"Decisions For Heroes" Brand/Logo

Decisions For Heroes is a rescue team management web application. Users will include teams of Mountain Rescue, Search & Rescue, Lifeboats, Coast Guard, K9 Search etc.

We need a logo / brand.

Decisions For Heroes

Website http://www.decisionsforheroes.com

The product line is "Decisions", we will have variations, e.g. Decisions For Heroes, Decisions For Adventurers, Decisions For Builders, Decisions For Drivers, Decisions For Miners. etc.

You can think of us like a combination of 37Signals Basecamp and Google Analytics for "DANGER!". We help rescue teams plan their training, equipment, roster, members qualifications. We log their incidents and produce their paperwork for them. We then take all that data and analyse it to try and discover trends and patterns. No matter what the product is, our brand would look great on "the side of a helicopter" or on a rescuers helmet, or the side of a jeep, or "on a mobile handset".

The logo should ONLY use the word "Decisions". The products will all feature the same logo but we may change a colour, or add a line underneath for each. Not a worry at this point, but do not use the "For Heroes" in the logo, yet it should embody that feeling.

See these 3 posts of mine (and comments), as I explored the concept, tried a few drafts, but never found it.

http://www.bytesurgery.com/blog/200…-the-look/

http://www.bytesurgery.com/blog/200…th-drafts/

In this final one, I really liked the 'D', but never found a way to make it irreverent enough. It's too corporate. I tried 'wings' like a hero, but was too AirForce.

http://www.bytesurgery.com/blog/200…-feedback/

I will be featuring the winning design (and process) on my blog. The commenter's you see there will be encouraged to help me vote on theprocess here.

This is the closest I got to really liking something

http://img.skitch.com/20081221-fjii…xsm6k7.jpg

Here's some imagery to get you thinking of locations:
- Helicopter
- Flickr Set of local teamI use Adobe Photoshop and want to be able to edit the final version in it. This is to enable me to customise colours or taglines for different product models. I know my way around - and would like the file as a vector still in layers. Cheers!

- Only say "Decisions" (leave out "for heroes" as explained above). This logo should be very adaptable but say the following.- Irreverent
- Anti-Enterprise
- Simple
- not-complicated
- easy
- friendly
- we're human
- approachable.
- yet still... lots of Data/professional/accurate/safe-bet/great service.
- Used mainly on web, but suitable for multiple mediums... vehicle stickers, helmet stickers, etc.
- Web/print logo can have gradients/multi-colour, but it should be possible to print in B&W. Should be possible to work on light & dark backgrounds.
- Very simple design that looks great very small (e.g. icon) without the text. Can be 'cut out'.
- I like the font Diavlo book/medium as it shows precision, but I'm not stuck on it.
- Bold. Bright.
- OOoooooomph! (oomph and vision!)Brands I like include Virgin and the way they have all their sub brands. Virgin's brand embody a lot of the same things as I would like to see in mine, including the ability to adapt to other industries.

- corporate
- enterprise
- banking
- complicated
- football crest
- vagueness
- cliche / stereotypes
- superheroes
- shields / crests
- military
- violence / weapons
- army
- security