Competitions
AnalogX
Profile: Mark Thompson
Company: AnalogX
Opens: 21 March 2008
Closes: 21 April 2008
Prize value: US$300.00
Details:
AnalogX is a site with free software, music, articles, etc. It has been around since 1998, and has been dormant the last few years as I launched a new company, but I’m ready to get it rolling again and would like to have a sharp new look for everything (yeah, it needs it). The plan is to first come up with a cool new logo, and then based on the logo come up with a new look and feel for the site, business card and more than likely a tshirt (ideally with the winning artist).
The name is derived from a combination of music and technology; the first part (analog) is from music where analog is generally considered better than digital (from the synthesizer perspective). The X represents the unknown such as from math equations, plus X just in general is cool. :)
The primary focus of the site is music and software, and everything is free so I’m not interested in a corporate feeling logo as much as something edgier and cool. I generally prefer cleaner logos over busier ones, futuristic over traditional. You can see the past logos and design here, as well as get a feel for what the site is about:
The main audience is people into electronic music (pretty specific) and software (pretty broad). The ages vary pretty widely, but in general it’s probably safe to say 20’s and 30’s.
The logo should be able to translate well both to the web and print, and I don’t have any particular preference on colors. Ideally it should look good on either a light or dark background, as well as one color (for printing). There should also be two variations, one with just the logo, and one with the logo and the name ‘AnalogX’; if the X is incorporated in the logo (as it currently is), then the text would just be Analog. It should be vector based.
74 Logos submitted
Winner chosen
Comments:
I was just going to upload some stuff I had been working on and I look and you have already announced the winner???
I thought we had three days to go? That sucks.
Congratulations, Alex, Norman and Kari! Awesome work among many fine designs :-)
As a comp holder, you can’t get any better than this one guys. Not only was Mark informative in his feedbacks but to offer runners-up prizes was much unexpected but much appreciated. If only all CH was that ethical. Thank you Mark and Analog X and congrats to Alex and Kari. Cheers.
congrats man! :)
Wow, thankyou Mark, i never expected that!! And congrats to Chanpion and Kariboo!!
Ok, so we have our winners! I’d like to once again say thanks to everyone that submitted a logo – it was REALLY difficult to make a selection, which is a testament to how many great ones there are. At the end of the day though, one must be chosen, so without further ado, the winner is:
Although my personal favorite was the black and white treatment (not that this one isn’t great also, mind you), this one was the favorite of the majority of the people I spoke with…
2nd place is:
Another great logo – although the creature one still holds a special place in my heart. :)
And finally:
Another one of my favorites, very original and cool optical illusion.
So once again, thanks for everyone who submitted logos, and make sure to watch for some more projects from me in the not too distant future! ;)
Hi Mark, I just wanted to bring it to your attention that the “scores” are calibrated by both votes and views or “clicks” ( I think)? So with that in mind one design can get high scores just from curiosity or interest in the thumbnail view . There might be some very good ones that don’t get the views., but i may be mistaken so don’t mark my word as the whole truth.
dear mr analog x
i’m sure you know of theses people but you should be aware – and avoid anything looking like their logo http://www.analogclothing.com/news/default.aspx?newsType=snow
especially as the logo on their goggles looks like an X
good luck!
Ok, no more submissions please – I’m going to tally up the best ones in a day or so and distribute them around to my friends for feedback, so the winner will be selected shortly. Please vote for whichever ones you like, so I can get your thoughts on which ones should make the cut as well! Thanks!
Thanks Mark, there’s certainly a lot of great info in your responses! so thanks a million :)
Of course, you just beat me to the punch for adding them! :) Ok, so here are my thoughts on the new ones that were added since my previous post. As with before, they’re in no particular order:
This is just as beautiful as the original one – not too different from the original logo. I would be interesting to see a more radical variation on this, but it could just as easily loose something if it becomes too complex.
I liked the previous take, and I like this one even more – the different treatments on the X are very cool – my preference are towards the bottom two, but they’re obviously a bit more polished than the top two.
This one reminds me a bit of barbed wire, and the angular/sharp feel it has helps make the connection. I like it, plus the way it incorporates the A and X together is pretty interesting. This one actually looks just like my current icon – now granted yours looks better, but they’re very similar. :) My preference is to your first version…
Wow, so the critter has some competition! :) Excellent work, this one is definitely up there on my list. Ironically I normally like more angular designs, but this has a very nice organic feel to it, very interesting. I like the choice of colors, although I prefer the left version over the right one, since the outward X draws the eye more.
For me this one has a feel similar to tb1alexc’s I mentioned before – obviously a different take on the transparency and the angle – and I like the wider angle giving it greater perspective. Of the two I prefer tb1alexc’s more because of the interesting choice of only choosing some pieces for the 3D (not really solid, but not hollow either).
Pretty interesting logo – I’m not sure which I prefer, the 3D one or the 2D one, they have very distinct feels to them. I like the use of color, and the connection of both the A and X in the logo.
I have to mention your entries because you’re doing such a cool job on your metal cards – but for me this logo reminds me too much of a lavalamp instead of a rocket. Your idea of recessing the logo looks really good, and the overall design of the card is sharp.
I have to say that the overall quality of the submissions are beyond my expectations – really great work. I want to give everyone a bit of insight into how I’m planning to make my submission – first off I’m going to pick my favorites, then I’m going to pick the ones with the highest scores (effectively your favorites). I’m then going to pass them around to my friends and get their thoughts on all the logos, and based on their feedback make my decision. If there is no objection, I’d like to pick a 2nd and 3rd place logo as well – and pay those artists $200 and $100 respectively. I only plan to be moving forward with one logo, but I’d like to both reward some of the other ones that really stood out to me, and maybe use them in some more specific applications (in my installers, icon, about box, or something similar). Hopefully that works for everyone (or at least my top 3 picks). :)
Any comments on some of the recent enries? Thanks!
First off let me say that all the logos are very cool, thanks for everyone who’s submitted one so far. Here are the ones that stand out in particular for me (in no order):
I like the feel of this logo, although the X made up of the two crescents may be too abstract for people to make the connection that it’s AnalogX and not just Analog.
I’m not as hot on the font used for the text, but the logo is very cool – abstract but gives not only a sense of the X but also of sounds as well.
As with the previous entry, I’m not as keep on the font used name text, but I really like the use of 3D and choice of it not being entirely solid to give the X a really powerful feel. The color version look good as well, but the black and white one seems more stark and interesting.
Great choice of complimentary fonts, I like the separation of the X giving it a bit of a sense forward motion. It feels a bit too simple (and too font-y) I think, but it is a great start.
This is a real dark horse – I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but I find it strangely compelling. :) The color choice work really well, and I like very unique feel this has – to me at least it doesn’t feel like any other logo. I also like the circuit/chip (techie) and the speech bubble with the note (music). It does have a sort of animal look to it, which I’m not sure I like as much…
I like the font and the reverse X on this one, but it suffers a bit from the same thing as one of the previous entries, in that it feels a bit too font-y for my tastes. I like the card look though, which is pretty cool (and the idea for the back of the card).
I should point out one thing about the cards – I’m planning to do something a bit out of the ordinary on the cards. My plan is actually to do Metal business cards so they can have a couple unique attributes. First, they can have embossed sections (so keep in mind on the back side would be a negative of the image), they can be irregular shapes (although I would like to keep them still generally business card dimensions) and can also have sections cut out inside the card, and finally they can be multiple colors on both sides of the card. It certainly isn’t necessary for anyone to submit card ideas right now (first the logo, then the website, then the cards), but for those who are so inclined, that’s what I’m planning on doing. The upside is that (I hope) these will turn out to be some SERIOUSLY cool cards. ;)
Yes, Thanks Mark and everyone else, and congrats to Alex and chanpion, and you too onesummer for your nice design :-)