I have to agree wholeheartedly with Garth when he says, "I like both and think they both have their place." Well put, Garth.
For my two cents, the realistic head is clearly the superior image. And yet as others have pointed out, it doesn't actually fulfill the various duties a logo is meant to fulfill: It can't be easily transposed into a simple black-and-white image; it probably wouldn't work well in a really small size, etc. The robotic head, meanwhile, does all those things well. Keep 'em both!
superhero head has greater length. You can do more with it, and even adapt it in the future (much like the the penguin for Penguin Books). The realism model you're pretty much stuck with, until you change it...to the superhero.
Samuel - 10 years ago
The "SuperHero" image is simple and clean but too clean. It lacks a spark. With the "Realistic" image the colors grab the eyes; that shade of blue attracts but the image overall is busy. Neither seems to be related to drafts of any kind. Perhaps that shade of blue slipped onto the "SuperHero" would boost its attractiveness.
Garth - 10 years ago
I like both and think they both have their place. The realistic image is too detailed for use as, e.g., a Twitter icon, at least in its current form.
It seems a bit strange that the realistic version shows you to have a squarish face, while the stylized version has a more triangular shape. The mustache is different. Overall, these don't look like the same person. Maybe they could be tweaked to resemble each other more closely.
Chris White - 10 years ago
Personally, I really like the top image conceptionally but it always bugs me that that it doesn't fit with anything else in my iPad, especially the icon. However, the image's concept is striking and much more creative than any other app in my news folder and it sets you apart in a good way! Best of both worlds for me would be to flatten the icon a bit and probably leave it the way it is for the UI!
The realistic head makes me stop and look. Its interesting. The flat image I could glance at and move on without ever looking deeper. Your head logo IS the reason I first stated reading you.
Mathew - 10 years ago
Damn, there is no 'neither' option :). Keep up the great work Dave.
No slight on your head intended, but the "open it up" nature has always given me the creeps... makes me think of Indiana Jones and eating monkey brains or something :-)
lyn - 10 years ago
Now that Dave's allowed comments, I'm afraid my opinion of his site has dropped by 30 points.
Oh, well, now I'm embarrassed. For some reason I thought the comments were just a message to Dave, not a public post. And I can't edit or delete. Ah well.
The question I believe you should be asking is "which logo is the most successful in representing the Next Draft brand across all platforms?" I'm not sure people's preferences are completely relevant. They are, at least, not the most important consideration. As a designer, I value thoughtful feedback on my work, but "I like X" or "I like Y" is usually completely unhelpful.
The painted portrait by Sam Spratt is awesome, but it would be hard to translate to a 1-color application. But since you're offering an exclusively digital product, you really don't have to worry about 1-color applications.
The superhero head is a solid piece of 1-color artwork, but what does it have to do with Next Draft? Why does it look like a luchador? Does the Next Draft publication consistently refer to the idea of Dave Pell, Internet Superhero?
As a longtime follower/reader, both logos represent Dave Pell and Next Draft to me. But what about other audiences?
Sorry for turning a comment into an unsolicited lecture on branding. Both the wording of the poll question and the poll itself sparked a jumble of thoughts that just came pouring out. Over-sharing narcissism strikes again.
Thanks for doing Next Draft. I look forward to it arriving in my inbox each day.
1600 votes. Curious what percentage of your audience that is.
I like the realistic head because it reminds me of a mid eighties news magazine trying to be cutting edge and slightly missing the mark. Keep it!
glad to see you're considering a change! love the app, hate the logo. :)
I have to agree wholeheartedly with Garth when he says, "I like both and think they both have their place." Well put, Garth.
For my two cents, the realistic head is clearly the superior image. And yet as others have pointed out, it doesn't actually fulfill the various duties a logo is meant to fulfill: It can't be easily transposed into a simple black-and-white image; it probably wouldn't work well in a really small size, etc. The robotic head, meanwhile, does all those things well. Keep 'em both!
superhero head has greater length. You can do more with it, and even adapt it in the future (much like the the penguin for Penguin Books). The realism model you're pretty much stuck with, until you change it...to the superhero.
The "SuperHero" image is simple and clean but too clean. It lacks a spark. With the "Realistic" image the colors grab the eyes; that shade of blue attracts but the image overall is busy. Neither seems to be related to drafts of any kind. Perhaps that shade of blue slipped onto the "SuperHero" would boost its attractiveness.
I like both and think they both have their place. The realistic image is too detailed for use as, e.g., a Twitter icon, at least in its current form.
It seems a bit strange that the realistic version shows you to have a squarish face, while the stylized version has a more triangular shape. The mustache is different. Overall, these don't look like the same person. Maybe they could be tweaked to resemble each other more closely.
Personally, I really like the top image conceptionally but it always bugs me that that it doesn't fit with anything else in my iPad, especially the icon. However, the image's concept is striking and much more creative than any other app in my news folder and it sets you apart in a good way! Best of both worlds for me would be to flatten the icon a bit and probably leave it the way it is for the UI!
The realistic head makes me stop and look. Its interesting. The flat image I could glance at and move on without ever looking deeper. Your head logo IS the reason I first stated reading you.
Damn, there is no 'neither' option :). Keep up the great work Dave.
No slight on your head intended, but the "open it up" nature has always given me the creeps... makes me think of Indiana Jones and eating monkey brains or something :-)
Now that Dave's allowed comments, I'm afraid my opinion of his site has dropped by 30 points.
Since everything is going flat-design, I say stick with the realistic version - you'll be way-cool-retro before you know it :-)
Oh, well, now I'm embarrassed. For some reason I thought the comments were just a message to Dave, not a public post. And I can't edit or delete. Ah well.
It's really hard to vote on this.
The question I believe you should be asking is "which logo is the most successful in representing the Next Draft brand across all platforms?" I'm not sure people's preferences are completely relevant. They are, at least, not the most important consideration. As a designer, I value thoughtful feedback on my work, but "I like X" or "I like Y" is usually completely unhelpful.
The painted portrait by Sam Spratt is awesome, but it would be hard to translate to a 1-color application. But since you're offering an exclusively digital product, you really don't have to worry about 1-color applications.
The superhero head is a solid piece of 1-color artwork, but what does it have to do with Next Draft? Why does it look like a luchador? Does the Next Draft publication consistently refer to the idea of Dave Pell, Internet Superhero?
As a longtime follower/reader, both logos represent Dave Pell and Next Draft to me. But what about other audiences?
Sorry for turning a comment into an unsolicited lecture on branding. Both the wording of the poll question and the poll itself sparked a jumble of thoughts that just came pouring out. Over-sharing narcissism strikes again.
Thanks for doing Next Draft. I look forward to it arriving in my inbox each day.