Randy submitted his logo for Harmony Eye Care. He included this message with his submission,

“Harmony EyeCare is a brand new Optometry office opening up in southern Indiana. I wanted convey harmony inside the eye itself. The graphic is meant to be a harmonious iris of an eye. I chose a serif typeface for it’s elegance... Caslon seemed to fit well.”

The following critique is based on one designer’s opinion and experience.

Design Principals

This logo is well put together. The subdued color palette and Caslon typeface give off a soothing impression, which fits well with the company name. The icon representing the eye could use some refinement. I find the weight of the outer circle is somewhat distracting to my eye, it almost makes the eye hard to distinguish. Without the text the icon comes across as a simple circular design rather than an eye. One factor contributing to this problem is the fact that the center of the eye is white as opposed to a darker color, which would be typical in a representation of an eye.

I would rather see a more defined pupil with some highlights to show the eyes reflective qualities. I believe this can done without taking away from the overall feel of the current logo.

Functionality / Versatility

The logo is built on flat colors and will reproduce quite well. At small sizes, the lines within the eye will likely blur together with the outer stroke, at least visually. If the icon remains as is, consider a minor tweak by opening up the space between the inner strokes for cleaner reproduction at small sizes.

Does the Logo Work for the Audience?

I think the logo speaks clearly to the audience. It’s pretty obvious the company deals in the eye care industry. The text is clear and easy to read. I wouldn’t say the logo is particularly memorable, but it does have a certain calmness or harmony about it. The single detractor here is that the lavender color of logo is somewhat feminine. What do the readers think? Is the color too feminine or is it okay as is?

Uniqueness

This logo isn’t incredibly unique, but that’s probably okay. The use of the eye icon is pretty common among eye care logos, as you might imagine.

Typography

The type feels a little squished. By opening the kerning up, you might portray an added level of harmony or peacefulness through the air around the letterforms. I think you could tighten up the mark by reducing the font size of ‘eye care’ and hopefully eliminate the stair step look. Again I think this could be done without altering the overall communication of the logo, since eye care is also being portrayed visually though the eye icon.

Possible Improvements

So what is the best way to enhance the logo? Well I think have made some comments above that can certainly offer some direction. Here’s a list of actionable items for improvement.

I hope you have found the above information useful. I do think the current state of the logo does accomplish the harmonious feel you were aiming for, but I also feel there is room for refinement. My intention is not to hurt feelings, but rather to offer constructive feedback and critique. 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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