Glendalough Fine Carpentry Logo

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Logo Rank

I found this logo ranking website, so I decided to put my logo through it. I’m not sure if it’s very accurate, but it’s a bit of fun. 

And my inverted logo, which I think will rank higher for contract at least...

Yep. It did. As much as I love my inverted logo version and it’s ranked higher here overall, it’s hard to against the client and the market research. At least, I have it as my colour option. 

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Colour Options

I’ll be presenting the attached colour options to my client for review.

My client requested some changes to be made, as he didn’t like the top of the tower to be in colour and he wanted the tower to be taller. Also, he wanted the colour logo to be just one inverted colour. So I made those changes and below is the final colour logo my client decided on. 

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Market Research

I was not too sure which version of my logo I preferred, so I decided to ask my friends on Instagram. I showed them the two options and asked them to vote on their favourite, as well as offer feedback on their choice.

Option 1: A black logo with transparent elements.

Option 2 Inverted version. 

The results.

In total, 72 people voted on the logo and approximately two-thirds of those who voted preferred Option 1. However, a designer friend suggested I use both options, as it’s good to have an inverted version of a logo. I’m now going to play around with colours and see if I can make Option 2 a colour version for my client.

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So here is the inverted version of my logo. The white parts of the logo are transparent, so whatever colour or surface the logo is placed on, it will take on that colour. Let’s try it on the van again.

I’m not sure the top of the tower works as well in this design, but I’m going to seek more feedback.

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In my latest Desktop Publishing class I shared my logo designs with my classmates and the feedback was positive. My lecturer suggested I invert the image, so I’m going to try that next. 

Note to self: Get more feedback from people.

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The above logo is the same as my last design, but with two new additions. I realised that the font Nomark wasn’t clear enough, so I changed to this font type called Libertine Linux. I think it has an essence of the original font I chose, but it’s much clearer and easier to read.

I’ve also added the date of establishment. I’ve chosen to place it in roman numerals as I think it might be more elusive to people, as many people aren’t very familiar familiar with roman numerals and it also might not denote the same negative connotations as “2020″.

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Finally my logo was starting to take shape. My client was very happy with this design. I decided to photoshop it onto his van to see if it would be clear for the uses he required it for, and I noticed an issue. I had used the font type Nomark for the word “carpentry” and I realised it was too thin in parts to read from a distance. I decided I needed to find a different font. 

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Getting closer to my final logo here. My client liked the concept, but I knew the choice of font was going to be as integral to the logo as the shapes and colours if I wanted to carry of a traditional feel.

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Another page from my notebook. It is not my final design, but it was one under consideration. I just felt like I couldn’t execute it well, even though I spent an unfortunate portion of time messing around with the letters and trying to overlap them with the tower. I still think it could make for a cool design, but it just proved beyond me currently. I was willing to admit defeat on this one. 

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I introduced my client to my favourite logo designer, which I ended up regretting. He really liked the style, but it just didn’t fit the brief. Definitely something I will revisit in the future, as I love this old style.

You can see more of his designs here.

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More logo designs incorporating Glendalough tower. At this stage I felt pretty committed to the tower concept; I liked it and so did my client. It also seemed like something I could execute well. 

Starting with the first image. I tried placing a set square behind my tower, but my client didn’t like it. I realised I had been trying really hard to cram tools into my design, even though my client had explained from day one that he did not want them in his design. This was the last tool I tried to shoehorn into the design.

I started sketching pictures of the tower on it’s own and explored using a line technique for the tower.

In the last picture I drew this interlocking tower and the initials of the Glendalough Fine Carpentry. I knew it would be hard to execute well, but I decided to try and attempt it on illustrator, using the above sketch as a reference.

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Here is another page from my notebook outlining my second interview with my client. If you find the above text too small to read, please find text below...

I sat down with my client for a second time to discuss the sketches and see if there was an idea he liked in particular. He really liked the inclusion of the tower and the representation of a valley, so I decided to go back and draw some more variations with the tower, as I wasn’t one hundred percent happy with what I had drawn so far.

I tried seeing if I could hide tools in the mountain range. I gave up on this idea pretty quickly though, but I still think there could’ve been something interesting to play around with more. Maybe for another carpenter. 

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This is another page from my notebook. I collected images of Glendalough to inspire my design.

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Very first drawings including Glendalough in my design. I felt the mountain range and the tower were a bit messy on their own, so I encompassed them in a circle. I let the tower peek out of the circle, which I think looks cool and hints at the towers impressive, sky-scraping form. 

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Apologies for the poor quality of these logos. I like how they interpret landscapes, particular the top image referencing Everest. It’s a very simple design, but I can still make out the familiar mountain range.

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First Sketch

The above is a very rough sketch from my notebook. I’ve placed a planer beside it for reference. I know my client wasn’t too into using a tool in his logo, but I felt that a planer was a very traditional tool and I wanted to see if he would consider it. It wasn’t to his liking. 

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My Notebook

I started the below notebook to collect information about my logo’s design process. This is the first page of my final notebook, summarising my first of two interviews that I had with my client about his logo for his carpentry business. If you find it hard to read, text is provided below. 

Who is my client?

My client is a carpenter with most of his worked based in Wicklow or South County Dublin. He has been trading for over 10 years and has a loyal client base for whom he works on small and large-scale projects. Recently, his business has moved in a different direction, due to a conscious decision to move from large construction projects to just carpentry and a new workshop situated in Glendalough, Wicklow. He would like to make a name for himself in the Wicklow area, while still retaining the clients he currently has in the South County Dublin Area.

What does his brand stand for?

The majority of my client’s customers are repeat custom who have hired him for several jobs during long-standing, working relationships. His work is high-end and part of his business model is offering an unusual high standard of customer service and support compared to his competitors. He also has specialised experience in high-end restoration of period houses.

Three words to describe your brand? I asked my client to describe his brand in 3 words, this is what he said.

High-end Traditional Prestige

What my client is looking for from a logo?

My client would like a logo based around his new workshop location in Glendalough. He also explained that he doesn’t want any carpentry tool elements in the logo, as he feels these are very common and it doesn’t fit with the look he wants for his brand. He would like it to have some kind of antiquity or provenence. He has suggested to me that he might like the inclusion of the year he started trading in Roman Numerals and that he is particularly fond of engraving or etching drawings from old books.

My client has also explained that he gets most of his client-base from word-of-mouth and does not advertise his company online or even advertise his phone number on the side of his van. Ergo, he does not necessarily want a logo that is blantantly referencing carpentry, rather a logo that embodies his business and his brand’s ethos around quality and tradition.