I like the lower one. The top one is too glossy/web 2.0. The bottom one is minimalist and stylish.
Frankly, both logos suffer because the concept is not particularly inspired (and has been overdone in the design world, IMHO). That said, the new version does very much one-up the other in execution, though the letterspacing toward the end has been compromised because of the attached letterforms. This throws off the balance significantly. A place to start remedying that issue would be the diagonal stroke on the N, which could certainly stand to be heavier.
I don't know about "professional" and depending on your ideal customer it is hard to say which is better for representing you but I think the new logo is a better "design". When looking at logos I think the following is important:
1) Are you proud of being represented by the logo
2) Who are you trying to appeal to - eg:walmart shoppers or Porsche buyers.
I like the 3 dot one. Better conveys the idea of "for everyone". Cleaner too.
The new one is much better. Clear and crisp. The top one looks like someone played around with Photoshop. Reminds me of the beginning of the web when it was popular to render 3D logos.
One was created by a friend with design skills. The other was created by a design professional with a portfolio of work for some pretty big companies (Chase, Polo etc.).
The simple one was done by the professional, wasn't it? I can tell by all the subtleties in the design. For example, each dot over each letter represents a person, if you pay attention. Also, because the letters are closed together, it means the people are holding hands, or, "together". It's definitely the work of someone with an eye for design.
Don't want to respond yet, just in case it biases others' opinions.
My bet is also that the simpler one was done by the professional.
I doubt that anyone will pick the top one.
Yes, you are correct. Thank you for your thoughts.
I'd be surprised if the professional company designed the upper logo. It has a home-made feel to it and the lower one looks more polished.
I really hope the simple one was done by the professional, but neither would surprise me.
I think the bottom one would look much better on a dead-tree letterhead, and this is what makes it look professional even if you aren't ever going to do this.
Lower one fits your site better. Top one looks religious/Christian. (I don't mean it as a criticism, that was just my initial impression).
I like the one that leads to better conversions. Which one is that? I don't know. You shouldn't be asking us.
Good point. I'm a real fan of a/b testing and customer development in general, but not sure that is appropriate in a pre-launch stage or in logo development.
new one. much better. it's friendly. the old looks like it's filling up with water. too web 2.0'ish.
New (lower) one is way better. Does anyone like the other one?