Austin Improv

I like 16, 41 and 8.

I like 8 because I also like AC/DC.

And dynamite.

just chiming in cause I like you guys....

don't get too attached to the idea behind the logo- good logos have absolutely nothing to do with the product. Chevy? NBC? nah... they're just weird... things. Improv Olympic? A spiral? Ok, it works!

Then again, people are weird and very well might interpret a ... thing ... as a devil's head.


So I was brainstorming, sketching, thinking Austin, Austin, ....

-Lyndon Johnson. Lyndon Johnson with a big head! Yes!

-the Capitol... distorted capitol! make it look like a face or a funnyman tipping a hat! Yes!

-Then I thought, maybe there should be a smile involved.... aha! Coyote!
Yes, Coyote, trickster hero of native american myth, symbol of the southwest, urban guerilla warfare expert... Yes, Coyote!

So, I doodled some coyotes, came up with a smiling silhouette, stuck him in front of a big Lone Star, make him 'howling' the words Austin Improv.... you like?

erikamay wrote:
i like #15...i was thinking that it could be rendered in chalk on a side walk and the containers for the AI letters would look like squares drawn in hopscotch.

this gets at a couple of things i think are cool about improv:

1. like hopscotch, we make it up from nothing and use our invention(s) for play
2. it implies a playfulness associatied with kids (as most improvisers i know havent let go of their childlike playfulness), and
3. it projects a cool 'urban' feeling (the sidewalk and hopscotch game)

e

I really like the feeling behind this! Something we could chalk onto sidewalks everywhere! Yes! Yes and!

I didn't even notice #41 the first time around, that's pretty cool, it gives me the feeling that all Austin improvisers have been endowed with pyrokinesis! wee!

The only thing I feel is this:

AI is a very common acronym and most people know that it stands for Artificial Intelligence. If the focus of our logo is the letters A-I . . . I think that could be highly confusing. So perhaps we should focus the logo on the words Austin Improv (like in Arthur's examples).

Also, even if the logo says Austin Improv, if the AI letters are included and standalone (like in the flame and whatnot) I think it will still lead people to think Aritificial Intelligence rather than Austin Improv (that's a tough acronym to compete with). Personally, I'd rather not label myself artificially intelligent. haha.

ALSO: I like the idea of having the logo just be a simple handsketch that looks unrefined. It gives me this feeling of the "always-in-the-works"ness of improv. woo. that's my two-cents.

Did I just steal this from Jeremy and rhyme?

-phil

I agree, even knowing what it means, every single time I see AI in this forum I immediately think "artificial intelligence, hwat?" That's right, I can't spell in my head any more than I can in these forums. AIC made a little more sense as an acronym, but if we are going with just AI then I completely agree the focuse should be on the spelled-out words "Austin Improv." Especially in a geek town with an unusually high per capita level of computer nerds prone to making the same mistkae.

On the other hand, "AI" does make me think "computer brains," which makes me think "robots." And, since robots--along with monkeys, pirates, and having sex with someone's wife--is one of the four basic pillars of improv comedy, maybe the connection is OK after all.

We can take any graphic logo and use it on its own, with the words "Austin Improv" hovering around it.

I agree with that, too. I'm a very agreeable person. Look at UCB for example. The logo itself has nothing to do with the name. The name is just slapped under it sometimes.

We shouldn't restrict ourselves to having to have the name in the logo, the logo just needs to work somehow. But if we do incorporate the name, I was just voting for the full thing instead of the abbreviation.

I may ask my roommate Sarah to give it a shot when she gets back from Christmas if she has time or desire. She mroe or less does graphic design for a living when not waiting tables and has done some nice logo work in the past.

Okay, I was inspired by a couple of things I've heard & seen, but I didn't know how to express my ideas fully in a sketch so I mocked these up in Flash -- *do not* be swayed by the clean lines... these are still thumbnails. ~Sara

I love the hopscotch! Love it! Love it! It's easily recognizable, has great connotations already, is easily reproducible by hand (invites it in fact!), has a do-it-yourself playfulness to it, can incorporate the name or abbreviation easily but doesn't depend on it. This is my absolute favorite idea so far. It can also be deconstructed and played with a lot in different settings while still retaining its regconizability.

The more I think about this, the more I like it! Can you imagine chalking hopscotches all over town, with "Austin improv" in the top space, the words "come play!" next to it? It makes me very happy just to think about it. I think adopting this as our logo would make the world a better place.

might i suggest including a small joke with the numbering on the hopscotch one? like maybe skipping a number, doing one backwards, or including some kind of symbol like pi?
just a brainstorm. those look dern sweet.

This might be cooler on a T-Shirt or made into buttons, here here ya go:

http://students.depaul.edu/~rmcnicho/Star.pdf

I love the capital tipping its hat. Maybe a little too jokey for the vibe we're going for, but I fucking love it.

Here are some thumbnail concepts I worked up based on the hopscotch idea. Ignore the color scheme, please.

You know when I got word of logo & prov, I drooled.. heres a couple off the top of my head idears....- Craig Kotfas