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This is really creative, however I feel like the loss of readability isn't worth the symbolism of the magnifying effect ..

What if the magnifying glass were over say a school of tadpoles/minnows and the one in focus is magnified ? No loss of brandname readability and gets the same message across (clearer imo). My $0.02 ...

It's one word. 5 letters. I don't think there is a loss in readability .

I like your idea but its more like a depiction of a story rather than a logo. A logo needs to offer some playfulness and still be simple and direct to the original mission. I am not saying mine is perfect but I believe it adresses all the main points of a logo concept.

Is that a monocle btw? Figuring out whats the stringy stuff

here is without the tail thingy. the string can also turn into a chain if we want



Yes a monocle with a fish/whale tail.

I chose that instead of a magnifying glass in order to keep the design cleaner. I also considered the "curation" aspect of rather "high quality material" and the british monocle seems to fit quite well