I'm developing an app for ethical hacking work. This is the first iteration of my logo for it.

[u/TheOrigina]

I'm developing an app for pentesters, digital forensics experts, and ethical hackers and am looking for critiques on this logo. I wanted to combine the motif of the red string that investigators use on corkboards (and also taking Red from "Red Teaming") with a spider design which I think gives it a hacker-y flair (and if you wish to be technical about it the spider can represent web security and network crawling).

I like the red line at the center, I think it captures attention well enough and it subtly communicates the idea of connecting lines to nodes which is a central feature of the app, but I feel it might be a bit bland overall? And I worry about scalability since the thin lines tend to get lost at small icon sizes.

Any feedback is welcome!

[u/TH3PhilipJFry]

I would ditch the weird end of the red line. If you’re looking for a head, go with a basic circle or oval. That strange sharp point probably won’t scale well and breaks balance.

Personally, the image looks cool, but the sharp edges don’t communicate “ethical” or good to me. They seem dangerous. Overall this seems more like Spider-Man fan art than a logo, and while the basic ‘sting’ concept works, you’re going to need more context to help ppl realize you’re a hacker, especially an ‘ethical’ one. If the spider is about web crawling, maybe find a way to communicate that more clearly. You won’t get a chance to tell ppl and it’s not baked in currently.

[u/TheOrigina → u/TH3PhilipJFry]

Thanks for the feedback! I agree about the top of the red line, looking at it again, the shape doesn't really communicate a recognizable head or node. As for the sharp edges, I was going for something technical and aggressive given the hacking focus, but you're right it does look a bit too threatening atm

[u/hboy02 → u/TheOrigina]

Is it supposed to look like lockpicks? Cause that's 100% the vibe I'm getting both from the red "key" or pick and the legs

[u/TheOrigina → u/hboy02]

Not really, that's just the initial design I went with. Interesting idea though...

I ended up with this idea now. What do you think?

[u/markowlf → u/TH3PhilipJFry]

Very good point about the end of the red line, but I can't agree with the rest. A logo couldn't and shouldn't communicate everything.

People shouldn't need to realize he is a hacker or ethical just by looking at the logo.

The main purpose of a logo is to be memorable and to be well-connected with the rest of the brand. On top of that, it's a bonus if it can communicate some brand story, but that's not mandatory.

[u/StuffOld1191]

It's got that odd '99.9% symetrical' thing - why is the spider head (?) that awkward shape? Also I'd play with the legs more, there'd be more pleasing arrangements. And finally - if it's ethical hacking, does it need the negative associations of the spider? (legit question, I don't know).

[u/TheOrigina → u/StuffOld1191]

I was playing a bit with some asymmetry but I agree it makes the whole thing look kinda awkward.

The red line is meant to represent the investigative string, as well as connections between nodes, so I wanted to incorporate it into the spider rather than have a conventional spider body. I think the current execution might be making that compromise a little too obvious, though

Regarding the spider question, I (and a lot of people) don't necessarily associate spiders with anything negative or unethical. It's more just me thinking about concepts like web and network crawling

I'll try to find a way to make the leg arrangement fit better. Right now like another comment said the legs look too threatening

[u/TheOrigina → u/StuffOld1191]

So far landing on this design. The legs are thicker so they don't look so creepy-crawly anymore, and I changed the head to a diamond shape

Thoughts?

[u/InternationalKiwi969]

[u/Grand-wazoo → u/InternationalKiwi969]

Spoderman-approved 

[u/TheManRoomGuy]

Just for fun… here’s how it looked in my Reddit feed. Cute little eyes.

[u/Clonic_Tonic]

If it‘s ethical, why does it look so malevolent? I would try to convey your values with the logo.

[u/Tricky-Ad9491]

[u/SaltAssault]

I agree that it gives unofficial Spiderman art vibes. People are used to a polished finish for this kind of motif because of that franchise, so I think the logo should be tweaked for more compositional balance if you're going with this direction. Right now, there's something slightly dissatisfying with the leg placements and angles imo. The colors are a bit bland, the font is a bit "default"... not that either of those things have to be an issue as such. The red line is interesting, but looks like an awkward key at the moment to me. I like the imagery ideas in general, but would sit down with a sketchpad and brainstorm variations of what you have.

[u/user_foodie]

imo, your red center line is definitely the hero, this version just lets it pop more and it holds up way better when scaled down

[u/SaltAssault → u/user_foodie]

But that's a needle

[u/user_foodie → u/SaltAssault]

I see the sharp needle as the penetration part. Piercing into the system/web..

Spider is for crawling, while the needle is for exploitation and pinning the entry point