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At school there is a room for people to create using things like 3D Printers, vinyl cutters, plotters, etc.

I have 2 problems with this. One, when the icon is by itself, it looks like it's missing a part on the right. I also don't know whether to keep the "i" or not.enter image description here

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  • What would happen if you made a great logo but also improved the name of the facility? Shorten it to iMake or iForm.
    – Stan
    Sep 17, 2018 at 12:42
  • The use of font weights is interesting, but I'd ask which is more important... "Create" or "Lab"? My inclination would be bold "create" not "lab" a la -- iCreateLab -- creating balance with the font weight variation by having the i also in the thin weight. But.... I have no knowledge of the actual environment of usage.
    – Scott
    Sep 17, 2018 at 17:21
  • I would loosen the rigidity of the mark by using all lowercase script for "lab."
    – Stan
    Sep 17, 2018 at 19:15
  • Our critique guidelines require a specific question. As such I've edited it to focus on the specific question you asked about and removed the areas that left your question more open ended. This will hopefully focus the answers and prevent your question from being closed (it received 4 close votes already from members that felt it failed to follow our guidelines).
    – Ryan
    Sep 18, 2018 at 19:59
  • "One, when the icon is by itself, it looks like it's missing a part on the right." This may or may not be a problem depending on how your client plans on using the logo. Some logos keep their integrity and icons are not necessarily allowed to be displayed on their own.
    – curious ♦
    Sep 21, 2018 at 14:07

2 Answers 2

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Trying to make a double visual reading in the same symbol is quite difficult, even for experienced designers. In your case, you are trying with a triple: the "i", the light bulb and the gear.

Hence, these questions arise:

  • Can one of the three readings be deleted? It is obvious that the "i" must remain, so it would be necessary to sacrifice the bulb or the gear? Is it possible?
  • If the three have to stay, should they be in the same character?

Wordmark

Honestly, I have not seen the letter "i" until I read the question completely. I think before trying to solve the image and the double/triple reading, the wordmark it must be solved.

word The lower case "i" has the addition that is already difficult to read:

  • It is a lowercase letter in front of a capital letter, the eye tends to see the capital letter as text start
  • At first glance, it looks like an exclamation mark

Apple products usually use the "i" character in front of their products but these do not exceed five / six characters, so it reduces the inconvenience in reading: iPhone, iPod, iWatch, iMac, iPod, iTunes. In your case, the total is 10 characters.

  • Is there any possible graphical option to separate iCreate and Lab?

Separate

Pictogram

The brightness of the light bulb depends on it. In this design, the gear is engulfing/eating the light bulb, it no longer depends but it's the protagonist. It would be necessary to find a way to restore the logical visual hierarchy to favor double reading. For example, using figure/ground:

Figure/Ground

Double reading

If the character "i" must be inside the pictogram, it would prevent elements of this pictogram from breaking the word reading lines. In this case, an element of great visual weight is invading the word baseline. This makes it even more difficult to read the "i".

Baseline

Keep in mind that the wordmark is made of simple lines, while the pictogram:

  • Thicker

Thicker

  • Complex double and triple lines

enter image description here

  • Different thickness

Different thickness

  • Different gaps

Different gaps

In summary: try to reduce the visual complexity of the pictogram so that it remains in the background or visually behind the wordmark, without losing prominence.

An attempt to solve some or all of these issues may offer a more adequate result. Here a first draft

enter image description here

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  • 2
    Terminology: A phonogram is a letter or combination of letters that represent a sound. I do not see where a phonogram is used in this case. Icon may be a better generic description of the shape.
    – Stan
    Sep 17, 2018 at 12:35
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    Spanish-english mix. I changed it for logotype, but I don't like this word at all
    – user120647
    Sep 17, 2018 at 13:47
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    @Danielillo Wordmark can also be used as a synonym to logotype if you prefer
    – curious ♦
    Sep 17, 2018 at 16:15
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    I really like the reworked symbol (especially the full one that involves no cropping), however I see an = sign when it's integrated in the wordmark. A slight curve at the bottom might help to make the distinction.
    – curious ♦
    Sep 19, 2018 at 1:00
  • You're right. I had the option with an inverted rounded triangle but I finally decided not to change the image. I had the feeling that I was overinvading the work of the OP. If you notice the equal sign, the bulb light shape and the profile of the gear are the same as that of the original logo, only the representation way changes. That's why I clarified that it's a first draft.
    – user120647
    Sep 19, 2018 at 6:45
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Not that bad, but the 'i' is kind of lost in there, you could:

  • Try using a bolder font for the 'iCreate' part and shift this to the right a bit, no need to squeeze the 'i' inside the icon
  • Try making the icon filled, not outlined
  • Try adding some color

And another critique: why does a school lab need a logo? :) Can't you just say 'CreateLAB' on the door in a nice font, maybe fill the typo with some gradients or something and that's that.

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4
  • Why do companies need logos? Can't they just write "Apple" in a nice font on their product's? >:-)
    – J.E
    Sep 17, 2018 at 7:09
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    Well first, companies SELL things and they need marketing to achieve that, while a school lab is just a room with students inside, sometimes. Then, many companies DO actually just use typo-based fonts. The question is valid, why need a logo for a school lab? What is the lab selling? Is it a private lab where people pay money to attend? Then the money probably goes to the school, not the lab. Does this school have a logo and marketing?
    – Lucian
    Sep 17, 2018 at 7:15
  • Side point – If you use a type-based logo, then that's still your logo (and that's partially the case here as well). And logos are used for so much more then just to sell stuff. You use them for general awareness of you and what you offer, to make your thing stand out and look more attractive, to associate a certain level of professionalism with it. Last but not least – to make it look nice. Non-profits use logos, govermental programmes use logos, free, open source projects use logos, scout troops use logos. They don't have it to make more money through selling stuff.
    – J.E
    Sep 17, 2018 at 7:27
  • Ok maybe you're right, in some parts of the world people can be preocupied with a school lab logo just for fun, so ok why not !! :) Where i live this would be unusual as things get appreciated for their practical value, but we probably don't have enough context to comment on this particular situation. Non profits don't make money, but need to attact funds to operate. Which is called MARKETING.
    – Lucian
    Sep 17, 2018 at 7:29

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