The Mill - Bar & Grill

Here is the building, with renovation underway. Much still has to be done.

Here is one of the logos the client provided for inspiration.

I gotta be honest.

I am not in love with your font choice, especially with Bar and Grill. It feels a tad dated, it almost looks like the font was squished, which tends to happen with extended fonts once they're warped or arced, and the "The" is a bit waspy.

I don't mind the typography for "Mill". I think it definitely matches the feel of an old mill or an old advertisement/sign for one like that. Do we really need all the striping in there though? I feel like you could benefit from toning that down.

I definitely love the idea, I think the concept is there, but I'm a bit concerned that I absolutely love the inspiration logos far more than your own.

Keep at it, I think you have a wonderful start.

Maybe illustrate some of the ground in front of the building to get rid of some of the black negative space on the bottom? seems like theres just a little too much there. Also, maybe instead of two stroked circles on the outside, try to make one thick one? Make it feel a little more closed than the two skinnier ones.

I don't mind the font choice but I feel like there are to many striped lines and little details that are distracting in the logo. I'm also not a huge fan of the circle in the background. I like the Labor District example because the type and imagery seamlessly fit into a different shape. Is there a different shape you could use for yours? Because it seems like the circle and foreground content are fighting each other.

This looks pretty cool overall, but I don't really get that agricultural/industrial feel you were going for. I think the fault lies with the font work and especially the "The". I get a kind of 80's Miami club vibe. Maybe the hashed gradient in "Mills" have some role in that.

My other concern is that the wordmark is a bit overpowered by the symbol. Maybe that's just me, but I would try to balance things out a bit.

Other than that, this beautifully crafted! Well done Mike!

I've read everyone's thoughts, and share many of these concerns. I wasn't sure about the font selection of "The", and I tried a number of them but I felt it was sufficient. I locked in on the font for "MILL" early and it was a natural and obvious choice to bend it downward to follow the perspective of the building.

I felt banding/striping in MILL was needed. The cylindrical silos next to the building has those horizontal stripes, partly to indicate curvature and also to reflect the corrugated steel they are made from. But nothing else in the logo had lines like that and it the difference made the silos stand out too much. I played with adding stripes to other elements (the black background, for instance) but it just didn't work as well as when placed in MILL.

When color options begin, I will use a less contrasting shade for the striping of the letters so they aren't quite as jarring.

Initially I wanted to use an overall shape other than a circle, perhaps one not unlike what's seen in Labor District. But with MILL above the building it just didn't work as well. Placing MILL below the building didn't look nearly as good to me as an alternative. However there is too much black space in the circle with nothing happening, I may try a wide oval, to reduce that.

Normally I wouldn't put as much detail into something like this, but it was difficult to simplify the building without making it ambiguous and lacking distinction. Also I saw the Boulevard logo and thought detail to that extent works in the right context.

I sent this draft out to the client yesterday, I'm on a time budget so I'll have to wait to hear from them before proceeding with any revisions.

Thank you everyone for your input.