On a whim, I made a redesign of the Giant Bomb logo. I started thinking about how cutting edge and modern the new site design looked (from what we could see based on the talk show), and the current logo just seemed too goofy. Now I'm not saying my logo fits the mantra and style of Giant Bomb, but it was designed to be more sleek and modern looking (hence the Helvetica-type font). Let me know what you guys think!
Your font has that modern look. I would avoid italics in that particular font. The main element that breaks the design is the bomb design. It looks too vintage and old, something from an old advertisement. Honestly I can't stand the current design trends most logo design are nowadays. They lack character and are too sterile for me. Nice first round, I would go back and redesign the bomb. For inspiration look up Chip Kidd's bookcovers and particularly how he does illustrations.
I can see where you're coming from with the whole hipstery-minimalist-Olly Moss-eque aesthetic but it doesn't really fit at all with the site as it is.
Maybe pop over to a site like dafont and grab yourself a bunch of new typefaces as that italic one, to me, just screams "This is all I had on my system" rather than "this is a conscious design decision".
It might also have been a better choice to have used the established bomb character (or at least some element of it) in your design.
A few people in this thread need to be reminded of the number one rule of Giant Bomb: DON'T BE A JERK. Now I'm going to have to waste my time cleaning this thread up and sending out warning PM's. Thanks guys. I love all this extra work.
You're welcome to have negative opinions, but comments acting like complete assholes are not welcome. Try to be constructive with your criticism, not just "OH GAWD THIS LOOKS AWFUL!!!". That adds nothing to the discussion and makes you look like a bad person.
@mooncake: I think your new logo is cool. Minimalistic and clean, which is where modern logo designs are going. Something along those lines would probably fit the new site perfectly.
Matty's right. I was definitely being a jerk just now. Sorry.
Honestly, the only thing I don't like is the bomb's face. Something just seems off about it. The colors, the design of the "O" in "Bomb", and the font, however, are all great.
Maybe its because, as a sign designer, I see Helvetica all the time. But Helvetica looks fucken ugly. Try Century Gothic, or Avenier. Whichever one is the thicker one.
It looks like you might have done it in vector, but I cant really tell. For a few tips, Only use a couple colors, your color choices arnt too bad, but its easer to see logos with fewer colors by their shape, then a bunch of colors, by thier shape. Also use bolder Fonts, you want to be able to read the words. If you need to use Kerning.
I used to not be a fan of the current logo, but I have grown to love it over the years. Making a new "modern" version is a fun exercise but to replace the current one would kill a part of the site's "soul" in my opinion.
That being said, I am a graphic designer by trade and I like some of your type treatment (not so much the italic) but the bomb does not read well. I was barely able to make it out because of the texture and similar colors used. The best logos have high contrast (like the white and red in the current logo), maybe make the "O" solid red and have the bomb shape cut out of it.
I have to say, I'm not really a fan. I think the red is a bit too pale, the two fonts clash far too much and the bomb face is very indistinct, due to a lack of contrast in the features. You should definitely rework the colour scheme and seriously consider getting rid of that Helvetica as it's extremely over-used and just doesn't suit the site at all. Also bear in mind that if you want to use a black font, you'll have to give it an outline so that it's visible against the inevitably black background (or at least header) that the new site will have.
Overall, I can see the potential. Don't be put off by the negative comments and have a go at refining it some once you've got a good cross-section of feedback.
Agreeing with everyone saying "modernizing" the logo doesn't suit the character of the site. I still hate the way the bomb looks in the original logo though.
Woo! That was a tough crowd in here before! Eye-opening, and quite educational: never experienced such negative backlash before. It was much needed if I am to become a designer (game and/or otherwise).
But thanks for all the constructive feedback given! I will say that the bottom "italics" font was put there just for fun. I liked how it looked like a logo for an old time radio show, or a vintage car. But yeah, not really what I was going for, so the top two were the actual "redesign".
Also, I think everybody is right in saying that it doesn't fit the tone of the site. As I said before, it was never meant to be aligned with the tone and atmosphere of the site, but more about modernizing the look (especially if you guys have seen the new design of the website, which may I say, looks stunning!)
I thought I was done with this fun exercise, but all this good feedback has inspired me to try something more bombastic (whilst trying to modernize).
@Teddie said:
This thread inspired me to make two things:
and this.
Agreeing with everyone saying "modernizing" the logo doesn't suit the character of the site. I still hate the way the bomb looks in the original logo though.
In some ways, your modern version actually succeeds more than mine. (It is definitely way more minimalistic).
Anyway, thought you'd all want to know, the "O" was actually supposed to be the "explosion" from the bomb. It doesn't make sense logically, as a bomb can't exist after its exploded, but I thought artistically it looked interesting. Hence the gradient of colours coming out from the bomb, the spark that has reached its end, and his sort of happy face that he's exploded (Remembering that Jeff said the bomb on the logo was supposed to be happy it was exploding). All in all, it was supposed to represent a post-era of Giant Bomb, moving into a new era.
Its okay, but it needs a lot of work. Your font choice is poor. They're all modern style fonts, but they all feel so bland. Nothing wrong with crisp, clean type, but the type you have is just so boring. There are tons of modern style fonts out there. Try some better ones that don't look so generic. There is virtually no contrast in the actual bomb logo either. If you shrunk it down it would lose all of its details. Putting texture on the bomb while leaving the text clean is awkward. Either have texture over the entire logo, or don't use texture at all.
It needs more silliness. The current bomb looks fucking pumped as fuck to be a bomb, man. Look at that motherfucker! He probably loves blowing up! If there were to be a new logo, I wouldn't be against it being clean or modern, but some element of wackiness needs to be kept in there.
The current logo looks pretty shitty just because the Bomb looks...dumb. I never bought any of the original GB merch because I think it's lame as fuck. I would even prefer if the bomb had no face at all.
Good effort, fits in with the way current corporate logo design is heading (see Microsoft) but I actually love the current design. It matches the inherent goofiness of the bomb crew where a modern, minimal aesthetic would not at all.
@mooncake: I think your new logo is cool. Minimalistic and clean, which is where modern logo designs are going. Something along those lines would probably fit the new site perfectly.
I think it looks gash to be honest. The logo is undefined and messy and you can barely tell what it is.
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