Official Luthiers Forum!

Shane:

I tried not to read the other responses so as not to influence my reaction to your design. So, if it is repetitive, I apologize. First, I love the concept.

I don't like the brush line of the tree element. In my mind the lines should have more variety, starting thin at the top of each stroke and thickening at the bottom of each "branch". The branches should not be so consistent or bring to mind a series of cartoon noses, as it did for me on first look.

The guitar element looked fine on first impression. I would like to see the lines (strings) continue through the sound hole and I thing one string would simplify, but keep true to the concept.

It is a strong concept in that to most luthiers in conveys exactly what you do, simply and with elegance. Good luck with it and the business!

Danny R. Little

Neil, I love that! If you do free lance work, PM your full contact info, and I'll keep you in my "Rolodex" for business projects.

Shane, we ran into some of the same issues and had a contest at the Luthier Community to get a logo. It is impossible to make a logo that tells the story of your company, and includes all aspects. If you think about it, the top 10 most memorable logos in the history of advertising/marketing said almost nothing about the company or products/services. Where's Brock? Shouldn't you be here telling Shane he's just trying to create a memorable brand for brand awareness, not encapsulate his company in a few brush strokes. (You helped me see the concept.)

I really think a refinement of what Neil sketched would be perfect. Gotta keep it loose, free, lyrical (as Neil did - don't lose that!) If you're not planning embroidery, the sketchy feel will work on silk screened T-shirts, business card, letterhead... (hey, who uses letterhead for a tonewood business anyway!) If you want to include embroidery, then I'd solidify the lines (and maybe make the tree branch tips more pointed): "Zen" ink/paint brush strokes on rice paper.

I'l love to challenge Neil to take the final line of the lowest branch, and come down then to the left, to loosely form the left half of a trunk, and take the line at the butt of the guitar, come down and squiggle a bit to the right to form the right side of the trunk. Might not work, but I'd still like to see it.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

I TOTALLY agree Dennis. The logo recognition thing comes from branding, I could indeed just put a cow blowing a flute and if I marketed it with enough intensity it would then become associated with the bunch of clowns at High Mountain Tonewood Company. So as I said early onin this thread, the consept of a tree morphing into the essence of a guitar I think relates to what we are doing rather than what we are called and that sits well with me. There have been a lot of good suggestions and your idea of brush strokes is one I am going to try. I too really like Neils idea, it has some eliments that we may include as well. I have sketched tree trunks into images for a couple of years and none of them really worked, but my drawing is poor. I actually like the form of the logo so far but I can see that some line detail is required. These are really just the first draft of this concept. I remain grateful for the input and will indeed consider it all in moving to the final design.

Thanks again and keep 'em comin'!

Shane

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Canada

Here's another fun idea for you Shane



And for the holiday season, you can use the festive version:





My son Harry (14) made the animated gif - thanks Harry!!
(edit: not sure why it's so big....sorry....I'll try to get a smaller version from him tomorrow)

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Hey, Shane, it's very tough to be objective about one's own logo, so I'm not surprised you've been working on this for three or more years. Logos are extremely difficult--even for a pro working objectively for a client. Just that much more difficult for someone on the client side trying to do his own. Please do remember all the production issues as you sort through this: Printing in small sizes, clarity on a computer screen, embroidery, and so forth. Also, remember that it has to work well in black and white before it can work well in color. Simplicity is usually best, whether your design is literal or abstract. You have a very beneficial company name, because it describes very literally what your company does. It might not mean much to, for instance, a banker--but the banker is not your market. Instrument builders are your market, and they will know immediately what you sell when they see "tonewoods". I think the words "high mountain" are very evocative, and if I were tackling this project, I would be tempted to try a series of icons which explore that theme. Press on, and good luck with it!
Patrick

Hey Shane, no.3 for me too. However, Neil's rendition is SOLID!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...