The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown • Hacker News Board

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#31

Post by blahedo » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 1:02 AM UTC

huhtenberg wrote: post #19

I don't think it's that great of a logo. At the very least it is too detailed to scale well, the shell will be completely lost at smaller sizes turning into a blob of flesh color. The use of desaturated pastels is not a typical choice for a technical project. It is more fit for something soft, girly, perhaps creative. Also there is a disconnect between the name and the symbol. You tell me "Groove", I will remember Gr…

> ...not a typical choice for... technical.... It is more... soft, girly, perhaps creative.

Really. Really?? For entirely separate reasons, I'm bothered both by the placement of "technical" and "girly" in opposition and also by "technical" and "creative" in opposition. Yikes.

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#32

Post by socratic » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 1:50 AM UTC

I'm really curious what Alex's reaction is to the discussion here. He posted a link to the blog post, so he must be reading it, no?

The comments so far seem pretty negative, and not really for unimportant reasons.

The two main issues I see are: (1) too complicated as well as lacking contrast, so it will not print well on t-shirts, letterhead, and business cards and (2) the logo does not look like a shell without seeing the process that produced it (and in fact looks more like a pig, breast, or heart, all of which are kind of weird).

Were there business or other reasons for ignoring these aspects? Would it be possible to change the logo at this stage if this feedback were convincing?

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#33

Post by socratic » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 1:57 AM UTC

mbreese wrote: post #3

Am I the only one that thinks of the Microsoft collaboration software when they hear "Groove"? That just sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Plus, I didn't see the connection between a conch shell and "groove". I actually couldn't tell it was a shell with the colored lines wrapping it - I couldn't tell what it was.

I am also confused by this. The name of the startup actually appears to be "Groove Networks LLC".

Obviously, there are a lot of Famous Ray's Pizzas and such, but "Groove Networks" seems so oddly specific. Does this startup have some relationship with the original Groove Networks of the early 2000s?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groove_Networks

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#34

Post by georgemcbay » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 2:11 AM UTC

Dreadful logo, sorry.

Like many others I thought it was an abstract illustration of a heart at first glance, and figured this was a medical devices company or something.. further inspection revealed everything from a boob to part of a toilet as other possibilities.

You almost certainly had too much input into the logo, your process seems to have involved a bunch of bike-shedding gone awry.

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#35

Post by subpixel » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 2:43 AM UTC

Honest feedback: the first thing I thought when I saw the logo was "a toilet?"

This before reading that someone else saw that too.

But your product is _very_ compelling. The screenshots look good: less overwrought than your logo and, to be honest, your homepage.

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#36

Post by maherjunkies » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 2:52 PM UTC

schweeeettttttttttttt........

-your local sneaker Junkies ambassador....maher junkies

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#37

Post by drewapps » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 2:53 PM UTC

I'm a big fan of the site, product and logo and respect the willingness to share, and transparency of the design process

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#38

Post by JayNev » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 3:45 PM UTC

michaelpinto wrote: post #26

huhtenberg wrote: post #19

I don't think it's that great of a logo. At the very least it is too detailed to scale well, the shell will be completely lost at smaller sizes turning into a blob of flesh color. The use of desaturated pastels is not a typical choice for a technical project. It is more fit for something soft, girly, perhaps creative. Also there is a disconnect between the name and the symbol. You tell me "Groove", I will remember Gr…

The bigger question to me was: What does Groove do? Branding should be about what you want to communicate about the company rather than the decoration process of picking out a color scheme. If you want to understand why this branding isn't working read the mission statement: "Groove is a hosted customer support and engagement platform that helps companies manage customer support across all types of channels - email,…

Snowballing negativity in here, geez. I like it.. and from the look of the shots on the site, I think it works really well with the look of the site and the "softer" quality of the app to be honest..@michaelpinto, many of those logos would be considered stodgy in the software space if they were released today, and have been redesigned since.

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#39

Post by genomebre » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 4:42 PM UTC

blahedo wrote: post #31

huhtenberg wrote: post #19

I don't think it's that great of a logo. At the very least it is too detailed to scale well, the shell will be completely lost at smaller sizes turning into a blob of flesh color. The use of desaturated pastels is not a typical choice for a technical project. It is more fit for something soft, girly, perhaps creative. Also there is a disconnect between the name and the symbol. You tell me "Groove", I will remember Gr…

> ...not a typical choice for... technical.... It is more... soft, girly, perhaps creative. Really. Really?? For entirely separate reasons, I'm bothered both by the placement of "technical" and "girly" in opposition and also by "technical" and "creative" in opposition. Yikes.

"Girly" what is that supposed to mean!? I don't find it girly as much as I find it fun, and different from the mess of homogeneous tech and software apps out there, if you must know. Feels approachable to me.

Re: The process behind our startup's logo design - draftswork shown

#40

Post by genomebre » Thu, Sep 15, 2011, 4:42 PM UTC

blahedo wrote: post #31

huhtenberg wrote: post #19

I don't think it's that great of a logo. At the very least it is too detailed to scale well, the shell will be completely lost at smaller sizes turning into a blob of flesh color. The use of desaturated pastels is not a typical choice for a technical project. It is more fit for something soft, girly, perhaps creative. Also there is a disconnect between the name and the symbol. You tell me "Groove", I will remember Gr…

> ...not a typical choice for... technical.... It is more... soft, girly, perhaps creative. Really. Really?? For entirely separate reasons, I'm bothered both by the placement of "technical" and "girly" in opposition and also by "technical" and "creative" in opposition. Yikes.

"Girly" what is that supposed to mean!? I don't find it girly as much as I find it fun, and different from the mess of homogeneous tech and software apps out there, if you must know. Feels approachable to me.