New logo for a small business
a logo project by Fontinalis

Brief updates

2-Mar-09 1:13 a.m. GMT

Apparently the 'edit' function didn't do it's job when I posted the project... Sorry for all the typos. 'Tailer mode solution' ? What about tailor made solution.
As you can see, English is not my first language... Thanks to all of you you have already shown interest in this small project. Looking forward to the proposed logos.

2-Mar-09 8:15 p.m. GMT

We are aware, since the very creation of this company over twenty years ago, that the name the name we chose had little to do with ... the business we carry. It was, back then, a catchy name ('soltice' rimes with 'multiservice'), and we really wanted to put in the name a word that would let our customers know that we can do a great number of things for organizations like theirs. That we are their 'go to people' for a number of things. 'Soltice', beyond the fact that it rimes with 'multiservice', also resonates with the culture we belong to. Soltices - i.e. the shortest day of the year, the longest day of the year - is a phenomenom that resonnates strongly with climates where there are four seasons, strongly demarcated, and it particularly resonates with the geographical space and culture of countries of the northern hemisphere (we are, after all, above the 49th parallel). It was, back then, and still today, a way to illustrate that we are strongly rooted here.

3-Mar-09 1:21 p.m. GMT

Seeing how few designs have been submitted, and nothing that blows our socks up and down yet (sorry :-( ), we are puzzled. Maybe we need to say more about our business. Typically, we offer genuine expertise to big outfits (not big in size, but big in status, national umbrella groups, lobbies, etc.) that have small volume of work to get done. Their problem is that they need someone who knows well their line of business (the non profit sector, whether it is in Education, Social Services, Health, Arts, etc), but they have very little work to get done. So, they end up not being able to hire experts from big firms who's rates are prohibitive considering the job will be a small one, and almost no volume. Because we are small, and know extremely well the specifics of their business, we can move in quickly, get the job done quickly, efficiently, because we have the same expertise, but more affordable rates sine we have a very small overhead. That is our niche. Tailor made solutions where expertise is needed, but volume is not there, and budget are not there either. We have seldomly needed to look for contracts. It is all mostly word of mouth publicity. We ran on our reputation solely up until now. The economic crisis has caused cuts in subsidies to these organizations. They face new challenges. They need our expertise more then ever, but have fewer means then ever. We need more customers then our actual base to continue being in business. Hence refreshing the visual identity of our business, which is something (the visual identity) we have mostly neglected, never having had to really put ourselves out there. Does this help a little ? Maybe not in terms of what design we need. But we are not graphic designers. So, it is hard for us to translate this in precise terms of graphic designs. We just know what we don't like, or what doesn't stick to what we are. Please, don't hesitate to ask questions that would help me help you design something for Solstice multiservice. Thanks.

6-Mar-09 1:49 p.m. GMT

A bench test this morning spurred a lot of enthusiasm among colleagues regarding all logos rated 3. Thank you to everyone for sending in those designs.

11-Mar-09 1:57 a.m. GMT

Here at Solstice mutliservice, we feel really privilege right now to have at this point a number of strong logo designs that appeal to us, and that appeal to us for various and different reasons.

Given it is understood that once we pick a design in the end, any tweaks would be few and minor tweaks, if any at all, don't put anymore work in the designs at this point. We'd hate for designers to put in more work and not be chosen. We don't mean to have anybody being taken advantage of. Specially given the small budget we have for this award. It would makes us uncomfortable to have people bust their butt and end up empty handed.

The designs that are lined up, and any other that would join at this point, once rated in the top, advocate for themselves.

We believe that the designs that appeal to us at this point are from designers that are really both talented and professional in their dealings, and that this project will resume successfully.

A huge thanks to all people who have submitted designs, and to those who may still submit between now and the weekend. Thank you for your ideas, and your work and your generosity.

12-Mar-09 3:27 p.m. GMT

A new bench test, targetting a different audience, has quite 'rattled our cage' here this morning at Solstice multiservice. So end of day, we might have to change the ratings of the runners up.

Again I want to say this : if we had to possibility to rate the designs strictly on our appreciation of those logos per se, we would have rated more designs as being 4. But in the context where we have to rate them as logo for our company, they may be excellent, great logos, just not for us, hence we have to rate lower, so not to send other designers who would wish to submit a design in the wrong direction. It would be neat if we'd have the possibility to give two ratings. One that would be about how great a logo it is, in itself, and the other rating for how great a logo it would be for us, in this particular pitch. It breaks our heart to have to give lower rating to good logos. Knowing that there are statistics about ratings in the creative profile. So, our apologies for having to go about this in this manner. Again, thank you to everyone pitching in.

13-Mar-09 2:32 p.m. GMT

The same question comes up for all designs that are runners up (rated 5) : how does it hold in greyscale (i.e. when faxed, although we use faxes less and less). So, if you have submitted a design and the variations up there do not address this, do know that it is among the questions we get when people are polled. So feel free to submit a greyscale variation if you think that the current design doesn't make it obvious as to how it would look in a greyscale variation.

Project is scheduled to end Sunday, end of day (our time). We are overwhelmed (positively overwhelemed) by the designs that have been submitted. You Creatives are making our job really difficult. We wish we had 5 companies to run so we could by all of the logos. It is uncanny how you grow attached to a logo that you have been introduced to just days ago... A sign of great logo design and of the very talented designers in here.
On a more pragmatic note, taking a look at our work load ahead, and various deadlines, the project will most likely be awarded on Tuesday. Thank you to everyone.