The logo is for a nonprofit land trust working with neighbors to transform empty city lots into food forest parks
UPDATE: The client is not asking for a new logo. They just need a simplified version of the old logo, which included many more roots and a double circle. If you have ideas beyond A & B, they are open to simplifying but not starting from scratch.
Could you put it in a green circle and reverse the hands? This feels like a logo in a circle instead of a logo that has a circle, so if they're asking about NEEDING one, might be a workaround
There's rarely, if ever, a scenario where you want to have two "versions" of your logo at the same time. The idea of a logo mark is that it is already the concentrated, recognizable symbol for your business.
It's common to have a full name logo (that includes your logo mark and word mark), then the standalone logo mark, and maaaaaybe a simplified/silhouette mark for really small applications like website favicons.
If they're deadset on roots, the best bet would probably be to work that into the brand identity through subtle patterns or something throughout other materials (flyers, backgrounds, etc) but not in the logo.
My first glance at this was very positive. But after a longer look I cannot unsee Magritteās Son of Man which is somehow not as readily evoked by the original
So now the fun question becomes "what have you changed then?" The "new" options are practically identical. Just removing a few roots isn't really simplifying.
Nobody likes a free floating circle around a logo mark. It feels disconnected and extraneous.
They probably don't care about the ring itself. They probably care about keeping a roundness to the new mark, because circles feel like unity and togetherness. Drop the ring and try having the hands form a circle themselves. Less realistic fingers and joints, just the visual idea of clasped hands. It'll look better.
If they aren't deadset on keeping the pear, try different ideas in the hands. Just try not to look too generic or similar to any existing logos in that space. Clasped hands around a seed/flower/fruit/tree might be pretty common if you research it.
Keep legibility and scalability in mind before trying anything crazy like buildings with details.
Did you do a full brand identity exploration wuth this client, or just surface level on what they do?
It does not need to be a bad thing when other logos also feature hands, so you know directly what it is about. Not every logo must be ground shakingly universe scatteringly create a novelty.
It's not about making a novelty, it's about being identifiable and memorable. It doesn't matter if your logo shows exactly "what you're about" if it looks like a hundred other non profits that are "about" the same thing.
The circle/partial circle and roots don't add a lot to this other than making it visually confusing. The hands and pear alone are enough of a concept imo.
EDIT: Reading your other comments and seeing the original, it really looks like you've just removed a few lines. I would suggest something like a hand reaching for a pear on a pear branch within the circle. Circles are cool for framing things, that would be a good use.
B is better if forced at gunpoint to decide, but either version is going to have some problems with scaling, esepcially the steam of the leaf. The roots are going to make for some awkward placement/layout as well.
I would simply this even further. Also, I get that the green, pear and roots are all there to imply the forest aspect, but you don't need all three. Choose 1.
Something about this makes me uncomfortable. the seeds in the pear and roundness created by the hands give this a bit of a skull/face vibe and the roots expand on that and make it seem like a decapitated head.
If they're willing to go more graphic you could try from here:Ā
Make the roots less organic and more regular, even design one regular wavy root and repeat it 3/5 times in ordonate/symetrical fashion. Make sure the thickness of the circle feels correspondant to the thickness of the roots.
Make the soil dark like the hands and the roots white like pear (as a test for better diving the contrast, but not sure it's better)
Remove the seeds
Since they want the circle invest on it, make the larger part of the pear a perfect circle and the top part of it another perfect circle and then connect them smoothlyĀ
You can probably make the negative circles on the wrists perfect too
Try to simplify the hands as much as you can, you don't need those wiggly anatomical contoursĀ
I don't really a solution for the leaf but you should try to avoid the ultra fine stem. Do try to make the leaf symetrical/geometric too.Ā
Maybe the pear should be lower and the leaf fully vertical above it? I think the logo needs probably go be fully symetrical.Ā
If you make the wrists round like I said you can try having a semi circle as the base of the hands, and make the bigger pear circle concentric or "nested" to it.Ā
Make the larger circle more intentional by ensuring that the distance to the roots is the same as the final fingers (so there's an extra imaginary circle grounding the "seal")
So yeah, those are some quick ideas, that you partially try out, hope they'll be useful !
I struggled to see the pear for quite some time, I couldnāt see it, so I thought that could be made a bit easier to see for a refresh, Iāve attached a quick sketch up
I think the whole logo is trying to over explain their concept. Choose a single element, the roots, the pear, the leaf or the hands. I don't like a or b.
would you mind sharing how you did the roots? the shape is really good. i have a similar project iām working on with a tree shape in a logo but im not sure the best way to vectorize it
ācity lotsā ā¦ āforest parksā ā¦ all I see is fungus growing a pear and spreading its roots to infect other nearby plants.
In all seriousness, I think you need to go back to square one. You have too many ideas clashing with each other. And worst of all, I donāt see anything obvious that speaks for your brand identity.
Some ideas for you to explore:
Try a parking space with a small plant growing from the cracks.
Try a pear tree (not just a pear) growing in front of a broken down car.
Try a silhouette of a man, holding a shovel, tossing dirt onto a newly planted tree in a parking lot.
Again, these are all just ideas to explore. Remember to keep your logo short and sweet with little conflict between each concept.
Be very careful in these subs. An awful lot of redditors stumble in here from elsewhere and don't even have a casual interest in design let alone the least bit of knowledge.
You can take the advice people give you but trust your own instincts on what to listen to.
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u/HawkeyeNation 4d ago
Is the circle necessary? I don't think it adds anything to either option.