
The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown   - alexmturnbull
http://blog.groovehq.com/post/10202618882/the-process-behind-our-logo-design-and-communication
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huhtenberg
I don't think it's that great of a logo.

At the very least it is too detailed to scale well, the shell will be
completely lost at smaller sizes turning into a blob of flesh color. The use
of desaturated pastels is not a typical choice for a technical project. It is
more fit for something soft, girly, perhaps creative. Also there is a
disconnect between the name and the symbol. You tell me "Groove", I will
remember GrooveShark. You show me the logo and I will have hard time recalling
the name it goes with.

And while it is very satisfying to _publish_ the details of design process, it
is not _that_ interesting to look at it. Once you saw one or two, you've seen
them all... and every self-respecting logo designer now has a couple in a
portfolio, so there is plenty of really good sketch logs to choose from.

~~~
michaelpinto
The bigger question to me was: What does Groove do?

Branding should be about what you want to communicate about the company rather
than the decoration process of picking out a color scheme. If you want to
understand why this branding isn't working read the mission statement:

"Groove is a hosted customer support and engagement platform that helps
companies manage customer support across all types of channels - email, web,
livechat, mobile, Twitter and more."

That description sounds slightly vague and long at the same time. What's funny
to me is that while the branding is their website does a great job of
explaining what they do. So in a sense the logo is holding them back.

By the way if anyone wants to see brilliant logos that were done for the tech
industry check out the work of Paul Rand: <http://www.paul-
rand.com/site/identity/>

~~~
bugjuice
Logo use on internet at scale is infrequent and colors trump visual metaphor.
These colors are distinctive as is the seemingly abstract arrangement of them
which is really what counts. The Apple logo has been assailed from day one and
contrary to michaelpinto's assertion, a logo never held back anybody....unless
you feel the Yahoo logo "Y!" was a self inflicted decisive blow....and how do
you construct "slightly vague" and "great job" into whole cloth. Help me here
with how any of this matters, if the logo (which will more often then not be a
chip on a nav bar) isn't evocative but is none-the-less a distinctive abstract
color assemblage?

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mbreese
Am I the only one that thinks of the Microsoft collaboration software when
they hear "Groove"? That just sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Plus, I didn't see the connection between a conch shell and "groove". I
actually couldn't tell it was a shell with the colored lines wrapping it - I
couldn't tell what it was.

~~~
socratic
I am also confused by this. The name of the startup actually appears to be
"Groove Networks LLC".

Obviously, there are a lot of Famous Ray's Pizzas and such, but "Groove
Networks" seems so oddly specific. Does this startup have some relationship
with the original Groove Networks of the early 2000s?

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groove_Networks>

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Ryan_IRL
I don't like this logo at all. It's too complicated and feels contrived.

The concept of just the shell was pretty cool, but the three colors doesn't
add anything. I don't care what ideation process says, if it's not adding
clarity or defining the brand then I'd say it's just complicating things.

That said, thanks for sharing.

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georgemcbay
Dreadful logo, sorry.

Like many others I thought it was an abstract illustration of a heart at first
glance, and figured this was a medical devices company or something.. further
inspection revealed everything from a boob to part of a toilet as other
possibilities.

You almost certainly had _too much_ input into the logo, your process seems to
have involved a bunch of bike-shedding gone awry.

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lilulo
I couldn't tell what is it without inspecting it closely. No point of focus.
Too many colors. Fine details in close proximity. etc. etc.

~~~
mikeryan
It's also difficult to use in B&W, most really good logos can degrade well to
a black and white image (nice for letterhead) also I'm still shaking my head
on what the shell has to do with "Groove".

~~~
yakto
Ditto. Great logos are simple, and get even simpler over time. This one is
over-engineered and, to me, completely lacking in meaning.

The word Groove is strong enough to stand on its own, with maybe a slight
embellishment, perhaps some negative space. One of my favorites that may serve
as some inspiration:
[https://community.jivesoftware.com/community/jivetalks/blog/...](https://community.jivesoftware.com/community/jivetalks/blog/2008/02/18/jive-
gets-a-new-logo)

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socratic
I'm really curious what Alex's reaction is to the discussion here. He posted a
link to the blog post, so he must be reading it, no?

The comments so far seem pretty negative, and not really for unimportant
reasons.

The two main issues I see are: (1) too complicated as well as lacking
contrast, so it will not print well on t-shirts, letterhead, and business
cards and (2) the logo does not look like a shell without seeing the process
that produced it (and in fact looks more like a pig, breast, or heart, all of
which are kind of weird).

Were there business or other reasons for ignoring these aspects? Would it be
possible to change the logo at this stage if this feedback were convincing?

~~~
nickforVT
That guy Alex is probably pumped to see so many trolls logging hours on his
thread :) - point "(1)" is simply not true. Tshirts, letterhead, and business
cards included. Friend put me onto this thread simply because the trolling was
so horrendous, and you guys did not disappoint. Stay strong, troll on.

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egypturnash
I had my laptop's screen at a slightly sub-optimal angle, and the shadow on
the shell completely disappeared. I could not tell that it was supposed to be
anything; it read completely as "three colorful abstract shapes and a larger
honky-colored abstract shape". What are those three curvy things supposed to
_be_? I dunno, but they completely ruin any hope of the shell reading as a
shell at a quick glance; the silhouette is a completely confusing lump.

I am afraid to say that, in my opinion as a professional artist, this logo
needs reworking, rethinking, and possibly even complete replacement.

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MartinCron
There's a lot of negativity here, and I'm not in love with the logo (although
I like the colors a lot). I just want to thank you for being open enough to
draw attention to it and share the process. Visual communication is a skill
that gets stronger as you use it, I appreciate posts like these.

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matdwyer
I honestly didn't know it was a shell, and I've seen it 100+ times. I suppose
it makes sense with the beach thing, but I didn't put it together.

But that being said, this specific logo has 0% influence on my thoughts of
your company!

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vilqqu
Maybe it's just my dirty mind but it looks like a boob.

~~~
joshmattvander
Definitely a boob. Complete with nipple.

~~~
alphakappa
The flesh color doesn't help either.

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ginzasparrow
That thing looks like a dissected heart with gangrened arteries... no offense.

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mannicken
Good choice on positioning the shell to the right-top -- it indicates growth
and positivity.

Not sure if flatness was intended but: <http://imgur.com/fAaMl>

I recommend clarifying deep propositions:

"Solid as a shell?" "RGB streams floating inside" -- is this a logo for a
painting program?

I recommend using reference photos of a shell, or finding a real shell and
studying it.

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fbnt
Unfortunately, I have to agree with the negative comments. Even if the whole
process denotes great consistency and attention to details, it really sounds
like a huge amount of energy spent on something that I may consider relevant,
but not to that extent.

Also, having seen the logo multiple times, I actually never got it was a
shell. Anyway, thanks for sharing.

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splish
Double post (a few hours ago?): <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2996767>

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jesseplane
Why is everyone so negative?! I really like all the designs and seeing your
thought process of how you develop an idea.

My favorite is the combination of the type and simple shell design (the one
without the pink/blue/green colorway).

It could be cool to introduce color into that design with some sort of ribbon
that flows through the type? Maybe even using the same color palette? ...just
an idea.

keep up the good work!

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subpixel
Honest feedback: the first thing I thought when I saw the logo was "a toilet?"

This before reading that someone else saw that too.

But your product is _very_ compelling. The screenshots look good: less
overwrought than your logo and, to be honest, your homepage.

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gurraman
There are some negative comments about the logo (and I agree with some of the
posters), so on a more positve note: it's just a logo, a lot of the other
things you've done are pure awesome!

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drewapps
I'm a big fan of the site, product and logo and respect the willingness to
share, and transparency of the design process

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nickforVT
To the non-artistic eye I think it's a pretty cool logo

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lemrick
Nice artwork but forgettable.

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genomebre
I actually like it. I mean, it is being shown at 70 pixels wide in that post
and it looks fine.

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maherjunkies
schweeeettttttttttttt........

-your local sneaker Junkies ambassador....maher junkies

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susandoyleart
awesome- looks really accessible and user friendly

