In addition to web design and maintenance for the OTA Koomar Center in Watertown, I was hired to consult through 6 stages of a logo design from scratch. As the design came to life from feedback, the page is built. On this page you can see the final product and each stage below in reverse order, so please start at the bottom and work your way up.
The FOCUS Institute
Logo Design
Round 6 based on feedback. Here are the following logo styles as requested in the Kiona semi-bold font. The first group features a lime green color in THE and INSTITUTE sampled from the middle part of the heart vector. The next group uses the dark green that was sampled from the bottom part of the vector. I actually think the lime green (lighter) works better overall, so I wanted to show you. It feels lighter. The final group features a full-width FOR MEALTIME SUCCESS.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Kiona Lime Green
lime green smaller all-blue regular
lime green smaller all-blue regular italics
lime green smaller all-blue semi-bold
lime green smaller all-blue semi-bold italics
lime green smaller all-gray semi-bold
lime green smaller all-gray semi-bold italics
lime green smaller all-gray regular
lime green smaller all-gray regular
Kiona Dark Green
dark green smaller all-gray regular
dark green smaller all-gray semi-bold
dark green smaller all-blue regular
dark green smaller all-blue semi-bold
dark green smaller all-blue regular italics
dark green smaller all-blue italics semi-bold
Kiona Full-Width
dark green full all-blue semi-bold
dark green full all-blue regular
dark green full blue-mealtime semi-bold
dark green full gray semi-bold
dark green full green-mealtime semi-bold
Original thin and semi-bold versions – there’s also a bold version available.
Round 5 based on feedback. Here are the following fonts requested in the blue/green color scheme.
Kiona
thin and semi-bold versions – there’s also a bold version available.
Molengo
all caps and half & half versions (I just noticed the spacing between the O and C in focus is close in an unedited font, I’ll adjust that a bit so it’s consistent if you like this one.)
Rancho
Merienda One
Quando
This is a popular font, works well on the web.
Kavivanara
This font doesn’t have a non-italicized version. I would suggest against using this as your options for using it elsewhere are fairly limited.
Sriracha
This is also an italicized-only font, same limitations.
Here are serif and handwriting Google fonts to see if any of these are “soft”. I’m not sure if you mean thinner in width, or curvy edges, or perhaps handwritten. You can see them at https://fonts.google.com/?category=Serif,Handwriting. Just type The FOCUS Institute over the text below the font name on Google Fonts and apply to all fonts.
PT Serif and Roboto Slab are popular and look nice on logos.
Here’s round four based on feedback!
You decided on this logo with tweaks and few different options before finalizing.
Below, there are a few different color combos and most of the vectors are now one color instead of two colors with a gradient. There are three different types of fonts, Kiona is all caps with different weights, BW Surco has slight curves to the edges and is a bit playful, and Molengo, a narrow & classy font.
At this point, I felt it was time to run it by a few creative colleagues and they liked Molengo solid purple heart with green text and the Kiona Bold purple / green all caps. Feedback received was the duo tone doesn’t look as sharp as the solid color vector. The purple is my favorite as well, so I gave you a few options with that type of color scheme.
The green heart is reminding me of the Girl Scouts for some reason, it’s probably my least favorite. Everything is still interchangeable at this point. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and making it perfect for your new venture.
Also, once we finalize this logo I’ll use it to make the alternative version with the full name. I’ll also pinpoint align the edges of the logo so they align exactly and it looks good. These are fairly quick mockups for show, and not a final product. Thanks!
Molengo
Blue / Green
Molengo
Purple / Green
Kiona Bold
Purple / Green
Kiona Regular
Green / Purple
Kiona Light
Purple / Teal
Bw Surco
Blue / Green
Feedback from round three…
A few variables we are hoping to see using this logo:
- Trying a softer font and in a different color other than black (blue? green?)
- We like these colors but thought seeing a different color combination could be helpful for solidifying this decision. We’d like to stay away from red but any other color could be considered.
- Seeing what the logo in a few styles of text –
- with The FOCUS Institute
- One that also has the full Title (The FOCUS Institute for Mealtime Success)
We imagining using both of these to meet our needs so good to see what they both look like.
Here’s round three based on feedback! I used a plate, fork and knife vectors to start, added a generic body vector above it and gave it the same outline as the rest. I paired the width of the outline in the vector with the letters in INSTITUTE for consistency. There are two versions here. Colors and fonts can be changed easily. We can pull out just the body and plate, or we could lose the plate, and keep the fork, body & spoon. There are a bunch of things we can do with this logo if you don’t like a particular element. Also before finalizing the bottom logo with the right-aligned INSTITUTE, I would make INSTITUTE a bit wider so it aligns with the O and the S in FOCUS if you like that style. Let me know what you think!
Here’s round two based on provided feedback. It’s definitely challenging to conceptualize a logo that stresses feeding/eating while not showing food, or focusing on a mouth/act of eating. I’m not sure how to bridge the full body into it without it feeling like a physical therapy type of logo, but I tried with these examples with a heart. Here are two examples of a heart blended with cutlery. We can also update fonts and color, but I wanted to see if this was more along the lines of what you were thinking.
To start the design process for The FOCUS Institute logo, I took inspiration from our call and the overall message I received was that you wanted a logo that reflected feeding someone but while teaching them, not forcing them. Teaching them through OT and other methods. I thought an apple is universal and healthy, and a bite shows the result of the act of eating, and also the apple symbolizes education. The two logos are called “Focus Core” and “Focus Bite”. I paired a modern font that fit well with the two apple vectors, Abside.
There are a lot of things we can do differently from here, such as the font or vector. If you like some element about the two mock-ups that we can adapt to a new design, please let me know what you like/don’t like. I matched the green and red in the text from the apple. Note, all of the colors can be more subtle or shades of black/grey for simplicity if preferred. We can have a few variations of the font for different uses (web/print).
Regarding the vector, instead of an apple we can do something with a fork & knife and/or spoon and plate. Or, if you want to focus on the body we can do something with that as well. It all depends on what you want to emphasize and what angle you want to take.
There’s a form at the bottom of this page to quickly send me your thoughts as you’re on this page or using any of the resources. If you find something you like on any of the pages I supplied, please copy the URL and paste it in the form below to send to me. You can write a bit about it also. The logo is the most important design element so it’s good to look around to get a good feel for options and styles.
Logo Design Inspiration
I use the following resources as inspiration when working with a client to visualize and materialize a logo. Please browse to see if there’s anything you’d like me to use as creative direction. I have a license at Envato Elements for all of their resources, and a lot of my clients take advantage of not having to purchase additional licenses. They have a great selection of premium vectors, fonts, graphics, photos, etc.
Logo Examples
Icons, Graphics, Backgrounds
Envato Elements, I own a license to use everything here.
Color Inspiration
ColourLovers select a color palette for your brand.
Fonts
Free Premium fonts at Envato Elements.
Open-Source Google Fonts most use these. They work well on the web.
Free fonts at dafont.
Logo Design Ideas
