Also i forgot to point out, in the top one the text is slightly heavier than the other three. I thought the text overall looked a little too heavy compared to the leaves (if you stand back you'll see it), but I couldnt think of a better way to fix that. Im not totally happy with the thinned out text on the lower ones, i dont think its thin enough to balance, but if i thin it more it looks worse. I couldnt think of a good way to make the leaves bolder.

Personally, I'd go with the first option. The double leaves sort of wrap around each other, giving a feeling of warmth and trust, while a single lonely leaf is just that, a single lonely leaf. Also, in my opinion, having the leaves next to the name makes it feel a bit tacked on, almost as an afterthought, while putting them on top of the 'i' makes them feel a bit more integrated. The difference isn't that great, and there is something to be said for having it on the same line as the text. There's something about the leaf design itself that puts me off a bit, though. Maybe you could look at some other leaf shapes to see if you can find some other forms that work well.

hm. Yeah pretty much everyone has been telling me the two leaves, and i think i agree with you on that. As for the right side or on top, I was sort of worried that on top of the I it looked like a logo that i'd seen too many times before.... maybe im screwed either way on that though. I've been trying to fix the leaf with other shapes. one friend suggested turning it into a curved leaf, like one folded over on itself, but it didnt look right, and started to need too many colors for my liking.. also it wouldnt fit with there being two leaves now.. but ill keep experimenting with more involved leaf shapes

I too think that the first option is the best of the bunch.

Have you considered trying it with two-story a and g characters? That might help to balance out what might be an overabundance of wide-open counters.

oh thats a good idea. in my sketches i was using a two-story g, but then the font i picked had a one-story... and i got lazy... :/

you're right though there are a lot of open counters.

So i built the two-story g and it looks too complicated for the logo i think. the rest of the font is so simple, it really sticks out. that might be fixed if i put in two story a's but i dont know.. maybe i just made a crappy g, though im not sure how id fix it at the moment

It looks like it's hanging too low. It should be aligned with the top of the 'a'. Also, the top bowl of the 'g' might be a little large.

- Lex

lex, fixed the g with your suggestions... im still not convinced it looks better than the origional g though

The top bowl is too big. Check some faces that have that two storey g.

I liked it better without the two story g the line up of all the open counters made for an interesting visual rhytm - very soothing - this is too much goin on.

I think im starting to agree with you hughfire.

I fixed the top bowl on the g (yeah.... yeah im an idiot for not seeing that in the first place)...

and it still looks too complicated. it kinda destroys the simplicity of the whole thing. theres still something that i dont like with the logo though, it still seems so common. but im not sure where to go anymore. i guess ill keep playing

A smaller top bowl for the g with a wider (and slightly taller) bottom bowl and an angled ear like the bottom serif on the a might help, the curve of the n seems a bit steep at about 2 o'clock and the lefthand side of the o seems to have a kink in it. I like the double leaf but the darker one looks a bit strange not being symmetrical.
Tim
Edit bit of a cross-post going on, I still prefer a two storey g because it is more of an organic shape

First of all, I think the overall idea works, and I like the two leaves. Number one is also my preference.

However, I think that if there's one thing here that can be improved, it's the choice of typeface. I find this face very "inorganic" -- no modulation, no torque, too "mathematical". I think the face should feel natural, and this one feels artificial to me.

Here's a very quick rework using Cronos. This is just to try and make my point; I'm not suggesting you use Cronos.

wow. yeah i totally agree. That looks a million tiems better, and it solves my issue of reworking the g.

I'll look at more typefaces. I think that one might give it sort of an asian flare, so maybe it wont work, which is fine, you said you werent suggesting it anyway, but it doest make the point.

Thanks!

I think the leaves still need some work. The top leaf ends at too fine of a point at the top. It will disappear at any size smaller than what has been shown.

howabout these?

so I changed up the font and fooled with the leaves, got into some more tree-ish shapes

I think the three leaves look very good in 1B small, but a bit overpowering in 1B large. Perhaps you could do two "optical weights" for the logo: one, with smaller leaves, for use above a certain size; the other, just like 1B small, for small sizes.

The face still doesn't look very organic to me. Just brainstorming with a free font (quick & dirty rework, lacking proper kerning etc etc):

(Font: http://www.dafont.com/ogirema.font . It's free, but I can't guarantee that it's not "inspired" on someone else's work.)

The three leaf configuration works best IMO.

I think the sizes of the leaves could be scaled down a bit.

The leaves are supposed to be an accent, right? If so, I say go with a two leaf version.

- Lex

@lex yeah they are.. yeah i stuck with the 2 leaf version.
@erik I tried giving the text a little more torque. stuck with the old font but i changed it up. not sure if all the letters are torqued properly, some seem weighted weird, but also some of the weird weights are why it seems to work

thoughts?

hey zach! nice mark there..
I think you're right though with the torque.. at some letters it seems a little strange.. (c and n in particular)

keep on pushing it!

cheers mike

See, I wasnt sure because I kind of felt like the n and the c sort of pushed the organic and not perfectly computerish style, maybe more so than the rest of the letters. And I didn't know if i should be making the n and c more like the rest of the letters... or the rest of the letters more like the n and c.

yeah.. that's true zach, but you gotta decide whether you want to go in the organic or the clean corporate direction. atm you've got a hybrid which looks a bit like unfinished or sloppy work.. depending on the clients wish for portrayal you should decide into which direction you'd like to go..

regardless of which way you choose, i'm sure something exciting will come out ;)

So heres the final:

clients are very happy with it. I fixed up the n and c and one kerning issue.

also, and kinda funny, i noticed this on tv the other day and hiked out to walmart to check it out:

Sorry about the TERRIBLE picture quality (camera phone and i left the actual one i stole to scan at my girlfriends house) but yeah. wow right? its not exactly the same font as my original design (actually i think the one i picked is a little nicer), but the terrible designers at walmart practically went with my first idea. creepy.

SO glad i changed up the font. thankgod. thanks guys!

ogirema is free, but it really looks like Christiana (Berthold/Adobe)

+

I think you're better off researching another symbol than leaves. So many companies use them...