I am stuck on this one. Have any ideas?

[HeavyHitter]

I have been going around and around with this project and have yet to come up with something I like. The black drop out area is supposed to represent the letter F in negative space.

Here is what I am after for the client:

1. Very Simple

2. Can be laser cut out in steel plate to brand some of the items they are manufacturing. The black area in the image will be dropped out of the part in this case.

3. Can easily be tied back into their name. The main part of their name is Frontier. In this case I am using the letter F in negative space.


I am stuck on this one. I am open to ideas. Keep in mind I want to keep it very simple. I will be using this in conjunction with their name. This company is not McDonalds so they will have to work to establish this as a brand identity. If the shape becomes too complicated it will drive up cost to laser cut and make it more difficult to cut into small items.

Some other things to note. The client likes tattoo type artwork and grunge. In my opinion this logo needs to stay clean and leave a larger foot print for the company to grow with which the client understands. So... tattoo type artwork is not out of the question if we can keep it clean crisp and to the point.

Dan

 

[Jon Aston]

Can you tell us more about the client?

• What do they make?
• What makes them different?
• What do they stand for?

 

[HeavyHitter]

Can you tell us more about the client?

• What do they make?
• What makes them different?
• What do they stand for?

Jon,

Thanks for taking the time to post on Christmas Eve.

I wish I had a lot of information I could share in regard to this project. The simple truth is there is not a lot to go on at the moment. Frontier 4x4 is a new company without an image. They need something with a large enough footprint to allow them to grow and evolve as they develop their place in an niche industry. I could design an edgy looking logo that would fit what they want right now easy enough. I am trying to help them think down the road for future growth and future changes in the market place.

At this point they do not have a product line. They do build custom vehicles that the logo could be used on for now. The idea is to start with a logo that could be used later down the road as they develop.

The owner likes tattoo art, grunge, and so on. We have talked about it and both feel the company logo / icon needs to be more universal. It needs to allow the company to grow instead of limiting them from future clients. I think something simple can be used in edgy artwork yet still allow it to be stripped down to a simple form.

I have a few other versions of this mock up I will post later on if you guys want to see them. I have to get out of here for some Christmas fun with the family.

Merry Christmas all. Be safe and have fun.

Dan

 

[HeavyHitter]

here is a mock up with the number 4 in with the letter F. If you notice the 4 is still attached to the base. Only the white would fall out when cut. If it were a vinyl cut sticker it would be the white.

 

[HeavyHitter]

I tossed it in a tee template just goofing around. I did this more to get a feel for it on an object.

 

[signmeup]

How about something in this direction?

 

[HeavyHitter]

How about something in this direction?

I have not thought about using different planes with this logo. I could possibly work on using a "4" on the right side plane. Hmmm. I may have to mess around with that later tonight after my Santa and Elf duties are complete.

Thanks for taking a look at it this.

Dan

 

[acothran]

Dan - I would like to experiment and post something but can't at this moment. Just a quick observation (and my opinion), the first example you posted doesn't look like and "F" to me at first glance. It almost looks more like a map layout. In the second example, the "F" is easier to distinguish but neither it or the first look edgy, grungy, or tattoo-like. When I think of 4x4 I think of rough, tough and dirty. Straight and/or nice rounded lines don't scream tough, dirty, edgy, etc. Like I said, I hate to critique without submitting some example but hopefully this might help. Keep us posted. Merry Christmas.

Allen

 

[HeavyHitter]

Dan - I would like to experiment and post something but can't at this moment. Just a quick observation (and my opinion), the first example you posted doesn't look like and "F" to me at first glance. It almost looks more like a map layout. In the second example, the "F" is easier to distinguish but neither it or the first look edgy, grungy, or tattoo-like. When I think of 4x4 I think of rough, tough and dirty. Straight and/or nice rounded lines don't scream tough, dirty, edgy, etc. Like I said, I hate to critique without submitting some example but hopefully this might help. Keep us posted. Merry Christmas.

Allen

Allen,

Thanks for posting. Keep in mind I have clean lines for the need to laser cut this shape into steel plate. If I use roughly lines it can create heat issues when cutting. Not to mention the machine runs slower cutting thus increasing the cost to cut. If they do put a couple products out with this shape cut into it the dollars can stack up over time.

The logo does not have to be tattoo or grunge type art at the core level. I was just pointing out this is what the owner is into at this time. IMHO... the logo needs to stand up to different areas of the offroad industry over time and appeal to a broader demographic.

The shape I am looking to produce will be used with grunge type art and give it a rougher appearance for use on his website and other marketing tools. I am looking to create the core design as simple as possible and build from there.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[HeavyHitter]

Here is the icon from the first post dropped onto a shirt front. Makes it look a little different when places on something. I don't like it. Kind of looks like a surf board company with the F like it is. LOL

 

[QualitySigns]

Take the first design and add "x 4" in white in the bottom right hand corner. Give it a "grundge-action" look and bleed part of the white "x 4" out of the black.

 

[HeavyHitter]

Take the first design and add "x 4" in white in the bottom right hand corner. Give it a "grundge-action" look and bleed part of the white "x 4" out of the black.

Thanks for posting. Please keep in mind, one of the goals for this image is to have the ability to laser cut in steel plate for branding purposes. The base image has to remain simple and clean.

I can apply grunge effects to the image for other uses but the base image needs to be established first. I will get some pictures of laser cut plate posted up a little later for those who may not know what I am referring to.

Dan

 

[HeavyHitter]

Here are pics from a couple buggies I built a few years back. You can see laser cut parts here.

 

[HeavyHitter]

Here is an example of the actual Blue Torch logo machined into an aluminum part. This logo is to complicated to laser cut out in steel plate. That is the reason I had to go with BTF or as you see in the parts "3TF".

The part in this post is expensive to manufacture which can make it difficult to sell when compared to similar products in the marketplace.

 

[HeavyHitter]

Here is another example of the BTF logo laser cut into a part. This is the Red Bull rock crawler we built a few years ago at my shop Blue Torch FabWorks. This picture was taken during setup for a photo shoot for Dirt Sports Magazine's Master Piece in Metal feature. FYI... I sold Blue Torch in September 2009.

 

[rjpjr]

a couple of ideas...

 

[signage]

What about something like this?

 

[Shovelhead]

sofachrome

 

[HeavyHitter]

sofachrome

Good call on the font. LOL Yeah in the first image I used that font. I did change the F up a little to fit the negative a little better.

Dan

 

[HeavyHitter]

What about something like this?

Thanks for taking the time to post something up. It is not really the dirrection I was looking to take it. Hope you guys had a great Christmas.

Dan