The Week of the Logo: Day 4 Update, in which we address recent comments
Thanks again for all of your feedback. As of this post, a whopping 87% of voters chose concept B. And with a sample size of 113, I?m inclined to believe that this is statistically significant. If you haven’t voted yet, be sure to do so. Interestingly enough, most of the comments seem to be votes for concept A with an explanation of why B isn?t quite there yet. A couple concerns were brought up, which I will address in kind.
Concept B looks like his collar is too short on each side
Point taken. I think this is a function of me attempting to unbutton the top button without really adjusting the rest of the collar. I?m going to expand the unbuttoned area and lower the tie some to accommodate it.
Concept B isn?t as crisp/uncluttered
I agree. I think there are some simple things I could do to make it more easily recognizable. For one, lowering the tie will give more visual room to get the collar right.
Put a beer mug/bottle/pint glass in his hand
This suggestion has been made more than once and in various forms. And believe me, I understand why the suggestion is appealing. Toasting the end of the day is a great image to invoke. But here?s why we?re still probably not going to implement it:
We want our logo to be a platform for our identity, not our identity itself. The fewer stationary elements we include in the logo, the more liberties we will be able to take as our image evolves. For instance, for our Laissez-Faire Barleywine, we?re playing with the idea of putting a sack of money in his hand. The real guts of our image is the suit and loosened tie. This is the weeknight.
Also, we always want to keep context in mind when making these types of decisions. In initial logo development (or redevelopment) phases, we deliberately shied away from images of beer bottles or pint glasses. Why? Because our logo will primarily be seen on beer bottles and pint glasses. There?s no need to bash consumers over the head with the fact that we’re a beer company. The context will say that we?re a beer company. I can?t think of many instances in which our logo will need to stand on its own. Realistically we?ll be a small brewery with a small marketing budget. If we ever do reach the big time, our logo will already be able to stand on its own. I keep coming back to the New Belgium logo and how great it is. But there?s no reference to beer. Just a bicycle.
Last, someone brought up a similarity to the Rogue guy. While we think our logo is sufficiently different, both in concept and execution, the Rogue guy has a stein in his hand. No need to infringe on their vibe if we?ve got a perfectly good vibe of our own.
So expect what will hopefully be the final revision soon. Thanks again for all of your thoughts. This thing is going to be banging when we’re done.
In my opinion, that undone button (and collar/tie-knot once it’s fixed) make all the difference. And I for one would not prefer any kind of mug or pint in logoman’s hand as part of a permanent logo. That would most certainly take away from the central image and be confusing with the black/white imagery you’ve got goin’ on.
To me, B still looks crisp, and I also dig what you had to say about the logo not featuring anything specifically beer-related; you’ll have plenty of room for additions with this stark picture and it will already appear on beer-related products.
Other than that, what you’ve got sums your message up quite nicely. Simplicity speaks, my friends, and this logo says it all. Cheers!
wow buddy, you really have turned into a marketing consultant :)
Love the logo. The simplicity of it is the strength. I think that you have the right idea in not putting anything in the fist. The cleaner it stays now will give you guys more room in the future to play around with it for new beer styles.
The clasped money for the Laissez-Faire Barleywine is a good visual. For new beers down the road you could change the clothing to suit the beer, like putting an ugly holiday sweater under the coat for a Christmas Ale. Or giving him shades for a summer lager. The less busy it is now, the more freedom you can have- if you want it- later.
Also, in terms of marketing there is a lot you can do with the “O” in the logo. You could use that as a label for the bottle neck or put it on a coaster in two-tone black and white.
Fun concept, makes me want to enjoy more weekday brew!
Steven,
That’s because I’m expecting a big cut once the operation is up and running! MNB needs to expand… and I need $$$.
But in all seriousness, I didn’t want to see the monk go. Now that I’ve got a glimpse of the new logo, I’m on board 100%.
I think you guys have the hard part done. Without giving away too much about myself, I spend a lot of time using “graphics”. There comes a time when a logo becomes too busy. The simplicity of the logo is perfect. I get it. It brings to mind that feeling you get after a crap day of work on he way to the pub. It also brings to mind the closing scene of “The Breakfast Club”. We all had that feeling.
My 2 cents. Possibly didtch the tie, and have it in his clinched fist. I know when I head to the pub, I don’t loosen the tie, I take it off.
But I like what you have done this far.