I’ve been doing business under the “Panoptic” name for over 15 years now, and I’ve never properly done the brand identity work that I should have. This is definitely the all-too-often case of the shoemaker’s children going shoeless.
For 2010, I intend to finally do something about this. I’m going to finally invest the time and effort to build the identity that properly reflects the kind and quality of work that I do.
There lies the problem: I’m a software developer. I’m not the visual or creative person that I wish I were. I write excellent code; I solve difficult problems with simple and elegant solutions. I have a very broad understanding of a lot of technologies. I geniunely enjoy my work and do it with a passion that extends past “just getting it done.”
As an exercise in embarassing myself, I threw together the following two designs for fun:
Like I said, this is why I don’t design logos. But, I know there’s a lot of really talented, creative people out there who may be interested in some work or know people who are. I’d love to hear from you! Can you envision an appropriate logo that reflects the brand I want to create? Have I written something that inspires a design that you think conveys a relevant message?
As you can see, I could use all the help I can get.
Programmer, husband, father, singer, guitarist, tinkerer, reverse engineer, strange, and living in New Jersey. 
Dossy, go spend $300 over at http://www.99designs.com — it worked well for me when I used it.
Mike: I’ve thought about trying 99designs – I’ve known about them for a while, but have been hesitant to try throwing money at a “design contest” – you were happy with the results you got? Perhaps I’ll give it a shot. Thanks for the endorsement, I guess.
i think you should do something with the o in optic. make that the ‘eye’.
http://evolv.cc/temp/panoptic.png
Jason: Wow, that’s neat! Over on Facebook, my friend Juan suggested something like what you’ve done, focusing the “eye” around the “o” letter.
Ultimately, I think Mike is right – I should just work on writing the creative brief and post a context to 99designs.
glad you like it. not bad for a few minutes work! there are a few sites like 99designs, and you could potentially get something out of it, so it can’t hurt.