Another dorm project

[TwoRsAndTwoLs]

The Kaneko Commons were built, initially, at Willamette University in 1990 -- I think. As such, they had some unique design elements from the rest of campus. This goes from not being brick to having lots of rounded corners inside (to prevent students from hurting themselves?). Anyhow, the school is raising an addition to the standing buiding which will hopefully be operational by the time I get back to WU in August.

I was toying with some design elements for it. I was hoping to create something modern and unique, capitalizing on the building's creation in '90. Also, the commons is home to Tokyo International University of America (TIUA), and the Japanese influence is very important to the overall feel. This said, here's some ideas I worked on about a month ago before I hit something of a block.

Most of the designs below are based on this, which is basically a footprint of the new building, viewed from the West. I liked this, but the open space in the low-right bothered me.

This was the second attempt, but I'm not really married to the slogan. Also, it was pointed out to me that there is a pseudo-swastika effect going on here, which of course I take very seriously. So in attempt to aleviate this problem, concept 3:

Red and black have been used by the school in all the propaganda for the commons, so I decided to roll with the colors. I'm still not entirely happy with this.

This was the last real original one (if you roll over the previous pic, you'll see I did that one after this one, but that was more modification than anything else), which is probably a little more complicated than I would like, but it has a Japanese-coin look to it, I think.

I'll stop being longwinded now and ask for come C+C (Music Factory).

[Titanium Eagle]

I like the concept.

What I don't like is the swastika type feel of it.

[andrewharrington]

The original is by far the best. The tension created by the open corner makes it interesting. Placing the symbol into a radially symmetrical pattern makes it so much more boring and stale. There's no element to create visual interest and keep your attention on the mark. The oroiginal sparks curiosity toward what it is used for. "What is that symbol?" says a college student. "It's for the Kaneko Commons." The new ones look like primitive art and really don't hold anything spectacular like the original does.

[TwoRsAndTwoLs]

Kindof like your umbrella logo, Tempest? Haha. I think I understand what you're getting at.

I'm also testing a couple other ideas that just came to me in the shower (which is the best place for ideas, I think), because the building's footprint looks a little bit like a key. I feel like I should take advantage of that somehow.

So here's three things. First, it's the opening concept cleaned up. The one I posted wasn't the best copy.

Now, the keyring:

And the heyhole:

I figure it's best to try some new things in here too to keep the creative stuff moving. You don't want to get to set on one idea until you're done, right? Then again, I'm set on my one idea: the building footprint.

[FiddySicks]

Woah. Im thinking it has something to do with the whole college dorm influence, but does anyone else see sex positions?

[TwoRsAndTwoLs]

I guess that didn't clean up like I wanted it to. Point of the matter is that I have a larger copy of the design that would work better on things like shirts or documents. I'm having a little trouble with resizing, though.

Meanwhile, sex positions? If that's true, my subconscious is a little madder than I thought.

[bdon the jayhawk]

The last idea's shape resembles a swastika...especially if you squint your eyes or were further away. Not that a swastika is necassary a bad thing as in the Hindu religion it's a very holy symbol. But the majority of people think of it as a bad thing, and that majority is your main audience.

[ucnu112]

This one seems to accentuate the swastika shape. What about doing some sort of L7 or 69 design where you just flip it over and use 2 instances instead of 4?

[fonz]

I keep seeing swastikas and odd things in these logos. Be careful to get your idea across.

[CFSize24]

I like the look of the logo when you rotated it in the keyring version. It sort of looks like an arrow moving up. Id like to see a version where you take that logo and fit it inside the circle. I also like the wording at the bottom like you have it. If you enlarged the circle to match the text, the logo would probably fit right inside. Maybe then you would have a winner.

[patsox]

The original is the best and I think my reasoning has something to do with what tempest explained.

[TwoRsAndTwoLs]

Yeah, the swastika thing is driving me mad. If it weren't for that, I really actually liked the second one.