Logo Contest – Sketches and Designs

• By The Smashing Editorial
• April 5th, 2007
• Contests, Logo design, Smashing Magazine
• 107 Comments

It was a tough decision to make. Three weeks ago we’ve announced the Smashing Magazine Logo Contest for the most creative, clean and fresh logo for our site. We’ve received over 190 Logos from 105 participants, living all around the world. We had a big choice and it wasn’t easy to select the winner. After all, the logo shouldn’t be just creative or gorgeous – it should fit to our web-site perfectly.

In our decision we’ve considered many aspects such as typographic clarity, used color schemes, ideas, simplicity and, of course, design. We’ve taken our time and selected the best works five days in a row. In the end it was a neck-and-neck race for 5 competitors.

We’d like to thank every participant of our contest. We really appreciate your creativity, your work and your time.

We’ll announce the winner tomorrow. Today, however, we’d like to present most original and interesting works we’ve received. Not every sketch is gorgeous, so not every design will be presented.

Thanks, guys. Your participation means a hell of a lot to us.

Selected Logos

1. Ruan Deyzel (South Africa)

I used some warm colors (orange and red), giving the logo an inviting look to it. I also saw that you used a pastel orange on your current log and dark red, so I combined the two colors. The “S” is explains itself, S – for Smashing. I love simplistic design and that’s why I used a plain rounded background behind the S just to round the design off.

2. Aloke Pillai (Canada)

I decided to create a logo with this kind of a style because it will attract the new generation as it has an edgy and youth appeal. It will also help keep the old viewers because of your tradition and excellence of providing resources for design. I decided to focus on the theme of download because i noticed that your website provides the viewers with mostly resources that can enhance thier experiences and the quality of thier design work. The major part to focus on the logo is the i. The dot of the i is a part of an exclamation mark. This symbol can be perceived as an exclamation mark and an arrow which symbolizes download. The exclamation mark that stands out in blue symbolizes the strength and trust that the website has.

3. Hugo Beltran (Mexico)

It’s kind of a stylized explosion, which for me describes the SMASH! of Smashing magazine. It’s also a book / magazine wide open. (for magazine, of course). It’s a hand trying to grab as much information as possible. The five fingers embracing the info you gave to us. And finally, I make it look like an ajax loader… not that everything in SM is AJAX, but I just took a theme that I?m interested about.

4. Elena Gafita (Romania / Israel)

Removed, as Elena requested.

5. Igor (?)

6. Lane Allen (USA)

Concept is merging (smashing) information together to create something special/hot. Overall the design seems like a floating page that has a 3d illusion, but also the way that I colored the design for the eye to follow, makes an “S”. You could pull other concepts from the design like it was a vice, etc, but the design is abstract/simple enough to let the imagination wander about what it represents.

7. Hulub “Teddyx” Teodor (Romania)

We’ve found this logo used on your web-site, so you can’t win.

8. Roland Hidvegi (Hungary)

There is a green one fresh and a corporate style with sweet rates and a tiny oval shapes. The second one is the orange,
more oval and fancy style with different letter positions. The last one is more clean and has a corporate style with red background and a shiney label.

9. Precup Alexandru (Romania)

10. Joanna Betlej (Poland)

1. The idea was to keep it very simple, black text, (font that you’ve featured: district thin) with two colour accents, made with two badge-like stars in vibrant web 2.0 colors.

2. Idea of this entry is to add a stylized play button that is also a synonim for GO! or FORWARD!. Font used: uqammaq.

3. This time I’ve decided to stylize whole logo as a css tab, as they’re very popular these days, and appear on almost all the lists that you publish. Font used: Piqiarniq.

11. Suszter Viktor (Hungary)

A beautiful PDF-presentation, Viktor, thank you for your time.

12. Knol Aust (USA)

13. Glen Ainscow (South Africa)

14. Roberto Cecchi (Italy)

The blue logo should represent the modern and simple aspects of smashing magazine. The use of simple typography element “{“, 2 colors and a symmetrical composition create balance, while the use of a Myriad pro bold condensed give to the logo a strong optical weight.

15. Stefan Asemota (Germany)

Two stars keep the ball rolling for the web scene.

16. Kyle Easter (USA)

With this logo i wanted it to look professional. It is a simple design that provides intrigue and an honest, not-so overbearing look.

17. Kashif Khawaja (Pakistan)

Goce Mitevski (Macedonia)

The logo that I created it’s represented by two ‘s’ characters colored in two gray variants, and an orange dot that stands in the middle, over them. Well the ‘s’ characters are actually 2 different roads and the dot is where the Smash is. Smash is Smashing Magazine, the 2 roads are 2.0 and the dot is the WEB, so in a translation it’s nothing than the Smashing Magazine in Web 2.0.

18. Jeremy (?)

I kept it clean, simple, and in keeping with your current design. The accompanying logo and favicon were designed to be inviting, simple, and in keeping with the current “web 2.0″ design craze – which I feel your site welcomes. Why a bar code? What magazine DOESN’T have one?

19. Mihai Florea (Romania)

20. Oli / Kooc Media (UK)

21. Istvan Wolf (Budapest, Hungary)

Its concept is based on the current web 2.0 clear-design trends and the color scheme is suited to the design of the site. The “hand” icon symbolizes the subject of the site.

22. Achmad Bisri (?)

23. Reynante “Reynan” Alibuyog (Philippines)

I just did this for a couple of minute, 20 or so.. I don’t have enough time to make another studies.. maybe you could extend the deadline guys Because I’m the number one smashingmagazine fan in the third world.. I appreciate what you guys are doing. keep it up. thanks.

24. Alex Molchan (USA)

First logo uses first letters of “Smashing” and “Magazine” to form a single symbol. Letter “I” turned into “!” to create an emphasis on excellence.

The second and the third logos used a variation of “Smash” or “Smashing” and the artistic/graphical nature of the resource. Again, “!” is used instead of “I”.

25. Manolis Gerasidis (Greece)

The basic concept behind my proposals is the information contributed by more than one people. Usually, you and your “audience”. That’s why i used the classic “i” information-symbol altered in many ways in order to give the feeling that more than one man contributes to the process of delivering information.

26. Marcos Guiponi (Uruguay, South America)

1.The logotype and the favicon were designed based on the action of the smash: You say that your readers are smashed with great info. It is represented by an ‘S!’. It also wants to express a highlighted or important space on the web (your web site).

2. The logotype and the favicon are based on a tools box with an orange element inside, which represents the needed (and found) web design tool or info that you provide.

27. Giovanni Dema (Italy)

Unusual Designs

28. Matthew Ravenhall (Holland)

29. Dan Loffler (USA)

30. Hanifan Verdi (Middle Java, Purwokerto City, Indonesia)

I have made three designs hardly for smashing logo contest and i use some simple colour simple symbol hope it “KISS” (Keep it simple,stupid). and why i use theme “YOUR SMASHING LIFE”, because this is very simple words and get that your mean website theme before. “we smash you with the information, which will make your life easier. really.” so I make shortly: “Your Smashing Life”

Favicons

We also got a bunch of nice Favicons. You can find some of them in this screenshot. All images are scaled up to 32*32.