[aapezzuto]

Im just going to apologize up front / offer a disclaimer. I have very strong views on how certain tasks should be undertaken, and what the proper criteria are for certain organizational focal points. If I come off as overly aggressive, condescending, or megalomaniacal, it was not my intent.

When designing an icon, trade mark, or other branding image you need to keep in mind its purpose. To be identified with the organization! I love artistic imagery as much as the next guy, but almost everything comes second to the ability to tell that its your logo, at many sizes, printed on a tee shirt, stamped on someones forehead, made into paper weights...

It is helpful to include elements that people are familiar with, either representations of concrete objects, or geometric patterns that they can recognize. This part we have been doing well with.

An ideal logo can be put in a single or dual color format and still be recognized.

Text should be avoided when possible. Part of this is the saleability, but specific text makes the symbol less portable. Having a location where a name, or tag line is normally placed, and then putting it in the proper language seems to work much better.

-------on imagery--------

when talking about artistic imagery people need to reach a general agreement on what is important about their organization that you are trying to represent.

Do the electronics matter to this community, or is reading the only focal point. Is it specifically mobile devices that you want to focus on, or is the text content being portable more important? Do we care about the environmental impact of our movement, or is it more focused with the tech cool progress, or maybe just that books are being made available in a way that has no printing or distribution costs... basically, find a focus, or where the common ground is. Don't assume that it is known, unless there is a well circulated and commonly accepted central mission statement.

-------Criticism-------
Be as specific as you can. This has to do with proper communication as well as the psychological construct built up around sharing ideas. When someone puts their idea forward and it is criticized in a general way, they are likely to eliminate more ideas than were actually subject to the criticisms.
example:"I don't like the thumb"
do you not like the way it is drawn?
do you not like its location, or that it is a right or left thumb?
do you hate all thumbs categorically?

The hardest part of good criticism is taking the time to become comfortable enough with your own reaction to something that you can address its parts. The strongest reactions come normally from identifying something you all ready have strong feelings about, or by seeing something that conflicts with your expectations somehow. So really, look at it for a min or two, add or remove elements in your head for a while. If something dosen't look right print it out and add lines, white out parts... do what ever you have to do to not leave vague criticisms!