jamesg1213

sharke
 
I got my company logo from 99 Designs, you offer up prize money and run a contest between designers. It made me realize how rare good designers are. About 95% of the designs that were submitted were positively awful - rank amateurs trying to make a few bucks on the side, and half of them looked like they'd just stitched some cheesy clip art together. Most of them ignore your design specifications, even when you make them explicit and say that any design which ignores them will be disregarded. Toward the end of the contest I was terrified that nobody would save the day, which is horrifying because if you guarantee the prize money (as I did) then you'd end up having to pay for a bunch of crap you didn't want. Luckily someone emerged with a good one but it was close!
 

Just curious - why didn't you just approach an actual graphic designer? They all have portfolios online these days.
 

Well, I preferred the price for starters! And I didn't like the idea with receiving submissions from just one designer. I had a few basic requirements that were inflexible, but apart from that I didn't have a rigid idea of what I wanted and so liked the idea of having a large diversity of ideas.

GjB
I notice that the Google+ link from the main page is 404, too.
I guess they will make another G+ page.
These are not complaints, by the way. I just really want to help Cakewalk.
As Sharke mentioned, having a few younger members on the team would probably help.
(I'm 48 and have quite limited design skills.)

GjB
I notice that the Google+ link from the main page is 404, too.
I guess they will make another G+ page.
These are not complaints, by the way. I just really want to help Cakewalk.
As Sharke mentioned, having a few younger members on the team would probably help.
(I'm 48 and have quite limited design skills.)

Told someone my birthday is next week.  He said *let me guess you're turning about 40.*  

sharke
Well that's certainly better than what they've got now. I suspect their decision to bork up the logo was partly influenced by the square format of the Facebook avatar. If they had Cakewalk written in its normal form, it would be quite small in order for it to fit the width and they'd have a lot of empty space. So I agree, they should have the same logo they use on their app taskbar icons.
 
Logos are a tricky thing. They have to be adaptable to a number of shape formats, i.e. logo followed by text, or logo on top of text, they have to be recognizable when small and they also have to work in monochrome. I also think the graphic part of the design should be recognizable as the company logo without the text if required. 
 
I got my company logo from 99 Designs, you offer up prize money and run a contest between designers. It made me realize how rare good designers are. About 95% of the designs that were submitted were positively awful - rank amateurs trying to make a few bucks on the side, and half of them looked like they'd just stitched some cheesy clip art together. Most of them ignore your design specifications, even when you make them explicit and say that any design which ignores them will be disregarded. Toward the end of the contest I was terrified that nobody would save the day, which is horrifying because if you guarantee the prize money (as I did) then you'd end up having to pay for a bunch of crap you didn't want. Luckily someone emerged with a good one but it was close!
 
Cakewalk's classic logo is fine, they just need to work out how to adapt it for social media formats, and formulate a consistent branding strategy. 
 
I think what they fail to realize is that the square Facebook avatar is not really intended for text based logos. It's more for headshots and symbols. Look at Ableton's Facebook page, they just have their simple little geometrical symbol. The cover photo at the top of the page is where you complete your branding. 

I agree with everything you said.
I've been a hobbyist web design guy (only making stuff for myself) for a long time, and realized, including myself that many people don't have the dialed-in skills that real/some designers have. I hang around one web design forum and would love to have some feedback from them on this, but that would be better with some casual involvement from Cakewalk's staff, otherwise I get carried away and spend too much time on these things.
It's fun trying to come up with ideas, though. I'm very impressed with Sonar, and would love to see it embraced by more people. I think it just needs a slightly younger touch, like 5 minute get up and running YouTube tutorials, with the emphasis on making quick beats, up and running with new synths, as opposed to hour long (but very good) symphonies. Electronic dance music would probably bring in more younger people than rock.
Don't get me wrong, I do like rock, but I also love many other music types from techno to orchestral, etc.

eph221
 
Told someone my birthday is next week.  He said *let me guess you're turning about 40.*  

Yes, I get that now of course. Here in Japan I teach English conversation and most of my students are females.
When you are young they smile at you. When you are older they try to smile at you.
It's all good, I think..

GjB
Here in Japan I teach English conversation and most of my students are females.
 

I would get in soooo much trouble... 

Because you can't speak very good English ?

sharke
Logos are a tricky thing. They have to be adaptable to a number of shape formats, i.e. logo followed by text, or logo on top of text, they have to be recognizable when small and they also have to work in monochrome. I also think the graphic part of the design should be recognizable as the company logo without the text if required. 

 
Ohhhh yeah!  Just one will never cut it.  You have to have a theme that is identifiable in various shapes and sizes. Depending on the company, you have to have versions for a website, social media (which usually have their own size requirements), a "favorite icon," phone apps, shortcuts, avatars, invoices, sales brochures, t-shirts, hats, price tags and business cards.
 
I still have a lot of work to do with my own company, but I have at least a dozen versions for various uses.  Squares, rectangles, circles, with the company name and without, with humorous explanations of my services, with only the pig snouts and URL, with only one snout, etc.  Besides my avatar here, you can see a couple of others (including a favorite icon) at one of my impulse-buy eCommerce sites: https://pif-loves-bluetooth.com/
 
I can't wait to get around to having shirts made.  I have a few designs ready, but the basic one only has the three pig snouts on the back with the website URL under it (no need for anything else).  Some will have a front pocket with "Pigs In Fog" on it or on the outside of a sleeve.  Others that feature some funny comment (I have a few) will have a more subdued logo.  I'm just waiting until I can redo the website first since it only has a forum created back when we thought we were going to lose this one.
 

craigb

GjB
Here in Japan I teach English conversation and most of my students are females.
 

I would get in soooo much trouble... 

I hear ya..!

Matron Landslide
Because you can't speak very good English ?

lol