I love creating logos that just by looking at them, you can't help but smile. I recently made this logo for an organization, and this logo literally has a smile in it. The organization is called 'The Cheer up Squad' and they are a professional team of dedicated members that go around visiting the sick and elderly, cheering them up in all kinds of amazing ways. They wanted something colorful and playful with character but it should remain classy and very professional. Based on experience, the look of a logo like this can either look creative or silly, and there's a fine thin line between the two.
As I often do when I start creative projects like this, I presented the client with at least three initial concepts (colored versions using marker pens). The image below shows the sketches on the left, and the corresponding digital version on the right. It is quite evident in all versions that I have become fixated with the use of the smile, conveniently converting the letter "u" into a graphic of a smile.
The client was very happy with all versions but decided to go with the top orange version (which I personally liked as well). She suggested creating variations of the graphic by playing a bit with the smiling face, perhaps adding a hat or face element; or creating some flourishes with the text elements.
They all looked good, but compared to the original version, they all looked overly designed (and perhaps, as I said before, silly). The smile and the eyes seemed enough to convey the cheerful attitude they aim to portray, and the professionalism and respect they wanted as well.
