Exhibit Logo WIP

[Darren Schwindaman]

Hey guys,
I'm working on this logo and I'd love some opinions on it.

Here's the background:
After The Rain is an exhibit being organized by a group of graduate students at Columbia University in New York. It's a presentation of photographs of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans pre-and post- Hurricane Katrina. The exhibit will show in New York but also travel to cities like Houston, Baton Rouge, and Atlanta, where displaced people actually are. I want the logo to be as accessible to a displaced working class person as it is to someone who would normally check out a gallery show.

Here's what I've been doing so far. These are all first drafts. Overall, I want the logo to be clean, friendly, and accessible. It's a mental therapy show first, and an art show second. I don't think anything too 'kewl' looking would be appropriate. Neither would something that's based on grungey texture. I don't, however, want it to be obnoxiously corporate. (I'm thinking of prescription drug medication logos here as an example of what I don't want.)

The starting point that I feel has the most potential is the rain/tear drop.
http://xf3.xanga.com/01ea5a5539d3458179961/w38997643.jpg

They didn't like this one, but I think it's a nice balance between a clean feeling, being iconic, and not being too 'corporate'.
http://x33.xanga.com/333a72507633758179964/w38997646.jpg

Other random stuff...including some font exploration I barfed out:
http://xb7.xanga.com/bc2a4054c003758179980/w38997655.jpg
http://x28.xanga.com/263a4755c073758179973/w38997651.jpg

So here's what I'm working with now. One suggestion the students made would be to somehow incorporate more of a feeling from the Gulf Coast or even New Orleans jazz into the logo, and I think that's a good suggestion. So that's what I'll be working on now.

Anything you guys could offer though, would be awesome. What you like/don't like about these, stuff I'm missing, a better 'vibe' suggestion... whatever. For those that don't know, I evacuated from New Orleans during Katrina and I have since moved back to Mississippi. So this is something I really want to knock out.

Thanks!

[Comics Commando]

I didn't "get" that the raindrop doubled as a tear. It may work better in context (out front of the gallery), but it didn't register with me here.

You also may want to stack "the rain" under "after." It may or not open up possibilities, but try it and see.

I'm more used to doing comics and business logos and such, so I can't be much more help than that.

Kurt Hathaway
Cartoon Balloons Studios
"Quality Lettering for Western Civilization"

[augiedb]

To my eye, a drop of water falls straight down, but the tear drop has a bit of a curve to it, as if it were falling down a round cheek. That's going to be the challenge in creating one drop to look like both water and tear.

-Augie

[danedawg99]

I think that you need to push the idea of rain more. These are too literal, IMO. Except the 1st one. what is the stripe on that one? and 'after the rain' kinda gives the impression that the rain is over. Why use water drops at all? I like CC's idea of stacking the text. try that. also, maybe play with some different fonts. I like this one, but what if it were bounced off some contrasting hard sans serif to give the mark a bit more tension?

[theflash]

why not use something like a mardi gras mask? you mentioned wanting to get something with New Orleans flavor in it, and nothing says New Orleans like Mardi gras. many of the masks i have seen encorporate the tear drop in the eye as well, so that could be an element of your design if you wanted to keep it. just a thought.

[Comics Commando]

Maybe incorporate the raindrop in the font itself. Make the raindrop the "hole" in the cap A, or something. At the very least, play around with more fonts! I'm not sure if you're leaning toward simple on purpose or if your font library is just limited.

Kurt Hathaway
Cartoon Balloons Studios
"Quality Lettering for Western Civilization"

[Darren Schwindaman]

Thanks everybody!
I've been out of town, or I would've responded sooner.
These are all great comments, and I'll keep working them into the stuff I'm playing with.
This has honestly been one of the most difficult projects I've done, in that I'm having trouble picking out a "hook" to latch on to.
oh well. Keep on truckin'.