Lustrous Logos Downhill?

[Rizrazzle 96]

Hello!

 

Enter, enter - c'mon in mes chéris!~

Riz here, badly in need of your ever existing opinions. 

I'm on that one never ending quest to improve and you could help me. (:

 

I have been spending some time trying to make logos, yet feel like my progress is going backwards.

I feel the crowd is naturally not meddling in other people's requests, yet I am in need of some advice.

The logos I believe to be 'so-so' often receive the most positive comments against my expectations!

The other way around it happens as well, the logos I think are above my average are generally edited into oblivion.

 

If you would be kind enough to unleash your opinion with some explanation I would be really happy.<3

I just want to understand what people are thinking from an outside perspective since it never seems to match what I think. 

So what logos do you like, or dislike, and why? My opinion is always so opposite.

 

 

 

*Note 1:

Not all of these logos use the backgrounds I added.

I often get told the color of background the logo will appear on and use it.

Besides, their outlines wouldn't show if I posted them on an all-white site background. ^^;

 

**Note 2: 

Just in case!

Some people seem to have some confusion about logos vs. wordmarks.

A wordmark is the distinct text typographic treatment.

The graphics, vignette, graphic mark, emblem, etc. is everything but the text.

So if you were to say "you could use pretty text only", it would no longer be a logo but a wordmark.

[Yronsparx 13]

Okay, I'm pretty new to this, so if I confuse one thing with the other, forgive me and blame it on my low XP. :3

 

First impression of your logos was pretty good.

I personally prefer the logos without the game characters in it. But that's personal taste. You seem to have a good feeling for colors and have a good range from humorous and playful to dark and mysterious.

 

I don't know if these logos you show here are newer or older or mixed works, but I can't really see much difference in skill levels. I don't know if any of this helped, but let me say that I like your work.

[Darkanine 116]

Vintasia-The school of magic is obviously the best logo .

But on a serious note most of them look great,the only ones that look so-so are-

 

Persona 6-But It looks more like a lack of direction,especially when Persona 6 is gonna come out,and even if it doesn't it feels pretentious to think the game should be considered a part of the numbered series -No offense to the person working on it-

 

Arcina(?)-The only real issue is its hard to read and the background doesn't mesh well with the image

[Saiffu 26]

I have the same impression on the Persona 6 Logo. I was kind of offensed when I saw it. My blood raised.

It might have been good for the title to be Persona:"Insert Title Here" instead of Persona 6. Apparently,

that is the only logo which I do not like. not because of the art, but because of its title. anyway, I just wanted

to share my opinion on it, as it really had a psychological effect on me. Considering that Persona was one of

the games which inspired me to create my own. Again, I just wanted to voice out what is inside my head and my heart.

 

For the other logo's, I think they are really well made, I can even see them being used on commercial games or so.

Those games which are released publicly today, and some logo's even look like it would make a hit on online games.

The icons which I like most though are 'Twisted Realities', 'Vintasia' and 'Arcina'. I can really feel the font and the font color

blend in with the logo and the title itself. You would have that feel that the logo really is meant for the title specified.

What does not shine out from all of the logos given is 'Relinquished'. I feel like the letters stick together too much and it

becomes a bit unreadable. it has not that much detail but it would probably be good enough to be an above-average logo.

Everything else is definitely an above-average logo and some are logo's which could be at a professional level.

Good job on creating these logos and I know you invested a lot of time making them so I give you a big congratulations

on making such wonderful logos.

Edited September 1, 2013 by Saif Ü

[Rizrazzle 96]

 

 

 

- @ Yronsparx

 

Thank you. Most of these logos are indeed a mix.

I suppose I could have added that.

 

March 2007 - Shining Spirit

April 2010 - Relinquished

June 2012 - Reverie

Dece. 2012 - Imagina

July 2013 - Petalia

 

The others have been requests from August (last month).

 

Not seeing a difference in skill level may be positive, so people know what to expect from my work.

But in a way it also means that I am not really developing my skill any further, that's what bothers me slightly.

 

---

 

- @ Sgt Twilight Sparkle

 

Obviously it is. Ehem.

 

Arcina was the first logo I made for my shop and I can see what you mean now.

The letters do seem to be dancing around in a sloping jumble.

( It's great to have some fresh perspective on this! (: )

 

Hm, so you think the main issue with Persona6 is more the fact that it's a numbered fan-game someone's making instead of the logo?

Or does the lack of direction also apply to the letters/graphics itself?

 

---

 

- @ Saif Ü

 

Persona is indeed a wonderful game. I have all the collector's editions. ^^

But as I agreed to do fan-game logos in my shop I'm afraid it'd be un-professional to turn away such projects for their title.

The way I reassure myself is by thinking I've made absolutely horrible projects when I started out. (I was 10 or so?)

And these (young?) people are just fans of Persona getting to know RPG Maker through their favorite game.

 

It's fun to see the differences in opinions early on.

Because the logos you are liking are actually those others had dislikes about.

(Twisted Realities having busts, Arcina being unreadable)

 

I've already had some same worries about Relinquished. It was my rushed 2010 project.

What makes it harder to see un-readability, for me, is the fact that I know from the start exactly what its saying.

So thank you for pointing that out!

 

And thank you for the compliments. Wow, commercial even? That sounds good.

I'll stay free of charge of course. I'm often afraid professional logo designers would still blow me out of the water. (;

[DracoHiryu787 13]

 

 

 

 

 

- @ Yronsparx

Thank you. Most of these logos are indeed a mix.
I suppose I could have added that.

March 2007 - Shining Spirit
April 2010 - Relinquished
June 2012 - Reverie
Dece. 2012 - Imagina
July 2013 - Petalia

The others have been requests from August (last month).

Not seeing a difference in skill level may be positive, so people know what to expect from my work.
But in a way it also means that I am not really developing my skill any further, that's what bothers me slightly.

---

- @ Sgt Twilight Sparkle

Obviously it is. Ehem.

Arcina was the first logo I made for my shop and I can see what you mean now.
The letters do seem to be dancing around in a sloping jumble.
( It's great to have some fresh perspective on this! (: )

Hm, so you think the main issue with Persona6 is more the fact that it's a numbered fan-game someone's making instead of the logo?
Or does the lack of direction also apply to the letters/graphics itself?

---

- @ Saif Ü

Persona is indeed a wonderful game. I have all the collector's editions. ^^
But as I agreed to do fan-game logos in my shop I'm afraid it'd be un-professional to turn away such projects for their title.
The way I reassure myself is by thinking I've made absolutely horrible projects when I started out. (I was 10 or so?)
And these (young?) people are just fans of Persona getting to know RPG Maker through their favorite game.

It's fun to see the differences in opinions early on.
Because the logos you are liking are actually those others had dislikes about.
(Twisted Realities having busts, Arcina being unreadable)

I've already had some same worries about Relinquished. It was my rushed 2010 project.
What makes it harder to see un-readability, for me, is the fact that I know from the start exactly what its saying.
So thank you for pointing that out!

And thank you for the compliments. Wow, commercial even? That sounds good.

I'll stay free of charge of course. I'm often afraid professional logo designers would still blow me out of the water. (;

 

 

 

Hello!
 
Enter, enter - c'mon in mes chéris!~
Riz here, badly in need of your ever existing opinions. 
I'm on that one never ending quest to improve and you could help me. (:
 
I have been spending some time trying to make logos, yet feel like my progress is going backwards.
I feel the crowd is naturally not meddling in other people's requests, yet I am in need of some advice.
The logos I believe to be 'so-so' often receive the most positive comments against my expectations!
The other way around it happens as well, the logos I think are above my average are generally edited into oblivion.
 
If you would be kind enough to unleash your opinion with some explanation I would be really happy.<3
I just want to understand what people are thinking from an outside perspective since it never seems to match what I think. 
So what logos do you like, or dislike, and why? My opinion is always so opposite.
 

 

*Note 1:
Not all of these logos use the backgrounds I added.
I often get told the color of background the logo will appear on and use it.
Besides, their outlines wouldn't show if I posted them on an all-white site background. ^^;
 
**Note 2: 
Just in case!
Some people seem to have some confusion about logos vs. wordmarks.
A wordmark is the distinct text typographic treatment.
The graphics, vignette, graphic mark, emblem, etc. is everything but the text.
So if you were to say "you could use pretty text only", it would no longer be a logo but a wordmark.

 

 

 

*/me smiles ( commenting the Grandmadeb way, hoping again I'm right )

 

No doubt you're an artist, Riz, I never see any problem with your style expect maybe perhaps the way you've placed the logo of your first request, Arcina inside the background since for me, it looks like squished ( please don't get me wrong, that is what I see for me. ) due to the image size. As for the others, I see no other problem at all since they're made especially for the requestors' requests, modifications and all...

 

As for the skill, I couldn't see anything to improve, maybe something off-logo topic? { *coughs Busts *coughs ( maybe still be needing a bit more cleaning [ is that the term XD ] ) }.

 

As a side-note, could you please post in the Lustrous Logos the one I've requested, Fantasy Realm, with background? I love the choice you've made XD! Also, I really love the Shining Spirit logo!

 

Hope this helps.

[+ EraYachi 180]

Trust me, Riz. I know how that feels, when the art you produce that you think is 'eh, that's alright' turns out to be the biggest hit and the artwork you love and worked 3 times as much to achieve gets criticized, critiqued or even a little ignored. I believe in positive/negative energy. When you feel negative about something you've done, there's a void that others feel needs filling with happy thoughts. And vice versa. When you love one thing so much, it's too full of positive energy and your other crops get the rainwater...if...yeah I know, I'm bad at analogies.

 

Ahem, well! On to a topic where I make actual sense....all of your logos are fantabulous. I have a few like...TA-quality bits and bites, such as the Relinquished game's logo is using a font that's soooo outta this world and tough to read at first/second/even third glance. It's gorgeous but kinda defeats the purpose when you can't tell what the name of the game is. Also Imagina is such a lovely, bright logo, so the fact it fades into black on the right side so drastically and to such an extreme makes is hard to aesthetically enjoy. I've got no solid opinion on the others except that they're beautiful. I myself have no talent for word art. I may hit you up for a commission or start rabidly pestering you for an art swap to fill that nasty void I've got going on (my game lacks a good logo...or even a decent one). My art director woulda loved you; he was a huge fan of graphic arts and creating the 'perfect logo' (a contest I failed, unsurprisingly).

[Rizrazzle 96]

 

 

Thanks! Looking back at Arcina, I really think I could have done better if I had just practiced a little more upfront and taken more time I suppose. 

It looks a little rushed. Just like the wordmark of Relinquished does. Perhaps that was the pressure of the first ever request. 

The letters slope weirdly and I see it does look as if they somehow had to fit into the emblem.

As for busts, cleaning up is a wonderful term. I like doing the bases, it's a little more creating and less punctuality.

But whether I am editing them or creating original material, at some times I stop being precise. 

This happens a lot when characters feel a little ordinary and not so well-defined to me, they're less fun and harder to work on.

So one bust will look alright, while the other looks .. A little less.

Like he's missing pieces of hair due to missing shading/tips, parts without defined line edges, having stray pixels, unevenness, etc. 

 

So I do get where you're coming from. I'll also upload the background you wanted to the shop in a few hours. (: 

(I need to hurry off to bed soon - my Uni is two hours of travelling away and it's nearing 4am for me. Haha, not quite healthy.)

 

---

 

 

 

That seems to be quite a valid equivalence. I wish I could easily shift into that mindset.

It just remains an unusual feeling for me. I typically assume that the harder I work on something, the better the outcome will be. 

Grasping how these people think is very hard for me at times. How could people see something I put half the effort in as 'perfect'?

It is meant for their own projects after all, thus with a little selfishness one would think they wanted my best. 

Sensing a void would have to mean they wanted an edit as their projects need to outshine others.

 

I have indeed noticed that 'Relinquished' is a little too ambitious.

When I try to imagine I do not know what the logo is saying (which is hard because when you think that you're not thinking it you're actually thinking it >>; ) I need to 'guess' the word from letters I do recognize. 

Especially around the curly 's'. The luxury swirls start to make a tangled mess around that point. And due to there being more 'swirl' than letter it really takes away readability.

 

Right now you've also made me see something about the Imagina logo (the harsh black) that I have been blindly staring on. 

Stepping back to successfully judge my own artwork has always been hard for me. It is why I was a little desperate for opinions.

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

So what logos do you like, or dislike, and why?

I circled in blue the ones i personally liked best. :

 

 

 

I liked the logos of Vintasia and Fantasy Realm most because they stood out the most to me. They were also easier to read, had a nice colour scheme/ style, and had a good sense object-placement balance.

 

Lustrous's logo was my 3rd favourite, as it also stands out, has good balance + style, and the detail is nice. I have a harder time reading the word printing though.  

 

 

My least favourites are prolly the "Rise of the [Reptilan?]" and "[Relinquished?]" logos. The text is really hard for me to read... /o/ [Relinquished?]'s background is well-done though.

 

Aedonphel's logo is my 3rd least favourite since the main title's text is in a colour similar to the background. The text is also a bit hard to read.

 

 

Just my opinion, yea. Also... lol, odd, i get the opposite on my compositions. XD The ones i feel i do better on tend to get more attention. The only exception... is for compositions where people's faces are shoved right in your face. lol 

[Rizrazzle 96]

 

 

 

I was afraid Rise of the Reptilan wouldn't be readable with that font.

It is why I used a rather bold font at first, but the requester suddenly pointed out he didn't like it and had a font ready for me.

So I kept my personal thoughts at bay and used the font he so desired and had uploaded.

'Reptilan' is a title, so I'm not sure if it is a misspelling or not but I assume that the requester would have checked that.

Perhaps I should have pointed that out to him, just to make sure as I have noticed there are many non-native English speakers here.

 

Well, I do need to work on keeping titles readable.

I have noticed in my work that I sometimes show difficulty fulfilling everyone's font-wishes and keeping fonts readable.

This happens mostly when someone hands me the font and exact colors they want.

I could of course try to offer them my advice first but I'm afraid that may come over as ... snotty?

Especially when they seem to love end-results with their personally marked font.

It would slightly feel like saying "stay out of this with your scribbly fonts- you know nothing of logos."

Then again, maybe I worry too much about the customer being king, at the cost of readability.

 

Hmm, I wish everyone's opinion would be so synchronous to mine, that would make work a whole lot more predictable. ^^;

Concurrent opinions often seem to be the case for professional/awesome artists! You must be good! (:

 

Thank you for the post and marked picture, this is really helping me to sort out the 'generally good/bad' ones. (As far as general goes for this.)

[ZombieBear 66]

Oh my gosh, I suck at logos! Ha, mine is just a black screen with some white text right now because I gave up. You have a talent for them though; I'll pick my faves as well.

 

Dintasia- looks like a professional logo for an ipad game. In terms of what looks like a pro did it, that is the best one (to me at least).

 

Petalia- It has great structure; the title is centered, it's easily readable and not cluttered and the flora adds a nice touch that gives a magical forest type of feel to the whole thing.

 

Fantasy Realm and Reverie- both have good emblems (I believe that is how you refer to the picture that the words are nestled into... ha, not sure). They are very clean and look like they could be printed on a variety of fan items like t-shirts and such as is.

 

Famine and Persona 6- both are very dramatic and well done, especially for a more serious game... actually, Famine looks like a professional logo as well. It's dark so I didn't notice the details in it immediately when pressed against all the more colorful logos, but its amazing once you look at it.

 

The others have intricate script and blend into the emblems and background a bit too much which makes them difficult to read so I just pass right over them.

 

I don't think you should worry about the customer being upset and hold back your opinion because of it. I always want the opinion of someone that's been doing their thing for a long time and I'm not upset when they think it should be another way. I do this when I get my haircut every single time, haha.

 

It's always best not to argue the point, obviously, but if you were to post something in your shop that tells people they can ask for your opinion that would be awesome! I'm never sure what is okay etiquette-wise to ask of an artist and worry that if I ask for their take on a design idea that it's a huge hassle for them. I think it's great that you want the best thing for your customer, and I'm sure they will too... as long as they want the feedback. I think posting that you love to work with the customer on their design if they would like will be enough; it will filter the people for you before they ever even contact you.

[Tsarmina 2,612]

Mmm, gorgeous! The one part about your logos that makes me a little unsure is the way that in some of them you've lined up several portraits in a row. It's an interesting method, but I feel it's a little too strict and...hm, how to put this...flat and straight for your very nice and dynamic logos I think that at the leasat you should maybe layer them a little bit, vary in size and orientation (I don't mean like tilting them or anything, but like the way they're facing...), and I think it would look a little more organic. Just putting in my two cents ^^

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

@Rizrazzle: sorry about the late reply; i forgot i posted in this topic. (")

 

But ik what you mean. Imo... I do usually try to say something if i really don't think it looks good. It's really what you want to do though-- but i think as long as what's said is worded well, it can seem supportive/ friendly instead of haughty. Like giving advice irl?

 

Though some developpers... Can be a bit closed off from opinions.

 

 

No problem. : ) And haha, (XD) thanks! Well it certainly takes me awhile to do my work. I'd like to think i'm pretty decent though.

Edited September 10, 2013 by When Bugs Roam Ur House

[lazyV 21]

I must say "Petalia" is the one i like the most the colours are so perfect, and the background, leaves and flowers fit so perfect.

 

and a little off topic, do you make those backgrounds yourself? if not, how do you get them?

 

(Maybe ill make a thread like this myself )

[Turkwise 1]

I'm no artist so I can't go into great detail, but the ones I like the most are Imagina, Petalia, Reverie, and Shining Spirit. The reason for that is because they are simple, effective at telling me something about what they represent, and, perhaps most importantly, easy to read!

 

I can't make out several of the logo's text: the ones to either side of Reverie, the top center (rise of the r...?) and even your shop logo took me a moment to figure out.  I like the graphic portion of the logo shop logo but it's so hard to read.

 

Twisted Realities is nice, and this is probably personal preference, but I think the shoulder-to-shoulder line-up is really goofy.

[Rizrazzle 96]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, you're really helping me to improve my ways! ;-;<3

 

I see I'll have to tone down on the very scripty-like fonts.

It always felt like the more simple fonts seemed like I wasn't doing my best. 

But all in all I can see now that they're more readable, and that even simplicity can be stylish!

 

The fact that a lot of you are picking Petalia as one of the best feels slightly selfish of me. xD

(As Petalia is my personal project. >>; )

 

Wow. More interaction with requesters when it comes to opinions sounds better the way ZombieBear worded it. 

The fact that the logos that get picked for 'aren't readable' often are the product of requesters with their own supplied fonts .. 

Well, that motivates me more to share my opinion with them, only if they're interested of course.

I imagine requesters can be happy with the logo the way it turned out to their specifications.

But I can also imagine their disappointment when it turns out their provided font isn't readable by their audience. 

 

As for busts, I certainly require some more creativity practice for placing them. ^^;

I've got to brush up and gather more ideas about how to place characters in logos.

Shoulder-to-shoulder felt .. Safe. Sort of. But I see how it looks oddly strict.

 

Some backgrounds are by me, some are by me and someone I cooperated with, and some are by that person herself.

Honestly most are being used as battle backgrounds in my game. xD

The Persona background however is an edit from an existing Persona background.

 

If my shop logo is actually hard to read, perhaps I should change it again. 

Going overboard really is one of my weaknesses when it comes to font-design. ^^;

[Terra-tani 35]

First off, I'd like to say I've been quietly admiring your logos for a while debating on whether I should keep trying to make my logo design myself or trust you with it since you have such a nice flare for text (but I have a set design format I'm looking at but not so sure about font/typeset/additional flare workings)

 

I dislike the portrait logos "Twisted Realities" and "Rise of the Reptilian" mainly because they don't use the portraits in a creative way and the portraits just looked tagged on rather than part of the logo. Suggestions on that front would be possibilities like making contrast silhouettes using the colors in the logo or adding artistic flourishes that make the portraits look more like part of the logo with more spacing (Maybe in a plantlike logo in Rise of the Reptilian they could be wrapped around in vines?)

 

I dislike "Arcina" because of the colors not offering enough contrast in the text and it seems lazily beveled for the background part of the logo. Kinda like anyone with Photoshop could just throw something like that together. You mentioned this was your earliest work and I would have to say you've definitely improved for the most part, though "Imagina" seems to suffer a bit from similar laziness, but it's not as bad as it's not suffering from the overlapping objects with bevel.

 

"ReLinquished" is bad because of the text being a bit hard to read, the letters seem a bit jumbled. The backdrop looks rather nice though, and the bevel of the font is used well to make it "pop", but just that text is too much.

 

"Persona6" is nice in the fact you modeled it after the existing franchise's style and did that style justice. The backdrop image has a nice contrast to it, but it's hard to make out at that size.

 

"Shining Spirit" is nicely simple, but I'd like to see something more like... the one S hooking around the other S making it more dynamic than just an overlay.

 

"Fantasy Realm", "Vintasia" and "Reverie" are all well composed, balancing image with text nicely with good color schemes. No suggestions that could really improve these.

 

"Petalia" is also really nice, the only possible suggestion is more balance on the size of border with the leaves being so thin and the text being so thick... but it's still a great logo, that's just a little nitpick.

 

I personaly think the "Lustrous Logo Shop" logo is a bit too busy, a bit too much going on and clashing elements between the text, the background crystal and the stylized swoosh.

 

"Aedonphel" and "Quest for the 13th Birthday", both seem a bit more like Wordmarks than logos from your description. They're nice but there isn't much oomph to them anyway so there really isn't much to say other than they're nicely composed with text size and location.

 

Now the "FamineX" logo is particularly nice to my eyes as it incorporates some artistic text elements that I'd want in the logo I'm trying to make for my game, incorporating object images as part of the letters of the logo... I should probably stop before I try to turn it into a request.

[Anderson88 26]

They all look pretty nice, but my favourites would be Shining Spirit, Petalia, and Persona 6.

I think that having fancy text can make a logo look good, but the fancier it is (A.K.A. the harder it is to read) the less I would personally like it.

The simplicity and colour scheme in Persona 6 really caught my eye.