Erik, of Quick Productions, submitted this logo he did for his client, European Masonry. He had this to say about the design,

“This is the first logo design I have ever really been involved with. The client came to me looking for a website, and also mentioned they needed a logo so I thought I would give it a shot.”

“...The company specializes in stone and brick work. The left logo was the first submission which they really liked, but the company had printed brochures and believed it would be too hard to read so they asked for a second version, which is the right logo. For the 2nd logo I went with a really smooth font to try and keep that ‘fancy’ feel but also make it more readable. I chose different size blocks and colors to help represent how stone structures can look, and to also separate it from other logos. A lot of the masonry logos I've seen all have some sort of brick and a trowel which I wanted to steer away from.”

The following critique is based on one designer’s opinion and experience. I always appreciate the readers thoughts as well. So, I’ll ask a question of two in the critique, please share your perspective in the comments at the end of this logo design critique.

Design Principals

This critique will focus on the design on the right since this is the one the client chose. I think the concept of using bricks or stones for a mason’s logo works well and is a pleasant departure from the expected. There are some technical aspects that need to be addressed. The stroke around the bricks is too strong. It competes with the black stroke around the letters, which by the way, should probably be removed. The stroke on the letters make an already delicate font even thinner, thus reducing readability. Of course removing the stroke from the letters is going to create a new problem. The white isn’t going to have enough contrast against the yellow bricks. Have you explored alternate versions of the bricks? What if they were rougher, or looked like stones or bricks as opposed to more rounded paver look?

Functionality / Versatility

Reducing the size of this logo too far will create some readability problems. Mainly in the letters that make up the word ‘European’. The combination of the heavy outside stroke on the bricks and the stroke around the letters are already competing for the viewers attention. If you reduce the size of the logo, the white space of the letterforms is just going to fill in and look really bad.

Does the Logo Work for the Audience?

The logo says brick pavers to me. This could be based on my location. Being in Southwest Florida, brick pavers are common for driveways and lanais. Many companies specialize in paver work but don’t do general masonry work. I’m not sure if the logo would have that effect in the geographic area that it is used in, but I thought it was worthwhile to mention since European Masonry offers far more services than brick paver work. The round shape and coloring of the bricks contributes to this impression. Ultimately, it’s not bad thing that I see pavers, unless the company doesn’t want to focus/specialize in that type of work.

Typography

The typography shows your lack of training in logo design. There are gaping holes between letters and inconsistent spacing throughout. This shows up in both the spacing between the bricks and in the word ‘masonry’.

The Trajan typeface cap and small cap heights are only slightly different. This makes for an awkward height change in the word ‘Masonry’. Consider removing the cap ‘M’ and replacing it with a matching small cap (notice the cap ‘M’ is removed from the improved version above).

The contrast within the bricks and the type over them isn’t intense enough. And letters that make up the word ‘European’ are too large for the bricks they are on. The letters feel compressed and uncomfortable. Have you considered some alternate fonts? Perhaps a typeface that is more uniform in weight could increase the legibility.

Possible Improvements

Designing a logo for yourself or own business is one of the hardest logo designs you’ll ever work on. So what is the best way to improve the logo? Well I think have made some comments above that can certainly offer some direction. Here’s a list of actionable items.

Overall, I think you have a good start on the logo design. And with some refinement you can definitely improve it. Please know that my intention in critiquing your work is not to hurt feelings, but to offer constructive feedback. I hope it was helpful. Best of luck, to you!

I appreciate and welcome your comments, and look forward to hearing from you soon. I purposely don’t cover every possible improvement that can be made to this logo, so go for it if you think I missed anything. All I ask is that you keep your comments clean and appropriate.

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