Dirty Water Designs

[patsox]

I posted these to see what everyone thinks about them. I feel they probably need work and I'm not completely sold on the black and white. C&C would be greatly appreciated.

[patsox]

sorry wrong forum

[speedy]

***

[-(dp)-]

will you marry me

The logo itself is kind of plain, but The one on the bottom looks okay. I'm not sure if it would work in any other colors, but I don't know much about design.

[Jigga]

I don't like the resemblance to Tempest's sig image. Sorry.

[VC//]

Ok, to get real and all...If i were to go to Dirty Water Designs and go by just looking at the logo, i'd walk right on past the shop and never look back.

You need to make a logo, banner or whatever that represents you with your talent, and if i were to go by that banner/logo as a basis for your talent, things are not going to look good for your future in the field.

Now, you can either take this the wrong way and cry about it or take it for what its worth, which is a true and honest statement, no slight on you.

[tBBP]

I don't like the resemblance to Tempest's sig image. Sorry.

that's exactly what i was thinking. Way too similar to Tempest.

[fonz]

Try to use a more exciting font.

[leggman01]

despite the resemblence to tempest's sig, this is clearly your best work ever - i think the elongated version without the skyline is the best and the square one is ok - i'm not feeling the skyline one at all - it detracts from the simplicity of the logo, and i think the simplicity is the best aspect of this logo - i like the way the "d" fades into the edges, although i think that will be problematic on a white background...you'll lose the overall shape of the d...maybe another thin line around the entire design when it's on a white background would fix that...maybe not

on the square, i think i'd spell out the entire word design rather than trying to represent the word with an initial...maybe add the thin outline i talk about above to give your d more clarity, and write the word design in black on the lower white portion of the d...you might even put dirty water in black on the upper white portion of the d...i don't know...it might be too busy, but it's worth a try - if you're trying to brand yourself, people have to know what your brand represents

as an aside, does this represent a change for you? will you actually be taking the time to produce quality work such as this in the future, or will dirty water design continue to produce rushed, sloppy work...if this logo is something that you designed, you clearly have the talent to produce solid work...

[Frenchie]

I really like simple designs and agree with "leggman01" about the Skyline-less one being the best.

the only thing I'm struggling with is the name: Why Dirty Water?

And could you try to represent that idea graphically.

For example, ripple lines (or circles on a black surface - the dirty water)

don't need a big full-fledge complicated logo, just a symbol that gets the mind thinking about Dirty Water.

I bet you could even find a simple way to do it in Photoshop (if you're using photoshop - there may also be some PSP tutorials on it)

[tBBP]

I really like simple designs and agree with "leggman01" about the Skyline-less one being the best.

the only thing I'm struggling with is the name: Why Dirty Water?

And could you try to represent that idea graphically.

For example, ripple lines (or circles on a black surface - the dirty water)

don't need a big full-fledge complicated logo, just a symbol that gets the mind thinking about Dirty Water.

I bet you could even find a simple way to do it in Photoshop (if you're using photoshop - there may also be some PSP tutorials on it)

took the words straight out of my head.

I myself am curious (not that I'm knocking you on it) on the name "Dirty Water". All similarities to the name of David Banner's second album aside, what made you decide on that? Just curious--there may be an interesting answer behind that. And if that's the case, I bet you could make an interesting marketing schematic out of that. It's definitely unique--and "Dirty Water" probably ain't the most "politically correct" title to go with among corporate or industry circles---but that uniqueness and willingness to go against the grain with the name could work to your advantage, if you can figure out how to best represent that graphically so that should a potential client see that with the idea in mind to do something "different-against the grain", he would look to you first. That'd definitely be a good target market for you to pursue, should you choose to develop that concept further--"Dirty Water Designs", that is. It just takes a whole lot of brainstorming about how you want to represent it. If you can do it right, I can guarantee you'll have customers who'll be willing to come to you for their stuff.

Also, if you can put all that together, now wouldn't be the worst time to start putting that idea--whatever marketing schematic you might devise--into your future concepts, especially in an open furm such as this, so that others may see that and give them your feedback as to whether you're achieving that objective or not. After all, that pretty much IS the premise of this particular forum--C&C.

All this may seem pretty complex all at once, but it IS a process, and once you start it (if you choose to), and start to develop it further, it becomes much easier and it'll start to set you apart from your peers, not to mention something unique should you decide to assemble a portfolio to present to prospective employers--or clients.

[Moser316]

I really like simple designs and agree with "leggman01" about the Skyline-less one being the best.

the only thing I'm struggling with is the name: Why Dirty Water?

And could you try to represent that idea graphically.

For example, ripple lines (or circles on a black surface - the dirty water)

don't need a big full-fledge complicated logo, just a symbol that gets the mind thinking about Dirty Water.

I bet you could even find a simple way to do it in Photoshop (if you're using photoshop - there may also be some PSP tutorials on it)

took the words straight out of my head.

I myself am curious (not that I'm knocking you on it) on the name "Dirty Water". All similarities to the name of David Banner's second album aside, what made you decide on that? Just curious--there may be an interesting answer behind that. And if that's the case, I bet you could make an interesting marketing schematic out of that. It's definitely unique--and "Dirty Water" probably ain't the most "politically correct" title to go with among corporate or industry circles---but that uniqueness and willingness to go against the grain with the name could work to your advantage, if you can figure out how to best represent that graphically so that should a potential client see that with the idea in mind to do something "different-against the grain", he would look to you first. That'd definitely be a good target market for you to pursue, should you choose to develop that concept further--"Dirty Water Designs", that is. It just takes a whole lot of brainstorming about how you want to represent it. If you can do it right, I can guarantee you'll have customers who'll be willing to come to you for their stuff.

Also, if you can put all that together, now wouldn't be the worst time to start putting that idea--whatever marketing schematic you might devise--into your future concepts, especially in an open furm such as this, so that others may see that and give them your feedback as to whether you're achieving that objective or not. After all, that pretty much IS the premise of this particular forum--C&C.

All this may seem pretty complex all at once, but it IS a process, and once you start it (if you choose to), and start to develop it further, it becomes much easier and it'll start to set you apart from your peers, not to mention something unique should you decide to assemble a portfolio to present to prospective employers--or clients.

My guess is that it's a reference to the song by The Standells that shares the same title (it's about Boston and it was later covered by Bronson Arroyo for his CD).

[tBBP]

Ah, I see. Didn't know that. But then, I also know nothing about Boston outside of the Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots. And the fact the nickname is Beantown and the place has a strange accent (well, no stranger than western PA's, but strange nonetheless--not that that's a knock or anything. Btw, you Wisconsonites have some "distinuighable" accents, too! it's great getting to go places and hearing how different people speak--it's gotten now to where I can damn near pinpoint where folks are from just by hearing them speak. Part of the joy of traveling...)

But yeah--back to the Dirty Water thing, yeah I suppose I can see that now.

[speedy]

The "Dirty Water" that The Standells refer to is the Charles River that runs threw Boston. It's not known to be the cleanest riverway, and quite frankly you'd have to be mentally retarded or piss drunk to swim in it. So i'm guessing since Patsox is from New England then the Charles River might be the right association, but who knows.

[patsox]

  The "Dirty Water" that The Standells refer to is the Charles River that runs threw Boston. It's not known to be the cleanest riverway, and quite frankly you'd have to be mentally retarded or piss drunk to swim in it. So i'm guessing since Patsox is from New England then the Charles River might be the right association, but who knows.

Yeah that's it..crap thats a good point though the fact that its unclean might be a bad thing for a design company. i might rethink that

[whitedawg22]

They play the Standells' "Dirty Water" at Fenway after every Red Sox win.

Keep the name. It's unique, and I don't think many people in the design community will think less of it because it contains the word "dirty". It'll definitely go over well here in Massachusetts.

[gordie_delini]

Use a different font than Arial (or whatever font you used that everyone else has on every computer in the world). You need to make yourself distinctive in the design community - right now it doesn't stand out at all. I also agree it is much too close to Tempest's signature in concept and feel. But I see you fixed that already.

And here's one more tip slightly off topic - if you indeed are serious about becoming a true graphic designer, you need to invest some pretty hefty cash into some software programs - Adobe's Creative Suite is an industry standard. You will not survive in the design world without it.

Along the same lines, invest in some books about the fundamentals of graphic design. If you're not in school (or in school but not for design) there are still many resources on the web and in print that can give you some basic guidlines in the principles of good design. A good place to start is at www.ssur.org's Graphic Designer resource page - there are some *very* talented designers listed on this page, and you can learn a lot from each of them. Another good place to start is some of the design guidebooks published by Rockport - they have excellent ones for color theory and for layout design that I myself own and highly reccommend.

On yet another note, until you have paying clients, I wouldn't refer to yourself as a "design company" - I DO have paying clients and my own website showcasing my portfolio, and I STILL don't consider it my "company" - consider it more as your personal design "label" moreso than a company. It keeps it from sounding like you're bigger than you are. Just a suggestion there.

[speedy]

and dont forget to take your vitamins and drink your milk.

[patsox]

Version 2

Better or Worse?

C&C please

[patsox]

bump