While I am fairly satisfied with the present design of Seattle Bubble’s website, I readily admit that there are aspects that need work. For example, it would be nice if the format of the forums matched the format of the blog. Also, I think it would help the be more engaging if I could incorporate pictures and graphics a bit more often. Not in every post just for the sake of adding graphics, and not just chart after chart, but just a little color to supplement what can become large blocks of intimidating text.
Along those lines, I think something that Seattle Bubble needs is a logo. Unfortunately, my skills of an artist are somewhat lacking (to put it lightly). I’ve got some concepts that I think would make a cool logo, but very little ability to translate the images in my head into images on paper (or computer).
That’s where you, the readers of Seattle Bubble come in. I’d like to solicit your assistance in coming up with a great logo for Seattle Bubble. Here are the qualities I’m looking for:
- Succinct - Gets across the purpose of the site in a plain manner.
- Simple - Would look equally good in a website header, on a business card, or on a t-shirt.
- Clever - This ain’t no accounting firm letterhead.
- Polished - Looks sharp. Something you’d be proud to display.
- Original - Should be obvious, but taking some existing work and tweaking it is a no-go.
Now, I’m fully aware that logo design is something that big businesses pay hojillions of bucks for, and I’m probably coming across like some kind of street corner bum begging for money. Not surprisingly, I don’t really care how it comes across, I just thought it would be something fun we could discuss together and maybe come up with a great result. Obviously if we come up with a cool enough logo, I’d be more than happy to offer it on a t-shirt, and whoever designed the logo would get at least a free shirt out of the deal.
Even if (like me) you don’t have any real artistic skills, feel free to comment with your ideas of what could be put into a logo. I’ll kick things off with a few of my own ideas. One would have simple black sketches of various Seattle landmarks such as the Space Needle, the Smith Tower, and the Pike Place sign, inside a soap bubble that’s about to be popped by a needle. Another one is to have a simplistic but recognizable Seattle skyline inside of one of those snow-globe things.
P.S. (If you like, you can email your submissions to me at TimothyEllis ~at~ gmail ~dot~ com.)
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33 responses so far ↓
1
Joel
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I don’t see why you feel the need to put something representing downtown Seattle in the logo. Everybody knows that the Puget Sound area consists of only 2 things:
Microsoft
Boeing
So how about this: A picture of a 787 crashing through a window of a McMansion with a for sale sign out in front.
2
Chris
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I’m going to 2nd Joel’s idea.
If only I had a tablet…
3
Matt
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:15 pm
bubbles make me think of froth (thanks Greenspan!), and froth makes me think of foam. So, maybe your logo ought to be a CA transplant buying a house and foaming at the mouth? By the way, I can’t draw that.
4
Saul
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:24 pm
An official logo suggests a more permanent presence for SeattleBubble. Does this mean you think that the bubble will be bursting for quite some time? How can you still objectively analyze the Seattle housing market once you’re attached to keeping that sweet logo in front of the lemmings?
5
Rob
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:29 pm
An oversized bubble resting on the tip of the space needle, pressed just to the breaking point. Shouldn’t be too hard to represent in simple vector art. I actually might be able to do it, if I had time.
6
EconE
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:35 pm
I like the idea of Seattle inside a soap bubble with hi-rise condos starting to poke their way through popping it from the inside and the hand of god (a-la Sistene Chapel) reaching down to pop it from the outside. (in black ink)
Below the picture make sure there is a big-a$$ “Seattlebubble.com” (in red ink)
Do it on a nice Hanes beefy-T (preferably white or heather grey…or both)
For the artwork…have a contest with the Cornish students or something like that to get it done on the cheap…offer the winner $100 bucks or something like that.
Sell the shirts for $20
Require all SB readers to buy one (c’mon you cheap bastards…you’re saving enough by renting already and I already saw the jobs you guys hold down) in order to continue participation. Let’s all help TheTim buy a house!
Make sure that all realtors buy one…if they don’t…just show up at their open houses wearing one just so they can see how cool they are and the quality of the shirts. If the realtor doesn’t readily recognize the value in such a fine piece of apparel…just keep frequenting their open houses wearing your shirt. Ultimately, they’ll catch on and realize that for the paltry sum of $20 they can make the fashion statement of the decade.
Finance and Meshugy should buy 2 as they have already made so much money on their equity spaceships.
7
Grvetti
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Can we drag out Meshugy’s old ‘blue baby’ avatar? … That would rule!
8
biliruben
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Something cheery and upbeat, with a hint of irony.
Champagne bubbling up the space needle like it’s a champagne glass.
The Puget sound bubbling up, with large stacks of bills washing ashore.
Something like that. I have no artistic talent at all, however.
Unfortunately, from the “what do you do” post, I don’t recall a lot of creative types frequenting these boards.
9
brettro
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:48 pm
pink ponies are a must.
10
SeattleHotty
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Whatever it is, it needs to have a pink pony in it. The logo needs to embody the specialness of Seattle.
11
MisterBubble
// Jul 25, 2007 at 12:57 pm
A pink unicorn, perhaps? Popping the bubble with it’s sparkly pink horn?
12
Pegasus
// Jul 25, 2007 at 1:33 pm
How about some different colored blown-up condoms floating above the Space Needle about to be impaled with different names on each one like real estate prices, subprime loans, condo explosion, etc. Down below you can have a real estate agent running around yelling “But Seattle is different.” Everyone will know it is a real estate agent because of the huge head that is empty.
13
Finance
// Jul 25, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Trogdor from Srong Bad, that is a great site and used to watch the weekly videos…Nice touch.
I like the picture of the rainbow over the Seattle skyline (from Priced out forever site) as the bubble and have one large building with a pointy top poking through…oh I mean there is no bubble in Seattle what am I talking about, lol.
[I have never denied a bubble, just that it wont be as bad as Eleua imagines it will be in his head]
14
Alan
// Jul 25, 2007 at 2:43 pm
it wont be as bad as Eleua imagines it will be in his head
Where else does Eleua imagine it and how bad are his expectations there?
Or are you saying that Eleua doesn’t have a good outlook for things going on in his head?
15
redmondjp
// Jul 25, 2007 at 2:47 pm
How about a picture of a house (or McMansion) “over-inflated” as though a balloon, with a hissing sound graphic with dollar signs coming out, which of course causes the Pink Ponies to run away (or maybe the unicorn horn on one of them is actually puncturing the house, causing it to deflate).
Whatever it is, it’s got to be a visual that immediately connects to the viewer and isn’t overly complex.
OR, how about this? A picture of a deflating hot-air balloon (could have dollar signs coming out) with a house hanging underneath in place of the basket, and ‘motion’ lines on the upper edges of the house/balloon indicating that it is returning to earth, with some mantra printed across the balloon like “NOW is a good time to buy”, or “RE never goes down”, or something like that . . .
And some other ancillary graphics could include a small plane flying by with a flying banner behind it with “APTS FOR RENT” or “I LIKE RENTING”
If it were an editorial cartoon, I’d add FBs jumping out of the house with ball-and-chains connected, with the ball labeled “ARM”, “I/O LOAN” or “Foreclosure”.
16
rose-colored-coolaid
// Jul 25, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Rob, I had literally the exact same idea of the Space Needle popping a bubble.
Another idea is a back of pink ponies pushing a boulder sized bubble up an economic chart of housing prices. Just past their current point is a cliff, but the ponies just cannot see it because the bubble they are pushing is too large and squishy.
17
The Tim
// Jul 25, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Great ideas, everyone. Keep them rolling in.
To give you an idea of just how graphically-inept I am, here’s a mockup I made of another idea I had:
18
redmondjp
// Jul 25, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Keep in mind that the image of the Space Needle is a registered trademark of the Space Needle Corporation and may not be used without permission (and no, unfortunately I am not making this up — google it).
19
Mike2
// Jul 25, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I never thought I’d say this, but I like the pink unicorn popping the bubble.
The irony behind a happy pink unicorn that any little kid could look at and say “oh that’s so cute” is compelling.
Then you can open up a cafepress store to sell propaganda to the unsuspecting.
Either that, or a gypsy carrying a guitar, listening to an ipod and drinking starbucks. Few people would get that though.
20
blueskitten
// Jul 25, 2007 at 5:12 pm
I agree with others… some fierce-looking pink unicorn (think high-school mascot style logo), or space needle enclosed inside a bubble.
Or maybe a take-off on the washington state quarter, only instead of the image being enclosed in side of a quarter, it’s enclosed in a bubble.
21
softwarengineer
// Jul 25, 2007 at 5:30 pm
HOW ABOUT A PICTURE OF A FLYING SAUCER AND AN ALIEN
A caption below it that says; real estate appreciation is real, ask our hard evidence.
22
Joe
// Jul 25, 2007 at 7:29 pm
What about the kingdome expanding as a bubble, with a pin getting ready to implode…if you saw that implossion, seemed like it took forever, bang bang bang, then, it just sat there suspended with no supports and then it just collapsed, and all the dust and garbage came flying out. When you think about it, its perfect, right now, the explosions have gone off and we are just holding our breath as the momentum starts to bring it down, and I suspect a clowd of dust and trash to follow.
23
Jaye
// Jul 25, 2007 at 8:59 pm
I’d just go with a soap bubble with downtown Seattle in it, photo realistic. Something like the Newsweek cover here:bagnewsnotes.typepad.com
24
Matthew
// Jul 25, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Pink ponies, rainbows, money raining from the sky, condos and townhouses everywhere all encase in a giant snow globe like bubble with a huge needle about to pop it.
25
vancouverdr
// Jul 25, 2007 at 9:31 pm
How ’bout having a swelled, bubble-like house, with various subimages in the windows and doors, including for instance a pink pony, a 787, some symbol for Microsoft, the Seattle skyline, a condo tower (or Smith), etc. The roof could have a banner saying “Seattle” or “Seattle Bubble.”
The pink unicorn would be cute as a cause for bursting a bubble, but it would be hard to explain to somebody who wants to know what your T-shirt means. I’d favor having a big hand holding a pin to the house, with a suit sleeve that has some word(s) description on it, such as “easy credit”/ARMs/liar loans… If it could be done, it would be nice to depict this bubble house just beginning to burst.
26
Joel
// Jul 26, 2007 at 9:16 am
A lot of the suggestions sound really busy. Here’s something simple to balance it out
27
Joel
// Jul 26, 2007 at 9:17 am
Hmmm, ok, the live preview displayed the image just fine. Here’s the link: Seattle Bubble Logo.
28
brettro
// Jul 26, 2007 at 9:30 am
ooh i like the swollen house idea
29
A
// Jul 26, 2007 at 9:47 am
I like the idea of somedoby blowing a bubblegum baloon with the cheeks swallen from the effort like it is going to pop. That somebody or something could evoke the Peuget sound.
30
emcityjill
// Jul 27, 2007 at 2:17 pm
A pink unicorn pony head, all round and cartoonish, big, dopy pink pony smile, ginormous glassy pony eyes, with a horn that resembles the spaceneedle pricking a big soap bubble!
But seriously, in all things marketing and logo-design, simple is better: a swelling Seattle skyline encased in a soap bubble in imminent danger of being poked by the Needle.
31
EconE
// Jul 27, 2007 at 3:38 pm
How about a simple cartoony (a-la Robert Crumb) picture of a drunk guy holding out an empty martini glass with a cartoon bubble that just says…”More Condos Please”.
Underneath the picture…”SeattleBubble.com”
32
rose-colored-coolaid
// Jul 31, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Tim, did you ever get any actual contributions, or just suggestions?
33
The Tim
// Aug 1, 2007 at 8:32 am
Actually just in the last two days I got a couple in email. I’m trying to work on a few of my own, and will probably post some kind of voting thing on the submitted ideas as well as my own in the not-too-distant future.
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