I recently checked out Ontario Association of the Deaf (OAD) website to see updated news and I noticed its website design is better than the old one, but I noticed OAD’s logo is still the same.  I like the old logo because it is a simple design, but it was a bit dated.  Why? The maple leaf shape is too stiff and sharp and did not represent how warm the actual organization is.  Also, the letter “A” weighed heavy and looked unbalanced, I didn’t like how it did not share the same baseline with “O” and “D”.

Here is the old OAD logo:

I understand that OAD values its original logo since they have had it for many years, but I think they need a little change.  Before I started to renovate the logo, I studied the OAD logo for a while.  I wanted to keep the maple leaf look natural, so I turned it into a more organic vector and painted it with a green gradient.  I selected a sleek font type for “OAD”.

1)

2)

I experimented to reduce the size of “A” even to “O” and “D”.

Outline of the maple leaf with drop shadow effects…

3)

4)

I like #1 because it looks natural and captivating.  What do you think? Why?