New Logo

[R4L]

Does this look okay? I did it in an older program called Microsoft Picture It! 2000. I think it looks okay but it's too flashy I think.

[DanClarke]

The 'chrome' effect really kills it as it makes the text borderline illegible, and i think the gradient in the background just brings the quality down. Try a solid colour font and background, and then work from there.

[R4L]

Thats what I was thinking too. It some parts of the letters are too dark to really see. Thanks for the reply!

[ildu]

People often tend to overdo logos. Logos are supposed to be simple shapes and text that stick to the mind, not something obcure and unbalanced that makes you say bleh and turn away. As Dan said, you should try simple solid shapes and colors that blend well with each other and their background. If I think of your name, Stand Alone, I don't immediately think a weird red-cored sun on a dark night sky, but rather something tangible.

So first of all, think what kind of image you're trying to convey with your logo. Is it supposed to be sleek, scruffy, dangerous, cartoony, humorous, pun-like, designy, artsy fartsy, etc.? Then elaborate on that. Start with a really simple logo design and try different text arrangements with it. To me Stand Alone brings to mind a somewhat dangerous or desolate setting. So I would want to go with something rough and urban. Maybe stencils and some spray marks? I would also choose colors to fit the theme. Perhaps dark red on a black background? Next I'd play with the text and logo arrangement. How about a stencilled image of a palm on a rough red square with the words 'Stand' and 'Alone' written on top of each other to the immediate right of the logo?

Here are some logos in the gaming world that I find well-made and well thought out:

Double Fine

Wacky, cartoony and weird, but yet very traditional. Top notch design with 5 very appealing flat colors, and the logo is drawn with vectors. A great way to brand a company, which coincidentally in Double Fine's case has lead to toys and other merchandise portraying the same design as in the logo(http://shop.doublefine.com/index.asp). Above all, the logo perfectly represents the games they make.

Autumn Moon Entertainment

Very child-like, odd, moody and mysterious. While this one may not be the easiest to recreate or print, it's very unique, appealing and atmospheric. The colors are also very well chosen and effectively represent AME's main commodity, which is Bill Tiller's incredible art. Also, you gotta respect the courage of using this as a company logo. Hopefully it sends the message to investors that the devs are so good that they aren't afraid of being out there and unusual.

Bad Brain Entertainment

I know what you're saying; Bad Brain is a pseudo-company run by a German madman who supposedly came up with the name of the company in a matter of seconds to make a deadline. But although the name is brainstormed and the image of the brain is actually taken from google, you can't help but admire the design. It's sleek and very modern, and the color arrangement is to die for. It's the kind of logo that exudes confidence and business know-how. Maybe that's how BBE convinced AME and Steve Purcell that they were capable of publishing their games.

Newgrounds

This logo is just awesome in so many ways, but most importantly, it's one of the only ones that has permanently stuck to my mind after years of Internet usage. And I hardly even use the site (http://www.newgrounds.com). It's simple and stylish, plus it completely caters to it's demographic, which is war-hungry vector-wielding adolescent boys.

Sorry that this turned into another of my thesis replies. But I hope it does help a bit in keeping the design simple, neat and memorable.

[R4L]

Well thanks for the help. You gave me a great idea with that urban setting idea. I just need to work on it abit. Thanks alot for the help though!