In this round, I further explored how to iconize the Betta fish. I departed slightly from being completely realistic to make it more of a Akimma-ownable icon. The goal being to create a memorable icon that a consumer has an “a-ha” moment with. Also I’ve reduced the size so we can check which logo works at a small size.

These sets range from stylized to minimalist, I’ve matched each fish style to a set of the chosen fonts that feel appropriate for each.

Fish A, I feel is a strong contender. The fish still reads as a Betta, but has attitude, and a toughness that I think works well for the brand tone and audience. I’m really liking Ritafurey as a font, so you’ll notice a heavy presence of it.

Fish B, is a beatiful line work version and would look really nice embroidered as an icon. The line work communicates flow, it’s not as aggressive, and contrasts nicely with a bolder font.

Fish C, is the furthest pushed style, and the most minimalist, and I would see this logo being used as a system like Nike has the swoosh, you’d have the A/fish icon and would use it alone or in tandem with a word mark and a textural fish scale pattern on printed matter. The fish scales could also be a visual pattern that you could selectively use as a pattern over photos.

Fishes D and E, use the negative space to create an akimma “a”, it’s subtle, so that the consumer has that “a-ha” moment when their mind connects the dots. This treatment would also make a strong icon, because it’s centered and balanced. It might also look great reversed out of a circle or surrounded by a circle keyline when used alone as an icon.

*At this time, we need to select a fish and font treatment. * My recommend is Fish A, and secondly Fish C. There’s something about the sophisticated system of Fish C that interests me, but it may not be right for the brand. Take a look and let me know what you think!

Once we select a direction, I will refine and we’ll enter into the final round.