Keys for Logo Design

My favorite project, designing logos. I'll walk you through a few iterations and principles for logo design. One of the first to keep in mind, is a logo is going to end up on various pieces of media. A logo needs to be distilled to something that can be stitched on a shirt.

  With each of these designs, I tried to embody a club principle. The first idea, and the one developed the most was the 'sharp' logo. The font is very slick, with sharp points. It's a custom font I created in Sketchup. It embodies the cool confidence the club instills in members.

This is the font straight from Sketchup.

Next the border and letters were separated, with a gradient applied.

A drop shadow gives the letters depth.

The gavels were added as visual tie in the function of the club.

 The nautical star concept. The club points one in the right direction, it provides purpose.

The design straight from Sketchup.

The shadows and highlights were separated.

 The next step would be a shadow and gradients to polish it up, but the look didn't fit.

 The last concept is traditional. An low angle to impart importance. The border of the letters represent the self development. The banner is another traditional trapping.

The concept from Sketchup.

Shadows tweaked and banner refined.

And where I finished. It lacks something, but it was never a favorite.

 The color palette was the same for all three. Turquoise, black, and silver are favorites and where I start with most color schemes. This one happened to work for the 'sharp' logo. Blue is a cool color that imparts a sense of calm.
Logos need to have some meaning, it helps to attach tributes. The logo is the character that has to speak to the viewer.