What about a lettering artist?

Michael

Do you think I should have the whole thing set in handletterings or just the ampersand?

I thought about it, but also acknowledge the conveniency in using a font, in case other things/word would be set in the same typeface..

I like how you are starting with the L&F mark. I think it could use a little tightening of the space between the L and F. "Stock" should be smaller so it properly aligns with L&F or it should expand beyond (and not just a smidge, enough so it looks intentional) on both sides. Personally I lean toward having it align but play with the design.

Set ampersands in every font you own and see which appeal to you. Look at samples from foundries, and practice drawing your own - you will strike upon an idea that inspires you and then develop it more.

You need to determine the name. Will it be Lost & Found Stock, or L&F Stock? Do you want to be able to use both - if so you need to work on both now. Your Dear Sarah samples are an ok start but using Dear Sarah for your L&F design might not work so well.

With the name Lost & Found it might be interesting to have your logotype look like it was put together by mixed pieces. By that I mean different typefaces. It's a great name for a stock collection. Maybe you should try old wood block letters or something that has a corrosive rubber stamp feel.

Keep working at it, would like to see more postings.

Sorry for replying so late

I would find a nice clean ampersand and have someone letter the words to the left and right. Tell them what you want and get a number of drafts to chose from.

Michael

Whenever i see dear sarah i think of pirates.

I love the idea though...i've been looking for some good old victorian photos for a current project - its not easy to find the right thing

some research into Victorian era signage i.e, those old painted billboards that some buildings still display would be helpful eh ... not to mention great fun.

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Paul Ducco
Graphic Design Melbourne

I really like paul's idea. Victorian signage style lettering would work really well, i especially like the feeling from the second image he posted.

Might also be interesting to have a look at emigre's brothers typeface, it has a nostalgic feel and some cool ampersand and 'and' devices too (although its not really victorian).

yeah it's a great image eh?

and, just cause I'm in the giving mood ... for a quirky take on it ... letterforms generated by some clever composition and cropping of photos of old objects - if that makes sense.

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Paul Ducco
Graphic Design Melbourne

Thanks for everyone's suggestions and comments! I tried some experiments with rubber stamps, but it didn't work out, at least for now.

Here's a new take on it, with three different frames plus a tiny on the right side:

These are lovely. The script has a victorian flair and the Ampersand in the circle gives it a modern freshness. Your color palette is elegant. My favorite is the third grouping with the double outline around the circle.

Are you still considering "L & F Stock" as well?

Thanks for commenting Kirsten! Why do you like the third one best? I'm a bit nervous that the third will end up too fuzzy n small sizes (seing as it has three rings instead of two in the first, and one in the second). But on the other hand, I find the second frame slightly boring as well. Maybe that's a good thing though with all the ornaments in the type.

What do you think about the tiny one? Is it too small and unreadable? Does the ampersand look a beer label when being filled with white?

To be honest, i really don't like it.

I don't understand the concept, theres far too much going on (too busy) and the ampersand is a blurry mess at small sizes (in all the versions). There is zero chance i would ever give my credit card info to a company branded like this as i would be worried about some 17 year old kid running off with my bank details.

Is it supposed to be Victorian? Because i don't get that at all. Its kind of country and western, reminds me of a belt buckle i bought in Nashville. Did you think about paul's idea? I really feel that has a lot of potential. i guess i'm just confused, i just don't understand what its trying to convey, what its supposed to mean.

Oh, and the colour (or lack thereof) needs more thought - too bland, imagine it on a an A4 cream/white letterhead....yikes!

Actually David, you were the one that introduced the concept 'Victorian', not me. I agree with most of what you said, but maybe you're judging the logo development too heavily under your search for "good old victorian photos for a current".

When you mention belt & buckle from Nashville, you're actually not spot on for some of the photos in the collection! It's a diverse body of photos, most of them having a sense of melancholy, humour & nostalgia in them – in my mind.

I leaned towards a script type because I wanted to associate with the signatures people have put on their old photos from time to time (and which the collection preserved in the digital form). Also, the obvious historical and nostalgic aspect of it.

By the way, people seemed to presume I was the creator of the collection, but this is not the case.

Agreeing with David, my biggest problem seems to be the fuzziness at small sizes. I guess this is a general problem with script-type, so I'm a bit uncertain what to do. Could you perhaps explain more in detail why you like the signage-approach? I tried to make a logo with rubber stamps, but couldn't use the technique properly, I might need some practise. Maybe later again..

I'd try a much thicker script that might look like the metal logo on an old camera. I think something a bit more substantial-looking would help give the impression of a large collection. I really like the collage idea too, especially if you could make it from letters in images from the photo collection.

The photo signature is a nice idea, i'm just not getting that from your latest revs though. If you wanted to explore some alternatives to the script approach, this might work...

Not so much the signage designs but more the undertone of nostalgia and humour that comes from the typeface, especially if you still want to do the initials. Would be interesting to combine with the drop shadow technique illustrated in Paul's second photo.
its brothers from emigre.....http://www.emigre.com/EFfeature.php?di=83

That's some great stuff David, thanks. I did check out Brothers the first time you posted it, but didn't notice the type specimen and all the little cool "and" & "vs."-style symbols.

I actually thought about doing an "and" with two ornaments instead of an ampersand, it just didn't seem to work in small sizes. I think this is where the photo collage idea fails as well: it won't communicate the photos in small sizes. Unfortunately, the logo will appear mostly in this size - on a website. Too bad, because there are so many cool approaches to this logo, just that they take up some space to be justified..

Malte, I still like your last posting. The ampersand was going to need an alternate solution to work at the smaller sizes though. To me your latest design said elegant and by-gone era. However, after reading more descriptions of the photo collection that direction may not be the most suitable. The formal script is sophisticated, but not at all like the actual writing you would find on someone's old family photographs. I do very much like David's suggestion of using Brothers, a definite cool vintage feel. You are right, there are so many directions to go in. Look at the collection, what adjectives would you use to describe it? nostalgic? quirky? vintage? elegant? Victorian? retro? funky? moody? off beat? whatever that essence is try to incorporate it into your design. The palette is subtle (some say boring) but I thought it was appropriate for the subject - old photographs - black, white, gray, sepia, beige. Looking forward to your next post.