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New Logo for Brass Band.


Xenol

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Hi Folks.

For a long time now, the logo of the brass band I play in has irked me. Although it is quite clever (the name BTM formed from a flat symbol, the shape of a cymbal and three quavers for the musically illiterate), it's unbalanced feel and amateurish execution has (to me) screamed out for a revamp. Below (right) is my take on the design. I'm going to pitch an entire rebrand at the next AGM. What do you folks think?

post-36350-0-59533800-1484044881_thumb.png

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I like what you've done in terms of balance, but the symbol on the left only slightly resembles a "flat" symbol, and the symbol on the right doesn't look at all like three quavers. The connection with the initials seems to have vanished completely.

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I like what you've done in terms of balance, but the symbol on the left only slightly resembles a "flat" symbol, and the symbol on the right doesn't look at all like three quavers. The connection with the initials seems to have vanished completely.

Thanks for your critique - I think your view of the flat symbol is justified, and was a point I thought about - I couldn't find a design which was a more obvious shape which didn't in turn spoil the harmony of the logo. I feel the pointed bottom is still (in my eyes) reminiscent of the original symbol. I will respectfully disagree regarding the quavers however.

 

My plan was to make a logo in it's own right rather than a simple 'sum-of-its-parts'. The more conical cymbal is more similar to an earlier iteration of the bands logo from around the 1980's. Since the BTM Band is such an established name now in British brass banding, I think people will already have had experience with the current logo, and so will view the new one as an evolution.

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… the symbol on the left only slightly resembles a "flat" symbol, and the symbol on the right doesn't look at all like three quavers.

 

+1

May I note that the ride no longer looks like one?

 

I dig the graphic "cleanness" of it!

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+1

May I note that the ride no longer looks like one?

 

I dig the graphic "cleanness" of it!

 

Thanks for your critique - I think your view of the flat symbol is justified, and was a point I thought about - I couldn't find a design which was a more obvious shape which didn't in turn spoil the harmony of the logo. I feel the pointed bottom is still (in my eyes) reminiscent of the original symbol. I will respectfully disagree regarding the quavers however.

 

My plan was to make a logo in it's own right rather than a simple 'sum-of-its-parts'. The more conical cymbal is more similar to an earlier iteration of the bands logo from around the 1980's. Since the BTM Band is such an established name now in British brass banding, I think people will already have had experience with the current logo, and so will view the new one as an evolution.

 

I did this as a reference to one of the historical versions of the bands logo, and because it looks better.

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I feel the pointed bottom is still (in my eyes) reminiscent of the original symbol.

 

That's a fair point, if you'll excuse the pun!

 

I will respectfully disagree regarding the quavers however.

 

I think my problem with the "quavers" is not so much the shape as the fact that they aren't filled in, so they look like minims. On reflection, there's no reason why they need to be quavers just because they've always been quavers, so I humbly withdraw my criticism of that aspect.

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The more conical cymbal is more similar to an earlier iteration of the bands logo from around the 1980's.

 

 

Right, sorry I misread that! :)

www.kodiakmedia.at

TeamViewer: 668 015 544
Skype: kodiakonline
 
If personal taste is involved,           Light is free,                       Mother Nature provides the light
discussion is pointless.                   capturing it is NOT.               but talent renders the image.
                                                                                                                        (Charlychuck)
 
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The Affinity work is fine. But I too do not see much of a suggestion of "BTM." I don't play drums, but have been reading music for quite awhile, and I've always seen beat quavers on a single line.  To me, that suggests an "M" better than the descending row you are using. It seems you are looking for a better symmetry. Myself, if it isn't important to have the quaver conform to drum notation, I'd make it so the three note dots are low-hi-low to be more like an "M" and try to space them to echo the drum cymbal upper line. Your Choice.

 

...And having the dots open like they are whole note messes w. my mind. :)

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Hi Folks.

For a long time now, the logo of the brass band I play in has irked me. Although it is quite clever (the name BTM formed from a flat symbol, the shape of a cymbal and three quavers for the musically illiterate), it's unbalanced feel and amateurish execution has (to me) screamed out for a revamp. Below (right) is my take on the design. I'm going to pitch an entire rebrand at the next AGM. What do you folks think?

 

Lots better, its a icon logo so don't worry about 100% readability, I think its sometimes more fun to discover elements hidden within logos too. People are often scared of change, so I feel you've changed it just enough but still has a familiarity to the old.

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The Affinity work is fine. But I too do not see much of a suggestion of "BTM." I don't play drums, but have been reading music for quite awhile, and I've always seen beat quavers on a single line.  To me, that suggests an "M" better than the descending row you are using. It seems you are looking for a better symmetry. Myself, if it isn't important to have the quaver conform to drum notation, I'd make it so the three note dots are low-hi-low to be more like an "M" and try to space them to echo the drum cymbal upper line. Your Choice.

 

...And having the dots open like they are whole note messes w. my mind. :)

 

Thanks for your input. Having the quavers descending is the most aesthetic arrangement I tested. Taking in mind peoples thoughts so far, how about something like this? On review, having hollow quavers (which was originally a move to make them match the flat better) hasn't added much. I removed the linking bar that joined the 'b' and the 'm' which makes the quavers more defined.

 

Thoughts?

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Works better for me. I read them much more as a set of quavers now.

iMac 27" Retina, c. 2015: OS X 10.11.5: 3.3 GHz I c-5: 32 Gb,  AMD Radeon R9 M290 2048 Mb

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Huion WH1409 tablet

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I like to chime in on this, but be aware that my feedback is only valuable if you enjoyed this logo redesign process so far and interested to do it more often for others.

 

1. I would get rid of the circle.

 

A logo, like anything else that resembles a symbol, has symbolicism, and many people will by default read a logo like that. The main symbol I 'see' in your logo, is the peace symbol, due to the circle and the three-legged stand. I'm sure you hope that some day there is world peace, but also sure this is not your intention for this logo. Furthermore, a circle which is an enclosed shape feels closed, while music is one of the things that is strong when open and free, inviting and bringing people together, not keeping them in/out. Not having the circle will instantly 'open' up your logo, and perhaps the feel people have about your band.

 

2. The triangle is overpowering, it's stronger than any other element, and this can be perceived as most important... is it? To me it looks like a Roman roof/facade aside from anything else. It my be the top of the 'T', but a logotype (a logo where text/letters are the base of the logo) that needs to be explained, is pretty weak.

 

Again, if you enjoy the process so far, I strongly suggest sketching more ideas, something like 20 or even 30, go crazy, try different shapes, experiment with current shapes but repositioned, etc. It might be frustrating, but the last 5 will either be way better than this one, or confirm that this one is the strongest you can come up with.

 

... but lose the circle, and let the logo breath ;)

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Works better for me. I read them much more as a set of quavers now.

 

Me too! Although I'm pleased to see the quavers back to looking like quavers instead of beamed minims, for me the removal of the linking bar is the biggest improvement: not because it makes the quavers more defined, but because it allows the letters to look like letters again.

 

I wonder if curving the top of the bowl of the 'b' (to make it look more like a flat symbol) would spoil the overall look of the logo. The tops of the quavers could, of course, be adjusted to match.

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Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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I like to chime in on this, but be aware that my feedback is only valuable if you enjoyed this logo redesign process so far and interested to do it more often for others.

 

1. I would get rid of the circle.

 

A logo, like anything else that resembles a symbol, has symbolicism, and many people will by default read a logo like that. The main symbol I 'see' in your logo, is the peace symbol, due to the circle and the three-legged stand. I'm sure you hope that some day there is world peace, but also sure this is not your intention for this logo. Furthermore, a circle which is an enclosed shape feels closed, while music is one of the things that is strong when open and free, inviting and bringing people together, not keeping them in/out. Not having the circle will instantly 'open' up your logo, and perhaps the feel people have about your band.

 

2. The triangle is overpowering, it's stronger than any other element, and this can be perceived as most important... is it? To me it looks like a Roman roof/facade aside from anything else. It my be the top of the 'T', but a logotype (a logo where text/letters are the base of the logo) that needs to be explained, is pretty weak.

 

Again, if you enjoy the process so far, I strongly suggest sketching more ideas, something like 20 or even 30, go crazy, try different shapes, experiment with current shapes but repositioned, etc. It might be frustrating, but the last 5 will either be way better than this one, or confirm that this one is the strongest you can come up with.

 

... but lose the circle, and let the logo breath ;)

 

I agree with nearly everything you said. I'd also like to add a few words of advice for Xenol.

 

1. Keep in mind that a logo should to be legible at about the size of a wild blueberry; 12-13mm or 1/2 inch. Roughly the size of the thumbnail attached to the post about the reworked logo.

 

2. The spaces (lines) between everything in the top section of the logo are entirely lost at a small size, especially the space above the top of quavers (new word for me...it's "eighth note" over on this half of the globe) and bottom of the cymbal. My suggestion would be to make those spaces at least the same thickness as the lines of the flat, stand, and quavers.

 

 

I could probably go on, but it's looking pretty good already.

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quavers (new word for me...it's "eighth note" over on this half of the globe)

 

Whole note = semibreve

Half note = minim

Quarter note = crotchet

Eighth note = quaver

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Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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