This will make more sense if you read this post first.

The logo competition for Athensmade.com is over. Sort of. There's a twist. Two of the logos were neck and neck during the wee hours of January 15th, so a sudden death match of sorts is now upon us.

It was my logo and two others. I guess I didn't campaign hard enough or offer enough free pizzas.

Here is the official email:

Matt -

Thank you for participating in the Athens Made Logo contest! It turned out to be a much larger success than we even imagined bringing in nearly 1500 votes between the top 3 logos alone! Impressive!

The top 3 logos were incredibly close in voting as well. As a result, it is difficult to determine a clear favorite that would represent Athens.

We’d like to have the top 3 logos go into a run off. In order to equally represent all three logos, we’re asking you to please submit the following:

  • All logos in black and white (no color)
  • Small scale version of the logo at 32px x 32px
  • Larger size version at 200px x 200px
  • Optionally send over 3 product shots. These would feature your logo how it would potentially be shown on company products.

By submitting these items we hope to feature all logos in the same light for a final run off.

Please submit these additions by Monday, January 20th at 5PM.

At that point, we'll have the top ten brands in Athens (such as Jittery Joe's, Your Pie, etc - companies that would use the brand) vote for their favorite.

We will pick a winner from this group by Friday, January 24th.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Thanks!

I still have my beef with logo competitions in general, but understand the heart of the matter here so I'm willing to continue cooperating.

My biggest concern is that 10 companies voting on a logo, just sounds like a few too many cooks in the proverbial kitchen. I'm not there to give the pitch on what makes my design work, how it can be incorporated into existing brands, etc. It's a big toss up based on 10 different business owner's personal tastes, as opposed to a professional designer-led process.

I outlined this in more detail in my previous post, but the thing to remember here is context. Context is king. The context for this logo is to represent Athens, GA businesses, products, artists, entrepreneurs, companies, and general things that are made in Athens. It's an initiative to bring unity, visibility, and exposure to our city.

The mark needs to be strong but not overpowering. It needs to be recognizable but not distracting. It needs to be unique but paired well with others. It's a sort of chameleon brand, since the goal is to have Athens made products incorporate the mark onto their products, website footer, etc. It's of the utmost importance that these companies (mine included) actually want to put the mark on their products.

So here is my round 2 submission. A small logo 32px. A smallish/medium sized logo at 200px, as well as 3 product shots from Athens-based business. I chose Jittery Joe's Coffee, Terrapin Brewery, and Your Pie (pizzeria).

Updated Logo Sizes

32px athens made 32px

200px athens made 200px

Product Shots

Jittery Joe's athens made jittery joes

Subtly placed on the back of the cup holder. Not in your face, but noticeable upon inspection.

Terrapin athens made terrapin

Same here. On the back in a discreet yet findable location.

Your Pie athens made your pie

I would have chosen a better location than the front of the cup for this one, but this is the best product shot I could find after digging through Flickr and Google Images. Ideally it would be on the inside of a pizza box, or the back of a cup.

Under normal circumstances, I would never enter a logo contest. But I feel this has special merit that beckons me to bend my moral compass. I want to see my city represented with a great mark that can stand the test of time.

That's a wrap for now. I'll write another follow up post once the results are in.

Update

The results are in. Find out what happened.