the logo

I thought you guys might enjoy seeing how my logo evolved throughout the design process. It changed a lot over a few months. Wanna see what I mean? Take a look below...

Originally I wanted my logo to feature the Des Moines skyline because I thought it was iconic and obviously, super topical. I had also opted for a brighter color because I thought it'd grab people's attention right away.  

Then I realized the yellow that I'd chosen was way too bright (can you say sunglasses?) and so I decided to try black instead. I also changed the name from Hello City to Say Hello to the City because someone said the former reminded them too much of Hello Kitty. Try as I might, I couldn't get that out of my mind and it had to go. I ended up really liking the black because the skyline was easier to see and it looked a bit more formal. 

After the first round of edits, my designer began steering me away from featuring the skyline in my logo because some local companies had logos that were eerily similar. She showed me a few and they all featured the skyline in a way that was also the exact same to what I had originally wanted.  So we began looking into different designs that were more modern and less centered on Des Moines.

As I said previously, I wanted my site to be warm and minimal; not too simple, but also not super cluttered. The logo designs we began playing around with (after ditching the skyline) were simple, but the font Cait chose also conveyed a sense of intention. We played around with a few different formats and even a subtitle or two.

We finally settled on something clean and fresh. I think it looks good over all platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram etc.) and it also feels timeless. I didn't want a logo that I would have to adjust every few years because that would be annoying and expensive. I'm really happy with how it turned out! What are your thoughts on the logos? Leave your comment below.

(p.s. although this blog does focus on Des Moines, I have dreams of expanding it elsewhere. Hence "the City" could be located, well, anywhere.)