Custom Logos for Plans

[Tench745]

Hey all, I sort-of mentioned this on my Jenny thread, but thought I should spell it out here.

Over the next year or so I would like to put together and release finished plan sets for the planes I've built over the years. I'd like to have a logo to identify my... "brand".

So far I have two logos that I've done up in Inkscape. I'd appreciate peoples opinions, suggestions, and if you're feeling generous maybe submissions?

I feel like both of these need... something...

 

[jabberwockie]

I think they're both very good. Slightly prefer the top one with the initials integration.

 

[SP0NZ]

I really like the top (airplane) version. Very unique.

 

[Tench745]

I was inspired by the Corben logo and some others of it's era.

 

[RMDC]

I like option #1 better as well, though I agree that it needs something. There's a fair amount of empty fuselage between letters. I think you could probably shrink the plane profile laterally to bring them together, though then it runs the risk of being cartoonish. The current profile has an iconic line that reminds me of your Cafe Air Racer series, so maybe contracting it isn't the right way to go. The Corben and Cessna logos are awesome. I can see why you gravitated toward that style.

 

[Tench745]

How's about this?

 

[jabberwockie]

Personally I would remove the smoke stacks, shorten the nose a little and change to grey feathers to the same cream/green but opposite. Green feather on cream and vice versa. Perhaps change the grey wheel accents to cream also.

But that's just my tuppence

 

[rockyboy]

I like the parasol plane design too.

Keep in mind that staying simple allows the graphic to translate better to mono-tone if it's going to ever be burned/lasered into wood, printed at different scales, stitched into hats, etc.

 

[RMDC]

Keep in mind that staying simple allows the graphic to translate better to mono-tone if it's going to ever be burned/lasered into wood, printed at different scales, stitched into hats, etc.

That's a good consideration. There's a lot of line action happening in one spot where those feathers sit. Still, the kerning is nicer. If there was a way to better differentiate the "c" and feathers from the body of the plane, that'd be ideal, I think.

 

[Tench745]

Ultimately, I'm unhappy with both these designs. They feel too complex, and kind of a mish-mash not really a cohesive design. I want to be able to throw it on a plan set, put it on my Taranis, or emblazon it on the tail or fuselage of any of my planes with or without color and still be recognizable like the FT gremlin, the Sponz skull, Wilsonman's JO logo, Rockyboy's penguin, Localfiend's imp, AircPirates' piston, FoamyDM's d-20, or Peter Pripol's art deco insignia.

I'm not a graphic designer by any means and I've often said, "I'm inventive, not creative." Which is to say, I take problems and solve them, not create art from scratch. So I imagine this will be a challenging, ongoing project for me.

I'd like to make something simple, clean, and classic. I have no idea where to start.

 

[Tench745]

Changes suggested were made to the plane logo. I removed colors to simplify and make it a bit less cartoony. The whole plane was shrunk lengthwise, the M was adjusted to look more like struts. It feels more cohesive now. I'm starting to like it.


A few more little tweaks.


In a swing to the other direction I used the VW, MG, and Warner Brothers logos as inspiration for something a little more geometric. This feels more like something you would find on a 30's vintage product. It could much more easily be embossed into a surface as well.

 

[Tench745]

With the time off from this whole corona virus thing I've had some time to focus on side projects like this. When I saw @The Hangar 's logo, I knew the direction I wanted to go and worked up a new set of logo tests. My sister, the art student, is advising and working on something for me as well, but this is what I've come up with on my own. I think #3 is my favorite so far but I'm not quite happy with it yet.

 

[The Hangar]

With the time off from this whole corona virus thing I've had some time to focus on side projects like this. When I saw @The Hangar 's logo, I knew the direction I wanted to go and worked up a new set of logo tests. My sister, the art student, is advising and working on something for me as well, but this is what I've come up with on my own. I think #3 is my favorite so far but I'm not quite happy with it yet.
View attachment 162411

#3 is my favorite as well. Maybe take the font from #3 and use it with the plane in #2?

 

[rockyboy]

I'm voting #3 - would translate well to a stencil or laser burned too.

 

[Tench745]

Played with things a little more based on my sister's suggestions. I she and I both like the gradient, but as rockyboy pointed out, it doesn't stencil or laser cut as nicely. I went back to all black for now and shortened the wingspan at her suggestion. I'm really happy with this.
I'm still looking forward to see what she comes up with too.

 

[rockyboy]

Played with things a little more based on my sister's suggestions. I she and I both like the gradient, but as rockyboy pointed out, it doesn't stencil or laser cut as nicely. I went back to all black for now and shortened the wingspan at her suggestion. I'm really happy with this.
I'm still looking forward to see what she comes up with too.
View attachment 162427

This is great!

 

[The Hangar]

Played with things a little more based on my sister's suggestions. I she and I both like the gradient, but as rockyboy pointed out, it doesn't stencil or laser cut as nicely. I went back to all black for now and shortened the wingspan at her suggestion. I'm really happy with this.
I'm still looking forward to see what she comes up with too.
View attachment 162427

I really like that!

 

[The Hangar]

I just wanted to give a shout out to @Grifflyer for drawing up my logo for me! I told him what I wanted and he did a great job! I didn't want him to get offended that he didn't get any credit for it - we all know Griffy... (I could be in for it pretty bad)

 

[Tench745]

So, I settled on what I believe will be my final logo, I simply added an ellipse surrounding the above logo.


Then, for fun I decided I should customize my Taranis and replace the stock FrSky logo with something of my own, so I made this up to imitate the style of the sticker on the X9D+.

 

[The Hangar]

So, I settled on what I believe will be my final logo, I simply added an ellipse surrounding the above logo.
View attachment 164166

Then, for fun I decided I should customize my Taranis and replace the stock FrSky logo with something of my own, so I made this up to imitate the style of the sticker on the X9D+.
View attachment 164167

Looks awesome!