Yes, this is a real logo project. An agency came to me with a request for an illustration-heavy logo. The brief was simple: their client was starting a retail chain named "doggystyle" (one word, all lowercase) and wanted a logo showing "a horny-looking dog humping the letter d". Well, you can't say they weren't clear about what they wanted.
I took a first pass, keep the single color dark and bold:
The client was happy for the most part, but thought that the expression wasn't quite horny enough (seriously) and they felt like the part of the rear leg shown behind the lowercase "D" made it look too much like the dog was climbing the letter, and not trying to have intercourse with it. Not wanting anyone to get the wrong idea, I made modifications and worked out the version at the top.
An alternate version, ruled too tame.
I would say the problem with this name, if you're marketing and/or selling dog products, is it's so perfect... except it's so vulgar. But these people expected to get some mileage out of the controversial name and logo, and who's to say they were wrong to do so? Not little old me, the designer. I try to leave my moral compass out of these projects.
And in the end? From what I recall, the client got cold feet and changed the image (not using me for the new logo), and possibly changed their store's name as well - I can't remember. A quick google search did not find them, though it did find some other even more controversial images not quite suited for this blog. Sorry people - it's only a couple clicks away if you need it.
Wow, I already had a number of disturbing images in my head before I saw the logo. It's amazing how much shock value is worth to some people. I'm afraid I wouldn't have gone to that store, though.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I like the logo, but not after I think about it for more than one second. Just don't include it in your portfolio...
Yeah, that might not make the best portfolio piece, huh? Projects like these come and go - sometimes I have smaller ones that last less than a week, and a couple years later I see the file folder on my computer and almost can't remember doing it. This was a little more memorable, though, due to the subject matter.
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