Local Search Startup (UM) - The New Economy - Logo Improvement

(UM)

We are a local search engine.

Hello there!

We are hoping to improve the design of our current logo.

We would like to preserve the same general color and look (esp. the rotation of the ‘M’), however would love to improve some aspects of the design for a cleaner look.

Two aspects that we are particularly focused on are:

- Letter Style: we would like to clean up the look of the letters - make the ‘M’ more rounded.
- Gradient and highlights: remove for a flatter design.

We love clean lines and rounded corners. Overall, our goal is a clarified and polished design that will blend well with the flat, clean look of our site.

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UPDATED 12-28:

Thank you all for your submissions so far!

A couple of design notes that stand out to us so far -

Letters: while we do want to improve the look of the letters, we do not want the letters to merge into eachother or to be abstract - i.e. third/rightmost downstroke of the 'M' does not merge or become the first/leftmost downstroke of the 'U'.

We like the look of the 'M' overlapping the 'U' slightly, however we do not want the letter strokes to merge or fuse.

The Blue: for the blue of the (UM) - no blue darker than #5093cf.
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UPDATED 01-02:

Hello and a very happy New Year to you!

Thank you all for your work! It is exciting for us to see the (UM) designs getting closer and closer!

It is still our goal to post individual feedback to as many designs as we can. However, in the meantime, we have a few general design notes in mind (below, and updated in our Brief as well).

Additionally, because we increased the time in the qualifying round by a few days, we have also increased the prize amount. We appreciate all of your work and cannot wait to see the new (UM).

Thank you and best,

Layne

FREE THE ECONOMY
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Color:
- Blue: #5093cf
- Uniform; ‘U,’ ‘M,’ and parentheses all the same color; no alternating colors.
- No gradient or transparency.
- No outline.

Characters:
- Smooth lines and rounded corners.
- No angular corners or pointed parentheses.
- No combined letters.
- Rotation on the ‘M’ is wonderful, however no skew or rotation on the ‘U’ or parentheses.
- No abstract, serifed, or highly stylized typefaces.

Overall Logo Composition:
- Well-defined ‘U,’ ‘M,’ and parentheses; no abstract letters or additional shapes or characters.
- Well-defined parentheses; no connected parentheses (circle around UM).
- ‘U’ and ‘M’ overlap: we hope to preserve that slight overlap of the ‘M’ over the ‘U;’ we would prefer that the ‘M’ overlaps the ‘U’ (not ‘U’ overlapping ‘M’).

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UPDATED 01-10:

Many thanks to everyone for being a part of our project!

Our final round is underway, but we wanted to thank you all again for your submissions.

We love great design because of its beautiful subtleties, and many of our choices for the final round were influenced by these subtleties. However, there were a few major aspects that guided our final selections:

- The Design Brief.

- Overall letter style; particularly the style of the 'M.' This was important because our goal was a more rounded looking 'M,' but one that was not too informal or comical looking. It ended up involving a very delicate balance.

- Rotation and angle of the 'M.'

- Style of the parentheses.

- Character composition; angles, corners, balance and smoothness of the letter strokes and typeface.

- Overall balance and spacing.

Thank you all again - we saw many great designs throughout the contest and enjoyed working with all of you!

Very best,

Layne & The Findum Team

FREE THE ECONOMY