It's graceful, delicate, and organic--all attributes that in a less enlightened time we classified as feminine. Your logo should be consistent with the work you do (and the tastes of the clients you hope to attract). If graceful, delicate, and organic are adjectives that describe the work you do and want to do, then this is not "too feminine."

When I look at this logo, I see SSS. I wouldn't have guessed DLS, and even after I read your post I had to strain to pick out the d and the l.

Ah, yes, I should probably clarify that friends were using "too feminine" as an engendered term but still, Mojo, you bring up a good point: my work isn't often this graceful nor delicate. Should I just go back to the drawing board?

You've got two things to think about:

1. The disconnect between how your work looks and how your logo looks

2. The possibility that readers may not recognize your initials in the current logo.

It's up to you to decide whether you can modify what you have, or whether you should make a fresh start.

i see three curly hairs... my apologies for that one. Maybe be a bit more straight forward with the letter shape?

Thanks for your help, Mojo and flooce. I suppose I will go back to the drawing board this weekend and let you guys know what happens from there.

I also see a curl of hair, only. No letters at all.
Would be interested to see the sketches of yours.
Come on.

Here are some updates! I've sketched out a hundred things and as soon as I start working with them in Adobe Illustrator I don't like them. Here's one concept I've been working with--does it have promise? Where should I go with it? I'm including three phases of its development to show you a little of the process (3 is the newest). I like the Escher element especially the last, #3, starts to connotate. I guess I just don't know if it's my style because it's rigid, but I think the logo also conveys adaptability which is definitely part of my work--I do a lot of different projects from solar energy to babies... How do I put that all in one logo!?

Interesting shapes, but I don't read them as DLS. The third one looks more like JlL to me.

Hmm thanks for the help James. Any idea where to go from here?

Can you say a bit more about what sort of impression you want the mark to make? For example, what 3 keywords should come to mind when people see your identity? How does the idea of a monogram support that message? Could you give some examples of your work or link to your portfolio? I do like the idea of suggesting a 3D form, and your last example seems to have the most potential in that direction.

Hi Luma! Thanks for your comment. So I suppose three keywords that would set me apart from others would be ADAPTABLE, INNOVATIVE, STYLISTIC. I have strong style, but design for a lot of different venues from solar energy corporations to baby books, and want to emphasize that in a logo. Mostly the work I do myself is more fun and "youthful" as I'm still in college. So I say adaptable in that I can design for what one needs me to design for. I'm innovative because I address whatever media in a way that will be most efficient while maximizing the third keyword, style. I have styles, not just one: I can design in a variety of ways. In short: versatility? I don't want my logo to be too rigid, too absent, but I also don't want it to be too graceful or too weak.

Here's a link to my outdated portfolio: DLS. Thanks in advance for the help!

After looking at your work and reading the above, I wonder if the latest round of ideas are too minimal and too geometric. I don't get those themes from your work. Perhaps something less abstract would be fitting, as I don't see a lot of abstraction in your portfolio. A monogram is already abstracted from the names it represents, and if you want people to get to your URL, you might need to emphasize your name. Designing a personal brand is one of the hardest tasks a designer does, so good luck!

Thanks for your help, Luma Vine. Back to the drawing board I suppose!

I stuck with this idea because I just wanted to make sure there I knew if there was something there. I played around and, after adding a soft edge, feel like this is beginning to describe me a little more. Any points of advice about any of these? Thanks in advance for the help!

I like it. It looks arabic.
You could take #14 and make the slanted line part of the S instead of the L, removing the vertical stroke of S and keeping L as a lowercase straight line.
By the way, there’s no need that one reads the logo as dls.

That's awesome because I'm an Arabic minor at school and am really getting into Arabic art and logo design. I'll try playing around with 14 like that, Riccard. What do you mean by "there's no need that one reads the logo as dls?" Just curious! Thanks again.

The logo needs only be unique enough that those that know it is your logo connect it immediately with you instead of a shoe boutique or a chandler's.

Great tip, Té. Thank you.

Riccard0, I took your idea and played with it a little and got the image on the bottom. I put it alongside #11, which was my favorite from the logo sheet I made. Thoughts? Too complicated? This also introduces problems for scaling, etc.

Edit: Also just noticing now how I have to rework the "3D" feel at the bottom of the logo, but don't worry about that yet! Just love to hear your thoughts.

I'm sorry but to me it still reads 'JIL', so I'd experiment with completely other forms: DLS is a real stretch. I do however like the 3-D execution a lot, if that can work with new letterforms?

I had in mind something more like this:

Yeah, I played with that but I really don't like the two vertical strokes because it always just connotes Twin Towers to me.

There's also this a possibility?

Edit: Should I fix up the line and increase the thickness of the line from the "d" to the right of the "L"? Right now it's a little screwy.