If you expect the spectator (let alone the casual or hurried spectator) to recognize an ’h’ and an ’m’ you are asking too much.

For starters, the ’h’ is cropped by the left edge. Look at the ’h’ right at that point: The thin horizontal line grows into the vertical stem in a smooth curve, identical to the curves in the ’m’. But it should not be a curve, it should be a 90 degree corner, to facilitate the identification of the ’h’.

At least, *I* had this problem ... have you tested this design (ie showed it to friends and family) and asked them what they see?

Some may see ’hm’
Some may see ’lm’
Some may see ’hi’
Some may just see Mother Penguin and her two children.

Maybe you should try other fonts, other ideas as well. Stick to the ’feeling’ that the Orlando Bloom type design gave you, while you try other variations.

Hey - great photo of OB ... all of a sudden, he looks interesting ;-)

hmm alright. Interesting observation.

Do you feel its an improvement upon the previous logo?

OB: ha.

I am not too happy about ’the previous logo’ ...

A “play of letters” logo doesn’t have to make the audience realize which letters it’s playing with. It only needs to make sense for those who do know what they represent. (For example my avatar, which should read “hj” — most people wouldn’t recognize that without being told, but once they’re told it should be quite obvious.)

That said, I have to admit I’m confused about what letters the new logo is supposed to represent, too.

Purely optically, the new logo is fine and most definitely an improvement to the old one.

So is it supposed to say hm? Why restrict yourself to lowercase letters? An uppercase H in a sans serif with pointed crossbar instead of a straight one would form an M.

Anyway, see some rough sketches below to get a better idea of what I am talking about

David

Henry:

I see that makes sense. In my case of the current design, I think my logo is just pure dada - eye candy more than content. I’d like to introduce something more communicative.

David:
That was pretty helpful. Actually your uppercase makes more sense. It looks like two people holding hands.

I’d prefer it to say HMLP but its more harmonious looking was HML. Now with some revision and collaboration with this graphic designer we’ve reduced the visual content of the form to just HM. I chose lowercase because I liked the repetition of the negative space (in the previous logo).

This all seems to rest on an important point - the fact that you’re using the initals to represent the company name. I think the company name is distinctive and appealing - why hide that behind the initials? Why not make a feature of the actual company name?

Duckworth:

I’d like a symbol or icon that represents the company. The name is kind of long.

if you don’t care who can read it, why not abstract it more?
the new mark seems empty to me. there’s nothing “holy” nor “moly” about it.
i would either take chris’ suggestion and make a symbol, or — simply, readdress your old logo.

Chuck:
i think i’ll readdress the logo

> I’d like a symbol or icon that represents the company. The name is kind of long.

No problem, I got married a month ago and used a wedding photographer (incidentally the company name was longer than yours). It’s just that initals, to me, seem corporate and not particularly welcoming, whereas your company name is very unusual, (verging on cute) and gives a friendlier appearance and it’s a real shame not to use it. That’s my reasoning, at any rate.

Duckworth:

Congrats on getting married.

Yeah Initials do seem unfriendly. I’m looking to place type with this symbol. Would that be superflous or should I just go with something simpler just text?

Sort of like this: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1246/1263603265_525faaae4b_o.jpg

Note the tab type insert for photos.

I am currently doing a logo for a wedding photographer myself. I am guessing that you may need similar branding as you are in the same field. My client is already well established so I listened to their requirements and as I had guessed the requirements called for legible, slightly innovative lettering with a strong connection between letterforms. We will be exploring ligatures, unicase, etc...
Your work was classic looking when you started but lacked recognition of the characters. The new version is slightly more legible but is now bulky, which from what I have seen in the competitive field of wedding photography does not associate with the subject matter you specialize in.

I would be a bit careful with following Henry’s advice. I don’t completely disagree but think it is a bit of a dangerous path.

I think David’s second design is simple and very nice.

Alchion:

Thanks for that advice. That was very insightful and helpful.

But when you mean david’s second version did you mean the lowercase version?

hmm went over some ideas and concepts with uppercase and lowercase forms. Would like to see what you guys thought.

#20. very clean and classic. artdeco’ish. I like it alot. I read h and m.

Pretty sure there is silverware brand whose logo is remarkably close to #16.

I consider #19 as the most promising one, though it still need some work.

I vote for #20, then #9 as a distant second. A lot of these read as “Hv”.

- Lex

Interesting why 20?

19? Maybe I should add stems to the m’s so they don’t read h v?

#20 just looks the most “logo-like” to me.

- Lex

I’d go with #8 but with stronger right stroke of the M.