Calling all designers! [Archive]

adrian

July 14th, 2006, 04:43 PM

I need help designing a logo for my computer service. I thought I could do it on my own, but after doing it for months, I can't come up with a logo. It'll go on the website, business card, and advertisements. The work I'll be doing is just your basic computer setup and upgrades and maintanance, software installations, virus and spyware protection and cleanup, and maybe to some degree network setup and maintanance. I'd love to have the logo relate to the above, but that won't be necessary.

The only reward I can give is free computer service, and I'm very sorry for the bombardment of related topics lately, but I'll gladly pay for the advertising here when I have the funds.

1stwahine

July 14th, 2006, 04:55 PM

Adrian, I hired fellow member, anapuni808 (Fran) of Custom Web Sites & Graphic Designs to design my Business Card. Her workmanship is outstanding! :D

http://www.ana-designs.com/

Auntie Lynn

Cameron

July 14th, 2006, 07:50 PM

I got bored and decide to make you something and half way through i realized i didn't have time to be bored but heres what i had so far i can finish it later if you want

http://www.808blogs.com/uploads/k/kazaru/251.gif

adrian

July 14th, 2006, 08:09 PM

I got bored and decide to make you something and half way through i realized i didn't have time to be bored but heres what i had so far i can finish it later if you want

Thanks for the start!

I think I can put a few finishing touches to it.

Pomai

July 14th, 2006, 08:29 PM

Cameron.. cool! Very fitting for his HT user name and business model.

Doc removed the name of his conceptual business name, but if I remember correctly it was this (and here's my first submission)...

http://static.flickr.com/66/189868103_4726b8b92a_o.gif (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34273299@N00/189868103)

manoasurfer123

July 14th, 2006, 08:54 PM

Pomai... Das pretty good considering the little time...and I'm considering the little information you have about him :p

Very Creative... yet simple and down to the point... (I can see the word "virus" inscribed on the piece of pie!)

adrian

July 14th, 2006, 10:34 PM

Thanks Pomai, for making this decision harder than it is. I also received a few designs from other websites, so I might need some help in the decision process.

shaveice

July 15th, 2006, 01:59 AM

adrian

July 15th, 2006, 08:43 AM

The final name is "Pyehac Computer Support". I don't think I can expand to the " computer services" just yet (when I think of that, I think about deploying computers, maintaining printers, networks, etc - and I'm just a one person crew [yet])

Pomai

July 15th, 2006, 08:53 AM

simple and down to the point... (I can see the word "virus" inscribed on the piece of pie!)Exactly. Looks kinda' like Pacman spitting out a virus-infected pie.

PYEHAC
PACMAN

..hmmmm

Whatever the case, the simpler the better when it comes to logo design.

kimo55

July 15th, 2006, 09:04 AM

looks like an ad for someone servicing the stuff put out by the nerd on the left in the Mac commercials.

"i ALso do fun stuff. like piecharts..."

Erika Engle

July 15th, 2006, 10:33 AM

looks like an ad for someone servicing the stuff put out by the nerd on the left in the Mac commercials.

"i ALso do fun stuff. like piecharts..."
I absolutely LOVE that ad campaign. Then again, I'm a Mac user.
(Why, boddah you?!)

kimo55

July 15th, 2006, 10:39 AM

and the guy on the left still to this day, doesn't seem to have surpassed even this stage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu-XIanCNmw

Pomai

July 15th, 2006, 01:12 PM

Sticking with the PIE (PYE) theme and simple geometric shapes (using Photoshop paths), here's my second submission, which I've gotten a favorable response at home...

http://static.flickr.com/57/190345376_d952830843_o.gif (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=190345376&size=o)

1stwahine

July 15th, 2006, 01:20 PM

Pomai, I love that design! :)

Unique!!!

Auntie Lynn

shaveice

July 15th, 2006, 04:02 PM

adrian

July 17th, 2006, 08:41 AM

Well, I'm finally parked! The website is pyehac.com (http://pyehac.com/) (I'll work on getting the www part). Hopefully I can get atleast a vote on the graphics and the website itself up to get the ball rolling.

kimo55

July 17th, 2006, 09:24 AM

I dunno. all that comes to mind is that cat in the Bell Book and candle Movie.

I would be careful about using basic geometric symbols to convey the image of your business. More and more, logos are being dumbed down and most logos now are just a bunch of lines intersecting and overlapping. Like a drunk playing with colorforms.
http://www.centex.net/~elliott/1951/colorforms_1951.gif

From the "stuff i don't get about the modern world" file...

Kelly0040

July 17th, 2006, 07:48 PM

manoasurfer123

July 17th, 2006, 08:27 PM

Where was all you guys when the dang UH Logo controversy was going on?

kimo55

July 17th, 2006, 08:36 PM

sorry. wouldn't have helped.

tutusue

July 17th, 2006, 08:38 PM

Dang...you guys are creative! I'm impressed!

adrian

July 17th, 2006, 08:44 PM

cable needs help but i threw it together this afternoon. made a blue version since your mock site was blue.
Can you send me the .psd file? (assuming you used photoshop)

shaveice

July 17th, 2006, 10:49 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/kelly0040/pyehac2.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/kelly0040/pyehac.gif

cable needs help but i threw it together this afternoon. made a blue version since your mock site was blue.
. . . . . . . . . . . .

wow. very nice. did you use photoshop or illustrator to create the cable?

yeah, you guys would have come up with much better designs for the uh logo!

anapuni808

July 17th, 2006, 11:10 PM

so far, I think Kelly has the best idea for your logo.

Adrian, I would think again about putting your phone number on your website. I've learned the hard way that "bots" are constantly searching for ways to contact the sites - the less personal info you put on your site the better. All folks need is an email address. Anything else is out there for the whole world to see - and use for spam and other purposes. but, thats just my own pesonal opinion (and experience with 4 websites!)

Fran

Cameron

July 18th, 2006, 12:17 AM

adrian

July 18th, 2006, 09:14 AM

Adrian, I would think again about putting your phone number on your website. I've learned the hard way that "bots" are constantly searching for ways to contact the sites - the less personal info you put on your site the better. All folks need is an email address. Anything else is out there for the whole world to see - and use for spam and other purposes. but, thats just my own pesonal opinion (and experience with 4 websites!)

For some reason, the clients I currently serve don't have an email address (the only exception is aunty lynn - she's connected). Plus, if I don't know that number, I send it to voicemail, where they can leave a message, or call again if its important.

Kelly0040

July 18th, 2006, 10:08 AM

shaveice: I used photoshop. it's pretty darn easy, too, but I lost my old assorted brush settings and was too lazy to redo them, so I used the default one they had, hence the cable looking more like a zipper

I was doing some other stuff this morning and ran into a t-shirt (http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/generic/586b/) that spawned this idea. Maybe someone else can run with it (if you like it) as this is more like a sketch rather than something of actual use.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/kelly0040/pyehacpower.gif

and yes, I <3 franklin gothic.

edit: doc, I sent the psd file to your yahoo address in your profile.

pzarquon

July 18th, 2006, 10:11 AM

Ah, the semi-universal power icon. I like it! And like shaveice, of Pomai's designs I like the first "P" version better than the abstract wedges. Looks like you've got plenty of ideas to work with, Adrian, and more than a few talented resources to tap.

adrian

July 18th, 2006, 11:08 AM

I created a poll too choose what font I should go with. (http://pyehac.com/poll/poll.php)

And finally, unless this is the only logo designs, here's a poll to vote on (http://pyehac.com/poll/logos.php).

manoasurfer123

July 18th, 2006, 11:21 AM

Service

Flat rate: $20

Some of my current clients has offered me various amounts of payments, ranging from $20 to $100, but the $20 is a flat rate, no matter what was done, for how long, at what time. As long as I'm able to come to your house, then the pricing won't change.

This is from your rates pages.... so you mean to tell me if it took you 5 hours to problem solve and/or fix the computer.... the price would still be $20.00?

Or is this a per hour charge.... Maybe you need to work out your rates a little more and do some comparisons with others out there doing similar things.

Leo Lakio

July 18th, 2006, 11:27 AM

Don't sell yourself too cheap, Adrian. If your services are valuable, then people should (and will) pay fair market value. If you want to drum up new business, you could offer a one-time-only introductory rate.

adrian

July 18th, 2006, 11:33 AM

This is from your rates pages.... so you mean to tell me if it took you 5 hours to problem solve and/or fix the computer.... the price would still be $20.00?

Or is this a per hour charge.... Maybe you need to work out your rates a little more and do some comparisons with others out there doing similar things.
I'll start off at that price. But so far, people paid me much more than that (or maybe I should go to the "trust payment": they pay me whatever they fell like). The funny thing, is that two clients paid me much more, and when I refuse to take that much, they literally put it in my mouth (okay, pocket, but still...). I know that Geeksquad them costs a bit more than me an hour, but I'm helping those who are intimidated by those big companies. Plus, I go to their house, instead of letting them carry their computer to my place.

Pomai

July 18th, 2006, 12:03 PM

Admin, this is a duplicate of the following post. Please delete this one. Thanks!

Pomai

July 18th, 2006, 12:09 PM

Here's one more "Piece of Pie" theme (although it looks more like a cake). After messin' around with various color combinations, I went with this so it looks more "tech", less "food". I also thought of changing the icing drips to look more "electrical"....

http://static.flickr.com/56/192885404_5a8e33abcb_o.gif (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=192885404&size=o)
Illustrator 10 original file

What I'm illustrating here more is the way your website and stationery should use a theme that ties with your logo. Also keep in mind that you should have a grayscale (black & white) version of your logo (cheaper advertising & print costs), which is why I stick with line art.

It would look pretty neat to have the blue slice of pie (next to HOME) used as a navigation pointer.

Adrian, you mentioned that people on other boards also designed some logos. Perhaps add those to your voters poll.

I also like Kelly's "power icon" idea. I'll play with that a bit and submit another one later.

shaveice

July 18th, 2006, 12:16 PM

I was doing some other stuff this morning and ran into a t-shirt (http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/generic/586b/) that spawned this idea. Maybe someone else can run with it (if you like it) as this is more like a sketch rather than something of actual use.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/kelly0040/pyehacpower.gif

. . . . . . . . . . .

cool! (adrian, sorry if you mentioned it elsewhere (i don't see it in this thread) but what's the story behind the name Pyehac? i'm not a graphic designer but i know that knowing the meaning behind a name would help to design something clever/meaningful..)

adrian

July 18th, 2006, 03:56 PM

but what's the story behind the name Pyehac?
pye = pie (as in food, as I love to eat) and hac = computer hacking (I didn't know what else to tie in computers, so I just used that).

And FYI, "evenworse" is an album made by Weird Al Yankovic, and I also used that for my domains at school, so if my teacher does decide to run a search for it, then he'll know who it is.

I'll also put those in the redesigned website (when I get the logo and business name confirmation)

-------------------------

59 diagnostic
29 mem install
39-59 hard install depends on hardware
79 os replace
49 restore cd

That's the geeksquad pricelist, as remembered by someone on another local forum.

I'm thinking of doing a $20 initial price, then maybe $5/hour (usually a call lasts 2 hours).

Cameron

July 18th, 2006, 11:18 PM

yor polls messed up, it got stuck in a loop and refreshed a million times submitting tons of votes

adrian

July 19th, 2006, 07:57 PM

yor polls messed up, it got stuck in a loop and refreshed a million times submitting tons of votes
I'm completely new to php, and since I'll be closing the poll by this weekend, I don't want to bother with recoding the whole poll. There's a few duplicate addresses who voted, so I'll remove the duplicates and recount them manually.

Hopefully by next week, I can get a rough draft for the sign, advertisement, business cards, and tshirt I'll wear to calls.

Speaking of advertisement, I'm planning on putting this in my church bulletin, plus stickers on cars and maybe in TheBus.

pzarquon

July 19th, 2006, 09:36 PM

Speaking of advertisement, I'm planning on putting this in my church bulletin, plus stickers on cars and maybe in TheBus.Stickers on TheBus? Adrian, I'm disappointed you'd even consider it. I blame UDown (http://www.hawaiithreads.com/showthread.php?t=6520). :rolleyes:

adrian

July 19th, 2006, 11:31 PM

Stickers on TheBus? Adrian, I'm disappointed you'd even consider it. I blame UDown (http://www.hawaiithreads.com/showthread.php?t=6520). :rolleyes:
NO, I meant the advertisements that are inside TheBus above riders.

And anyone knows where I can get a good policy statement? (to protect me and the clients)

pzarquon

July 20th, 2006, 06:58 AM

Ah, well, that's good, then.

I'd expect an ad in the church bulletin would be considerably more affordable than an ad on TheBus... and I'd even bet the church bulletin would get you more business per ad dollar invested, even if a hundred times more people saw it on TheBus. Basically, foster your business prospects "locally," first. Friends and family references, groups you work with.

As for a "policy statement," I presume you mean some standard contract terms? I haven't looked for 'em lately, but I recall there are plenty of resources online for freelancers of any flavor -- writers, designers, computer technicians, photographers, what have you -- that include boilerplate templates for that kind of stuff. You'll definitely want some of that built into your business practices.

adrian

July 20th, 2006, 08:36 AM

Here's a rough draft of the Terms of Service agreement:

As a client to Pyehac Computer Service:
a) The technician shall receive access to your residence with your consent and cooperation.
b) You shall accept the responsibility to offer a save work environment while the technician is working at your site. An adult over the age of 18 shall always be present while the technician is working.
c) The technician shall have complete access to the computer or peripheral that will be serviced.
d) You are responsible for backing up/saving all data prior to the scheduled appointment, and that it’s not the technician’s fault if the data on the computer is lost, damaged, or destroyed by the service rendered to the computer.
e) The service rendered onto the computer my not be judged by anyone else unless the work isn’t completed and another appointment isn’t scheduled with the technician.
f) Payment shall be rendered upon completion of task.
g) If the task isn’t completed, or problems still exist, service fee shall be paid, and the task payment shall be paid at a later date when it is completed. No service fee shall be implemented when that date arises.
h) If unsatisfied by the quality of work by the technician, the client may withheld payment until the task is finished (but still have to pay for the service fee) to the client’s satisfaction, without any time limit.

As a Computer Technician to the client for Pyehac Computer Service:
a) The technician shall provide a safe, professional, and courteous demeanor when in the presence of the customer.
b) The technician will always try to finish the task called upon to do, and that any other services wanted by the client shall wait until said task is finished by the technician.

As a customer to Pyehac Computer Service, you read the above statements and are clear on the terms of service this company will provide. Once signed, you may not use this agreement against the company, technician, or any of its partners, workers, or other related personnel. Not signing and agreeing to the above statements will cancel the appointment until agreed upon and accepted.

___________________________
(sign here)

I just put this together in a few minutes while thinking of the previous work I've done and I just woke up also :D so my grammar might not be good.

And expect a redo of the site by next week.

Pomai

July 20th, 2006, 09:10 AM

Craig gave you some excellent advice (http://www.hawaiithreads.com/showpost.php?p=84185&postcount=5) regarding liability and the use of a business vehicle.

....and remember, DON'T use your cellphone while driving!

I'd also look into the FREE business counseling services offered by SCORE (http://www.hawaiiscore.org) (my father is the former chairperson of the Hawaii chapter). They're now located in the Federal Building on the corner of Punchbowl and Ala Moana Blvd.

adrian

July 20th, 2006, 09:27 AM

Craig gave you some
....and remember, DON'T use your cellphone while driving!

I'm not that stupid. I can barely listen to the radio while driving, much less carry a conversation with my Mom.

Looks like I still have a lot to do.

adrian

July 21st, 2006, 09:14 AM

here's a preview of the updated site (http://pyehac.com/update/pyehac%20site/). I assume that everyone wanted the logo Pomai first designed, because that's how the poll is leaning, with the logo Pameron designed in second place. The site is a design made in Photoshop, and NVU (http://www.nvu.com/), so its easily editable, but spam bots can't get my number or my email.

Also, I'm thinking of getting another number just for this business, as its harder to use two voicemail messages.

shaveice

July 21st, 2006, 11:33 AM

here's a preview of the updated site (http://pyehac.com/update/pyehac%20site/).
. . . . . .

a small suggestion: if you want to use an image to prevent bots from grabbing your email, at least create an image map so that it's a link to your email address (mailto:___@___.com)

not a big deal. just an idea...

pzarquon

July 21st, 2006, 11:38 AM

Actually, that would undermine the reason for making the address an image. Spam scrapers don't just read what's displayed, but also the underlying code, and I assure you, they go straight for anything attached to "mailto:"

Thing is, even if you don't list any e-mail address anywhere, in a graphic, text, or in code, you'll get spam... 'cause spamming is so cheap, they send junk to random addresses at your domain, whether or not they exist. So definitely don't use a generic address, like contact@, help@, sales@, webmaster@, and the like.

You might want to consider a contact form, which some may find slightly less annoying than having to look at your email address and type it into a new message. But -- given the above -- make sure your form setup isn't a cheap implementation that requires your e-mail address to be exposed in the underlying code!

Leo Lakio

July 21st, 2006, 11:42 AM

So, Adrian, what's a "Tobisha laptop"? (From your FAQ.)

I know, you mean "Toshiba" - but for a business website, it wouldn't hurt you to have someone go through and proofread for spelling and grammatical errors - you have a few there, and those kinds of things can drive potential customers away.

I like your "alternative to the Geek" line, btw.

shaveice

July 21st, 2006, 03:16 PM

Actually, that would undermine the reason for making the address an image. Spam scrapers don't just read what's displayed, but also the underlying code, and I assure you, they go straight for anything attached to "mailto:"

Thing is, even if you don't list any e-mail address anywhere, in a graphic, text, or in code, you'll get spam... 'cause spamming is so cheap, they send junk to random addresses at your domain, whether or not they exist. So definitely don't use a generic address, like contact@, help@, sales@, webmaster@, and the like.
. . . . . . . . . .

no kidding?!? wow. thanks for the info. looks like you'll have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of posting a business email address: get more spam but at the risk of more business or less/no spam but at the risk of less business...

tutusue

July 21st, 2006, 05:43 PM

[...]Thing is, even if you don't list any e-mail address anywhere, in a graphic, text, or in code, you'll get spam... 'cause spamming is so cheap, they send junk to random addresses at your domain, whether or not they exist. So definitely don't use a generic address, like contact@, help@, sales@, webmaster@, and the like.[...]
I liked your kokua@ idea and you have my permission to change it on my home page!!!!!! :D

adrian

July 21st, 2006, 10:13 PM

You might want to consider a contact form, which some may find slightly less annoying than having to look at your email address and type it into a new message. But -- given the above -- make sure your form setup isn't a cheap implementation that requires your e-mail address to be exposed in the underlying code!
That's what I was about to ask help on. I forgot what I learned in my SQL class, and the teacher left school.

So, Adrian, what's a "Tobisha laptop"? (From your FAQ.)

I know, you mean "Toshiba" - but for a business website, it wouldn't hurt you to have someone go through and proofread for spelling and grammatical errors - you have a few there, and those kinds of things can drive potential customers away.

I ran each page (or will) through MS word, so everything will be spic 'n span. I'll hopefully have the new page up next week.

Pomai

July 23rd, 2006, 11:25 AM

Adrian,

I sent the native Photoshop file of your newly chosen logo to your service (at) pyehac (dotcom) box. It's fine as is, but perhaps later you may want to tweak the color, apply filters (drop shadow, emboss, etc.) or add seasonal touches as shown below. You'll also need that grayscale version (center) for invoices and other business-related stationery. I can give you a vector version, but it will be an Illustrator file (you got?).

http://static.flickr.com/74/196445869_4e86614aa2_o.gif (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=196445869&size=m)

I'm honored to be the chosen designer. Cameron and Kelly's ideas were really neat too.

This one is super-super simple, but you can really have fun with it, as shown with that Christmas version... kinda' like what Dennis Hwang does with the Google logo (http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/07/19/google.logo/).

tutusue

July 23rd, 2006, 12:19 PM

[...]but you can really have fun with it, as shown with that Christmas version... kinda' like what Dennis Hwang does with the Google logo (http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/07/19/google.logo/).
That's exactly what I was thinking. I always check Google on a holiday to see the terrific graphics. Would be fun to see what you, Pomai, or Adrian can come up with for the various holidays, even obscure ones (http://www.earthcalendar.net/_php/lookup.php?mode=country)! Love the Christmas touch, btw!

Maybe show a pumpkin lid on top of the P (like the santa hat) with pumpkin seeds spewing in a triangular shape from the "mouth" for Halloween and make the piece of pie into a heart shape (also adjusting the P) for valentine's day. The pie slice becomes a burst of fireworks with an Uncle Sam hat on the P for July 4? Ad infinitum!

Too corny? Too much work? :confused:

adrian

February 4th, 2007, 08:01 PM

I appreciate the help with my computer logo, but now I have an even harder task for you people: create a logo for my Mom's tshirt embroidery business called "miracle stitch". We basically embroider logos and designs onto shirts, towels, hats, blankets and other fabrics.

I'm doing a website redesign and since my brain is racked from everything I'm lately, I appreciate the help. If you can incorporate the name into the logo, that'll be fantastic - if not, then just making a logo will help also.

The due date is 2 weeks from now, but if it can be done sooner, then that's even better.