Clever Logotype for Web Startup

Apprikos

Apprikos is a small company that creates custom web applications, mobile applications and desktop applications on a freelance basis. We help our customers actualise their ideas and thrive on creative problem-solving.

("Apprikos" is Swedish for "Appricot". Yes, the two p:s indicate that we create apps. Neat, huh?)

We are agile, quick and love simplicity. Our core values are creativity, curiosity/constant learning and integrity.

We are not a large, anonymous software corporation who have endless meetings, write stacks of reports and produce something bland and expensive.

The apps we create are easy to use and elegantly designed. The user feels empowered, efficient and happy that someone understands them and what they need.

Our customers are primarily web agencies, web entrepreneurs and advertising agencies. All of them small companies, mostly 1-5 and no more than 20 employees. Mostly male.

They are 20-40 years old, intelligent and extroverted. They are doing what they love, living their dreams and changing the world.

Most of them love Apple, their MacBooks, iPhones and iPods. They live on the web, use Twitter and Facebook, and they want to make a lot of money on the Internet.

To begin with, the company will target Sweden only. But the logotype must work in Western Europe and the US as well.

The logotype should be simple with the brand name and an icon/symbol. The icon will be used on its own as a favicon on a website, profile image on Facebook and avatar on Twitter and blogs.

The logotype should say "we're a clever, fun and friendly company". It should be clean and simple and still work 10 years from now.

Please note: The logotype CANNOT contain an apricot in any form, not even stylized or anything that can be interpreted as an apricot. You will have to come up with something more clever than that. (Preferrably not an "a". And please, no computers, mouse pointers or similar. The logotype is not supposed to say what we do.)

Some simple concept ideas: things that can be connected to nature and apricots; leaves, seedlings, saplings, birds, butterflies. But it still has to be clever and creative, maybe combining with another concept that suggests cleverness, creativity, ideas, thinking or something.

The font should be similar to Avenir and Helvetica, but less formal. We like Organic (http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/positype/organic/), but feel free to select a better one. We will buy the font in the winning design.

We don't really know which colours would be best, but we're thinking brown, green and/or apricot (as in tree, leaf and fruit). But the logotype must work just as well in black and white.

The brand name in the logotype must be easy to switch to "Appricot".

The files we will require are:
Print file format - .ai (CMYK)
Web file format - .jpg and layered .psd (RGB)

Please do not use any stock images or clip art in the logo.

Finally, here are some examples of logotypes that we like:

http://logopond.com/gallery/detail/78857
http://logopond.com/gallery/detail/63984
http://logopond.com/gallery/detail/68586
http://logopond.com/gallery/detail/90866
http://logopond.com/gallery/detail/50999