Such great entries! I don't think I have time to do one of my own, but I'm more than happy with these. I think top picks for me are definitely @
legatius latest cat entry (both the sleeping and reading one) and both of @
caprisun entries so far.
Legatius - I think it might be that I'm partial to the minimal and clean website we've had so far, but I'm very drawn to the simplicity of these designs. The concepts are so cute as well! Both the cat sleeping on a book (which also looks like bamboo to me haha) and the cat reading are so sharp and attractive. As logos I think both work excellently, and I like the simplicity of the banner as well. If I were to nitpick I'd say the sleeping cat has a few awkward points that could be tweaked, such as the bump on the forehead and something about how the tail and body meet, and on darker backgrounds the right edge on the second logo gets a little muddled. For the mascot, it's cute but the style and color difference between the logo and mascot is pretty jarring. overall this just may be my favorite!
Caprisun - Entry #1. I'm a fan of the circular logo and I think the combination of logo and mascot in the banner is very nice. I'm unsure of how I feel about a banner used on the site, but I think yours are really excellent. Color-wise it's soft and fits right in with sites like baka-updates, which isn't necessarily a bad thing I think (I certainly use both in tandem frequently). I think this entry has the mascot I'm most on board with. As criticism, I like the logo with everything, but on it's own it feels like it may have a bit too much dead space but that could just be me. Also may still be a little light for dark bg users.
Entry #2. Really liking this logo combing M and X. Once again, I love the minimal design, and I think it's very easy to alter the color scheme if monochrome isn't well received. A small nitpick I have would be to maybe see some slight alt versions playing around more with width/height proportions or line thickness? As is is already good but I can't help but wonder if a little tweaking would improve it. Not sure how I feel on the mascot, I think I prefer the style and coloring of the previous entry more. Once again, a great banner! You really put all the pieces together nicely with background and all.
woof that went on much longer than I intended but I hope this somehow comes in handy. Overall I was mostly drawn to logos, banners second (though I'm iffy on their actual use), and mascots I'm a bit ambivalent on. Good luck choosing the winners! whether its one person takes all or a mix, there's plenty to choose from. and good job everyone on the excellent entries!
... I heard a wish about incorporating more manga/book themes, I had free time and was bored. Feel free to disregard. @
