mattface 

I'm designing a draft of a logo for my local bike coop which is just starting up. I'm thinking some combination of a wheel and crossed wrenches. Do any of you graphic designer types have a good clean line drawing of a wheel you wouldn't mind sharing for a worthy cause?



Here is an early draft. Vector would be better, but I don't have illustrator on my system so I threw that together using photoshop, and I really don't get the vector tools in photoshop.

iamarapgod

The bike coop here is also called freeride. Their slogan "put the fun between your legs"

MtbVA

I did this in AutoCAD.
I will e-mail it if you want it, just give me an e-mail adress & file type you want.

-shouldn't the closed end of the wrenches have a hexagon insted of a circle-

mattface 

Thanks a lot. actually the closed end of the wrench should be more like a 16 point star pattern, but I got that wrench from more or less tracing a photo of a wrench, and the 12 point pattern wasn't there. For the final version I'll need to do better wrenches as well. I said it was rough.

Aeroplane

Wheel + crossed wrenches = Skull + Crossbones.

Arrange as such. Awesome.

mattface 

Yes that was the original idea, but it's way effing tall when I arrange it that way. I might still well work it out, at the moment I'm working on getting the elements into a cleaner form so I can play with arrangement. In the end there will probably be a big skull and crossbones style version, and a version similar to the one posted for letterheads and such.

Cynikal 

Here is what a buddy of mine put together for the co-op that we started last year.

mattattack

Open source vector-based drawing software FTW: https://www.inkscape.org/
And don't forget GIMP if you want an open source Photoshop replacement: https://www.gimp.org/ (if you've got a Mac I recommend Gimpshop)

mattface 

Yeah that's about 4 zillion times better than anything I'm gonna come up with, but if someone here comes up with anything like that I'll gladly throw my design in the scrap bin.

nobrainer440

I like.

goldener

does this monpelier bike coop have a site yet?

Cynikal 

Hey Mattface,

If you folks need any help getting up and running let me know.

blickblocks

No offense, but why are you designing the logo if you can't draw a wheel?

br995

That's a pretty stupid question.

blickblocks

How so? I wouldn't ask other people to do my drawings for me for a design project. If I actually couldn't draw I would just ask someone else to design it.

1fluffhead

I can picture things in incredible detail in my head, but my ability to transcribe that to paper via pencil comes out looking like something a 1st grader drew. Not everyone is good at drawing. Someone who knows their limitations is smarter then someone who thinks they can do everything.

eddiebrannan

i would use all-caps for the type. you see how that descender on the lowercase p in montpelier is forcing you to use a tiny sized type for that word? all caps with the same height and no descenders would permit even type use throughout, and avoid misplaced emphasis

bmike

mattface - i'm in burlington. i might be able to help (slightly) with the graphics. i'm also interested in your coop and how you are starting up.

pm me if this thread is still alive.

where are you going to be located?

mattface 

The coop is just starting up, there are few volunteers. I'm not an illustrator, but I have some graphic design skills. I wouldn't design this logo for pay, in fact I might barter the design with a designer I do computer consulting for. the thing is I am one of a few volunteers. I contribute what I can and I know my limitations. If there was anyone there who could draw a wheel, I'm sure they would have been hit up to design a logo.

mattface 

Good call eddie, I'm not sure how it will work with that font though I'll have to try it out. I'm not married to that font either, but it did sort of look like the sort of font that might be used on a wrench.

mattface 

If you mean website, then no. If you mean workspace, then yes. We are renting space in the back of a building on Barre St, and we have storage space at the Pyralisk until construction starts there.

We're open Tuesday night from 8-10, and Saturday from 4-6, with more shifts coming soon as we move into spring.

mattface 

Update: Almost a week later the logo is shaping up. I'm leaning towards using the Rudge chainring and crossed wrenches. Thanks for the inspiration Cynikal! I'm going to get a local graphic designer who I do computer consulting work for to vectorize it for me using streamline. Thanks for those who provided helpful advice. If anyone has a vector version on the Rudge chainring they don't mind sharing, I'd appreciate a copy, as it will save me some work.



edit:updated graphic thanks eddie

eddiebrannan

black wrenches with text reversed out in white

mattface 

Good call again Eddie, I tried that, and it's much better. will tak some work to make those funky wrenches look good, but it all looks much better all bold and black.

bmike

+1
yeah, the name of the coop is weak (meaning the graphic representation of it), compared to the chainring.
you might be able to trace that in photoshop with little trouble to make it into a vector...