Photocritic loves prime lenses. And so should you.

Photocritic’s new logo

previous article: next article:

If you’re a regular to the Photocritic site, you’ll notice that this page looks a little bit different than usual – well, if you’re reading this on the page, that is. If you’re reading it in a feed reader, then it’ll look perfectly normal, but in that case, just this once, come have a look, because I’d like to show you something I’m a little bit proud of; the new Photocritic logo.

It’s a while ago since I asked now, but after I redesigned this site in the beginning of February (Yup, everything you’re looking at here is my heavily modified design-hack based on the B Social theme for wordpress), I’ve been meaning to get a new logo. I haven’t had one for quite a while, actually, and I figured it was time to change that.

Trickier than it looks…

The problem is that it’s actually damn tricky to design a logo which screams ‘Photocritic’. What does a photo critic look like? Is this site even about photo criticism anymore? It started off as a DIY blog – but that was mostly because the first article I posted on here was about DIY stuff. pc-new-logo

Since, as you’ve been able to tell, Photocritic has been a lot less about equipment (although we do have a lot of articles about equipment – if you’re curious, check out the equipment category list), and a lot more about doing fun things with photography.

In trying to design a logo, then, I was stuck with the ‘how the hell do you illustrate ‘fun with photography’. I had some ideas, tried them out, and subsequently threw them all out. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I’m not much of a designer (I’m not much of a photographer either – for proof, check out my Flickr account), so finally I gave in and asked for help via Twitter, which got me a few responses, including one response from the amazing Oliver Ruehl.

Logo concept

His idea was to get a lot more abstract with the logo – moving away from the idea of ‘pictures’, and towards the idea of ‘taking photos’, which was a shrewd idea. From here, he came up with some interesting concepts, including the idea of using a split-image focussing screen as the main element of the logo.

This has a couple of benefits: If you have no idea what one of those things is, then the logo still looks distinctive and recognisable. If you do, you’ll probably be overcome with nostalgia and reach for your analogue SLR camera, just to re-experience the brilliance of manual focussing without the guesswork.

Applause!

Check out Oliver’s work on Flickr, stalk him on Twitter, and check out his website while you’re at it – he’s a legend and a gentleman. Hereby publically; Thanks for making me an awesome logo, Oliver!

Money made from this advert will be invested in prime lenses.
This post, "Photocritic’s new logo", is part of these categories: All articles, Meta, was posted by Haje Jan Kamps and saw the light of day on the 14th of March 2009. I hope you liked it.

Insights, suggestions and comments

By Miserere on March 14th, 2009 (permalink)

I do like your logo! I’ve been trying to come up with a logo for my own blog and can side with you on how difficult it is.

Oliver did a great job :-)

By Clownbaby on March 14th, 2009 (permalink)

Real nice concept.

By Elja Trum on March 14th, 2009 (permalink)

Congratz with your new logo!
Indeed very nostalgic. :)

By Oliver on March 16th, 2009 (permalink)

The logo looks great on your site!
Thanks for all the praise :-)

Keep up the good work on your site.

Yours legendary
Sir Oliver

 

Share your wisdom



Go on, click the button

So, the 550D and the 50D cost practically the same, and have different advantages. Which one would you buy?
View Results

Get notified!

If you want to get a notification whenever Photocritic makes a new post, fill in the form below!

Email Address:

Powered by Feed My Inbox

RSS New from Small Aperture:

I love this on Flickr

WindW A I T I N Gsoul stonesunified in amberWinter in StadtlohnNagoan Beach, Indiapicture1picture6Light LowHorsetail FirefallTip for the bandFernando MartinhoLightpainted (17/365)Bench monday (39/365)Day Thirty Nine
All my Flickr favourites

My photos

Microchip? That's a funny name for a dog.Bunny does the TTFear and Loathing in East LondonThe Photocritic needs a haircutMonochromatic LinesNew toy.The PhotocriticAlex through the looking glass
All my Flickr galleries

On the Book of Face

Photocritic on Facebook

It goes 'tweet'

  • • Microchip? That's a funny name for a dog. http://flic.kr/p/7L9Ei8 #Flickr (link)
  • • Magnificent MC: the 1960 BMW R69S. A beautiful gallery. http://bit.ly/dsLINa /via @BikeEXIF (link)
  • • A roundup of photography cheat-sheets? http://bit.ly/9cn6Wn /thx @katherine & @photojojo (link)
  • • The Leica M8 is perfect for street photography. It just needs one tiny modification: http://yfrog.com/jva7nj (link)
  • • A fresh take on nude photography: http://ow.ly/1kYCU (NSFW, obviously) (link)
  • • This is why #TopGear is great: Destroying a Toyota pick-up truck (3 parts): http://is.gd/aHcza / http://is.gd/aHczw / http://is.gd/aHcAa (link)
  • follow @photocritic on Twitter!

My books

Macro Photography Photo Workshop

Macro Photography Photo Workshop by Haje Jan Kamps My day job, if it can be called that, is being a writer. I've got one book out there so far and it's awesome, so go ahead and buy a copy! It's available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and most decent-sized bookshops, too!

To find out more, check out this post! If you want to know more about the 'being a writer' thing, check this site out.

Put another dime in the jukebox

Put another dime in the jukebox In front of you, five hyperactive men with guitars, drums, and microphones. Behind you, five thousand fans. In your hands, a camera... You're going to need more than just a little bit of good luck to pull this one off. That's where this book comes in.

With nearly a hundred fantastic gig photos, and a ton of info about how to get involved in taking photos like this yourself, you can't go wrong. Buy this book. Grab your camera. Good luck.

Street Photography: London

Street Photography: London Take a Canon EOS 450D. Attach a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. Hit the streets of London. See what happens.

Sounds simple - but the results are anything but. Moving, intense, and personal, Street Photography: London is a great collection of the people of London, their passions, and their dreams. Look for yourself!

About

This site is all about learning more about photography, from the incredibly insightful (rarely) to the dreadfully mundane (also, hopefully rarely) via just about everything in between.

If this website seems a little whimsical and random, then that's because the author of this blog, who for the occasion is confusing himself by writing about himself in the third person, is slightly whimsical and random himself.

Enjoy!

- Haje