I designed my current identity last year, and I've been very happy with it. It took me a long while to develop and it went through many iterations before I settled on what felt just right to me.
This past weekend in my online meanderings I came across another photographer with a very similar identity. The icon portion of his logo was eerily close to mine. I quickly searched his blog and found that he had created his four years before I designed mine! He's a full-time photographer and fairly well known in his specific field, and he happens to shoot a lot of automotive photography, which I would like to get into.
And the kicker is, he's located here in Greenville. Bummer. If he were across the country, it wouldn't be a real problem, as I don't see myself ever reaching that far. But he's practically in my back yard!
So, the logo needs a refresh after less than a year!
I really like what I've come up with though. Check it out.
Here's my previous identity, in gray for simplicity's sake:
The horizontal version is at the top of this page and across the whole site.
The small changes I made to the overall structure—replacing the "O" wedge with the expanding dots, the subtle gradient in the multi-hued versions, and the addition of the orange-yellow to the turquoise—differentiate my identity from the other guy's very clearly. Most important is the dot pattern. I don't know if I can put it into words exactly, but that simple change really is enough to make the problem completely disappear.
I'm very excited about this update, and I like it even better than the original! As my wife said, whenever I have a project that I'm forced to rework, I manage to come up with a more pleasing solution that accomplishes its purpose and satisfies my creative needs. God has blessed me in that way. If you have to redo a project, look at it as an opportunity to improve and be even more creative!
This logo conflict—thankfully—was something I discovered on my own. The other photographer didn't contact me, and has most likely never heard of me. I just want to be proactive in fixing the problem before it becomes a problem!
And if you're wondering, here's a screenshot of his icon:
Seriously though, I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.