Logo critique

[JLeezer]

I'm pondering starting an aquarium maintenance service in the Nashville, TN area. I have a somewhat extensive knowledge of reef maintenance and feel I could develop it into the systems and processes necessary to franchise the business. I'm still exploring different options for starting up but have chosen the name Marine Environments. If you wouldn't mind, I'd greatly appreciate any comments on the attached logo.

Thanks

Jon

[rogercbryan]

not to shabby... I usually prefer an actual logo that stands apart from the text. Something you can use on your business cards and letter head. It could be the fish that you have... maybe make them a little more full? idk.. heading in the right direction!

[JLeezer]

Thanks Roger. I was debating about that as well. I was thinking the fish might be too generic to be the prominent part of the logo, so I just made the text pop out. I kind of liked the faded effect on the fish, but I might be able to darken it and add some sort of color inside the fish to emphasize them more. Thanks again for the input.

[pboychuk]

Looks good, also has the "christian fish" which seems to portray businesses as honest and respectable.
I guess TN is a good place to start an aquarium maintenance company, ive been to the big one up there a few times.

[remipub]

I like it. Normally I love a full color image because they look better and sell more, but not so much in a logo. Be careful not to go too crazy adding colors - a logo should be simple and easily recognizable - especially if you're looking to franchise. Reserve the colorful presentation for other things like signage (to a point), brochures, etc.

It's hard to say without playing with it, but yeah, the fish are kindof out there, maybe a little too distant from the text. But honestly not so much that it's a big deal. I was tempted to say add some coral in there, but you don't want to start adding a bunch of elements - simplicity is best. Maybe it's a matter of changing the fish to something more targeted to the type of fish you're looking to sell. You mention coral, so I'm assuming tropical fish - when I think tropical fish I get an image in mind ... like the shape of an angel fish or something (I'm no expert on fish!) But again, something simple and clean, but maybe less generic and more geared toward something tropical.

IMHO

[chanson]

I would mvoe the "marine" in because it stretched the logo horizontally a bit unnecesarially. Instead of changing the fish' color try changing the background color to something with a little more "life" so to speak. I really like the coloring on environment. Dont be afraid to overlap the words onto the fish things either. Thats just my opinion

[Librazoe1982]

I liked the logo. Will it be small enough to put on a business card? Do you have a moto?

[Joshua Jones]

Hey JLeezer,

It's a nice logo, though gradients usually don't play well. I, of course, love the fish and the fact that there's 3, but there is no variation between them, at least not that I noticed other than x/y positioning.

I wanted to help you get juices flowing, because I can tell you're passionate about this. See attached

[n/a]

Just to preface I am the most picky person in here and I should be considering my profession!

I am not super excited about this logo. I feel like the fish are an afterthought and they feel disconnected from the rest of the logo. The inner shadow effect that makes "Environments" look like water, looks nice, but can it be printed out and still retain the effect. Do you have this logo in vector? If its not you wont be able to blow it up bigger than what it is. I dont like the text "Marine" Once again it feels detached and plain.

This works if you just want a logo real quick to slap on a business plan. but actually using this as an official logo I would recommend another approach. Did you make this yourself in photoshop? Just curious. Sorry I sounds so negative! You are a great business person and I am sure whatever you pursue will be successful! but just being my picky little graphic designer self ! I hope no feelings are hurt!

[remipub]

I don't love this (see attached) - it was hastily thrown together and definitely needs tweaking ... but it kind of gives an idea of what I was thinking - for better or worse.

Oh...and yeah, the blue needs to be darker. Not enough contrast.

[JLeezer]

I have to be honest. I posted this kind of late last night (late for me, probably not for a lot of you) and had mostly forgotten about the post until a little bit ago. Fortunately for me, all of you remembered it and posted. All these comments and suggestions are terrific. I appreciate them all! By no means was the logo to be considered final, but just a decent first attempt. If I had no choice and had to use it, I think I'd be pretty happy with it. Fortunately, though, I'm not in that position and have the opportunity to work with and incorporate all the great suggestions on here. I'll work up a few different ones and post them back here. Specifically, thanks lamarsh and joshua jones for your highly specific points.

Jon

[Richierich_12345]

I think the logo looks generic and should really be an illustration that pops.
Something that has blue in it but something they would remember or noticed if they saw it anywhere. This logo does not give me that feeling when i look at it.

[remipub]

That coat of arms logo is very visually appealing, and would be great for a business that doesn't rely on name/brand recognition. But were talking about (potentially) a retail chain. The logo should be very basic in design. Look around at all the big players in national and international business - IBM, Target, Sears, Coke, McDonald's, Home Depot, AT&T, Nike, Mercedes Benz, etc., etc. - especially the one's with a retail focus. You will notice that the vast majority of them have something very simple. Whether it's a unique shape, or just their name in some syleized type face - it's almost always very basic. There's a reason for that.

[nonnerkay]

I think it looks really nice! It seems like you put a lot of hard work and thought into it!

[matt_15]

I think you should go ahead with the business.