Rough draft for my new logo

[C. Charles Hahn]

true, but a nice Infinity, Lexus, Mercedes, Cadillac, Escalade etc ...would look good ... I would not use a car you would not ever be detailing either.

edit ... my first web site used a customer`s car I think it was an e420 convt. ...if you have a customer`s car that could be used it would be even better for advertising purposes.

That`s all fine and good, but I wouldn`t be using something like that for a business logo. Your logo and branding needs to be something much more simple and able to easily translate into black and white and/or line art for versatility. If somewhere else on your advertising materials you want to feature pics of real cars you`ve detailed, that`s great, but it`s not a logo.

The Poorboy`s logo is a good example of that -- albeit from the logo alone you wouldn`t be able to tell the company sells auto detailing supplies.

[YNOT]

If somewhere else on your advertising materials you want to feature pics of real cars you`ve detailed, that`s great, but it`s not a logo.

I agree completely. As a graphic designer for the past 18+ years, that`s one thing I try to impress upon my clients and in my designs. Keep them SIMPLE! You want a logo to be something that can be used on not only a `billboard` but small stuff such as biz cards and pens, or other `small` items. It needs to lack a ton of detail and be just a simple, clean icon that says a bit about you and your business and most importantly it needs to be easily recognizable.

That`s one of the most misunderstood things about `proper` logo design...so many people want a whole car as their logo...or something `intricate` but when you go to have it embroidered on shirts or put on biz cards it gets so small that you lose the detail in it. Save the snazzy, detailed images of cars for your advertising pieces, T-shirts, or other `larger` collateral.

When it comes to successful logos...less is more! Just look around at the many big, succesful companies out there today. Their logos are typically 1, 2, or maybe 3 colors and they lack much `fine` detail. For example...




Okay...sorry, I`ll step down from my soap box now.

[YNOT]

The Poorboy`s logo is a good example of that -- albeit from the logo alone you wouldn`t be able to tell the company sells auto detailing supplies.

That`s the thing about logos...they don`t always have to be a direct `tie` to your business. Over the years, this unique logo of Steve`s has been embedded in peoples minds and it`s easily recognizable when you see it. Does it say `detailing` exactly...no...but to the people in the industry who have seen it all these years, they know what it is at a glance...it`s easy to understand and it works well for him.

[mrclean81]

I can respect everyones input and when the final consultation takes place in a few weeks I`ll be sure to keep everything in mind. I gave the guy blank slate with no ideas of what I wanted just to see where he would go with it. I`m not crazy about the car choice either but it works. I think what I`m going to do is use this image for my trailer and shirts and have a simplified version for business cards because there would be too much clutter if I don`t.

[Poorboy]

I can respect everyones input and when the final consultation takes place in a few weeks I`ll be sure to keep everything in mind. I gave the guy blank slate with no ideas of what I wanted just to see where he would go with it. I`m not crazy about the car choice either but it works. I think what I`m going to do is use this image for my trailer and shirts and have a simplified version for business cards because there would be too much clutter if I don`t.

great idea

[C. Charles Hahn]

That`s the thing about logos...they don`t always have to be a direct `tie` to your business. Over the years, this unique logo of Steve`s has been embedded in peoples minds and it`s easily recognizable when you see it. Does it say `detailing` exactly...no...but to the people in the industry who have seen it all these years, they know what it is at a glance...it`s easy to understand and it works well for him.

Very true, all of us who are in and around the industry know what we`re seeing whenever Mr. Nothing-but-lint-in-my-pockets shows up (or was that Mr. no-one-but-Pockets-in-my-lint? ), and no doubt the poor `ol boy has served Steve well. Actually the fact that it is such a departure from most of the other corporate logos found in the industry makes it stand out more than if it were something that just blended into the crowd.

Having said that, I think there`s one distinction that should be made about when a logo like that works and when it may not be the best choice. In the case of Poorboys, their primary target market is people who are a part of the industry either as professionals or enthusiasts, and those people do pick up on what the company does and sells and quickly learn to identify the character logo since it represents the main concept of the business (selling quality products at affordable prices) quite effectively.

However, in the case of most professional detailers, they aren`t primarily marketing to enthusiasts or industry insiders as much as they`re going after the general public. As such it is important that either the business` name clearly reflect what they are offering, or the logo makes it clear that the business is providing an automotive service of some sort. Preferably, both the business` name AND logo would clearly reflect that in the case of a smaller scale service provider targeting an unaware or uninitiated public for greater draw and recognizability. Larger businesses and corporations can get away with logos that may be less obvious simply because they can bank on pre-established public awareness, where smaller organizations may not always have that luxury.

Just my opinion of course.

[Poorboy]

Very true, all of us who are in and around the industry know what we`re seeing whenever Mr. Nothing-but-lint-in-my-pockets shows up (or was that Mr. no-one-but-Pockets-in-my-lint? ), and no doubt the poor `ol boy has served Steve well. Actually the fact that it is such a departure from most of the other corporate logos found in the industry makes it stand out more than if it were something that just blended into the crowd.

Having said that, I think there`s one distinction that should be made about when a logo like that works and when it may not be the best choice. In the case of Poorboys, their primary target market is people who are a part of the industry either as professionals or enthusiasts, and those people do pick up on what the company does and sells and quickly learn to identify the character logo since it represents the main concept of the business (selling quality products at affordable prices) quite effectively.

However, in the case of most professional detailers, they aren`t primarily marketing to enthusiasts or industry insiders as much as they`re going after the general public. As such it is important that either the business` name clearly reflect what they are offering, or the logo makes it clear that the business is providing an automotive service of some sort. Preferably, both the business` name AND logo would clearly reflect that in the case of a smaller scale service provider targeting an unaware or uninitiated public for greater draw and recognizability. Larger businesses and corporations can get away with logos that may be less obvious simply because they can bank on pre-established public awareness, where smaller organizations may not always have that luxury.

Just my opinion of course.

very good points ... one reason i suggested the shiny car is exactly what you said. The target market for most detailers is the general public who don`t think swirls, but think bling. Over the 20+ years of doing car shows, I have quite the collection of detailer`s business cards, and they almost all have a picture of a car or part of a car. One of the most successful detailers I deal with actually has the back his PT Cruiser on his card. You know it`s him when he shows up . Just like a kid getting his first shiny penny, people like bling.

[C. Charles Hahn]

I went out searching and found someone that incorporates both what Steve is getting at and what YNOT and I are saying, and found one I really like at pjsdetailing.com:



He uses a real picture of a shined up Mini in his header, but also has a simple icon-like logo in the shape of a highway sign that can easily be used on its own for scaled-down or line-art purposes. The Mini is part of his overall image and helps draw people in (and the plus side is that a Mini is something he could very realistically be detailing himself), but it`s not the logo.

Here`s what I have been using for several years now as my logo, which is overlaid on top of a cool reflection shot I took of a vehicle in my garage with the lights off. The "icon" graphic is just some royalty-free clip art I found in the Microsoft Office collection at the time, so it`s pretty generic, but it does work well for me. Eventually I`ll get around to hiring someone (I may actually talk to YNOT about the project at some point) to design a more original looking logo but for the time being I`m still happy with what I have:



I also have a few polo shirts, sweatshirts, and a nice fall/winter jacket with that same logo and text layout embroidered onto them, and they look great.

[mrclean81]

My currant business cards have pics of a semi, a street rod, and a RV that I actually did detail. I like being able to say "yes I did each of those" rather than it just being a pic I got from the web somewhere. I don`t really know what direction we are going to take this thing but I`m sure whatever the finished product turns out being, I`ll be happy with it.