New WATMM Heading

i like the new style/design, but, think "we" and "makers" shouldn't really be the only big words there.

should've made "music" big as well. but i like the letterstyle.

and it's good that the quick links to all the other parts of the forum are at the top again. and the little dot star thing that's next to threads you've posted in so you can just click it and go to the first unread post quickly. - much better.

  On 4/16/2012 at 6:14 PM, gmanyo said:

  On 4/16/2012 at 4:33 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 4/15/2012 at 9:55 PM, jefferoo said:

My "minimalist" contribution.

 

I like the use of the logo as the "W" - perhaps I should do a custom font and incorporate the logo like that...

 

 

 

It seems gimmicky to me, like highlighting "art" in "department" for "art department", or mixing words horizontally and vertically like a crossword puzzle. On top of this, it took me awhile to understand that the logo was even supposed to be the W, and I was only able to do that because I already knew that the logo is a W. The logo itself seems a little distorted, too; the top looks condensed to me for some reason.

 

The white stands out more than the black when put against the dark blue, making it seem like "EREHEUSICAKERS" instead of "WATMM"; WATMM should be instantly noticeable, but it isn't. I actually had to look at it for a bit to even read it. And not putting spaces in "YOURELECTRONICMUSICRESOURCE" just seems like a bad idea to me, especially when paired with the confusing title. If I didn't already know what WATMM stood for and that the tagline of the site was "Your Electronic Music Resource" it would take me ages to figure it out.

 

I would suggest tweaking the color palate. The font looks alright, though, but I'd still try some more things.

 

Sorry, I don't want to be mean, but I think your logo could definitely use some work; I want to give constructive feedback, but I guess I'm a bit harsh.

I don't give a fuck. I'm not a graphic designer. You can make those changes if you want. Have at it.

For the record, I think your issue withe the logo is a valid one. It's a little hard to tell its the "W", but I think that mostly has to do with the canted angle. I incorporated it into the title because I thought it looked wierd being so close to the "W" in "We".

You spelt 'canted' wrong.

  On 4/16/2012 at 7:46 PM, spratters said:

You spelt 'canted' wrong.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

No, I didn't.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&q=canted+angle&oq=canted+angle&aq=0&aqi=g4g-v1&aql=&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.1.0.0l4j0i15.4198164l4210723l0l4213262l12l12l0l1l1l0l515l515l5-1l1l0.frgbld.&mvs=0

like the logo very much. the colours are better than before, but a bit more amateur.

mmm loooking [quite] good

I played around with what could be the rough idea of the logo and font.

The logo:

the circle presents the globe and the warm analog sound (the sinewave is a representation of a circular movement). Inside there are waveforms that are also letters. The varied shapes communicate diversity and the two sides of the same notion: "We" and "Music" Which is the same form flipped vertically.

It's an idea that needs some more refinements, but I'd like to see what Joyrex and others have to say about it.

oh', i think that's quite good godwin

Gdowin you have my vote.

  On 4/16/2012 at 7:57 PM, jefferoo said:

  On 4/16/2012 at 7:46 PM, spratters said:

You spelt 'canted' wrong.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

No, I didn't.

http://www.google.co...0.frgbld.&mvs=0

 

T'was a joke. Hence the

don't mind your take on the logo godwin, but not the rest of the header font and all.

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:24 AM, Godwin Austen said:

I played around with what could be the rough idea of the logo and font.

 

The logo:

the circle presents the globe and the warm analog sound (the sinewave is a representation of a circular movement). Inside there are waveforms that are also letters. The varied shapes communicate diversity and the two sides of the same notion: "We" and "Music" Which is the same form flipped vertically.

 

It's an idea that needs some more refinements, but I'd like to see what Joyrex and others have to say about it.

 

 

this one looks great but I prefer the new grey / black skin to the blue one

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:24 AM, Godwin Austen said:

I played around with what could be the rough idea of the logo and font.

 

The logo:

the circle presents the globe and the warm analog sound (the sinewave is a representation of a circular movement). Inside there are waveforms that are also letters. The varied shapes communicate diversity and the two sides of the same notion: "We" and "Music" Which is the same form flipped vertically.

 

It's an idea that needs some more refinements, but I'd like to see what Joyrex and others have to say about it.

 

 

this one!

this concept is really great. I would buy a t-shirt if this would become the official logo

  On 4/22/2012 at 12:10 PM, o00o said:

 

this concept is really great. I would buy a t-shirt if this would become the official logo

Godwin's suggestion is quite awesome, I like the minimal design a lot.

  On 4/22/2012 at 4:33 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

  On 4/22/2012 at 12:10 PM, o00o said:

 

this concept is really great. I would buy a t-shirt if this would become the official logo

/thread

and maybe also a transparent grid behind just like a triangle-wave graph...

  On 4/22/2012 at 9:45 AM, spratters said:

  On 4/16/2012 at 7:57 PM, jefferoo said:

  On 4/16/2012 at 7:46 PM, spratters said:

You spelt 'canted' wrong.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

No, I didn't.

http://www.google.co...0.frgbld.&mvs=0

 

 

T'was a joke. Hence the

Oh.

  On 4/22/2012 at 6:06 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

  On 4/22/2012 at 4:33 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

  On 4/22/2012 at 12:10 PM, o00o said:

 

this concept is really great. I would buy a t-shirt if this would become the official logo

/thread

would be cool to see a triangle wave instead of a sine wave, maybe it even work better as a W

and maybe also a transparent grid behind just like a triangle-wave graph...

I personally like the sine wave a lot.

Good work!

yeah the sine wave is more diagrammatically related to electronic music that a triangle wave, but it's not gonna happen cause joyrex has to make the logo for his site

  On 4/22/2012 at 6:06 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

would be cool to see a triangle wave instead of a sine wave, maybe it even work better as a W

and maybe also a transparent grid behind just like a triangle-wave graph...

Well there are quite some companies that use similar aesthetics (Westinghouse comes to mind first), but since WATMM is not in direct competition with any (apart from XLTronic I think there is no 'competition' in sense of market shares, etc) I decided to play around with this one....

I know that we all like some square or triangle waveforms as well as sinewaves, but in this visual case, it just seemed so right to have the sinewave. There was no intention at disciminating styles, etc. It's just that sometimes I really struggle to find meanings in shapes when I make logos for companies. Sometimes they are so bland, uninteresting, and generic that it's almost impossible to find the right visual solution. So in this case the opportunity showed iteslf out, almost like offering itself to come to life :) There is the circle/world, there is a community of people making digital/analog music, there are organic sounds, there is our ear that picks up air vibrations...

I didn't have time to work on the details (like character kerning) so that still needs some work.

edit: messed-up the quotations...

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:24 AM, Godwin Austen said:

I played around with what could be the rough idea of the logo and font.

 

The logo:

the circle presents the globe and the warm analog sound (the sinewave is a representation of a circular movement). Inside there are waveforms that are also letters. The varied shapes communicate diversity and the two sides of the same notion: "We" and "Music" Which is the same form flipped vertically.

 

It's an idea that needs some more refinements, but I'd like to see what Joyrex and others have to say about it.

 

 

Wow - I really like this - it's even better than my logo as I can see the "M" as well as the "W" in it, bringing more of "WATMM" into it!

The font is all right - it's suitable, but a bit plain - I'd like to see if I can do a variation of your logo, Jules' treatment of the "are the", the original font I used (before this one) and the current font (taking into account some of the suggestions about the spacing and that funny "R"), and see what I can come up with - or you're welcome to as well (that goes for anybody) - I can probably reproduce the logo, but if you have it in a vector format (EPS, AI, SVG) please PM or email me it so I can ensure the spacing and weights are reproduced accurately.

  On 4/22/2012 at 6:06 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

  On 4/22/2012 at 4:33 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

  On 4/22/2012 at 12:10 PM, o00o said:

 

this concept is really great. I would buy a t-shirt if this would become the official logo

/thread

would be cool to see a triangle wave instead of a sine wave, maybe it even work better as a W

and maybe also a transparent grid behind just like a triangle-wave graph...

It might be interesting to see different waveforms used as variants of the logo, although a square wave wouldn't make a good "W" (it might be possible though). Also, I think keeping it simple (rule one of logo design) by not adding the grid would be better, because at small sizes, the grid would get lost (I'm a bit concerned by that alternate wave in Godwin's logo in that respect).

  On 4/22/2012 at 6:41 PM, dr lopez said:

yeah the sine wave is more diagrammatically related to electronic music that a triangle wave, but it's not gonna happen cause joyrex has to make the logo for his site

Not true at all - I listen to suggestions, and a lot of good things on this site are due to input from others - I have no problem accepting a better logo than the one I made, nor do I have any issues collaborating with anyone on a design. Give me a little credit.

  On 4/22/2012 at 6:44 PM, Godwin Austen said:

  On 4/22/2012 at 6:06 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

would be cool to see a triangle wave instead of a sine wave, maybe it even work better as a W

and maybe also a transparent grid behind just like a triangle-wave graph...

Well there are quite some companies that use similar aesthetics (Westinghouse comes to mind first), but since WATMM is not in direct competition with any (apart from XLTronic I think there is no 'competition' in sense of market shares, etc) I decided to play around with this one....

 

I know that we all like some square or triangle waveforms as well as sinewaves, but in this visual case, it just seemed so right to have the sinewave. There was no intention at disciminating styles, etc. It's just that sometimes I really struggle to find meanings in shapes when I make logos for companies. Sometimes they are so bland, uninteresting, and generic that it's almost impossible to find the right visual solution. So in this case the opportunity showed iteslf out, almost like offering itself to come to life :) There is the circle/world, there is a community of people making digital/analog music, there are organic sounds, there is our ear that picks up air vibrations...

 

I didn't have time to work on the details (like character kerning) so that still needs some work.

 

edit: messed-up the quotations...

My original concept was the idea of a beat line or wave stylized into the "W" shape, and not specifically a kind of waveform, but I really like the execution of yours. I recall the same feelings of frustration in trying to come up with a solid logo for a client (the worst are clients whose identity is their brand, and creating a logo from their name and avoiding the cliches associated with that). Your reasoning on the design is sound, and I think it's better than mine. Since WATMM doesn't have that much of an established "brand" as of yet (only a few releases on WATMM Records carry the logo), there's no reason it can't be changed or reinvented at this stage.

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:36 PM, Joyrex said:

Wow - I really like this - it's even better than my logo as I can see the "M" as well as the "W" in it, bringing more of "WATMM" into it!

 

The font is all right - it's suitable, but a bit plain - I'd like to see if I can do a variation of your logo, Jules' treatment of the "are the", the original font I used (before this one) and the current font (taking into account some of the suggestions about the spacing and that funny "R"), and see what I can come up with - or you're welcome to as well (that goes for anybody) - I can probably reproduce the logo, but if you have it in a vector format (EPS, AI, SVG) please PM or email me it so I can ensure the spacing and weights are reproduced accurately.

The logo wasn't meant to be separated from the type form. They both work together. It could make the typeface appear too complicated if it stands alone and still communicate the same message as it does along with the logo. I can seek another alternative to the font though, but it wouldn't be much different from what it is now. Also, the whole thing could appear overdone, and that's a downside of it.

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:36 PM, Joyrex said:

It might be interesting to see different waveforms used as variants of the logo, although a square wave wouldn't make a good "W" (it might be possible though). Also, I think keeping it simple (rule one of logo design) by not adding the grid would be better, because at small sizes, the grid would get lost (I'm a bit concerned by that alternate wave in Godwin's logo in that respect).

I was thinking the same thing about the grid. About the thin wave: yes, you're right, it could be that at small sizes the wave could not be seen. But if you consider that even if we print it on the back of a CD (or a vinyl label), we could have a minimum allowed size of about 5 cm (2 inches), which is small enough to conserve space, and big enough to be legible and have the thin wave still visible.

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:36 PM, Joyrex said:

My original concept was the idea of a beat line or wave stylized into the "W" shape, and not specifically a kind of waveform, but I really like the execution of yours. I recall the same feelings of frustration in trying to come up with a solid logo for a client (the worst are clients whose identity is their brand, and creating a logo from their name and avoiding the cliches associated with that). Your reasoning on the design is sound, and I think it's better than mine. Since WATMM doesn't have that much of an established "brand" as of yet (only a few releases on WATMM Records carry the logo), there's no reason it can't be changed or reinvented at this stage.

Yes, I took in account your initial W shape.

I wasn't thinkng about 'branding' WATMM in a traditional sense, since there is no need for that (and I hope that's not the way it should be done). It needs an identity, but I believe we can make it flexible enough not to be corporate-boring. Therefore the logo and the typeface remain the same throughout the applications, and the design itself can be made whatever to suit the mood/style/art direction of an album or compilation or whatever. We could even make the header of this site to change its form upon reloading, and maybe we can implement different wave forms in this respect. Just a thought.

Can't we keep your logo for a bit Joy? I think it's perty too.

  On 4/22/2012 at 8:47 PM, Godwin Austen said:

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:36 PM, Joyrex said:

Wow - I really like this - it's even better than my logo as I can see the "M" as well as the "W" in it, bringing more of "WATMM" into it!

 

The font is all right - it's suitable, but a bit plain - I'd like to see if I can do a variation of your logo, Jules' treatment of the "are the", the original font I used (before this one) and the current font (taking into account some of the suggestions about the spacing and that funny "R"), and see what I can come up with - or you're welcome to as well (that goes for anybody) - I can probably reproduce the logo, but if you have it in a vector format (EPS, AI, SVG) please PM or email me it so I can ensure the spacing and weights are reproduced accurately.

 

The logo wasn't meant to be separated from the type form. They both work together. It could make the typeface appear too complicated if it stands alone and still communicate the same message as it does along with the logo. I can seek another alternative to the font though, but it wouldn't be much different from what it is now. Also, the whole thing could appear overdone, and that's a downside of it.

 

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:36 PM, Joyrex said:

It might be interesting to see different waveforms used as variants of the logo, although a square wave wouldn't make a good "W" (it might be possible though). Also, I think keeping it simple (rule one of logo design) by not adding the grid would be better, because at small sizes, the grid would get lost (I'm a bit concerned by that alternate wave in Godwin's logo in that respect).

 

I was thinking the same thing about the grid. About the thin wave: yes, you're right, it could be that at small sizes the wave could not be seen. But if you consider that even if we print it on the back of a CD (or a vinyl label), we could have a minimum allowed size of about 5 cm (2 inches), which is small enough to conserve space, and big enough to be legible and have the thin wave still visible.

 

  On 4/22/2012 at 7:36 PM, Joyrex said:

My original concept was the idea of a beat line or wave stylized into the "W" shape, and not specifically a kind of waveform, but I really like the execution of yours. I recall the same feelings of frustration in trying to come up with a solid logo for a client (the worst are clients whose identity is their brand, and creating a logo from their name and avoiding the cliches associated with that). Your reasoning on the design is sound, and I think it's better than mine. Since WATMM doesn't have that much of an established "brand" as of yet (only a few releases on WATMM Records carry the logo), there's no reason it can't be changed or reinvented at this stage.

 

Yes, I took in account your initial W shape.

I wasn't thinkng about 'branding' WATMM in a traditional sense, since there is no need for that (and I hope that's not the way it should be done). It needs an identity, but I believe we can make it flexible enough not to be corporate-boring. Therefore the logo and the typeface remain the same throughout the applications, and the design itself can be made whatever to suit the mood/style/art direction of an album or compilation or whatever. We could even make the header of this site to change its form upon reloading, and maybe we can implement different wave forms in this respect. Just a thought.

So your intent was to always have the type with the logo? I think that limits it's flexibility quite a bit, as originally the WATMM logo was just that - a symbolic logo, until I decided to start using it as the masthead for the site recently. Even on the old WATMM Records site (which is what the logo was originally envisioned for, and not for WATMM the 'brand' as it were), it was just the logo, and no type treatment to accompany it.

RE: Applications - you're forgetting about online applications, which honestly this logo will probably be used more often than not (favicon for the site, mobile device icons, etc.), and the need for it to look good at reduced resolutions. For instance, the grid lines for example would get totally lost being applied as a favicon for a website bookmark. Would it take away from the design? Probably not, but a stronger logo changes little, if at all regardless of the usage.

RE: Branding - I'm most certainly approaching it as a 'brand' - having a recognizable symbol or logotype is key to establishing a cohesive identity, not only for product applications (music releases, apparel, etc.) but also to unite the followers of a brand (in our case, the community here) behind it with something they can relate to, and while this may sound a bit cheesy, something they can be proud of (whether it be wearing or displaying). I like the idea you're talking about of having variants of the logo for different applications, which would lend itself well to appeasing different tastes, as well as injecting some variety and avoiding "corporate boring" as you say.

  On 4/23/2012 at 4:34 PM, delet... said:

Can't we keep your logo for a bit Joy? I think it's perty too.

LOL, well, thanks (I think)

Yes, thanks is what you're meant to say (I think, i'm not supposed to force a thanks am i, that kinda negates it and makes me look like a hood.)