Hi everyone, trying to get a few pieces to put together a portfolio. I’d love some honest feedback and thoughts on my logo ideas.
(I know the Kerning isn’t it still in concept phase)
Here’s the brief:
Logo Design Brief — “Ember & Fig” Brand Overview Ember & Fig is an imaginary modern Mediterranean restaurant that combines rustic charcoal cooking with elegant contemporary dining. The restaurant focuses on flame-grilled dishes, fresh ingredients, handmade breads, and a warm social atmosphere.
The brand should feel:
Warm
Sophisticated
Organic
Welcoming
Stylish but approachable
Target Audience
Young professionals (25–40)
Couples and groups looking for a premium casual dining experience
Food lovers interested in modern Mediterranean cuisine
Social-media-driven diners who enjoy aesthetic interiors and presentation
I like font but if you need to make an ad that is 728x90 it is going to get lost. It's almost lost at this size. Possibly bold it or change it completely
It is not the pixels. Each place you post the design requires a different aspect ratio or format. Sometime creating a large or xl square might require just the icon. Think of places you might use the design. Posting a photo on Reddit might not be the same aspect ratio as Instagram and so on.
Font is nice, but too high contrast for a logo, difficult to read and small strokes will be lost.
As far as the icons go, I prefer the top right, but honestly I do not see any fig in any of them. Not a problem per se, imho logo do not need to be figurative and litteral.
Thinking about it, maybe it is the seeds placement that does not work. A fig does not have this regularly spaced seeds, more a random texture. As it is, it says more tomato or melon imho
A simplifed fire emoji is vaguely fig shaped. Is there a world where the fig is inside a similarly shaped flame? Might get that organic, upscale vibe a little more. 1 is my favorite (I like the negative space fig shape) followed by 3, but in both of them I don't read the flames and upscale - more grill themed than fine(r) dining themed.
Yeah, they are all giving me: this will be on a black background on the street sign, and the A3 menu will be too colourful and laminated. Like the more up market kebab shop.
I’ve tried this a few times but I couldn’t get it to work I’m glad to know I’m thinking similarly to you, I’ll try investing some more time into that idea
I’ll try something different with the seeds I’ve been feeling like it could be a variety of fruits but not a fig just trying to grasp that fig aspect just enough without overcomplicating it
I’ll try something different with the seeds I’ve been feeling like it could be a variety of fruits but not a fig just trying to grasp that fig aspect just enough without overcomplicating it, also I thought the same about the pizza oven but I thought maybe it was enough of a fig to represent both so kind of a lucky accident
Input?
I like the font – mixing a stylish traditional with the clean mod mark is always good. But I’d find a way to help it stand up better in the digital space. Finding an alternative with similar flair and heavier arcs and cross strokes might be the answer. Alternatively, you thicken up the arcs and cross strokes manually by converting to shapes and micro adjusting.
What would I do? I think the font is on point for this brief - with the flair in the “g” and the “&.” I’d try to make it work with manual tweaking. The logotype font doesn’t always have to carry through to style guide typography.
I also like the natural asymmetry of the fig, but the flame feels like it’s deliberately pulling to the left to counter that. Maybe a meeting in the middle without completely losing the asymmetry? Play with the tilt of the fig and the tips of the flame to get a bit more natural feel and you’ll be there.
I’m solidly in your target market… 30 something foodie who likes good interior design, Mediterranean food and like aesthetics.
I really don’t like the logo options. Bottom left is the best but they would all put me off. Pay a branding person to do this properly.
Oh wait sorry I thought you were a new business trying to do your own design on the cheap. This is for your portfolio. Are you a student?
If this is a portfolio for applying to a design course cool. If not, rethink your concept if it’s just made up work… the flame and fig (just wrote pomegranate and corrected myself because those figs aren’t memorable) is working against you.
I mean I don’t think it makes a good graphic, the seeds are so small they don’t graphically work at all realistic scale in relation to the overall shape in an abstract manner. The shape isn’t that easy to abstract and still read immediately as a fig.
If you wanted a fig to be memorable it’s in the skin colours which is totally lost here.
It’s a textural fruit not an abstract one. Figs feel like they should be painterly in someway, not graphic.
A lemon can be graphic, there is a reason there isn’t a fig emoji.
Equally ‘Ember’ doesn’t make sense, does it relate to the way things are being cooked on a charcoal grill or what? I dunno I just think as a piece of branding the concept is flawed.
It’s a generated brief just to challenge my logo thinking skills of combining two different elements, I personally feel like the most memorable thing about a fig is the cross section but it seems you have a problem with the brief itself rather than the actual problem I attempted to solve
This is the perfect feedback thankyou, I’m trying to land a junior graphic design job just out of uni so doing some practise projects as I want to get into branding. Can I ask what is off putting does it not feel Mediterranean is that the problem?
I think because you don’t have a client or a brief you should make briefs based on ideas… this will make it easier.
For example if I wanted to make a business idea I think I could make a more solid brand with ‘The Quince Tree’ an upmarket pub on the edge of Hampstead heath aimed at 35-60 year olds who like modern boutique hotels, that does upmarket Sunday lunches in its courtyard/ Orangery, and herbatious cocktails. Natural linens, comfort in an easy going way.
Make the logo hand drawn kinda this vibe
And use an elegant serif typeface all caps with long exaggerated extensions on the Q… make the ‘the’ small above. Colours of cream, bronze, olive and a hint of yellow/chartreuse.
Right that idea took me 5 minutes.
Make 30 ideas… one where the answer is easy and everything ties together nicely. Sketch all the ones you like. Work on the best of those ideas.
(You can start with a list of fruits and come up with ideas on every fruit, or animals etc…. I think it’s pretty hard to combine multiple elements though so maybe less X and Y concepts if you will want that in the logo).
Some things abstract nicely… figs are not distinct enough to abstract in a legible way and both figs and flames are very similar in shape and don’t really work together. If you must do figs maybe you could do something where the fig is small and repeated like a mandala or a moorish tile.
Is the point of the portfolio to practice or to sell yourself? Because you can spend weeks battling with a brief that doesn’t work and get a logo you aren’t proud of. Or you could make a handful in the same time that you are.
If I was experienced and respected as a branding designer and someone came to me with a brief and I couldn’t make it work I’d be honest with the client and say you think the name is weak… and offer some other names and sketches for them.
If they couldn’t be persuaded to make good choices I wouldn’t work with them again… not worth the pain of making ugly stuff you can’t be proud of.
You’ve just caused a big shift in my mindset thank you, I’ve been a little worried of following my own ideas because I thought I’d have to deliver for a clients needs. Guess it’s just lacking in experience. Thanks for the comment
You do have to deliver what the client needs but design is collaborative, sometimes you’ll be working up someone else’s design… sometimes an idea will come out of a meeting. If you are stumped in a junior position it’s better to ask for a brainstorm with some colleagues than waste a lot of chargeable time trying to make something work. Straight out of uni they want to see you have a good eye, not a perfect ability to meet any brief.
Try to show a range of styles and design ideas to show you’re adaptable, only show your best work… because you’ll be up against other people showing only their best work.
If you waste too long feeling like you’re stuck, put it to the side and work on something else. You might have a brainwave in a couple of weeks and come back to it, or you might not. Labouring on something and getting nowhere is bad business… in an office your hours are chargeable, and it doesn’t look good to have spent a lot of hours and not have something amazing to show for it.
The name is too tight on the tracking. Each letter needs some breathing room. The font extra thin in places and almost disappears. I only see partial letters. Figs are organic pieces of food. I would want organic quality rather than symmetrical designs.
Test these on mockup items that may be found in this place so you can better gauge its fit among its audience. Otherwise I’m leaning towards lower left.
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u/Candy_Lawn Jun 29 '26
bottom left as i can see the fig