Need A New Logo Please

[WSA]

Kind of running around in circles here but I wanted to know if there were any graphic designers out there who would like to design a new logo for our organization?

This is an idea of how our logo started to evolve.

Here was our first Logo.  Garrett(my partner in crime) and I both like it but we weren't quite sure that it would work.



We changed it up a bit but there was something still goofy about it.



Our next logo idea looked like this but then something went terribly wrong.



Since that one got sunk, we moved on to a different idea altogether.  Here is the next one.  We got the basic idea of what we want out of it but it's still not right.



Eureka.  This is how we want it to look.  A couple of things need to be adjusted but the basic style is exactly how we want it.



Next try but the color is off.



This is what we went to for a little while.  We liked it but it still was off.



This is our current logo.  Garrett's sister is a design student and she created this one based off of the previous logo.  We kind of liked it initially, but now it isn't really representing what we are and it was just too close to our previous logo.  Plus, nobody will buy the t-shirts we had made because they don't like the logo all that much.  It's kind of squashed but it does give you an idea of what it evolved into.


We had asked her to help us out and design a new logo for us but she got really upset that we didn't want to use the current one any longer.  She told us both to shove off. 

Anyways, that is why I am coming to you guys now.  I found this assessment on another website but they charge an arm and a leg for this stuff.  We are a non-profit organization that has just sunk over $500 into t-shirts and only sold about 15.  

We just donated $1189.00 to our charity also so money is extremely tight.

(yes, the handsome fella on the right is me )

I am hoping that this will help you out to see what we are looking for.

Logo Design Assessment

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To guide the designers in the right direction from the start, please complete the following questionnaire and copy and paste it in the first message of your logo project:

Design Outpost Creative Brief Worksheet

Project Summary:
What text should be included in the main part of the logo? 
**Western Slope Anglers and WesternSlopeAnglers.com

What type of product or service do you offer?
**We are a fishing forum / fishing club / non-profit organization / community assistance type thing

How long have you been in business?
**1 year 1 month

What do you hope to accomplish with your new identity?
**Not to sound superficial but we would really like something that looks good on and will sell t-shirts.  We also would like people to be able to see our logo and think Western Slope Anglers. 

What are your long term goals?
**We really want to be the premier fishing website in Colorado and Utah.  We want to make changes in our fishing regulations which will ensure quality angling opportunities to my kids and their kids.

When is the deadline for final entries before choosing a designer?
**No Deadline

Audience Profile:
Please describe your existing audience
**Mainly beer drinking, God fearing, redneck fishermen

Who would you like to add to your audience?
**Don't know who we would like to add, but we would like to appeal to more anglers in general.

Perception/Tone/Guidelines:
What type of logo would you like?
**We are looking for something that portrays fun and fishing.  Love of the outdoors.  Maybe even something whimsical or cartoony.

Do you have any colors in mind for your logo? (if so, why?)
**browns, blues, greens.  Browns - mountains, Blues - water and sky, Greens - grass, trees, and underwater weeds.

Do you have any specific images or icons in mind that you would definitely like to see incorporated into your logo?
**Not really, something original, clever, creative, and catchy

Communication Strategy:
What attributes would you like your logo to reflect about your business?
**We are looking for something that portrays fun and fishing.  Love of the outdoors.

What is your tagline or slogan?
**Don't Just Get Your Tackle Wet

What is the overall message you are trying to convey to your target audience?
**That fishing is fun.

Where will your new logo be used?
**T-shirts, hats, website, and anything else we can put on there.

Competitive Positioning:
Who are your competitors and what do you think about their logos?
**ColoradoFisherman.com is probably our main competitor.  Their logo feels good because it shows the rockies and a fish jumping but it seems to be missing flow.  It's very boxy and linear.

List competitive URLs if possible
**http://www.coloradofisherman.com

What sets you apart from your competitors?
**We don't pull punches when it comes to stating what we want changed.  We also serve a different niche of Colorado.  They are the front range population (Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo) and they are much more "urban".  We are the Western Slope population (Grand Junction, Delta, Montrose, and Durango) and we are much more "rural".  There is no political correctness when it comes to us.  We call it like we see it.  We don't heavily moderate our forum although I do have profanity censors on.

Targeted Message:
State a single-minded word or phrase that will appropriately describe your company:
**It's not just about fishing, it's about community.
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I'm hoping somebody can help us out, we really need to just look better.  Something that is T-shirt and hat friendly.  Something that is easily recognizable.  Something that our members will enjoy.

[Jason]

Personally, I think this one is my favorite...



I'd personally try to stay away from color overkill.

Also, if you want to include the full web address, I would personally drop the www off the front.  It's a lot of text and won't be easy to see in smaller sizing.  If it's an option, I would see what it looks like without the name spelled out.

[Mark]

I was gonna say that I liked that one too.

[CountryLady]

Of those you've shown, my preference, with a little change*, is....



*Drop the www. and put westernslopeanglers.com centered along the top of the fishing line so its easy to read.

To me, that would be simple, easy to read and the most attention-getting.

However....
The first 2/3s of your group's name is "Western Slope" and there isn't anything in your logo to indicate that prominence. You might want to make the logo I'm talking about a little smaller, with a western edge of some mtns in the background. Perhaps you can help folks SEE the whole name easier by saying WesternSlopeAnglers.com, but don't let anything in this paragraph become a distraction.

Simple, easy to read, easy to remember, attention-getting, ...and Good Luck.

[tmlfever]

Here's my modest effort, colours can be changed once I know what they are for your site...

[Jason]

That's pretty slick!

I'd probably drop the border box and put the words flat below the water to see how that would look...  I might drop the .com off too so you could have the text bigger with less distraction maybe.  I think the color difference between each word does a nice job in differentiating it and making it easier/faster to read.

[WSA]

wow tmlfever.  that looks really cool.  i also like the color differentiation in the url.  I never really thought about doing something like that.  great idea.

is there anyway you could put a funny factor in there?

[CountryLady]

VERY nice rendition~!

IF you want to attract more web attn, I'd suggest leaving the .com in it, but if not, drop it.
Also... think how it might be used on a bumper sticker.

Now about the 'Funny Factor'....One of the most common mistakes made in Logos is trying to be either 'CUTE', 'FUNNY' or 'CLEVER'.  The simplier the better, as long as it doesn't look spartan, or too plain.

The mountains are wonderful, but I'd suggest omitting most of the detail in them for simplicity, perhaps have only one tree (nice touch tho), and perhaps remove the shoreline at the bottom of the image, adding an ANGLER in a RED boat in the water. Not too large and very simply drawn. Stylized images, rather than detailed Ærawings, convey your message with more visual GRAB.

PLUS if this Logo was on the BACK of the t-shirt, the person's name could be in area under a small angler in a boat on the front pocket area. This is an extra that people might want to contribute toward, OR reward your administrative assistants/moderCtors with this extra touch.

I love this kind of discussion. 

[WSA]

great ideas countrylady.

not belittling our users but we are just a bunch of rednecks.     funny and humourous is kind of what we are all about.  if we had a picture of a fish holding a coors light can, i probably couldn't keep shirts in stock.  LOL. 

But you are right, we are looking at bumper stickers, hats, shirts, and maybe other things.  But those items mainly. 

[CountryLady]

You're a Hoot, WSA. For sure add 'mousepad' to the list of logo items. Consider a stick on calendar for the top of the computer with the WSA Logo rising up in the middle like this...
======@====== Some might want to stick them inside their tacklebox, too.

You can make the fisherman in the red boat closer, and have him toasting the fish or viewer with a 'beverage' can, or falling out of the boat, or something. Cut up, have fun but keep the image simple. ROFL

[WSA]

These are some of the ideas i was looking at.

[Mark]

Holy hot-linking Batman! You may want to download those images and upload them to a temp directory on your website so you aren't hot-linking the images. Just a thought.