![[tmbchr]™](/journal/popocculture-blog-logo.jpg){kind=logo}
Pop Occulture Re-Design Sneak Preview!
In addition to figuring out these server issues, I’ve been hard at work collaborating with some friends to re-design and re-brand this website. Actually, not only this website, but I’m going to be rolling out PopOcculture.com in the near future as well. PopOcculture.com will be a community-driven website more in the style of pop culture web magazine formats, like Stylus, Pitchfork Media, Pop Matters. Except, obviously, there will be much more of an alternative religion, spirituality, mythology, occult & conspiracy focus to the whole thing, rather than just bubble-gum media reviews.
Anyway, I wanted to run by some logos that I and my friend John worked up and see which direction people liked better. I’m pretty into both. The visual aesthetic is going to basically play on old timey medicine shows, or apothecary stuff from way back in the old days.
Without telling you who made which, here are the latest batches of the design directions we’ve been working on:
I’d be curious to hear which direction of design resonates with people more. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. But, I am pretty much sold on moving in this general theme. Thanks!
March 27th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
If I had to pick, I’d go with the first one. I suggest you “go back to the drawing board”, however. You need a symbol to go with the name, I think.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
What is it that you feel doesn’t suit the name?
March 27th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
This is funny. No offense; but my girlfriend was talking just yesterday about your current logo, saying it was a little goofy, and I agreed with her. I said “it sort of reflects the spirit of his site, but I hope he redesigns it”. We both cracked up when we saw this post, because she’s made more than one comment about it.
ANYWAY — I like the “patent medicine” design approach, and emulate that aesthetic a lot myself. The first one is my pick, since it’s sleeker and doesn’t have a crown.
If you haven’t seen it before, I think you should check out 666 Cough Syrup for a good laugh.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:44 pm
P.S. - For the love of “Bob”, don’t take too many design cues from Pitchfork — or even content cues. You’re way better than that.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Oh no I think Pitchforks new design stinks and I’m mostly bored by their approach. I really like how that Stylus site is put together though, pretty sweet. And don’t worry about the content. I only referenced that as a jumping-off point for the spirit and style of the new site. It’s going to be very different. In fact, all of you are going to be having the majority of the say in terms of what content it ends up having (with me editing, of course).
PS. In case anybody is worried that I’m totally changing formats, I’m not. I’m just adding new elements. This blog will remain here more or less unchanged, except for an updated interface.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:48 pm
I have to say - and I don’t have a whole hell of a lot of constructive criticism to supply here - but they don’t really grab me in any way, and I am not even that picky.
I think a re-design is a cool idea but keep working on it. the ones above seem to throw a fifties soda-shop sign style…anyway gotta follow yer own vision but I’d try a few more.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
Yeah, I get where you’re coming from. I was working on a similar project with a friend of mine a few years ago, but it was before the blog/wiki “revolution” started, so it started and ended with being a small message board that I wrote, which basically turned into the two of us posting back and forth.
I just picked out Pitchfork because I hate it and everything it represents.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
I like the second one. Especially the little crown. “Pop” and “Occulture” are at kind of weird angles to one another, though. Maybe tweak the “occ” a little bit so that the “O” in “occulture” is more or less parallell to the one in “Pop.”
I can see how this will look good with a whole entire site design that matches up with it. Now that I think about it, I like those colors in the first one. But the second one has better shapes and sizes.
And I like that little crown.
March 27th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Agreed!
Sounds like Zeno digs the crown!
March 27th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I kinda like the one you have right now, actually.
March 27th, 2006 at 10:34 pm
I’ve kinda thought that the skull seemed outta place, but it wasn’t my place to comment - now that you’ve opened it up, I’d go with the second, if either, though I think you need to take them both and create more variables, bothe are lacking that extra little bit… and you do need an image-based logo type thing as well - putting the full name-bar on anything you’d like to identify as part of the site is unessesary, and excessive…
Open logos up to reader submissions, maybe?
Keep it up, though - I like the victorian-style medicine show marketing…
March 27th, 2006 at 10:38 pm
Not a bad idea about people submitting logos. Unfortunately, I don’t want to open it up for fear that somebody will come ten years down the road when I’m making bank and say “You stole my logo idea!”
In any event, neither of these logos are really finalized. They are working ideas still at the moment, but I tought it would be worth opening it up to feedback!
March 28th, 2006 at 12:16 pm
hmm… cool idea, but neither of these logos does it for me just yet. were a gun held to my head, i would likely go for number two.
maybe you could have the snake-oil thing as just one part, but have the whole of ‘pop occulture’ set up like an old-timey carnival (az la carnivale). ‘traces from beyond’ could be the freak show or fortune telling trailer. no, wait! the forum could be the freak show.
then pop occulture could be the big-top. i dunno, that’s just what comes to mind.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
I like “Take internally.”
Side effects include:
Body/Environment inversion
Ontological failure
Paranoia/Pronoia
Parallelomania
Melancholia
Death
March 28th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
The only advice I can give is go for it and follow your heart. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Listen kid, the sky is the limit and you have a big heart so don’t let the man get you down. Hang in there we are rooting for ya buddy!
THe only suggestion is that I have not seen a lot in my day and the one thing I never saw was a totem pole. SO think of using some sort of totem pole for a design. OR maybe a French flag with a picture of a nun kissing the prime minister of Japan
March 28th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
I like the second one the most. I think it might be the fonts the most though. The first one is a good idea too, but I don’t think I like the fonts very much. Maybe it needs to be more muted and rusticish…
March 28th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
I like both of them a lot. And I’m trying to ignore that they could in any way be associated with P-tchf-rk foolery (and i used to manage saturday nights at a small indie venue). Only thing I would change is lose the two-tone in the first “occulture.”
March 29th, 2006 at 12:20 am
I like the first one a lot - although I think it should be the label on a bottle. I see it wrapping around a bottle….
I also liked prnslqr’s prescriptive instructions to go with it. Funny and apropos.
Either way, I love your site.
March 29th, 2006 at 9:52 am
I can’t decide. The bottom one would look better without the crown, I think. If you don’t use the first one, you simply must make it a banner!
March 29th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
Yeah, that was the idea. Shoulda mentioned that!
March 29th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
The first one; only, the background colour needs to look like old paper, perhaps with frayed or singed edges. Second, the idea of a bottle came to our minds also, and we agree with that; it should have an old-fashioned bottle, and perhaps a spoon. Something of a Lydia Pinkham’s concept. Perhaps it could look as if the label were peeling off the bottle into its scroll-like design.