5th down is my fav.
where the 'l' joins the 'b'
not sure about the 'design solutions' part.

great looking mark!

thanks for the response victor. are you not sure about the treatment of "design solutions" or about the wording of it?

A word of caution to consider... if you go with the lowercase "lb", you'll be inviting the more familiar connections to the abbreviation the word pound, as in weight.

weird. i can't believe i never realized that about my initials. I've never looked at them as pound. it doesn't bother me though, I think I'll leave it.

you are absolutely correct Asvetic.
i didn't even realize, but then again, i'm used to the metric system...

Yea, the symbol definitely reads as 'pound'

Definetly the first typo is better than the second one, a finer mark that speaks a lot about you.
The second one looks like an attempt to be modern.

Regarding the secondary marks I much prefer the first option on the right, simple and clean, you can put a circle around it but you don't really need it.
It can remind of a pound sign but it also looks like a "u" to me it feels more like a greek caracter...

Regarding colors, well you can do better that what you present here...have you thought about an absence of color? maybe a two tone composition in b & w ( two shades of grey ) or a carefully chosen color ( maybe a pantone ) that you can decline in your communication, hope this helps

;-)
R.

Rodrigo Aguadé
www.mynameisrabo.com

thanks Rodrigo. for a second i thought everyone was going to get hung up on the pound issue. i appreciate the critique and suggestions.

I've decided to let go of the second option and continue perfecting the first. I agree that color isn't there yet. it's kind of arbitrary at the moment. i will try out your suggestions and post my work soon.

to address the pound issue since it seems to be an important one. I agree, "lb" is an abbreviation for pound. and alone the symbol may be read that way. but if i can establish a strong enough brand i think i can redefine how people read "lb". the symbols are not so be used by themselves. they would be a secondary element to the logo. if i can establish a strong presence in the name ellbee i don't think anyone would read "lb" as pound. and if they do...well as a friend of mine pointed out...maybe it just symbolizes that my design has weight.

if i seem cranky, sorry. i just thought i would get better feedback here. the lack of response is disappointing, aside from rodrigo's.

Nice designs, I like the first version best, as well as it's 2 color versions. I'm not 100% sure about the terminal of the l surprinting the black b. It's so delicate, it may be tough to trap, and possibly do some funky things when printed. The lb does make me think of pounds but what I find more of a challenge is going from ellbee to lb. When I sound it in my head of course it makes sense. But it's a little jarring visually - in seeing it, the natural inclination is to think the initials should be eb. That said, I keep going back and forth between the two like it's a private joke, and getting people to spend so much time thinking about your logo isn't a bad thing.

Regarding the tagline "design solutions": The word "solution" when not relating to an liquid mixture of ionized solids in a solvent, or an answer to a specific problem, has come in not so recent years to read as a marketing gobbledygook substitute for "thing", that is, it is devoid of meaning. If you are a designer who believes that you are in the business of solving your clients' visual communications problems, keep the tagline. Otherwise, give it a second thought.

kristin- you're probably right about the trapping issue. do you think it would be bad to use different versions of the logo? i don't really want to give that up and can probably use it for most purposes. maybe i just use a solid colored one when printing the logo small. i guess the first step is to see what happens when i print it. i appreciate your feedback on using the lb and ellbee together. i'll give it some thought.

cuttlefish- i was actually just trying to brainstorm something to replace "design solutions". the reason i chose solutions is because through my experiences, one thing i've come to realize that defines me is my passion for solving problems. any type of problem really, but especially in my field. but you are right about the marketing gobbledygook, i know since i just left a marketing firm who used "creative solutions". i'm having trouble coming up with something else. i'm leaning away from something generic like "designs", "graphic design", etc. I don't know. Any suggestions? Should I just go with "Print & Web Design"?

I've narrowed it down to the one version and have worked on some different versions of the main logo. I'm experimenting with color placement right now and also tried a slight variation on the typography. I've picked two pantones but haven't decided for sure on them yet.

thanks for all the feedback so far. i look forward to any suggestions of criticism on this next round.

Lindsey

Choices...mmmm

The first group of designs looks more straight foward
The second one more creative and free, but, I don't think the spacing between characters is correct, some fine tunning needed.

Personally I rather do simple and clean so I would keep the first group probably option right on the second row & left on the third row.

Regarding color, this is the best of the options you presented earlier, but, to me it looks very institutional, too proper and not necessarily stylish or modern, ( this might be a good thing , I don't know what kind of clients you wish to attrack )

Also some of the coloring options you present are quickly dismissed because they make you read something that just isn't there, such as 3rd row right which reads "el bee" "el" being "the" in spanish, not sure an image of a spanish bee is what you are trying to communicate...lol

Design solutions is by far more stylish that print & web design , print & web sounds more narrow less creative etc...

Design alone might be a good option, or design + something else.

Rodrigo Aguadé
www.mynameisrabo.com

While experimenting with color placement the "el bee" thing really started to stand out to me, and it was really bothering me. i had a problem with having "bee" in there in the first place. So I've done a few variations with a different spelling. I think I'm going to go with it unless people seem to think it doesn't read correctly.

i also messed around with some different ideas for the type. not sure how i'm feeling about them yet. the colors are also not definite yet, i need to narrow the options down a bit before i add another variable into the mix.

am i going in a better direction? or am i just lost now?

I'm liking the first set best still.

they just feel more refined.

----------
Paul Ducco
Graphic Design Melbourne

I agree with Ratbaggy.

First set is best, + refined.

Rodrigo Aguadé
www.mynameisrabo.com

Ratbaggy & Rabogato,
when you say first set, are you talking about the very first drafts i posted? if so, which one? or are you talking about #1 from the latest post?

Thanks!

Im talking about the very first draft.
first row B&W ;-)

Rodrigo Aguadé
www.mynameisrabo.com

Nice stuff. I think maybe I would smooth out or adjust the small tap on the "e". I'm sure it looks great in larger sizes but in the examples you are showing it doesn´t really work. Or is this just me?

I prefer your 10/15/08 post of concepts, specifically the first group, bottom left.

-----------------------
Michael Browers
www.michaelbrowers.com

>> Nice stuff. I think maybe I would smooth out or adjust the small tap on the “e”.

Exactly what I thought. They add visual clutter, and I would remove them.

Your original post was strongest. ellbee To avoid trapping problems try switching the colors so ell is black and bee is in a color.

I agree with Quincunx the small tap on the "e" adds visual clutter.

Rodrigo Aguadé
www.mynameisrabo.com

So I think I'm set on colors and color placement. I thought I was set on spelling but it seems others like the original "ellbee" better. So, here's a version of both with the original "e"s and with the small tap removed. I really liked that characteristic of the "e" but I also agree that it doesn't work at a small size. Would it be weird to have an alternate logo for printing at a small size?

I've come up with a quick mockup so you can see the two different spellings in action. The left has the tap on the "e" while the right doesn't.

Kirsten, I agree about using the black over the color, luckily I also think it looks best that way anyhow. Two me, with the syllables in two different colors it plays up the idea that it standing for the intials anyhow.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and help. I think I'm coming to a final here. Just a little bit more tweaking.

I think the e works best without the little thingy on it. Though, you have to slightly kern the pairs el and ee tighter, because the customization of the e has made small gaps between those pairs.

agreed on the kerning. i definitely have some refining to do once i choose between the two spellings. i also think i like it better without the "little thingies".

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. It's very helpful to get some feedback. I'll post a final and my website where you can see it in action once it's done.

I really like what you have ended up with, the strongest one was the 5th design from the first batch. Nice work