# Rough Draft of the Logo..



## gunner69

CRAP the last Poll option is supposed to be " Nope don't like it head back to the drawing board" Can a Mod help a brother out??


So Rick did a bang up job on the rough draft of our logo but SWMBO has some concerns.. She has agreed to do some market testing locally and on the web to see if it's just her or not... .


----------



## travcoman45

I like it, need a couple a teeth missin on the Scottsman, but it's mighty fine.


----------



## eaglewing

*I like it!!!*







My wife is the same about pigs and how they are displayed in logos BUT this AINT NO PIG RESCUE GROUP now is it!?!?


----------



## chefrob

perzactly............


----------



## Dutch

Well Laddie-being a kilt wearer meownself as well as having several family lines trace back to the Highlands, it looks grand-grand indeed!! But what's with the horned helmet? is he a Scot or a Viking???? A glenngarry or a balmoral would be the better choice for headwear.


----------



## travcoman45

Dutch, what be the name a the hat that ressembles the overseas cap?  I thin that would look good on that feller to.

Now as fer a pig bein roasted, that be what he's fer!  Problem is people wanna look at everthin as a pet, oh the cute pig, blah blah blah, he's food, look at em as such.  I see a pig, I see pork chops, ribs, pork butt, ham, bacon.  Look at a cow, steaks, roasts, fine burger.  People wanna "Humanize" everthin, oh the poor cow just wan'ts ta live with it's family in harmony.  Huh?  

Done rantin, got off track.

I try a few different hats on that feller, I like it an gonna make a fine banner!


----------



## gunner69

All good advice and the reason I posted it up.. I need it to appeal to a broad audience.. The one common theme I am seeing though is that the orange color and the font itself is really hard to read so thats going to be a definite thing that we are going to have to remedy. Please keep the comments and thoughts coming.


----------



## Dutch

Tip, that would be the glengarry-the balmoral is a beret-shaped much like the berets that the US Army wears, except the cap badge on the balmoral is above the left temple and not above the left eye. I'll see if I can post up some pics.


Gunner, if you'll PM me, I can give you a couple of websites that has a lot of different tartans on display. I'm thinking that the Stewart Royal (Red & Black) would stand out better than the orange.


----------



## mama's smoke

Looks great, but it might be better if the pig were already dead.


----------



## Bearcarver

I like it !
My favorite part is that the pig is sweating. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	




Maybe even a little more sweat???


Bearcarver


----------



## mballi3011

I like it but if you are going for the scottish theme then I would go with that head wear that Dutch is talking about. If you start out authentic you have to go all out authentic.


----------



## werdwolf

At the risk of catching a lot of flack, I'm going to be a nay sayer on this.

If all you are doing is competition this would be fine, but I notice the catering part of the logo.

You are looking at the general public with catering.

First I think the color is OK, it's the font that is the problem and hard to read.

Second you want to market a brand.  I see two different names when I look at this.  Who are you? The Smokin' Scott or the kilt and Que.

Now for the pig; he looks like he's scared (I'll use the wording "to death" since my other term would won't print).  It looks like you are roasting the poor little guy alive!  This definitely will not go over well with the ladies.

Is Haggis food?

Just my 2 cents.


----------



## travcoman45

As far as pleasin everbody, in this here over politically correct society we be turnin inta, ya ain't never gonna win.  If ya like it an ya got a good product go fer it.  Them what don't like it ain't the type a folk ya wanna serve anywho.

We got one complaint bout the name a our company, some gal said we was deaminain (Had ta look it up an still can't spell it) poor folk, lady I am what I am, poor folk an all.  Everbody else loves the food an really don't care what show's on the banner when they got a full belly.

Play with yer colors some, what are ya puttin this on?  Shirts, what color, see what works, banners, what color again.  Just try different thins an see what looks the best ta yer eye.

Good luck.

Thanks Dutch, couldn't think a them hat names fer nothin taday!


----------



## dmcfarlan

I am a video producer/graphic designer, and overall there are some good points to the logo.
But you really need to look at your font/color. The text is very hard to read.
Try playing with fonts, and colors. Try putting a thin outline on the letter to make them pop more.


----------



## treegje

I like it.
super cool


----------



## Dutch

Gunner, here be a couple of pics of Highland headgear for you:


Glengarry


Balmoral

The glengarry is worn mostly by members of Pipe bands while the balmoral is worn by everyone else. It is also common not wear any hat at all as it is a matter of personal choice.

Here is a pic of me kilted up next to the lovely Ma Dutch. The hat is the balmoral with a diced band.






I fixed your last poll question for you


----------



## smokey bones

looks pretty good, the cartoons need to be more pronounced tho


----------



## werdwolf

Ok, so I bounced this of my wife, without prejudicing her;

The font was hard to read.

The pig should have is eyes closed or be dead.

The Scottish guy was a little to barberick.  Upon further questioning she thought it was the "horns" on his head.

When asked if she would call for a caterer based off of this logo she said no.  She said if the above were different that it might be eye catching.

Hope this helps.

I think you are on the right track, just a few modifications.


----------



## etcher1

looks great, just kill the pig!


----------



## gunner69

Clan MacRae here Dutch.. I've got the tartan already and I think the head gear is a must.. I'm gonna try and keep this active for awhile take the advie apply it to the logo and get a 2nd draft and see where that gets us.


----------



## meateater

Personally I like it. Like said above maybe work on the colors and the hat.


----------



## eaglewing

*Ya beat me to it Dutch, I was gona post those also... found here:*

http://www.scotsconnection.com/Scott...ts/c-1-69-240/




*I have to AGREE, the HAT (now that it has been pointed out and makes sense) could use a makeover but other than that, it's all good.
*


----------



## the iceman

I agree with others in that the horns got to go. Go with one of the headgear that Dutch provided. I love the Scottish Claymore, nice touch. The font looks good to me. And the pig is fine. As Travcoman said, thats what they are there for.


----------



## lowandslowbbq

That's awesome! I love it!


----------



## disbe81

Need to make the C in Scot look more like a C. I thought it was an N at first and said "The Smokin Snot" which didnt sound right to me, lol. Other then that, its awesome!


----------



## brae

Being of the female gender, and a lover of pork, I have to say the pig really bothers me. I instantly felt sorry for it and it turned me abit.  Sorry.  Rest looks grand to me.


----------



## pops6927

I'd put X's for his eyes and an apple in his mouth.  I'd soften the glare of the Scot a little, you don't want the customer getting the impression that the service is 'my way or the highway'; more smile, less scowl.  Replace the axe on his back with a pair of tongs 'to serve up the best there is.... aye?!'


----------



## pepeskitty

I tend to agree with most opinions here also.  The pig doesn't bother me but I can see women immediately feeling sorry for him.  The hat needs to change also,  like already mentioned, he is not a viking.   The lettering is difficult to read but it may just need some outlining not changing of the font possibly.  I like the font personally but outline the letters may help.  I thought the sword as a spit was a great idea.  

But I am still wondering what Haggis is?  If it is food or something you are selling, then by all means don't take it off there.  It makes others like me ask what it is and then want to try it.  

Also haven't heard any comments on the shield he is holding. Doesn't really look like a shield but it seems to be more than that.  Can someone give a little insight on it.  It seems to have some significance but I don't understand.

I am not trying to be critical, but helpful.  Overall I have to say my first look at it made me smile and I thought it was cool.  Just a few tweaks to appeal to the masses and you are ready to go.


----------



## gunner69

The Targe/Shield he is holding is actually my Clan crest. It's one of the few things that is truly non-negotiable.. I'm going to pull all the ideas together this weekend and fire off an email to the artist with some proposed changes adn will post up the rev2 of the logo when he gets it finished up.

Thanks all for the great ideas and constructive critisism. I totally agree that if I was just going for something to go on shirts and a banner for comps then it would be "Damn em all Full speed ahead" But since I'm hoping to pull some small catering jobs to start with I need to have a more "sane" image so to speak.


----------



## dyce51

I like it!!!!!


----------



## Dutch

Well gunner, if your going into the catering business you will need fortitude!!


----------



## badfrog

I lived in Scotland as a teenager (dad was in the Navy)...Haggis is good eats! basically a sheeps stomach filled with minced meat and oats and such...kind of a sausage of sorts; I believe it is boiled. It has a nice spiciness to it! Keep the Haggis reference...makes for a good conversation starter!!!

I like the logo! I agree the font is a bit hard to read... if you are going down the road it might be difficult to figure out what it says before its too late.
I like the pig! but I can see where some might have issue with him...


----------



## shooterrick

Well it is indeed cool.  My thoughts on logos are to keep it simple and quickly recongnizable.  It is marketing 101.  How many would have guessed at the Nike check mark?


----------



## gunner69

I got a great boon today.. It's funny that you mentioned Nike.. A friend of mine works in the Addidas corporate office and the head of their "Branding"  dept. agreed to take a look at the next revision when I get it and give me some thoughts on it...


----------



## dirt guy

Gunner,

I like what you've done. But, if you're going to use this as your business logo, I think it's a bit too busy. This would look great on a computer screen or sign. But, it would probably be too small for your business cards. Some of the text wouldn't be large enough to read without squinting. I'm speaking specificly about the print inside the oval--your crest and the haggis reference. For me, the best logos have little text.

Just my two cents.


----------



## dangermouse

Looks pretty good, my 2c as a complete novice:

The font up top is a bit hard to read, I'd think you want that to be instantly understood, rather than having to take that second glance at the letters.

Kill the pig.  Disney artists figured out a while back that putting eyebrows on animals makes them instantly humanized, it's like a subliminal thing.  I suspect you could achieve the same humorous effect with X X for eyes, and like someone said put an apple in it's mouth, or hang his tongue out for fun.  Keeps the chil'ren happy and keeps the mens hungry.

That seal/crest seemed strange and out of place at first but looking at it again I'd say that's probably because its the only thing that is colored in.  So is the whole middle drawing going to be colored in to match that crest?  If so that will look good.


Oh and if you want to send me some meat I'll give my opinion on that too.


----------



## rodc

I've managed to miss this thread before, hope you don't mind a couple of comments from Scotland, but let me say that I like it first off - some of the following is nitpicking:
Dutch is right about the Glengarry or the Balmoral - apart from the Island Clans who were more Viking than Scot, that horned helmet doesn't look right (and there's debate over even the Vikings wearing them).
I don't agree with Dutch about using a Stewart Tartan - the badge is the MacRae's - to use another Tartan wouldn't fit - the MacRae's site has a page of their tartans - I like the Hunting & the Ancient Hunting personally http://www.clan-macrae.org.uk/ .
The pig looks scared - X's for eyes to show you don't roast them alive or an Englishman would be better. (Only joking about the Englishman 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





)
I like the Uncial font - although the orange one's maybe a wee bit too fancy - this one's a little bit more legible while still celtic looking http://www.brighthub.com/link/header...es%2f5622.aspx If you want to add fancy you could google Illustrated Capitals - but they might be a bit much.
The clan badge as a shield doesn't look right to me - you'd be better with a proper Targe & the clan crest incorporated among the writing - probably at the bottom.
The clan badge is signifying that the team are proper members of the Clan - there are some who would ask. Also the belt around the insignia represents allegiance to the Clan Chief & should not have a gold buckle or adornment - it should be black and white or black and silver only - only the Laird or Lady are allowed it in gold. (This is being picky BUT Clan Badges and tartans are as meaningful to some clan members as the Stars & Stripes are to Americans).


----------



## gnubee

I like it but the Hat has to go and You should Kill the piggy for the ladies I suppose. 

But something about it bothers me a lot. Its Probably because my Grand dad had a real one and treasured it very highly. The use of the Claymore over the flame . It is a true fighting sword and all I can think of when seeing it like that is that the tempering is being ruined. 

I know you have to use the Clan Crest that is proper for your clan, however My clan Crest has a naked Lady on it. Much more eye catching.... Hee hee.

Hint. Murray clan.....Mermaid..


----------



## gunner69

I got the 2nd draft of the logo today but I'm whooped after a tough 1st round playoff game for our Winterhawks... I'll get it posted up tomorrow While I'm waiting for the 6 racks of St. Louis Ribs to smoke away.


----------



## gunner69

Rod, 

Thank you for your input.. My Great Kilt is done in Ancient Hunting and will probably be the colors we use once the logo is inked. I did not know that about the Clan badge and will definitely make the approprite change there in the final inking.


----------



## rodc

No problem - I'd offer to send some haggis but your Government have banned imports of it for a few years now 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






, you'll have to make your own


----------



## vince

Too busy for me, I think more of a simple design is better, too much detail for my liking, just me.


----------



## gunner69

Well Rick got the 2nd draft to me on a very busy Hockey and Smoking weekend so I'm just getting around to posting the results of all the great input that I received from all of you... So here is what we came up with...



The tartan will definitely be my families Ancient Hunting Tartan as it is also what matches my kilt. I will be making some minor tweaks when it comes to the actual coloring of the logo. But all in all I am very pleased with the result.


----------



## gunner69

So the final draft is in.. It will be going out for color this week and I will post up the finished product once I have it in hand... Thank you all for your input...


----------



## the iceman

Looking good Gunner.


----------



## rodc

I like it - let us see the coloured version when you've got it done please.


----------



## beer-b-q

Looks Great Gunner,  Much better than the one with horns...


----------



## tjoff

I am also a Scot and I love it.  I was just telling my wife if you get them made into window stickers for cars I would glady put one in the back window of my truck.


----------



## mythmaster

My surname is Gordon, and I, too, approve of this design.


----------



## gunner69

So the final result is in... 



Is what we decided to go with... Thank you all for your input...


----------



## treegje

It looks great! Nice job.


----------



## dyce51

logo looks great!!  I still like the pigs eyes open though....


----------

