Logo for software company with silly name

Hotwoofy

We're a tiny software company making bespoke applications for our friends, and releasing our own apps soon. We have a silly name but we're sticking with it.

Most of our clients are friends and former colleagues, so we'd really just like something fun to share with them. That said, when we become, for example, the world's foremost Mac ISV, we'd like a brand that stands up in that crowd.

We don't pitch for big, enterprisey projects; we make small, interesting software for real people that rarely wear suits.

I've updated these requirements, as I've learned a lot about what I think works as the contest has gone on.

We want a logo that incorporates a dog. Picking up on the 'hot' thing too would be good (we like the chihuahua in the sunglasses attached), but don't worry too much about that. We'd like to get a real character out of this, something that's almost a mascot, that we could use in a variety of situations with tweaks to the facial expression or outfit.

We like:

- Bold, clear, simple designs.
- Faces with lots of personality.
- Straight, regular fonts.
- Designs with faces that could be used with a variety of expressions.
- Either highly contrasting, mono-coloured designs, or coloured designs with good texture, gradients and contours.
- The name 'Hotwoofy', one word, on one line.

We don't really like:

- Bouncy/blocky/graffiti/irregular fonts.
- Faces that are too angry-looking (although some intensity is fine), butch or devoid of personality.
- Designs that are very two-dimensional, with no texture, and just big regions of colour.
- Images that are either too detailed (e.g. filtered photography) or too abstract (e.g. anything in which we can't make out a face).
- The name 'Hot Woofy', 'HotWoofy', 'HotWoofie' or anything on two lines.

The attached photo captures a lot of what we find interesting. It's a juxtaposition of a serious, focussed facial expression, with some silliness. We like to have fun doing work, and we have a fairly silly name, but we're serious about what we do, and we work hard.

We'd like a JPEG/PNG, the original layered RGB PSD file and a CMYK AI file if that's possible, but only because the FAQ tells us that's a good idea. We want it on web pages, app icons and business cards, is all.