Both Nebraska and Rhode Island recently redesigned their state logos.  Nebraska paid something like $65,000 for their new logo design, and according to the Providence Journal, Rhode Island paid famous designer Milton Glaser $400,000 to execute their logo design.  When a logo design costs this much, and public funds are being used, we think this at least opens the designs up for a little democratic critique.  First up Nebraska, with the new slogan; “Good Life. Great Opportunity.”

The first thing we would say about this is it is not a pure logo.  It is set inside this sort of business card shaped “poster” layout which uses the graphics at the bottom to play off the logo, and refer to the low rolling landscape of Nebraska, evoking a feeling of warmth, hospitality and tradition.  The butter-yellow swoosh that weaves through the word Nebraska and forms the cross on both the “A”s looks nice but we have to say… how many swooshes/computer brushstrokes go through the word out there and form the cross on a letter or two?  The other thing we would ask is will we even see the weaving of the swoosh when this design is printed very small, on a business card for example.  It reads Nebraska clearly, even at a glance or at a distance, which is very important.

Next up, Rhode Island’s new logo, designed by Milton Glaser; designer of the famous “I love NY” logo.

We are not going to argue with Milton Glaser only to say that the type could be bigger for readability at a small size.  Perhaps the tension or pull at the top could be retained with the type extending to the edges, making the entire design still a square, just larger type.  The type is sized more like a poster than a traditional logo.  Either way, the square shape is very utilitarian these days with the preponderance of square shaped social media profiles and applications that need to be filled.  This logo could drop right in to most of those small square applications without any major redesign.  Also, in the end the type can be positioned any way to the icon depending on the usage.  Overall our hat is off to this modern icon based logo for Rhode Island.

Contact us today if you need it all considered by professional logo designers before starting your logo design process.

Our most recent logo design client, Rock Canyon Preservation Alliance.

Sometimes aside from the usual helping out small business owners and entrepreneurs who need custom, professional logo design, we get the opportunity to serve a local organization dedicated to the preservation of our beautiful and famous public land.  Rock Canyon; near Provo, Utah has successfully fought off resort access road, mining, and condominium development for decades.  As time passes; the pressures always mount back up to develop this natural wonder due to it’s proximity to major metropolitan areas in Utah.

Shown below are the six logo design concepts that Rock Canyon Preservation Alliance received in three business days after making their order to review.  In this case they picked the first concept, with no changes.  We really like that of course, and it also preserves the original intention of the artist with no dilution.

Logo design concepts received by Rock Canyon Preservation Alliance.

Upon receiving their initial logo design concepts, Rock Canyon Preservation Alliance has this to say:

“”These concepts are drop-dead wonderful!  I’m totally AMAZED!!!  A big thanks to Paul . . . and Tim!

If it were not for grassroots local defense of Rock Canyon, it’s beautiful vistas would have been given over to longtime outside interests long ago.  Due to the unyielding efforts of local citizens, this dramatically framed sheer canyon mouth remains pristine, and open to the native flora, fauna and provides the nearby urban public with much needed space for recreation in a beautiful outdoor environment.

We have been honored to design this awesome custom logo, and to get further details of the organization’s activities check them out here: http://www.rockcanyonutah.com/  …to get your own business or organization looking unstoppable go here.

A client recently asked for a drunk man wrangling a huge trout for a t-shirt. No problem, we said. It reminded us of a lot of other odd illustrations we’ve done for people in the past. Here are some samples of illustrations that we’ve had fun doing.

As you can see, at Business Logos, we don’t say “it can’t be done”, we say, “when do you need it?” And the results are good enough to permanently tattoo on your calf!

Shad came to us wanting an “old West theme combined with a sportsman’s feel” for his logo. He is from Aaron’s home state of Colorado, and he loves guns, so we knew we’d have fun with this one.

We provided him with 10 concepts, and he and his crew couldn’t decide which they liked best. They wound up purchasing 8 of them! Here’s a few they chose.

Then we got to work on their stationery. Again, they couldn’t decide, so they’ll be using both designs we came up with.

We loved hearing from him, because he always had comments like “WOW, they are badass. They both look great!!!” and “You have made this an easy experience, choosing the designs was the hardest part of the whole deal.”

If it seems like we’re tooting our own horn, that’s because we most certainly are. Thanks, Shad, for the great experience on our end!

Sometimes we have clients that want illustrations of fictional creatures, from an actual beancounter to a snowboarding yeti. We love those sorts of projects. Here’s a small sampling of what our designers have come up with.