Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

dogbone

macrumors 68020
Original poster
This is the final version. There was much agonising over how to deal with the ampersand.
 

Attachments

  • tint.gif
    tint.gif
    3.1 KB · Views: 1,049

echeck

macrumors 68000
Apr 20, 2004
1,831
21
Boise, Idaho
I agree with p0intblank, try the ampersand the same shade of yellow as "Accounting Solutions".

A good rule to keep in mind when creating logos is try to keep the colors as limited as possible. Especially if said design is for a small company, because the more colors there are the more expensive it will be to print.

Generally I try to create my designs in black and white first, and then start adding colors. The reason I do this is because it's inevitable that your design will be printed in black and white at some point, and sometimes a great design when in color looks bad in black and white. I think you'd be okay with this particular design since it's relatively simple, but just something to keep in mind.
 

Arnaud

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2005
430
0
The Moon
On the other hand, the ampersand in yellow would pull the attention to 1) the ampersand, 2) the "accounting solutions" and finally 3) the "S" and "K", hence the name. Isn't it a little backward order :confused:

Additionally, in grey / black & white, both the yellow and the grey could be turned into grey or even white, no ?

Otherwise, to follow the line of the other posts, maybe the S and K in yellow, the ampersand in white ? But that looks "gold" oriented.

Don't know, just talking about my perception... :)

A.
 

CanadaRAM

macrumors G5
What is SEK's business again? (say it out loud if you don't get it the first time)

Gotta watch out for graphic elements that read like letters, or letters that read like the wrong letters --- the first-glance impression may be unfavorable.

Consider what would happen with FLICK your BIC
if the L and I were kerned too close. (Saw something like this on the grocery store shelf yesterday)
 

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
OK, my 2 cents... no to the ampersand being yellow. Why put such a strong visual emphasis on an ampersand?

The first thing I immediately noticed was that the top line doesn't look centred even though it may be as measured by a ruler. The amount of negative space to the right of the K outweighs the margin to the left of the S.

The more I look at it, the more it bugs me.
 

Arnaud

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2005
430
0
The Moon
Blue Velvet said:
OK, my 2 cents... no to the ampersand being yellow. Why put such a strong visual emphasis on an ampersand?

The first thing I immediately noticed was that the top line doesn't look centred even though it may be as measured by a ruler. The amount of negative space to the right of the K outweighs the margin to the left of the S.

The more I look at it, the more it bugs me.

The negative space effect could be reduced with broader sides, with both letters away from the sides, so that the relative amounts are reduced too.
You don't really need to almost-stick the letters to the side of the logo, do you ?

You could also start from the Ampersand, centered, and then place S and K with some space, not all stuck together.
 

ATD

macrumors 6502a
Sep 25, 2005
745
0
Ask 5 designers and you are going to get 6 different opinions. :D

My 2¢, try making the & smaller or outline it or a darker blue. Right now it is drawing too much attention to itself.
 

Arnaud

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2005
430
0
The Moon
Additionally: besides my critics, I had a good feeling of the colours and all, just got a little bugged on some details.

Don't let our comments put you down ! :)
 

dogbone

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Terrific comments, thanks to everyone. My first thoughts on dealing with this ridiculous ampersand between two letters was to make it smaller but that looked as bad or worse. I thought a + sign might work which I have seen in other accounting logos but the ampersand is part of their registered name.

I mainly put this up here to see if there was a unanimous response to make the amp smaller, which there wasn't so that is good.

They wanted blue and yellow and the amp is a tint so it's still two colours and It does work well in B/W. So I'll go with putting some more tint in the amp to knock it back and I'll try some more space on the side to see if I can visually centre it better.

I'll put a couple of minor variations up soon.


Blue Velvet
Yes what you have said is exactly as I saw it.
 

dogbone

macrumors 68020
Original poster
both these have more tint. The bigger one has some extra tracking on the 'account sol'

My challenge now is to get the tint percentage right. And I am at a bit of a loss here. I want it dark enough to kill the ampersand but not so dark as it looks odd, it's 30% at the moment.

What do you guys think,
 

Attachments

  • bigblue.gif
    bigblue.gif
    6.7 KB · Views: 121

dogbone

macrumors 68020
Original poster
btw, here's the logo of their umbrella organisation. Which is why they chose yellow and blue. I wanted a logo that would associate with their logo without looking too blatent.

PS CanadaRam
About 20 years ago there was a huge hand painted billboard in Thailand advertising the latest Clint Eastwood movie and the L and I were indeed run together.
 

Attachments

  • CPA_PP-CMYK.jpg
    CPA_PP-CMYK.jpg
    6.1 KB · Views: 134

RideIt

macrumors member
Feb 20, 2006
38
0
FL
I don't like the font... I too agree its looks off center even though its not.
 

nbs2

macrumors 68030
Mar 31, 2004
2,719
491
A geographical oddity
I have to agree with the comments taking issue with the font. The K just looks way bigger than the S...I would probably feel better if the S was a bit wider. Right now the first thing I think of is Agustus Gloop after going through the pipes - his fat got all smooshed together. Would it be unreasonable or inappropriate to try out the S&K with the same font as CPA?
 

Arnaud

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2005
430
0
The Moon
nbs2 said:
I have to agree with the comments taking issue with the font. The K just looks way bigger than the S...I would probably feel better if the S was a bit wider. Right now the first thing I think of is Agustus Gloop after going through the pipes - his fat got all smooshed together. Would it be unreasonable or inappropriate to try out the S&K with the same font as CPA?

The problem is that K's are often bigger than S's, especially in bold and more classical fonts with serif... The font of CPA might give the same disbalance! (Compare the P and the C for instance).

S&K

(In bold Times New Roman).
 

nbs2

macrumors 68030
Mar 31, 2004
2,719
491
A geographical oddity
Arnaud said:
The problem is that K's are often bigger than S's, especially in bold and more classical fonts with serif... The font of CPA might give the same disbalance! (Compare the P and the C for instance).

S&K

(In bold Times New Roman).
But, if you compare your TNR with the original, the two are at least somewhat more balanced. I'm not denying that there will always be some imbalance (unless you use terminal...hmmmm), but I just wonder if the two letters will demand something that provides more balance
 

Seasought

macrumors 65816
Nov 3, 2005
1,093
0
dogbone said:
This is the final version. There was much agonising over how to deal with the ampersand.

I would suggest adding some transparency to the ampersand. Also, can you convert the 'K' to outlines and shrink the width of the K a bit so that it's a bit more narrow (like the 'S'). It looks like the K is somewhat off in comparison to the 'S'.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.
 

dogbone

macrumors 68020
Original poster
I don't know why I always seem to get stuck with letters that don't logo together, (is it legal to use logo as a verb?). Last time it was AAC, try it, it's a crap combination.

OK I do tend to agree with everyone, I got to this font because all the other ampersands were so fugly.

Here's a thinned down 'K' which is better balanced with the 'S' unfortunately it sort of opens up the neg K space again, or does it?
 

Attachments

  • thin.gif
    thin.gif
    3.4 KB · Views: 151

dogbone

macrumors 68020
Original poster
How about this, I think it is an improvement. I'm never going to be able to do anything about the extra neg space to the right of the K unless I don't use an enclosing box.
 

Attachments

  • smallamp.gif
    smallamp.gif
    3.1 KB · Views: 137

flyfish29

macrumors 68020
Feb 4, 2003
2,175
4
New HAMpshire
Arnaud said:
On the other hand, the ampersand in yellow would pull the attention to 1) the ampersand, 2) the "accounting solutions" and finally 3) the "S" and "K", hence the name. Isn't it a little backward order :confused:
.

The above is EXACTLY TRUE! You want your business and "name" = S K to be front and center either by size or color.

Just to throw out some ideas- (not that I agree with all of them but it might spark another idea:
What about shortening to just accounting?

Making accounting larger with solutions smaller?

Keep the & a light blue, S K a screen of the gold and make the & much smaller?

Make the S and K overlap with a small & in white or light blue- then accounting much larger?

What about changing the company name to A & S Accounting Solutions...say it fast and yout will get the joke.:D

Hope some of this helps.
 

flyfish29

macrumors 68020
Feb 4, 2003
2,175
4
New HAMpshire
dogbone said:
How about this, I think it is an improvement. I'm never going to be able to do anything about the extra neg space to the right of the K unless I don't use an eclosing box.

I like the improvements but I still think that the accounting part is too small- If the letter part of the logo were catchy or something I would say it might be easy for people to identify with the "name" and know it is accounting, but really, I think most people will not remember the letters therefore you really need two things to happen- you need a very identifiable logo (which I think you are close to) and you need to convey the main business (acconting) very clearly.

What about making the logo just be S & K accounting and then have a short sentence that is included below or next to the logo like "Financial solutions for..." or "Financial Solutions for an ever changing world." or something like that. Then your logo is very identifiable, says your business and the extra text gives a soft message about the company.
Does this company have a niche at all or are they simply an accounting firm? That would be important to know. (I worked in advertising and marketing for 15 years before becoming an educator. If I had more time I would brainstorm more for you.)

good luck
 

dogbone

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Unfortunately their registered business name is S&K Accounting Solutions and I can't do anything about that.

It's 6:40 am here and the kookaburras have just started. I might try 'accounting solutions' on two lines and rework it tomorrow...er...later today.
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
If you want to draw the least attention to the ampersand, I'd suggest making it white, the same color as the S and K. That way it is blends in and is "camouflaged" by those letters.
 

Arnaud

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2005
430
0
The Moon
dejo said:
If you want to draw the least attention to the ampersand, I'd suggest making it white, the same color as the S and K. That way it is blends in and is "camouflaged" by those letters.

It might as well confuse more, now ? A big, white name.

What about thinning the Ampersand, i.e. keep a bold-looking typo the letters and the thinner looking typo for the Ampersand ? You can even mix different fonts, as long as they get close to each other.

I'd still keep a Serif typo though, it looks "classical and serious". A non-serif would be too modern for a company which takes care of your money... (It'd look like Enron to me !)

Proposal 251: S&K

...Ok, this one looks ugly, but you can play more with your own typos !

NB: 20 assistants, only one being really responsible for the logo... Good luck !
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.