The Evolution of a Logo

I've gotten so many positive comments on my new logo, I thought I would talk a little more about it and take you through the process of how it came to be.

At the end of last year, my sweet friend Beca emailed me a photo of a painting she did (of me) just for fun.  It was a lovely little watercolor piece that stuck in the back of my mind until I started my blog makeover obsession early this year.  I'm not really a design gal... I know what I like and what I don't like, but when it comes to designing a site, I'm not the person for the job.  So, as I was racking my brain for ideas and trying to decide a design "direction", I contacted Beca about doing a custom portrait for the new blog.  Beca agreed, and we had our first bit of logo and color inspiration.  Here's Beca's portrait:

While I loved the painting, I was still unsure of how to use it as/in a logo.  I knew I wanted to incorporate it somehow, talked to a few friends about it, and spent many hours obsessing.  Here's how I thought to use it:

(This was a very rough mock-up.)  I took out the face and placed the hair around the name of the blog in hopes of creating a logo or header for the new design.  Though I liked the concept of the hair without a distinct face, I still wasn't satisfied with the results I was coming up with.  At this point I knew it was time to bring in an outside source.  Enter: Jill.

Jill's blog Lune Vintage always has an amazing design and a beautiful, clean aesthetic.  I have much, MUCH respect for Jill.  I emailed her and told her about my predicament, and included the original painting and the rough design.  I asked her to work some magic, and the end result?  Killer.

Nope.  I can't even...
Folks, this is the perfect example of why you SHOULD bring in an outside source for designy stuff (unless, of course, you are a designer).  Jill took a lovely painting and a very rough idea and turned it into my favorite, favorite logo... ever.  It was everything I wanted and more.

This isn't a campaign for everyone to contact Jill for logo design, because that's not the point at all.   Here's the point:  if you are struggling with design stuff, find someone you respect and get some input.  Sometimes it's hard to take yourself outside of your notebook of ideas to see what potential there is.  Beca and Jill helped make my blog something I'm so proud to show off to anyone!