Indeed, Verizon is one of the ugliest logos out there. That said, it's unique enough to be readily identifiable in the marketplace.

What you have is a start, but is a fairly generic form/concept. I think you need to spend some more time further exploring ideas.

And Gotham is a great typeface, but these days, it might warrant a bit of a push away from it. There's going to be a lot of student portfolios coming out the door with Gotham everywhere.

I like the third one. Focusing on the link seems to be a good idea, because Verizon is known for their strong connection (except on the left side of my room). However, the circles jumble together a bit, seeing as how they are all the same stroke width. Try varying the strokes, or eliminating the outer two circles all together and focusing on that one link.

Another idea would be to focus on the "network" premise, as they seem to be big on that right now.

Its funny. I work for an interactive Agency that does all of Verizon's online advertisement and web pages. Yes the logo is terrible. Myriad Pro is their corporate face if you care to include that (or it could be interesting to turn away from that completely).

@aluminum: Yeah that logo is pretty ugly especially how they highlight the Z. Oh and the way the dot of the "i" sits bothers me. There are 2 versions actually. One where the V's ends tapers off and another where it fades away at the ends.

I agree with the complaint that its a little generic. Why not take the company's history as a starting point. They are the second biggest phone company in the world and actually offer the fastest form of internet in the US (if FiOS is available in your city). That could be another point.

@aluminum again: I hope you are wrong about students and Gotham. I just branded a start up company with Gotham rounded. Oh well

@Pentapus Unfortunately I think he's right, I just used Gotham for a companies logotype as well, and have noticed quite a few others since then.

Here are some refinements I made.

I like the original third one, but I find that the uniformity of the line width in the design, and the uniformity in stroke width in the text leave me feeling very cold and as though I am looking at a machine.

I think that although technically, this logo is well executed, I feel that adding certain flair to it could much improve the experience and message it communicates.

What if the circles had a varying width, one thicker part and one thinner part?

What if the type used a slightly more human-friendly typeface?

Play with it, I don't think it's done, but I do think you're definitely on to something good here too!

I might be in the minority but I like the new version 2.
The 3 circles seem like circles for the sake of design. I know you are going for the communication theme. I guess these are waves or signals being cast out? Its a little abstract. It doesn't make me think twice.

The 2 rings feel like they actual mean something. Perhaps a dialog between 2 sources. Play that up maybe.

http://www.logopond.com is a great resource for logo trends and examples.

Here's the latest. I think I'm most partial to 3a + 3b. Feedback is much appreciated : ) Thanks.

I'm seeing two words; VERIZ and ON. Also, with its pure forms, I'm thinking this direction is a little too modern as a replacement for the real Verizon logo. They have to appeal to a very large group of people. I don't think you're tackling that part of the challenge of a Verizon logo redesign.

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Nick Hladek

I agree with the bolding making a separation between the 'Veriz' and the 'On'. I've seen that used most publicly in Apple's branding as a delimiter between words:

And the other place I've seen this is even more serious when you consider the nature of the Business: Bell Canada, a very popular Telecommunications company started by Alaxander Graham Bell (inventor of the telephone) himself.

Bell recently went through a change in corporate identity, and has turned heads, especially in the design community with their new website. The entire new campaign and branding also focuses on the emboldening of any 'er's in the text, and because Verizon and Bell are in the same industry, I think at that point that would be fresh in any designers mind when viewing your logo.

Now, I highly doubt you intended this, but if I were you now that word is out, I think I would change it just so the next person who comes along (and may not be as open-minded or forgiving) doesn't just assume you ripped off some Canadian telcom company for your logo.

Best of luck, I wanna see what you come up with, cheers!

updated logo with color. comments welcome.