Foo - LOGO critique

i need some input.

i was asked by a creative collective called Paper Lanterns to create a logo for them.

this is what i have come up with after a few revisions and lots of sorting through other designs so this is not my first attempt, i don't want you to be thrown off by the simplicity of it. this was basically worked off a "P" and vertically reflected "L" along with the inspirations listed below.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/enjoi_04/Screenshot2010-06-23at21234PM.png

paper lanterns are obviously a japanese cultural display, and through my research i found that a specific lettering was used for celebratory lanterns. now, the lettering i'm showing here is a variation and used for seals, but i chose this as inspiration because it had a more solid feel.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Kakuji_sample.png

i was also inspired by square paper lanterns and the wire form, although mine are vertical.

http://www.lunabazaar.com/paper-lanterns/thumbs/L209-white-square-paper-lantern.jpg

another issue is working with a font to go with this, since Paper Lanterns is relatively unknown and a new collective, the name is going to have to be associated with the logo, any ideas of a suitable font?

i found one lead that may work...

http://s.bebo.com/app-image/7926055316/5411656627/PROFILE/i.quizzaz.com/img/q/u/08/04/04/226129PlanB.jpg

another version i just played around with, i like the asymmetry. hmm.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/enjoi_04/Screenshot2010-06-23at25106PM.png

Here is my payper lantern

156713

http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2009/03/transformers-logo.jpg?

http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2009/03/transformers-logo.jpg?

funny you brought that up, i thought the same thing.

another version i just played around with, i like the asymmetry. hmm.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/enjoi_04/Screenshot2010-06-23at25106PM.png

I like this. It works better than the first version.

Anthony

i agree

I'm sorry, but a backwards "L" is just too much of a stretch for my puny, conformist, brain.

Why not take a rounded lantern, as viewed from an angle over the top, and emphasize the left edge and bottom edge to form the "L", and the left edge again, and the rim of the top of the cylinder to form the "P"?

another version i just played around with, i like the asymmetry. hmm.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/enjoi_04/Screenshot2010-06-23at25106PM.png
I like this as a start, and would play with the arm of the P. Thicker, or a down leg, or something devised out of the lantern font cube thingies. I'd be thinking along using that cube business to fill it in and spell the name.

I'm sorry, but a backwards "L" is just too much of a stretch for my puny, conformist, brain.

Why not take a rounded lantern, as viewed from an angle over the top, and emphasize the left edge and bottom edge to form the "L", and the left edge again, and the rim of the top of the cylinder to form the "P"?

I'm in total agreement with this post. All of it.

Plus, I really need to see the end result: the logo with the name.

...
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/413SEK2A6ZL._AA280_.jpg

...

This image provides a marvellous framework for a logo with "P", and an "L" oriented (no pun intended) in the proper direction.

the only thing is, there is another group known and Plague Language in the same "business" who uses the "PL" logo. so when i presented a logo that had a really clear "PL", all the members were concerned about this. "thanks for telling me after i spent hours on it guys" :D. either way, i was in the "who gives a ****" boat after seeing how much effort the other company put into their logo....

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/63/s_726e29f213a0904aebf2a58b6ecccefa.gif

but it the end , it is their logo, so the ambiguity was necessary i guess.

the only thing is, there is another group known and Plague Language in the same "business" who uses the "PL" logo. so when i presented a logo that had a really clear "PL", all the members were concerned about this. "thanks for telling me after i spent hours on it guys" :D. either way, i was in the "who gives a ****" boat after seeing how much effort the other company put into their logo....

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/63/s_726e29f213a0904aebf2a58b6ecccefa.gif

but it the end , it is their logo, so the ambiguity was necessary i guess.

Tell me that this new "pl" logo is from the other "company".:eek:

I'm cool with the reversed "L" but then again I have some graphic design background so I'm more concerned about the image than anything. Working the name "Paper Lanterns" into the bottom of the logo in the same style with help.

Anthony

Although your sharp edges resemble the 1st image in x136's post I wonder how the top and bottom would look with a smooth arc (like the top and bottom of x136's 2nd image). I think it might make me think "lantern" more quickly. I'm not sure that integrating 'P' and 'L' are crucial because they are not readily associated with the name (like existing brands). Could you use your image at the 'A' in pAper lAnterns?

Although your sharp edges resemble the 1st image in x136's post I wonder how the top and bottom would look with a smooth arc (like the top and bottom of x136's 2nd image). I think it might make me think "lantern" more quickly. I'm not sure that integrating 'P' and 'L' are crucial because they are not readily associated with the name (like existing brands). Could you use your image at the 'A' in pAper lAnterns?

This!

Although your sharp edges resemble the 1st image in x136's post I wonder how the top and bottom would look with a smooth arc (like the top and bottom of x136's 2nd image). I think it might make me think "lantern" more quickly. I'm not sure that integrating 'P' and 'L' are crucial because they are not readily associated with the name (like existing brands). Could you use your image at the 'A' in pAper lAnterns?

i have thought of that as well.


Tell me that this new "pl" logo is from the other "company".:eek:

I'm cool with the reversed "L" but then again I have some graphic design background so I'm more concerned about the image than anything. Working the name "Paper Lanterns" into the bottom of the logo in the same style with help.

Anthony

definitely, glad to have another designers help. and GOD NO that cheezy "pl" logo is not my handy work. thats what you get when "pssshh, i could do that" kind of people attempt design.

maybe i should make myself a liiiitle more clear with everything. this collective is a hip hop/ art collective. the name was chosen to evoke...light...i guess. illuminating the hip hop world so to speak. so my goal is not to make the logo look like a paper lantern, rather it was INSPIRED by the lantern as well as the japanese lettering. i kind of see the center as an illuminated box.

i definitely appreciate the input guys! ill show you what i come up with next.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/Green_Lantern_Symbols_by_kavinvelda.jpg

how about: Ы

how about it...

maybe i should make myself a liiiitle more clear with everything. this collective is a hip hop/ art collective. the name was chosen to evoke...light...i guess. illuminating the hip hop world so to speak. ...

You'll need a galaxy full of suns to pull that one off. I struggle enough accepting hip-hop as a musical genre (yeah, it's personal taste and I feel much the same way about Rap, Country, Polka and Opera), let alone something beyond that. A paper lantern would be woefully insufficient. :innocent:

Go back to the backwards "L". Making the "P" upside down wouldn't hurt either. :D