Logo for FVD

This is probably my last version.

See what it looks like with a slightly smaller O and Toucan. Right now it is overpowering.

I want the toucan to be prominent. I could probably put it in behind "Forbes".

I understand prominent, but you need to think balance.

I don't want to sound harsh but as this is for a graphic design agency its needs to be spectacular... I mean if a graphic design agency cant design a decent enough logo for themselves what the hell are the going to produce when doing a logo for a client?!

All your logo's look very amateurish and like you don't have much experience. It's making me wonder why you are starting this company up.

I'll be constructive.

First, let me say I appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in the field of graphic design. It's a lifelong passion of mine, and I can totally relate to your eagerness to get started.

And like every endeavor, you've got to start somewhere. But I have to tell you, this isn't the way. You have to learn how to draw for yourself, without lifting clip art off the internet, tweaking it a little, and passing it off as your own work. Your logo has to be a statement not only of your talents and skills, but your ethics. Would you sell someone else's art to a client? Are you trying to be professional or simply appear professional?

Start small, go slow. Draw and keep drawing. Practice drawing until you feel confident enough to do your own work and are proud of it. Learn more about typography and all the other elements of graphic design. Your local community college likely has a course in graphic design, and it probably doesn't cost much, and you'll learn a lot from it. Only after taking the time to practice and educate yourself will you be ready to take on clients. Otherwise, you're just pretending to be a 'visual design agency' that 'focuses on designing corporate marketing collateral'.

I absolutely don't want to discourage you, on the contrary, I hope you follow through and become the designer you want to be. But stop pretending, be honest with yourself and with us. Clip art is for posers. You can be better than that.

Unterm rad, I appreciate your comment. I think you are confusing graphic artist with graphic designer. I am a graphic designer. I am not good at hand drawing stuff so I use shapes to create my artwork. The only clipart I used, which by the way is an opensource clipart, is the one with the Parrot. All other artwork was done by me.
I have done logos before and I have gotten paid for it. Yes some of them I believe could have been done better. Be honest unterm rad. I know you have seen a lot of logos in the vector library on this website. Are they all acceptable to you? If you say yes, then I will keep my mouth shut. If you say no. Then all of what you are saying about my work does not add up. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My work cannot be all things to all people.
If I should look at your work, i am sure not everyone would like all of them. Different strokes for different folks.
I really do salute those of you who have drawing skills. Please send me some of your work. I would love to see it.

I like the fact that you thought I used someone else clipart for my last logo. That is a compliment.

I must take a course in graphic design? Are you serious? look at your "ur" logo for crying out loud. Sometimes I wonder if you guys are looking for more pencil scores.

Show me your work man. You can't be blasting me and I don't know what your work look like. That's not fear bro.

Shots fired. I don't know man, I think in this line of work you need to have a thick skin and be able to take critique positively without thinking of it as an attack on you. You will find that much of the work that you love and think is amazing gets instantly trashed by a client and you have to start over from scratch.

Every iteration of your logo that you have uploaded has gotten better and better, and the more logos you make and the more you experiment with different layouts, fonts, etc. the better and faster you will become at designing. I think that you should practice drawing because it is a great way to create solid designs. The drawings don't have to be amazing, but just good enough to have something of your own creation to go off of. I like to scan pen, sharpie, pencil, and even sometimes charcoal into Ai and then either use them directly or pen tool over them if they are crude. I have 5 pages of tiny logo ideas drawn in my sketchbook to get that stupid triangle Label logo I have uploaded and it's still terrible!

Another thing that will come with time is a solid type library. A good place to start is Google fonts. They have plenty of modern, open source fonts, free to download. The added benefit to these is that if you make a website for your company (you should) you can use these fonts. I would recommend starting there to find 1-2 solid fonts for not only this logo but the brand you are trying to build around it.

Felix, is this you?

My work is seen by hundreds of thousands of people every day in some of the largest cities in the country, such as Chicago, Atlanta, and Las Vegas. As a graphic designer and signmaker, the things I create have generated tens of millions of dollars for the companies that employ me and their clientele. I have experience in nearly every facet of graphic design, in a career spanning 25 years.

Rather than attack you for your lack of skill or experience, I offered you some kind words of advice. I might remind you, that's the entire purpose for this board: up-and-coming designers seeking critique and guidance from seasoned vets in an effort to improve their work.

But of course, you took it as a personal attack. Instead of stopping to consider what was offered to you (patience, understanding, wisdom), you threw it back in my face and challenged me. Your lack of respect here speaks volumes about your maturity.

I was going to let this go but, nah bro. You called me out. Let's do this, my dinner's getting cold.

Where is the design? That's it? Am i missing something here?

You were suppose to WOW me. How about showing me an actual logo. Something hand drawn?

Let me sum this up. I am unimpressed. What i am trying to get in your head is that your design will look appealing to your clients, if they buy into it but for others who look at the same work, it is not a WOW factor. it looks nice but not superb.

You will see my work from time to time. Don't worry about that. But I want you to know that you are not all that. I never did say I was better than you are but looking at these pictures, I see no difference. I only gave you one logo with different versions. You have areas where you can improve too; creativity.

can i just ask how much experience do you have in graphic design? i.e. how long have you been doing it for?

Let me start by saying that I feel very lucky to have found this website, it is such a great resource for designers to get well thought out critique from reputable colleagues.

Let me then continue by saying that Forz is probably 14 and you guys are taking him seriously... Who knows, maybe he will go to college for this, gain some real skill and end up working for you!

Forz,

Stealing clipart isn't a compliment whatsoever.

Its actually what will you get fired at any reputable design firm.

Honestly, you went after the only commenter who was kind to you, and you came off as a snobbish, arrogant, inexperienced person.

I don't even have that many years tucked under my belt, and I'm telling you your stuff is not even close to a WOW factor. Design isn't about stealing clipart, its about pushing and pushing until you have something that captures people for years to come. You need to sit down, be humble, and realize you have a lot to learn.

"Shapes put together, no different from what I do".

That's like walking up to Chef Ramsay, giving him a shitty piece of unseasoned salmon, and saying "pan seared fish, its no different form what you cook".

What ignorance.

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