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I'm starting a business (Chromosphere Labs) and I am dabbling with creating a logo for it.

After reading Paul Rand's Logos, Flags, and Escutcheons, I realized that I don't really need a logo that conveys exactly what the business does, which is currently somewhat undefined. I know that right now I'm interested in creating custom products for customers, but I don't really want to incorporate it into the logo.

What I currently have is this:

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I'm very happy with the logo right now- it's simple, recognizable, works on black and white backgrounds, could be monochrome, and scales nicely.

I've had feedback that the globe cutaway does not look "3D" enough. Is that true? (I'm biased.) How can I fix it, while keeping the logo simple? And have I arranged the text aesthetically with the logo in the bottom image?

Thank you for your help- I really appreciate advice from true graphic designers, instead of just me :)

EDIT 7/6/15: Thank you all so much for the advice. I experimented with the logo and came up with some new ideas:

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I really like the last image- I changed the lightness of the three bright colors, and the subtle shadows of the sphere don't take away very much from the design.

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  • Should I post an SVG, or are PNG's okay?
    – user46316
    Jul 5, 2015 at 22:39
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    While Rand is 100% correct, he's also not saying you can design a logo for a business that isn't actually defined yet. A logo doesn't have to literally represent the product or services, but it should definitely compliment it and be appropriate. Without knowing what the business does, that makes it that much harder to critique those aspects of it.
    – DA01
    Jul 6, 2015 at 4:47

2 Answers 2

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I think your logo looks alright. The name with the logo fits well too.

Don't take all feedback seriously, some people want to see gradients and drop shadows everywhere and maybe they expect to see the sphere with that kind of light. But your logo will be easy to use for printing and anything. The colors you chose are nice too. You can choose to ignore the feedback about "not enough 3D" if you are satisfied with your logo.

I can see your 3D very well, it's at an angle that isn't the same as the earth core example below and the view is a bit from the top; maybe that's what bugs the person who gave you that feedback.

Maybe you only need to move a bit your core to balance it as the picture below. The goal is to get close to that kind of effect below:

Earth core sphere

There's still some little adjustments you can explore IF you want to.

Maybe you can add some shadows and gradient, or move the axis. Make sure your core is well centered. My examples are drafts, they're not perfect but it gives you an idea of some options.

On the second row, I changed a bit the angles of the inside parts.

Other options for chromosphere and core

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  • Thanks for the advice. I added a radial gradient along the inside of the globe, and lightened the sides according to the cutaway image you posted: image here. I'm really happy with it, and it seems to retain the characteristics that I wanted of the original logo. Do you have any advice to change this image? Or should I keep it? Thanks!
    – user46316
    Jul 6, 2015 at 17:01
  • It would be hard for me to suggest any more changes, I think it looks nice with and without radial, and the contrast of the colors looks good too!
    – go-junta
    Jul 6, 2015 at 17:49
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Essentially, our brains are programmed from year's of usage to perceive depth through the use of shadows first and scale second. Your logo doesn't have any shadow in it.

As a result its ambiguous if the "tri-color core" is going inwards, outwards, or harder to see but could also be a flat shape. The circle is just a circle. To ensure all viewers perceive it the same, if that is your intent, then greater use of shadow and/or scale should be used.

Consider the AT&T Logo:

AT&T Logo

It uses scale of lines and in the new iteration shadow to create the spherical shape.

I can't really suggest an alternative because I honestly don't know if you intend for that to be an inner core, or outer pyramid. To me its easier to see it coming out than in. Probably because of the gray circle being the closest thing my brain recognizes as a shadow.

Allow me to present you another example to better illustrate why its difficult with your current image to visualize it accurately. Here is what your brain thinks is a very well known shape, its probably something you and everyone here has sketched countless times:

Cube Lines

The trick with this is that not everyone perceives the same orientation. You think they do, and there probably is a majority perception, but that doesn't encompass everyone.

Is this the cube you saw?

Cube Orientation 1

Or is this?

Cube Orientation 2

And that's exactly the issue with your "nub / core." Without shadow its completely ambiguous and you're hoping people see it in the way you intended.

For additional information on this you might want to watch episode 1 of National Geographic's Brain Games on Netflix, if you get Netflix.

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  • Thanks for the advice. With your question "I honestly don't know if you intend for that to be an inner core, or outer pyramid" - it should be in. Sorry about the confusion- I would love to see alternative logos as you mentioned, if you have ideas.
    – user46316
    Jul 6, 2015 at 15:49

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