in a super hero suit with an M on his chest. Maybe make his brain pink. I like the feedback about putting something in each of the Octopus's hand, so I'd like to see him in super hero tights as well.

 

Thanks again everyone!

Hey guys,

 

He's submitted two drafts for me to review. What do you guys think? At a glance, what message does the logo/character say to you?

 

http://ricardogimenes.com/mhelpdeskB/

 

http://ricardogimenes.com/mhelpdesk/

 

 

Any feedback both positive and negative is appreciated. TIA

 

When I looked at the first one initially I thought it was a mad genie with a goatee.

I am sorry but that's the first thing that jumped into my head.

It was very confusing until I realized it was supposed to be a brainy owl.

 

The second one does nothing for me other than wondering what it is supposed to represent.

 

 

 

These are nice looking graphics, they just lack the focus and clarity that you need to sell your brand. Feel free to give me a shout if things don't work out with this designer.

Sorry...don't like either one. IMO...both are confusing and vague.

That was suppose to be an owl?....I thought it was some sort of genie with a mustache and a Jay Leno chin. I think the fact that there are many themes going on is what makes the logo confusing and ambiguous.

 

The "M" with the red cross automatically leads me to believe that it has something to do with the medical field, rather than apps for business.

 

As for the owl, too many things going on with that graphic...Is it an owl? a genie? an alien? Is it robotic? Or smoky? Personally, when it comes to design, I believe the simpler the better.

 

Just my 2 cents.

What is the demographic you are looking to sell this app to?

They don't jump out to me as logos for an app developer. If you were to use the octopus, you could have the icons of your apps on the end of the tentacles rather than eyes, then at least you convey you're an app developer. As Lirim318 said I also thought of the M with a cross looked like a medical reference.

Nope. Id lose the cartoon characters altogether... The M with the Plus sign in it seems like the brand.

The "M" with the red cross automatically leads me to believe that it has something to do with the medical field, rather than apps for business.

 

Thats a good point too. Maybe if the plus sign wasnt RED? Maybe a NON medical color there?

 

 

[edit- Wait a minute... Why is there a plus sign in the M at all? The name isnt "MPLUS"... Its "MHelpdesk" There should be an H or an HD... What the fcuk... Does this guy have ADD???

 

I dont want to sound like a dick, maybe hes a fcuking genius and I'm just not smart enough to 'get it', but it looks like the guy just slapped together a bunch of different shit and handed it back to you...]

Not really feeling the designs either. Have you tried 99designs.com ?

I tried 99designs. I didn't like what I got. I agree that the red plus sign needs to be changed to a different color. His reason for the + was because the icon was supposed to double as an iPhone app icon. The idea was that if you needed to add a new job to track, you'd hit the plus button to open the app. I get it, but not the red. Maybe green would be better. I also thought to myself "Red-Cross" when I first saw it.

 

The demographic is the entrepreneur service professional. The guy that needs to meet a client, build an estimate, track the work, then invoice.

 

He is still working on it so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Can you please forward me his portfolio. I really like the guy I'm working with and am confident he will come through. It's only been 2 days.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback. My problem has been using screenshots to tell my story in the past. To be honest, screenshots mean jackshit to 71% of my audience. I purposely did not give the artist any guidance, because I didn't want to influence how he understood what I did. Otherwise, I'd just design it myself. I gave him complete freedom to do his thing.

 

When I first saw both drafts, nothing jumped out at me. It took me 30 seconds to go "Oh, I get the Octopus". The owl didn't mean anything to me until after he explained that owls are wise. It just looked cool to me. A robot owl with his brain exposed was catchy to me. But I did not like the genie theme.

 

I told him to put the owl in a super hero suit with an M on his chest. Maybe make his brain pink. I like the feedback about putting something in each of the Octopus's hand, so I'd like to see him in super hero tights as well.

 

Thanks again everyone!

 

Sent PM!

 

good luck

The guy seems talented, but I think you have to give him more specific directions on what you want to convey. If you just let him go willy-nilly, you'll get this kind of vague stuff. He needs a specific framework to go by and you'll have to go through several iterations to get it right.

 

btw, I have no idea what either of those logos above are trying to say!

The demographic is the entrepreneur service professional. The guy that needs to meet a client, build an estimate, track the work, then invoice.

I guess I'm not sure how cartoons really fit this market segment. On that note, I guess I can't envision what a "entrepreneur service professional" actually is.