Do you know all the ways the logo will be used? Will it be used small, will it be used in Black and White, will it be used in one PMS color? If its yes to any of these questions then loose the gradients and make it work as a vector mark. Its always easier to add gradients to more complicated packaging than to dumb it down if you have gradients.

Good suggestion. Right now they are not doing any print pieces, just the website. But in anticipation that they will at some point, loosing the gradient may be a good idea. Thanks. Any comments about the actual logo?

I like them both. I think it’s good that you’ve gone for 2 completely different logos too.

Although I do agree with Dan (above), and I’m generally not a fan of gradients and shadows etc, i think the reflection on the 2nd one works well. It’d be a shame to lose that as it finishes off the logo nicely.

One other thing (which you may have allready be aware of) is that the ‘J’ in the first one isn’t a capital (or doesn’t look like one) as your client wanted/suggested.

The 2nd logo visually seperates as ‘m Jambo’ wheras the first one seems more like ‘m jam bo’. could this be a thing to consider also?

Cheers Leah!

The first one is definitely livelier than the second. The ‘o’ leaning on the ‘b’ gives the second one a more layed back, serene feel. I tend to appreciate that quality in advertising in general, but I guess it depends on the intent, audience, etc.

I agree with WhitePepper that the ‘J’ in the first one does not read as a capital though.

I think you have to ask yourself who the logo is meant to comnnect with & what it needs to say about the company. I think both logos are quite solid. Ultimately the question of which one aught to be used or if you need something else should be based on intent. How do you want to be seen & by who? Does either of these match that purpose?

Thank you for your suggestions. I have gone and capitalized the ‘J’ in the first logo concept. I have also done a version without a gradient. The third version, I extended the tail on the J. Please let me know which way reads as a ‘J’ better.

Hum, not seeing where I attach the new file…

If you install Flash 8 on your computer a new inline feature of typophile will become available. Then you can do this:

Or you can edit the 1st post & add an image to your original post.

Thanks Eben. I attached the revisions to my original post.

Hi, Leah. I think the color variation in second version (from top) causes readability problems. I think the top version can work for all media with very few changes. For instance, you can add a hard 20% gray shadow and remove the gradient for black and white use, but use the gradient and the soft shadow for everything else.

I like the third version on your new posting but with one revision don’t connect the j and b. Stop the horizontal rule at the end of the m. That way it will say Jam bo.

Hello Miss Tiffany. As one of your students from many moons ago I regard your opinion in high esteem. Thank you for your suggestions.

Dan, I have posted a third revision (on my original post) with the horizontal rule of the J ending at the m. What do you think?

I agree with Dan about the m especially the 2nd one. Maybe leave the tail on the 1st one. Also, the letters don’t align quite perfectly. I wonder about tweaking the outlines so they do align?

Bringing the m&b together in the 2nd case will give the right reading cues. I have some idea about this word should sound - I lived in Tanzania as a kid. Jambo or mJambo is specifically from Swahili, a language spoken mostly in East Africa. The 1st m should have a small stop.

I much prefer this latest one (with the j ending at the m). The word visually seperates into it’s syllabalic (is this a word?) sound m-jam-bo. Cool!

Love the latest version. It reads clearly and is a blank canvas for effects depending on how it will be used. Nice work

Thank you for your words of encouragment Dan, WhitePepper and Eben. I have altered the spacing a little as per Eben’s suggestions. Dan, great suggestions on ending the J, I think it is a significant improvement. Eben, I don’t think I’m totally following you on your other suggestions though. Can you explain further?

(revisions posted to original post)

Leah, I wonder if the serif on both m aren’t working against the design. I also wonder if you’ve tried the cross bar, which originates from the j can’t be lowered. What if you added a little of a lead-in on that stroke to more emphatically make it read as a j?

Tiffany, thanks for your suggestion. I think getting rid of the serif on the second m was beneficial. I also lowered the bar on the J. I tried adding an extention on the cross bar of the J on the left side, but I decided I didn’t think it helped the overall appearance. What are everyone’s thoughts on this newest revision?

(revisions on original post)

Leah. I think the spacing is getting much better. Crazy idea. What if the serif on the first m was on the other side? Sort of following the same direction as the j? I think you need to add a little more space in between the mb pair. Visually, try to balance the vertical spaces with the horizontal.

Flipping the serif was a great idea. I think the spacing feels much better now with it like that.

(revisions on original post)

Leah, I don’t see any new files. What is the file name?

It’s there now.

Re.: Readability.:
Some may see / read ‘mSambo’, no.?

Dav, formlos

I like the way you choose for this logo, but there is a problem with the J. As Dav wrote, some people, like me could read «msambo, mlambo». mJambo is not clear as it should be. If the most important thing is the readability, you will have to work on that J. At that time almost all your sketches show the J join with the B. I’ll try something else.

Keep going.

André

I see the potential confusion with the J. I’ve been playing around with some options, this is the best one I’ve come up with so far.

(Jchange.jpg on original post)

I love the new version, it works for me. It has style and reads.

I like one serif the best. The others are starting to look & feel fussy to me. The new ones also lack the suggestion of the brief stop that one serif has. It’s more suggestive of the swahili as it’s spoken. So…I vote for one serif! I actually think it’s ready to use.

So Eben, you don’t like the serif on the J now? Did you think it was fine readabilty-wise before? I have posted (hopefully one of the last) another revision. I made the spacing between letters, consistant with the space in the ‘a’ and ‘o’. Also, I cropped off the serif on the J so it would fit the angle of the ‘m’.

(spacing.jpg)

I wonder if he isn’t talking about the original m at the beginning.

Can you push that new stroke a little farther?

Yea, I like the new ‘J’ as well, and, I think it works way better than the ‘S’ one.. :)

Dav, formlos

I suppose that yes, I do not agree with Dav,( formlos). The old J seems fine to me. I don’t think thge new one *bites* or anything. But If you are looking for a more J like J I wonder if you can find another way. The current Serif on the cap J points back and holds my eye. But even so, my main suggestion is still that you restore the serif to the right side of the the 1st m. In the case of the J, I wonder if a twist could be introduced instead of a serif. Or a wave in the line. Sort of a coca-cola wave. It could be very funk fresh. Or a shorter serif. It is tasty though. In spite of my ideas about how it might be better I think this is an interesting and strong solution. But it is easy to accept very good. I think you should push on to great.