Koopaul's Logos

[Vipershark]

A Japanese bar and grill in Canada.

How's this look? Any better?

I don't know if it's too late for this, but personally, I feel like the revised version is worse than the original.
I'm gonna try to be as constructive (but [possibly brutally] honest) as I can, so please forgive me if I come across as a bit of a dick because that's certainly not my intention.

First and foremost, the original font on the "Saiko" part was much better. Even though it's one of those generic stereotypical "Asian" fonts, it definitely gets the point across much better than Bold Sans Serif Font #473824827.
As it is in the revision, it makes the place seem like one of those cheap low-budget chinese buffets that doesn't care too much about quality rather than a bar-and-grill type restaurant with an actual budget. The beveled look just contributes to that. Bevels certainly have their place, but in this instance it makes it look like Baby's First Photoshop Logo since it doesn't really fit the theme of the restaurant at all.

While I'm at it, I think the revised gradient has waaaaay too much contrast. It looks like you were trying to aim for a sunset/candle-lit type gradient with the original, but going from flat yellow to flat red in the revision completely throws out that impression and just looks jarring. You were on the right track with your first try, but it needs just a liiiiiitle bit more contrast, particularly on the golden-yellow end.

Putting the lighter outline around your background text looks nice on a dark background (I'm on the Pixeltendo theme), but it's kind of ugly on a light background. Not to mention that you can see parts of the actual darker text poking through your outline on a light background which just looks kind of strange...
The color of the background text is much better though, on both light and dark backgrounds.

The one thing that is better about the revision is the "Comptoir Japonais" part. Giving it some contrast from the background and an outline stroke looks good, though you may want to consider the color of the text. While the bright red isn't bad, it's certainly in your face. To me, it sticks out more than the actual Saiko part, which considering that it's subtext and not the actual logo isn't really ideal. I would suggest a different font, though. It's sort of... lifeless, as it is.

[Koopaul]

You weren't harsh or dick-like at all. I actually felt a lot of the same things too. The bevel looks cheap and the font is kind of boring. However I submitted both. And they are currently evaluating so I'll see what they have to say.

[Dazz]

See I agree with VS, but disagree about the subtitle. I think the subtlety on the original is great; it's the same tone as the Japanese characters in the background, so it looks relative to those characters. Making it stand out too much would be distracting from the brand's name, which is what people will remember.

[Gors]

I'm kinda skeptical about the use of Impact for the text. It's too overused nowadays, and everytime I see it I'm reminded of unfunniy internet images. I'd look for something similar to the japanese text design-wise, as Dazz said, but without being an overused font.

[E-Man]

I'm kinda skeptical about the use of Impact for the text. It's too overused nowadays, and everytime I see it I'm reminded of unfunniy internet images. I'd look for something similar to the japanese text design-wise, as Dazz said, but without being an overused font.

Speaking of overused fonts, are there any others we should look out for? I know that Comic Sans is a big no-no, but what about Hobo Std? I used to use that font as a replacement for the former after I found out Comic Sans is a poor choice, but after seeing it all over the web and in other places, I decided to change my font again.

Anyway, for the logos, I see no problems with them. The first one for the Japanese grill appeals to me much better, but how about making the characters in the background far less noticeable, like a watermark?

[Koopaul]

Too late now. I'm still waiting on them. There's a few other guys I'm competing with. You win some you lose some, but at least you get experience.

Here's my latest work. Very basic but that's what he wanted.

[Garamonde]

I think that the neon blue you have is rather bright and a bit challenging on the eyes. I'd suggest either darkening or lightning it, or desaturating it a bit. Just so long it isn't so bright.

[Koopaul]

I suppose. He said Blue and Orange. I'll have to test what kinds of blue and orange he'd want.