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it doesn't have much to do with UI / UX, but I wanted to get feedback from a "brand" that I have.

Some points:

  • the name was inspired (basically copied) from the website hackernoon, a "medium" website about web development and things like that. The name is "geeknoon"
  • the initial objective was a course platform that I was developing, but as I have no recognition in the community, I intend to use the brand as a blog and a channel on youtube
  • Yes, there are many good sites and tutorials out there, but in English, and I'm Brazilian and the focus is on the Brazilian public, where very few people know English, so they don't have access to many resources

I wanted the criticism for:

  • the name "geeknoon" (domain geeknoon.com)
  • the mascot "pengucat" (pinguin inspired by Linux Tux + cat ears), say it is "cute" others say they don't show professionalism or any corporate brand
  • the channel intro / vignette
  • the chosen font (https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Baloo+Thambi+2)

Some brand media:

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  • Courses for what? – Scott May 13 at 8:47
  • @Scott programming, linux, web dev etc... – marcos souza May 13 at 9:06
  • Let it be. it's a little playful but it looks original and the video intro is fine. Finally the available content makes it what it will be. – user287001 May 14 at 19:47
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My personal opinion, is that this does not appear "amateurish" to me.

However, I think it may be a bit child-like for more professional educational services.

I would expect education geared towards a younger demographic if I saw that logo. The last thing on my mind would be more adult, or professional-level, courses. In fact, I'd see the logo and probably not bother looking any further assuming courses are designed for below my age range.

So I don't think it's a bad design overall, but it may be forgetting the target audience entirely. Unless, of course, you are aiming at a younger crowd.

Higher-end learning rarely uses a "cutesy" mascot as a logotype in my experience and opts for a more "corporate" design. You could merely eliminate the cartoon character entirely. A text-only logo would work. No one really needs a "mascot", especially if it doesn't position you in the market where you want.

I understand the whole "Linux/Penguin" thing... but unless you are Linux the penguin may not be suited for your brand. Even Linux itself doesn't use the cartoon penguin as a brand image. I think the cartoon penguin is more a remnant of the 90s. All the various distros of Linux have far more mainstream, corporate logos.

I'd encourage you to look at some similar or competing services and take note of their logos and any common themes they may use. You can do that quickly with a simple web image search. (Some good. Some horrible. But few, if any, cartoon characters)

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