10 months later update. So the work on Angel Comedy was paused due to pandemic reasons, but glad to hear people’s comments, at least the constructive ones. No logo will please everyone. But looking back, I think the colour scheme needs tweaking, I guess it’s just too damn sexy for its own good. 😂 But really, work in progress rarely gets public feedback on this scale. If I get the chance to pick it back up to finish the refresh I’ll be playing around with the palette 🎨.
I know the phrase "Angel Comedy Club" is challenging to turn into an effective graphic, but I gotta agree with many of the commenters that reckon it looks more like a logo for sexual or health-oriented services than a comedy club. My first thought when seeing it was that it'd make a great logo for a sex worker advocacy group.
I think the purple and triangle are what do that, when he showed variants and the rounded 'sticker' sets I thought it shed away that nightclub/sexual aspect
When I look at the Angel Comedy club logo, I think two things. From afar, the colours and the wings indicate that it might be medical, and up close the vibe I get is some kind of erotic store sort of thing. The mic honestly is an almost missable part of the design. Not a great logo if you ask me, and I think some of the other comments have pointed that out better than me.
On its own, the logo with it's purple-pink colour scheme, the angel/demon theme and the shape of the mic, it could be mistaken for a sextoy shop or "hot club". The Purple version works well; but the one on a pink triangle, definitely gives some strong sex shop vibe to me: you've got some the general colours traditionally associated with femininity; the pink triangle which can be associated with the pink triangle reclaimed by some LGBT+ folks, or movements; you've got the angel wings spread out that can be seen as a metaphor for pleasure, the demon tail that can allude to a more "kinky"/naughty side, and the shape of the mic definitely can be associated to a certain type of toy. The general proposition is good, especially with the rest of the visual identity; these posters and especially stickers do look great. But on its own, I feel more "having fun under the sheets" than "having fun on stage"
You're spot on with your comments. To me the number one thing that makes this seem like a sex toy brand is really the color scheme. It looks really nice on the posters but ehhhhh... Probably worth at least changing that.
The Angel Logo looks more like an erotic hotline rather than anything having to do with comedy. Also white and purple with clean cut lines gives it a clinical look, it looks like a flyer you'd find in a drugstore.
@@otocan The problem with his logo is that it's not... funny. The thing with Comedy logos is that when they're bad, it actually makes them better because badly designed things are just funnier. Seeing some shitty clip art just gets you in the right mood.
I've seen the rotten tomato trope being used before, too. Although given it's association with bad comedy and the existing film review aggregate site, it probably wouldn't be the most effective image to use.
I would argue that the Stop Sign is meant to be a sort of playful-mean spirited thing where somebody would stop reactively at the shape, causing them to read it with the joke being an implied "we are so desperate for you to see this that we are willing to trick you" but in a way that is less meant to actually trick you like fake car tickets.
I am far too late to this question but the history at play here is the intended association in the States with a "comedy circuit" or "tour." Up and coming professional stand-ups were playing a traveling circuit among clubs. Headliners meanwhile are "on tour" with "tour stops." Each club is merely a "stop" or more literally a "stop along the way." For owners, promoting their clubs as "stops" (whether they actually are or not) signals to patrons high quality or "must see" acts. With this in mind, you can see why clubs were named "The Comedy Stop," and "The Laugh Stop." The iconography simply (lazily?) follows the business name. (Bottomline: there's no real connection to vehicles, traffic, or roads. It's just an easy way to draw "stop.")🛑
12:40 - Yes! The identity of a brand is so important. I see so many start-ups (not just in comedy) who have clearly thought that all they need is a logo. When actually, the colour/gamut scheme, the devices, the house/body typography, is the ground which holds a good logo. If we're going down the comedy route, Underbelly does this FANTASTICALLY. Their logo is just an upside-down cow, which is funny in and of itself, but that would mean nothing without their iconic main purple colour, (with a white accent) and their Bauhaus-esq typography. If you're ever at the fringe and you're looking for an Underbelly venue, you don't look for the logo per se, you look out for the colour! (although anagogy ultimately falls on it's arse because the main venue is a giant inflatable purple cow. Great video as always!
Thanks Lewis! Yes, the Underbelly have got a very strong brand! The purple cow is pretty distinctive - absolutely would have included them if I had expanded scope to cover festival graphics! Food companies are some of the best at understanding the importance of colour - Coke, Cadbury, Reece's all know the value of a signature colour. And speaking of purple cows, Milka! ;)
Weird, in Chile most of the logos associated with Comedy use (or used) Skyscrapers in the background. Yep, They were rip-offs of the old Comedy Central logo.
Man, that "Hilarities" logo... I didn't see it as a bow Tie, I saw it as a ghoulish person in a Klaus Nomi-type oversized tuxedo! Great work, Linus. Love your videos.
Hey advice for you: when you show many logos or graphics at the same time, you should highlight the one you're talking about for clarity. I spend my time looking for the frogor hyena logo when you name them and it goes too fast. Applied to several other instances where your reference one of the many things you show at the same times. Great work otherwise
@@elliswebster7041 Are you triggered by constructive criticism? I just feel like this creator has a best possible quality mindset. Videos shouldn't have to be enjoyed with frequent interruptions or at low speed to find Waldo. I like his style and videos and I think he'll be happy to get ideas to make them even better.
@@anisazzoug4172 I’m saying there’s a simple solution and to not use the tools CZcams gives you to help yourself seems kinda lazy, not “triggered” just doesn’t make sense to me 🤷♂️
It is CRIMINAL that you don't have more subs! Thank you for putting the time into these videos. They are great!! Your logo looks awesome and I like that you had the PS5 controller in there :)
Love the insight into your thinking for the Angel logo! I once did a contest where they gave us a Unidyne. It was the most akward bloody thing I ever had to use, just getting the unbalanced monstrosity out of the mic stand was a trial.
I think the angel logo is a well made logo but I wouldn't say it's good for a comedy club. The wings and tail look make me think of a caduceus, and when you look closer and realize it's an angel and devil, then I associate it with adult stores. I think the only way to make the angel/devil motif read more as comedy to me would be if it was more cartoonized and goofier.
I really enjoyed this video I didn’t think I would be so interested in logo creation it might be something I look into in the future. I would also say that angel wings and things like devil horns or tails have become so synonymous with “naughty” shops that it’s very hard to disassociate them.
Haha, well the purple scheme is only one out of four. It is still work in progress, but because the club has had two venues + online content, the idea is that there is a different colour scheme for each venue, one for online streams, and one master brand. So I'm still playing with which should be the master scheme - I think purple is more for online, as the vibrancy is lost in print anyway! But good note, though I wonder I primed you for that association with my comment? ;)
Not a big fan of the Angel logo. Not at all! The name is your first problem. Yes I know it’s a location, but that’s info people can find out later. Anyway, not your fault. The wings (in association with the word angel) definitely hint at strip club, as does the colour. Devil’s tail + wings means “naughty but nice” and if I have to think of that phrase in comedic terms, I can’t get past Are You Being Served. The triangle might have some comedic significance but all I’m getting is the All-Seeing Eye of Providence…. and its creepy. If you’re stuck with Angel (the big problem) then couldn’t you have gone halo? It may be a dreaded swoosh, but at least it’s a meaningful one. All in all, it’s staid and conservative and not fun! With a bit of tweaking you could flog it off to a funeral parlour. Love you work, just not this.
I wonder if one way to make the logo look less like it's adult entertainment would be to play on the cartoon trope of the angel and devil on a character's shoulders. Maybe the shoulders could be made of the legs in the A, which would add some tension as the steep slope would make for an uneasy place for the angel and devil to stand. The A as the comic might also suggest the strength of the comedy, given the stability of the triangle. Or maybe the angel and devil could be brawling and form an A in their fight choreography.
the mouth smiling is probably my first pick for when i think of comedy but like, mouth are also kinda creepy? so idk they ended up having a correlation for me also, the retro mic invokes more of a radio-show vibe than a comedy one
I think you're fairly on the nose about the stop signs and their purpose, although not exactly truck stops it's more about being a place you'd stop by when you're in the area, like a tourist stop, trying to make the place seem open and inviting
Yeah was coming down to either say something to this effect or hopefully find someone who already found words for it lol. It's just sort of a vague usage of "stop" that's all over American English, I'd assumed it was just a general English thing but I suppose not. Truck stop, rest stop, pit stop, to-make-a/an-[any-noun]-stop, it's almost interchangeable with "spot" in a lot of ways. If I had to conjecture some reason for this lexicon element off the top of my head, I'd guess maybe it has to do with our work and labor culture, like things are go-go-go all the time especially over our history when people had big factory or mining or other large group manual labor jobs, so the act of stopping in general was about taking a real break and taking a load off and having some fun and freedom.
I agree, I’m American and calling something a “stop” has a very casual, welcoming, working-class feel to me. I feel like I could wander in on a whim, without getting all dressed up or reserving tickets in advance. I imagine most of these places also came up with the name before the logo, and that’s a reasonable enough way to illustrate the word “stop.”
@@scout8145 Well said, great point about it connoting a sort of informality/spontaneity/lack of pretentiousness. 'cos yeah nobody says I'm gonna make a quick stop at the ballet or symphony and chill for a while lol.
Imma be real with you chief as soon as I saw the angel comedy club logo I reconsidered everything you've ever said across all the videos I've watched of yours. I know NOTHING of iconography or typography but as the random passerby whom I assume this logo should appeal to I would have no idea it was for a comedy club and on a thoughtless lizard brain instinctual level I just don't like it. I genuinely had no idea there would be so many other comments about this until I got halfway through writing this and scrolled down. At this point my opinion has been tainted by the comments I have read below but I think the entire premise itself, not the execution seems very erotic las vegas strip club/sex toy store alluding
I randomly found this channel and was slowly going through it and yeah - there've already been several takes that made me stop and rethink whether I should trust anything else here. Even the more "objective" things can be misrepresented through incompetence or agenda, so maybe it's better to just avoid this content altogether.
For the stop signs-I'm not sure how common this is except where I grew up, but comedy clubs kind of have an association with traffic tickets. That's because when you're issued a ticket, you can choose to take a "defensive driving" course to get the ticket stricken from your record, and one of the options for that course is a "comedy" defensive driving course which I think is taught or hosted by comedians or something? I've never taken one myself, but I know that it's a thing here.
Wow, watching these videos before checking your subscribers I assumed you had at least 500k just from the quality of the videos! Glad to be here to hopefully see your channel grow :)
the stop sign is based on the common practice in the US of having large signs up next to stores alongside highways that would signal to drivers "exit here and you can get to xyz business immediately." Dairy Queen even has a slogan in Texas calling it the "stop sign of texas." the idea is just that, while driving on the highway, you'd be tempted to pull out and stop at their business, even if you didn't know it was there before seeing the sign.
The first comedy club I've visited was the Angel Comedy Club! I couldn't remember the name but I googled it and that's definitely where I was. Love from France, I hope to visit again someday.
4:43 I apologise if this has already been mentioned in the comments, but I wonder if the uncommon use of the Smiley face in Comedy iconography until (comparatively) recently is in part due to its heavy association with the original Hippy/Summer of Love generation in the 60s, and then later (and arguably more strongly/significantly) within rave culture from the late 1980s through to… well, nowadays, really, but particularly within the 1988 to 1998 timeframe, I want to say. Not so much in a puritanical “oh we don’t want to be associated with drugs!” sense, but more as in a mutual understanding of “well, that iconography is *theirs* already” (and definitely not consciously or by any sort of mandate, mind you). I should stress that that’s a completely wild hypothesis I’ve put out largely through conjecture, and would need some sort of actual research backing it up to prove in any meaningful way, but the timeframe lining up that way does have me wondering.
Maybe the stop sign thing is an attempt to get the logo to stick out more? Since people who drive would subconsciously already be looking out for the red octagonal red design. I don’t know, just a guess.
Hello, Mr. Boman! This video, as are all of your videos, is very thorough and well-researched! Bravo! I think the concept of the Angel logo is very creative, but in my opinion, the triangle box does give off a very pharmaceutical vibe, and the demon tail's loop is doing too much, looking rather awkward. I think as a whole it looks sort of busy, and that you should add more emphasis to the microphone itself. What if you tried a tail with a simpler loop, and wings that are outlined rather than filled in (like the one shown in 13:57), so that more focus is put on the microphone? I do quite like the symmetry of the triangle, but along with the wings, it somehow reminds me of the caduceus symbol for medicine, though I guess you could cook up a "laughter is the best medicine" explanation, haha. I'd also recommend a slightly more detailed, larger microphone, one which presents less of a phallic impression when paired with the angel-demon motif. Perhaps you could add crosshatches on the head of the microphone? I adore the monospace font you chose for subtitles! Could you share the name of it, if you don't mind?
A stop in American English is a place to get that thing. Game stop is where you stop to buy games. Bookstop (Texas company) sells books. Printstop is a printing company. Etcétera.
Ha when I clicked on this I was thinking ‘the only really good one I can think of is the flying mic at the Bill Murray’ 😆 Just discovered and love your channel so cool to find you were/are also involved in the great Angel Comedy Club! It hasn’t really been a proper summer these last two years without my helping of Edinburgh WIP shows in Islington.
to me, at a glance, the Angel logo looks more at home at a tattoo parlour... obviously until you notice the mic, but that's not the first thing you notice; the first thing you notice are the stylized wings (and perhaps only thing you notice if youre just catching a glance of it on the street of whatever). And in fact the second thing youd notice would be the devil-looking pointed "tail" at the end of the mic's cable. I mean, I get it, but again, very tattooey. And then you spot the mic between the two wings.
10:53 in doing research for my vlog The Late Flight Show, I'd like to argue that this mic is related to comedy in terms of late night comedy shows since about the mod-century to today with hosts like Allen, Carson, Letter, Colbert etc.
Stylized Groucho Glasses by themselves could be a nice shorthand logo done well, maybe in a 3/4 perspective, a novel perspective might be from inside them as part of an open mic night concept.
Awesome video! It's interesting when you research what Improv Theaters specifically are doing. All of them are completely different, and most of them are bad. For an improv comedy club I'm going to establish eventually, I opted for a purely typographic approach.
As a Bostonian who used to do stand-up, I recognized Nick's Comedy Stop. The club I used to perform at most was The Comedy Studio, which at the time was in Harvard Square, and is now in Union Square Somerville. They use a logo based on a CRT television set with rabbit ear antennae, I think reflective of the word "studio," which is because the place prides itself on being a room where new and old comics could be experimental, and because it was where Brendan Small, Eugene Mirman, H. Jon Benjamin, Myq Kaplan, Erik Charles Nielsen, and Zach Sherwin got their starts. When the Comedy Connection was in Fanueil Hall, their stage had a wacky piano room bas relief background, with very 1980s colors and German Expressionist angles. Sometimes, I'd run the door at Dick Doherty's Comedy Vault on Boylston Street on Saturday nights and that logo featured a caricature of the owner as well as a bowl of beans, playing on Boston's nickname. Giggles, Stitches, and Laugh Boston kind of play with the tropes in the video, with varying degrees of success.
Well I agree with the criticisms for the Angel logo, I LOVE the objects scattered around the page, like the pint and the Henry vacuum. I feel like that speaks to what most standup you see today. Observational, making the mundane hysterical, tinged with irony and self depreciation. Real. Human. Teeth and bananas and hyenas are strong icons with a lot of historical weight, but they feel as disconnected from modern standup as a yellow page phone book does to a smartwatch. Great for historical venues, but for a new club, maybe something that captures the era we live in is better.
Calling fountain pens anachronistic is a bit harsh, sure they're niche nowadays, but still used. I own 2 of them myself and some countries (Switzerland comes to mind) still have their students learning caligraphy with them. Honestly, I just prefer the way they feel when writing.
Comedy clubs will often offer defensive driving classes. (Logic being, that if a comedian is hosting it, they aren't as dull.) Perhaps the stop sign got incorporated into American comedy iconography that way?
Great video - thx - my immediate reaction to your Angel logo was: Gay club - no idea why, maybe its the phallic nature of the mic, combined with the wings and the colors?
Haha, I always thought it was a little on the cusp of "strip club" with a neon treatment. But hey, all are different forms of night life! Could be worse if the first thing you thought was "mowing services"! :)
I like the logo too, but i actually got more of a medical vide. It reminds me of that one symbol with the snakes. also purple is used a lot with medical commercials. Maybe try red, or yellow, and i think the font you sued should be more playful.
I really like the logo for the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland. A cute detail about it is that there is a big "Montreux" sign in the background of the stage, and it's in Comic Sans!
I think the use of stop signs for american comedy clubs is the idea that the stop sign is a universal trope for stopping in the USA and the idea is once you see it you must "stop" and check it out. But thats my opinion. Great videos.
Hey Linus, I love the overall brand identity, but have to agree with the criticisms for the logo. Maybe the double-storey G could be converted into the forked tail microphone, with its ear upturned to make a devil’s horn. I think the angel wings are too literal. A devil in the logotype subverts expectations in a way that’s befitting of a comedy club-like a kind of Stroop test.
How is this channel so small, with this quality i thought you had at least 500k subs, sir i will subscribe and leave relevant comments wherever i can so that the algorithm picks you up
I think the stop sign thing is just because the US is so driving-centric. Grocery store, 5 minute drive, movies 10 minute drive, comedy store 30 mins etc. Something I suppose is equal to a much larger distance in the old world. We've got everything stops here. Quik stops, I've eaten at countless 'whistle stops' train inspired restaurants, You're constantly driving and making stops so I think that's where we get it from.
I think the stop sign thing is based on America being so car-centric. I suspect it started with other businesses. (think of the real-life "quick-stop") from clerks. Also making a "pit stop", having to "stop for gas", ect. All extension of all that is that a comedy club would be a "laugh stop"
Hi Linus I love your videos and you've really inspired me. I'm trying to start making my own videos and was wondering how you got that wave effect for your background, it looks so cool! Thanks for the awesome work
I think the cultural legacy of the Marx brothers can still be felt today, they were amongst the first to do that ironic meta self-referential style of comedy in film (though it had already existed in theatre). Things ranging from Bugs Bunny to Woody Allen to contemporary pseudo-documentary sitcoms owe a lot to the style pioneered by the Marx brothers.
Like a character turning and breaking the fourth wall to make a remark to the audience about the absurdity of a situation, again this was already a thing in theatre, but Groucho Marx really popularised it in film, and it's a comic trope still employed today.
@@ChrisSmith-hq3of Welcome to the world of case based use. I'm not signing a high value contract with a BIC Cristal, but I'm also not going to give fountain pens away at a trade show...
I’m honestly not a fan of the two anthropomorphic microphone logos from The Funny Bone. Both of them read as medication capsules to me, and I need quite a bit of context to see them as microphones. They’re definitely well-drawn, but my first thought is “this is a pharmacy.”
Other associated imagery: Red Brick wall. Criticism from a non-designer of the Angel Comedy logo, - The wings dominate the image. The wings and snakelike tail is too easy to associate with a Cadaceus - The pink\purple may be associated a bit too strongly with a strip club esp. combined with the wings.
i looked at the bonkerz one and i just remembered that smiley central toolbar. and it's the only thing i can think of looking at it an old bit of adware.
Edit: lol my comment showed up in the wrong video. 😅 But query, what about Just For Laughs? May not be solely a comedy club, but it's still related to comedy.
10 months later update. So the work on Angel Comedy was paused due to pandemic reasons, but glad to hear people’s comments, at least the constructive ones. No logo will please everyone. But looking back, I think the colour scheme needs tweaking, I guess it’s just too damn sexy for its own good. 😂 But really, work in progress rarely gets public feedback on this scale. If I get the chance to pick it back up to finish the refresh I’ll be playing around with the palette 🎨.
I can't believe nobody's talked about this in the comments but... you did standup?!? We need video evidence!
I know the phrase "Angel Comedy Club" is challenging to turn into an effective graphic, but I gotta agree with many of the commenters that reckon it looks more like a logo for sexual or health-oriented services than a comedy club. My first thought when seeing it was that it'd make a great logo for a sex worker advocacy group.
That's pretty funny though! I'll allow it haha 🌈
I think the purple and triangle are what do that, when he showed variants and the rounded 'sticker' sets I thought it shed away that nightclub/sexual aspect
The best comedic logos are the inside jokes, where you don't know what's going on, but it's so unique that it becomes a part of our visual lexicon
Bro I like your Angel logo but if you take constructive criticism, maybe consider replacing it all with a swoosh?
I agree, but add a gradient to the swoosh
and a glassy effect just for the looks, shadow behind it too, why not
and a globe with every alphabetical character ever
A puzzle piece wouldn't hurt either
run the whole thing through auto-trace for good measure
When I look at the Angel Comedy club logo, I think two things. From afar, the colours and the wings indicate that it might be medical, and up close the vibe I get is some kind of erotic store sort of thing. The mic honestly is an almost missable part of the design. Not a great logo if you ask me, and I think some of the other comments have pointed that out better than me.
On its own, the logo with it's purple-pink colour scheme, the angel/demon theme and the shape of the mic, it could be mistaken for a sextoy shop or "hot club".
The Purple version works well; but the one on a pink triangle, definitely gives some strong sex shop vibe to me:
you've got some the general colours traditionally associated with femininity; the pink triangle which can be associated with the pink triangle reclaimed by some LGBT+ folks, or movements;
you've got the angel wings spread out that can be seen as a metaphor for pleasure, the demon tail that can allude to a more "kinky"/naughty side, and the shape of the mic definitely can be associated to a certain type of toy.
The general proposition is good, especially with the rest of the visual identity; these posters and especially stickers do look great.
But on its own, I feel more "having fun under the sheets" than "having fun on stage"
Also the way the wire loops makes the mic look like a dick and balls. Very strip-club-y
Yeah it definitely gives sexy vibes. Especially the naughty/nice motif. One might assume its a Hitachi magic wand.
You're spot on with your comments. To me the number one thing that makes this seem like a sex toy brand is really the color scheme. It looks really nice on the posters but ehhhhh... Probably worth at least changing that.
Maybe changing the shape of the tail and turning the whole logo upside down would do the trick.
Agree, the colors don't speak comedy club to me, but rather menstrual hygiene or sex toys
The Angel Logo looks more like an erotic hotline rather than anything having to do with comedy. Also white and purple with clean cut lines gives it a clinical look, it looks like a flyer you'd find in a drugstore.
Same! When I say the branding assets next to the logo it very much made me think they sell d*ldos lol.
I agree. It looks like a medical clinic or something. I wouldn't look twice at it if I saw it somewhere.
Yeah I agree. After all his criticism of the other people's logos I was thinking of expecting his to be amazing 🤣
@@otocan The problem with his logo is that it's not... funny. The thing with Comedy logos is that when they're bad, it actually makes them better because badly designed things are just funnier. Seeing some shitty clip art just gets you in the right mood.
Yeah I would think it was a clinic.
I've seen the rotten tomato trope being used before, too. Although given it's association with bad comedy and the existing film review aggregate site, it probably wouldn't be the most effective image to use.
Tbh I do believe that the the colour scheme, angelic theme, and devil tail make the Angels comedy club logo more suggestive than intended
i loved "the running joke" icon. amazing
I would argue that the Stop Sign is meant to be a sort of playful-mean spirited thing where somebody would stop reactively at the shape, causing them to read it with the joke being an implied "we are so desperate for you to see this that we are willing to trick you" but in a way that is less meant to actually trick you like fake car tickets.
I really doubt that they use these on roadsides though
It's probably just the fact that when someone is laughing really hard, they go "stop! Stop! You're killing me" or something like that.
I am far too late to this question but the history at play here is the intended association in the States with a "comedy circuit" or "tour." Up and coming professional stand-ups were playing a traveling circuit among clubs. Headliners meanwhile are "on tour" with "tour stops." Each club is merely a "stop" or more literally a "stop along the way." For owners, promoting their clubs as "stops" (whether they actually are or not) signals to patrons high quality or "must see" acts. With this in mind, you can see why clubs were named "The Comedy Stop," and "The Laugh Stop." The iconography simply (lazily?) follows the business name. (Bottomline: there's no real connection to vehicles, traffic, or roads. It's just an easy way to draw "stop.")🛑
12:40 - Yes! The identity of a brand is so important. I see so many start-ups (not just in comedy) who have clearly thought that all they need is a logo. When actually, the colour/gamut scheme, the devices, the house/body typography, is the ground which holds a good logo. If we're going down the comedy route, Underbelly does this FANTASTICALLY. Their logo is just an upside-down cow, which is funny in and of itself, but that would mean nothing without their iconic main purple colour, (with a white accent) and their Bauhaus-esq typography. If you're ever at the fringe and you're looking for an Underbelly venue, you don't look for the logo per se, you look out for the colour! (although anagogy ultimately falls on it's arse because the main venue is a giant inflatable purple cow.
Great video as always!
Thanks Lewis! Yes, the Underbelly have got a very strong brand! The purple cow is pretty distinctive - absolutely would have included them if I had expanded scope to cover festival graphics! Food companies are some of the best at understanding the importance of colour - Coke, Cadbury, Reece's all know the value of a signature colour. And speaking of purple cows, Milka! ;)
Weird, in Chile most of the logos associated with Comedy use (or used) Skyscrapers in the background.
Yep, They were rip-offs of the old Comedy Central logo.
13:16 it doesn't look like a strip club logo, rather something that a sex toy company or store would use
It straight up looks like a wand vibrator
5:15 i cant escape it, its everywhere
Man, that "Hilarities" logo... I didn't see it as a bow Tie, I saw it as a ghoulish person in a Klaus Nomi-type oversized tuxedo!
Great work, Linus. Love your videos.
Haha, I was not familiar with Klaus Nomi! What a striking look! Cheers Z!
Hey advice for you: when you show many logos or graphics at the same time, you should highlight the one you're talking about for clarity. I spend my time looking for the frogor hyena logo when you name them and it goes too fast. Applied to several other instances where your reference one of the many things you show at the same times. Great work otherwise
Agreed
@Stellvia Hoenheim must be on something if you hearing CZcams comments or to get mad at said comment
You have a pause button and playback speed “too fast” shouldn’t really be a problem
@@elliswebster7041 Are you triggered by constructive criticism?
I just feel like this creator has a best possible quality mindset. Videos shouldn't have to be enjoyed with frequent interruptions or at low speed to find Waldo. I like his style and videos and I think he'll be happy to get ideas to make them even better.
@@anisazzoug4172 I’m saying there’s a simple solution and to not use the tools CZcams gives you to help yourself seems kinda lazy, not “triggered” just doesn’t make sense to me 🤷♂️
It is CRIMINAL that you don't have more subs! Thank you for putting the time into these videos. They are great!! Your logo looks awesome and I like that you had the PS5 controller in there :)
Haha, thanks and glad you spotted it Shuval. I did debate whether to go Xbox or PS, and old school vs next gen. ;)
I didn't even notice the low sub count until you mentioned. The content is so fun to watch. Didn't think this was a small channel.
Love the insight into your thinking for the Angel logo!
I once did a contest where they gave us a Unidyne. It was the most akward bloody thing I ever had to use, just getting the unbalanced monstrosity out of the mic stand was a trial.
Cheers Tom, haha, I can imagine it would have been an ergonomic nightmare! 😂
Those Laughing Cartoon logo's look a bit like Mr. Chad from "Kilroy was here". Which was a sort of graffiti meme soldiers made in WW2.
I think the angel logo is a well made logo but I wouldn't say it's good for a comedy club. The wings and tail look make me think of a caduceus, and when you look closer and realize it's an angel and devil, then I associate it with adult stores. I think the only way to make the angel/devil motif read more as comedy to me would be if it was more cartoonized and goofier.
I really enjoyed this video I didn’t think I would be so interested in logo creation it might be something I look into in the future. I would also say that angel wings and things like devil horns or tails have become so synonymous with “naughty” shops that it’s very hard to disassociate them.
What’s with the dominant purple colour theme in the Angel work? That definitely gives it a ‘gentleman’s club’ theme ;-)
Haha, well the purple scheme is only one out of four. It is still work in progress, but because the club has had two venues + online content, the idea is that there is a different colour scheme for each venue, one for online streams, and one master brand. So I'm still playing with which should be the master scheme - I think purple is more for online, as the vibrancy is lost in print anyway! But good note, though I wonder I primed you for that association with my comment? ;)
@@Richardincancale Fair cop! Well played, but I think I'll have to remove that link! Let's keep it SFW! 😂
Not a big fan of the Angel logo. Not at all! The name is your first problem. Yes I know it’s a location, but that’s info people can find out later. Anyway, not your fault.
The wings (in association with the word angel) definitely hint at strip club, as does the colour.
Devil’s tail + wings means “naughty but nice” and if I have to think of that phrase in comedic terms, I can’t get past Are You Being Served.
The triangle might have some comedic significance but all I’m getting is the All-Seeing Eye of Providence…. and its creepy.
If you’re stuck with Angel (the big problem) then couldn’t you have gone halo? It may be a dreaded swoosh, but at least it’s a meaningful one.
All in all, it’s staid and conservative and not fun! With a bit of tweaking you could flog it off to a funeral parlour. Love you work, just not this.
I wonder if one way to make the logo look less like it's adult entertainment would be to play on the cartoon trope of the angel and devil on a character's shoulders. Maybe the shoulders could be made of the legs in the A, which would add some tension as the steep slope would make for an uneasy place for the angel and devil to stand. The A as the comic might also suggest the strength of the comedy, given the stability of the triangle. Or maybe the angel and devil could be brawling and form an A in their fight choreography.
the mouth smiling is probably my first pick for when i think of comedy
but like, mouth are also kinda creepy? so idk they ended up having a correlation for me
also, the retro mic invokes more of a radio-show vibe than a comedy one
I think you're fairly on the nose about the stop signs and their purpose, although not exactly truck stops it's more about being a place you'd stop by when you're in the area, like a tourist stop, trying to make the place seem open and inviting
I get the same vibe
Yeah was coming down to either say something to this effect or hopefully find someone who already found words for it lol. It's just sort of a vague usage of "stop" that's all over American English, I'd assumed it was just a general English thing but I suppose not. Truck stop, rest stop, pit stop, to-make-a/an-[any-noun]-stop, it's almost interchangeable with "spot" in a lot of ways.
If I had to conjecture some reason for this lexicon element off the top of my head, I'd guess maybe it has to do with our work and labor culture, like things are go-go-go all the time especially over our history when people had big factory or mining or other large group manual labor jobs, so the act of stopping in general was about taking a real break and taking a load off and having some fun and freedom.
I agree, I’m American and calling something a “stop” has a very casual, welcoming, working-class feel to me. I feel like I could wander in on a whim, without getting all dressed up or reserving tickets in advance.
I imagine most of these places also came up with the name before the logo, and that’s a reasonable enough way to illustrate the word “stop.”
@@scout8145 Well said, great point about it connoting a sort of informality/spontaneity/lack of pretentiousness. 'cos yeah nobody says I'm gonna make a quick stop at the ballet or symphony and chill for a while lol.
Imma be real with you chief as soon as I saw the angel comedy club logo I reconsidered everything you've ever said across all the videos I've watched of yours. I know NOTHING of iconography or typography but as the random passerby whom I assume this logo should appeal to I would have no idea it was for a comedy club and on a thoughtless lizard brain instinctual level I just don't like it. I genuinely had no idea there would be so many other comments about this until I got halfway through writing this and scrolled down. At this point my opinion has been tainted by the comments I have read below but I think the entire premise itself, not the execution seems very erotic las vegas strip club/sex toy store alluding
I randomly found this channel and was slowly going through it and yeah - there've already been several takes that made me stop and rethink whether I should trust anything else here. Even the more "objective" things can be misrepresented through incompetence or agenda, so maybe it's better to just avoid this content altogether.
I've been skipping around videos after yt recommended me this channel but this one made me want to go over your whole catalogue. Really good stuff.
For the stop signs-I'm not sure how common this is except where I grew up, but comedy clubs kind of have an association with traffic tickets. That's because when you're issued a ticket, you can choose to take a "defensive driving" course to get the ticket stricken from your record, and one of the options for that course is a "comedy" defensive driving course which I think is taught or hosted by comedians or something? I've never taken one myself, but I know that it's a thing here.
Wow, watching these videos before checking your subscribers I assumed you had at least 500k just from the quality of the videos! Glad to be here to hopefully see your channel grow :)
For that pictionary, I would draw the two drama masks and point to the smiling one, hoping my audience knows what I mean 😂😭
the stop sign is based on the common practice in the US of having large signs up next to stores alongside highways that would signal to drivers "exit here and you can get to xyz business immediately." Dairy Queen even has a slogan in Texas calling it the "stop sign of texas." the idea is just that, while driving on the highway, you'd be tempted to pull out and stop at their business, even if you didn't know it was there before seeing the sign.
5:15
The logo's eyes are kinda sus
The first comedy club I've visited was the Angel Comedy Club! I couldn't remember the name but I googled it and that's definitely where I was. Love from France, I hope to visit again someday.
4:43 I apologise if this has already been mentioned in the comments, but I wonder if the uncommon use of the Smiley face in Comedy iconography until (comparatively) recently is in part due to its heavy association with the original Hippy/Summer of Love generation in the 60s, and then later (and arguably more strongly/significantly) within rave culture from the late 1980s through to… well, nowadays, really, but particularly within the 1988 to 1998 timeframe, I want to say. Not so much in a puritanical “oh we don’t want to be associated with drugs!” sense, but more as in a mutual understanding of “well, that iconography is *theirs* already” (and definitely not consciously or by any sort of mandate, mind you). I should stress that that’s a completely wild hypothesis I’ve put out largely through conjecture, and would need some sort of actual research backing it up to prove in any meaningful way, but the timeframe lining up that way does have me wondering.
10:41 fountain pens are still used!
So much to learn from an unexpected source! Thanks, Linus!
Cheers Thomas, glad you liked it!
Maybe the stop sign thing is an attempt to get the logo to stick out more?
Since people who drive would subconsciously already be looking out for the red octagonal red design.
I don’t know, just a guess.
Hello, Mr. Boman!
This video, as are all of your videos, is very thorough and well-researched! Bravo!
I think the concept of the Angel logo is very creative, but in my opinion, the triangle box does give off a very pharmaceutical vibe, and the demon tail's loop is doing too much, looking rather awkward. I think as a whole it looks sort of busy, and that you should add more emphasis to the microphone itself. What if you tried a tail with a simpler loop, and wings that are outlined rather than filled in (like the one shown in 13:57), so that more focus is put on the microphone? I do quite like the symmetry of the triangle, but along with the wings, it somehow reminds me of the caduceus symbol for medicine, though I guess you could cook up a "laughter is the best medicine" explanation, haha. I'd also recommend a slightly more detailed, larger microphone, one which presents less of a phallic impression when paired with the angel-demon motif. Perhaps you could add crosshatches on the head of the microphone?
I adore the monospace font you chose for subtitles! Could you share the name of it, if you don't mind?
and the sm-58 is INDESTRUCTIBLE
A stop in American English is a place to get that thing. Game stop is where you stop to buy games. Bookstop (Texas company) sells books. Printstop is a printing company. Etcétera.
Ha when I clicked on this I was thinking ‘the only really good one I can think of is the flying mic at the Bill Murray’ 😆 Just discovered and love your channel so cool to find you were/are also involved in the great Angel Comedy Club! It hasn’t really been a proper summer these last two years without my helping of Edinburgh WIP shows in Islington.
Here in the US. The stop sign as a comedy logo trope is absolutely baffling to me.
to me, at a glance, the Angel logo looks more at home at a tattoo parlour... obviously until you notice the mic, but that's not the first thing you notice; the first thing you notice are the stylized wings (and perhaps only thing you notice if youre just catching a glance of it on the street of whatever). And in fact the second thing youd notice would be the devil-looking pointed "tail" at the end of the mic's cable. I mean, I get it, but again, very tattooey. And then you spot the mic between the two wings.
10:53 in doing research for my vlog The Late Flight Show, I'd like to argue that this mic is related to comedy in terms of late night comedy shows since about the mod-century to today with hosts like Allen, Carson, Letter, Colbert etc.
Stylized Groucho Glasses by themselves could be a nice shorthand logo done well, maybe in a 3/4 perspective, a novel perspective might be from inside them as part of an open mic night concept.
Awesome video! It's interesting when you research what Improv Theaters specifically are doing. All of them are completely different, and most of them are bad.
For an improv comedy club I'm going to establish eventually, I opted for a purely typographic approach.
You helped found angel? No way man I love it there!
This is an really specific niche topic for a video, and I enjoyed it. Thanks
As a Bostonian who used to do stand-up, I recognized Nick's Comedy Stop.
The club I used to perform at most was The Comedy Studio, which at the time was in Harvard Square, and is now in Union Square Somerville. They use a logo based on a CRT television set with rabbit ear antennae, I think reflective of the word "studio," which is because the place prides itself on being a room where new and old comics could be experimental, and because it was where Brendan Small, Eugene Mirman, H. Jon Benjamin, Myq Kaplan, Erik Charles Nielsen, and Zach Sherwin got their starts.
When the Comedy Connection was in Fanueil Hall, their stage had a wacky piano room bas relief background, with very 1980s colors and German Expressionist angles.
Sometimes, I'd run the door at Dick Doherty's Comedy Vault on Boylston Street on Saturday nights and that logo featured a caricature of the owner as well as a bowl of beans, playing on Boston's nickname.
Giggles, Stitches, and Laugh Boston kind of play with the tropes in the video, with varying degrees of success.
Well I agree with the criticisms for the Angel logo, I LOVE the objects scattered around the page, like the pint and the Henry vacuum.
I feel like that speaks to what most standup you see today. Observational, making the mundane hysterical, tinged with irony and self depreciation. Real. Human.
Teeth and bananas and hyenas are strong icons with a lot of historical weight, but they feel as disconnected from modern standup as a yellow page phone book does to a smartwatch. Great for historical venues, but for a new club, maybe something that captures the era we live in is better.
Calling fountain pens anachronistic is a bit harsh, sure they're niche nowadays, but still used.
I own 2 of them myself and some countries (Switzerland comes to mind) still have their students learning caligraphy with them.
Honestly, I just prefer the way they feel when writing.
You could say a similar thing about floppy disks
There's a local comedy night around me that totally uses the chatter teeth cliche.
Comedy clubs will often offer defensive driving classes. (Logic being, that if a comedian is hosting it, they aren't as dull.) Perhaps the stop sign got incorporated into American comedy iconography that way?
Do you think that the mic looks unintentionally phallic?
Damn! This deserves more views!
The Henry hoover sticker
*Chefs kiss*
Great video - thx - my immediate reaction to your Angel logo was: Gay club - no idea why, maybe its the phallic nature of the mic, combined with the wings and the colors?
Haha, I always thought it was a little on the cusp of "strip club" with a neon treatment. But hey, all are different forms of night life! Could be worse if the first thing you thought was "mowing services"! :)
I like the logo too, but i actually got more of a medical vide. It reminds me of that one symbol with the snakes. also purple is used a lot with medical commercials. Maybe try red, or yellow, and i think the font you sued should be more playful.
@@spencermanganiello8544 me too
frankly also the triangle…
I really like the logo for the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland. A cute detail about it is that there is a big "Montreux" sign in the background of the stage, and it's in Comic Sans!
I think the use of stop signs for american comedy clubs is the idea that the stop sign is a universal trope for stopping in the USA and the idea is once you see it you must "stop" and check it out. But thats my opinion. Great videos.
The stop sign as a trope is a very common thing in the US, many businesses of all types use it in their names and logos.
Personally if I got "comedy" in a pictionary game I would draw an Amogus
5:15 Those eyes are looking a bit sus.
Wow, I didn't expect to see Connxtions Comedy Club's logo in this video
is the stop sign some sort of "stop it you're killing me!" reference?
High quality videos. Nice explanations, very useful for someone who wants to learn design.
nah man that straight up looks like a Hitachi wand logo
14:19 you even put a henry vacuum in there!!! love that detail
Hey Linus, I love the overall brand identity, but have to agree with the criticisms for the logo. Maybe the double-storey G could be converted into the forked tail microphone, with its ear upturned to make a devil’s horn. I think the angel wings are too literal. A devil in the logotype subverts expectations in a way that’s befitting of a comedy club-like a kind of Stroop test.
I don’t go to comedy clubs too often, but I wasn’t expecting theatre sports to get a shoutout! I’ve been to some of their shows and it’s really funny!
How is this channel so small, with this quality i thought you had at least 500k subs, sir i will subscribe and leave relevant comments wherever i can so that the algorithm picks you up
today i learned comedy clubs exist
2:35 jongleur also means juggler, dont know if people realize that
I think the stop sign thing is just because the US is so driving-centric. Grocery store, 5 minute drive, movies 10 minute drive, comedy store 30 mins etc. Something I suppose is equal to a much larger distance in the old world. We've got everything stops here. Quik stops, I've eaten at countless 'whistle stops' train inspired restaurants, You're constantly driving and making stops so I think that's where we get it from.
I think the stop sign thing is based on America being so car-centric. I suspect it started with other businesses. (think of the real-life "quick-stop") from clerks. Also making a "pit stop", having to "stop for gas", ect. All extension of all that is that a comedy club would be a "laugh stop"
Hi Linus I love your videos and you've really inspired me. I'm trying to start making my own videos and was wondering how you got that wave effect for your background, it looks so cool! Thanks for the awesome work
So a Mike laughing with Groucho Glasses, holding his belly which banana peel on his head and a jester staff.
I think the cultural legacy of the Marx brothers can still be felt today, they were amongst the first to do that ironic meta self-referential style of comedy in film (though it had already existed in theatre). Things ranging from Bugs Bunny to Woody Allen to contemporary pseudo-documentary sitcoms owe a lot to the style pioneered by the Marx brothers.
Like a character turning and breaking the fourth wall to make a remark to the audience about the absurdity of a situation, again this was already a thing in theatre, but Groucho Marx really popularised it in film, and it's a comic trope still employed today.
People don't use fountain pens anymore? I'd better tell all my friends and colleagues. That memo never made it our way.
No one uses fountain pens nowadays?
What?!
ball point pen > fill pen
@@ChrisSmith-hq3of Welcome to the world of case based use. I'm not signing a high value contract with a BIC Cristal, but I'm also not going to give fountain pens away at a trade show...
I’m honestly not a fan of the two anthropomorphic microphone logos from The Funny Bone. Both of them read as medication capsules to me, and I need quite a bit of context to see them as microphones. They’re definitely well-drawn, but my first thought is “this is a pharmacy.”
Other associated imagery: Red Brick wall.
Criticism from a non-designer of the Angel Comedy logo,
- The wings dominate the image. The wings and snakelike tail is too easy to associate with a Cadaceus
- The pink\purple may be associated a bit too strongly with a strip club esp. combined with the wings.
3:17 *Engels sheds a single tear*
i looked at the bonkerz one and i just remembered that smiley central toolbar. and it's the only thing i can think of looking at it
an old bit of adware.
The asymmetry with the Angel comedy club "tail" really bothers me, that first curve off of the mic looks wrong
This video is gonna get picked up by the algorithm really soon
Crazy Ernie’s Amazing Emporium of Total Bargain MADNESS
5:17 the eyes, getoutofmyheadgetoutofmyheadgetoutofmyheadgetoutofmyhead 📮🆘
Well excuse me, good sir, but I still very much use floppy disks and fountain pens, THANK YOU
Once you said you didnt want it to look too much like a strip club i instantly recognized how it could so easily be mistaken for a strip club
Wonderful video, you really deserve more subs!
A bunch of Shure SM58 microphones strung up in a rope ladder using the microphones as rungs would probably look really nice as a logo
Hey, people use fountain pens. It's basically hobbyists, but they're not that uncommon.
I LOVE the cats and laughs logo.
Oh wow, I thought I recognised you from something/somewhere! Must have seen you on stage at the Bill Murray at some point years ago!
5:15 The As in the ha Ha Cafe's logo look very sus
its giving stripclub featuring local rappers haha. good video
The microphone and wings looks like a caduceus
The biggest problem I see with using the Sm-58 mic in a logo is that it totally looks like a vibrator when you simplify the image.
I thought about water on a stool but a mic makes more sense
Edit: lol my comment showed up in the wrong video. 😅
But query, what about Just For Laughs? May not be solely a comedy club, but it's still related to comedy.