Business/sporting logo is masculine - thoughts?

[workoutg]

So, not really sure if i'm looking for advice here or whether i wanted to just discuss the subject. I'm male by the way.

I'm attempting to create a fitness website/business about a sport which relates to outdoor workout and strength movements. 6 months ago I had a logo created by an online designer of a muscular man holding onto some bars working out with my brand name underneath. It was created to be deliberately hyper masculine looking.

This is a sport/activity which I have done myself for many years and I only ever met one woman who did it compared to hundreds of guys. Over time, since growing my social media page slightly I realised that there are women out there who do this sport - still, very few though (3% of my social media followers currently are women and its likely that a % of those aren't actually participants themselves).

One of the purposes of my website (other than business reasons) is to celebrate and promote this sport and I want it to feel inclusive and non discriminatory...i.e. open to women and just anyone else regardless of background. So I've started to feel awkward about having a man on the logo (even though all competitor brands have the same masculine type logos - some of the women who do partake in this sport are amazingly strong and fit. The dilemma is whether i should change my logo now and if so how I can make that logo showing a physical activity without having a person of one gender in it and while still appealing to the 97% male audience.

I've discussed this with a few female friends and I've actually been quite surprised that their reaction has been that I am overthinking things and that I should just keep the masculine logo. Trouble is, I actually feel bad knowing that there are female athletes out there who might feel excluded by that. What are your thoughts? If you think I should change things then how should I go about doing it?

If you’re offering something for both sexes, you should reflect that. And if you feel this way and it’s your business, you should do what feels right to you! I don’t think men would be turned away by a logo that wasn’t “masculine” but I wonder if more women would participate if they didn’t think it was a male-dominated culture. So I think a rebrand would be win-win: males would still be attracted (no loss of business) and females may be more inclined, potentially an untapped market.

It’s little things like this that make a big difference to women and girls participating in sport.

I terms of practicalities of cost etc, could a female version of logo be replicated and overlayed with your current branding? I know how costly this sort of stuff can be. Is it CrossFit or something? Another alternative if paying for a new logo is going to be a bit outlay is to really emphasise women on your website etc. Photos, language, famous women etc.

Notbadconsidering - thanks for the reply. I agree with your points about some women feeling like this is only for men and that is what I want to avoid. The site is about street workout/calisthenics - so similar to crossfit but without the weights. Much of it takes place on pull up bars and in outdoor workout parks and it became quite popular over the last 5 years or so especially thanks to the internet and guys uploading their workout videos to youtube.

Yes I will definitely cover the female side of it on this website and have already shared a video of a girl from Poland doing her training. She was super excited and grateful to have it shared which was a nice feeling and unsurprisingly it was a hit with the guys too - the video got more views and shares than most other videos.

It's just this dilemma of how on earth I have a decent logo demonstrating a sport like this without 1) having a person/figure involved (frankly a pull up bar on its own doesn't look too exciting) 2) taking away from that masculinity which in reality the guys love to show off - to give you an idea, the vast majority of my social media base are men between the age of 18-30 and are in it to get an athletic physique (like the current logo) and build their strength. I guess this is why all the competitors have similarly masculine logos.

I have thought about having both a male logo and a female logo as you suggest and think it's a great idea but am not quite sure on the legalities of having two logos for one business and i'd still have to choose one over the other for the header of my website etc. At least then though I guess I could provide female clothing.

A unisex logo would be best...it's just a case of how to do that for a business/site like this. Any graphic designers here!? :) :)

I do think a hyper-masculine looking man in a logo could be off-putting to many women and, since it's industry-wide, could be part of what discourages women in general from competing. I know I steer clear of gyms that use over the top bodybuilders or only feature men in their marketing. Changing the logo alone is unlikely to make much difference but it sounds as though you are also trying to or want to appeal to women in your messaging too. Unlike Nota I think men can be quite put off by a logo that is "feminine" or features a woman and not a man. It's a sad reality that our culture still tends to see feminine stuff as more toxic for men than masculine stuff is seen as for women. It would also stand out in your field and likely make you appear as though you are specifically catering for women and not men. With many other brands competing for the custom, it's possible you could lose a chunk of your customer base if you appear to be focused on women. If there aren't enough women around to balance that out, especially in the short term, you might hit difficulties

But I don't think the choice is between hyper-masculine and totally feminine. Do you have to use a person in the logo? Could you concentrate on the equipment or some part of the sport itself? Could you use a more realistic, rather than hyper-masculine, man along with a realistic female competitor? Also, while the logo is important, the rest of your marketing materials will probably have a bigger impact overall and it's easier to change those and try things out. Find out what messages work, what images get clicked on and by whom, etc. From that you could probably get a better idea of how to position yourself and develop your logo from that.

Cross post. Sorry, you've addressed some of what I suggested.

Another alternative is to concentrate on one part of the body for the logo (like a business focused on running might have a foot pushing off).

I knew it'd be calisthenics when I read your first post.
As for me I have only ever seen men doing bodyweight training in my local parks and I'd be too bloody self conscious to join for that reason. I've been wanting to try for years...

For the record, I said having a a non-“masculine” logo, ie neutral, or having a female version to complement the male version.

Sorry for misrepresenting Nota.

Thanks for the replies BoomBoomsCousin, that's actually given me some good stuff to think about. I think the sensible thing for me to do is to attempt to get a core unisex logo and I can add other imagery alongside it on products/marketing etc ..e.g the muscular guy for male products. As long as the logo somehow can convey strength then that's all that matters. The tough part is how i can do that. The equipment on it's own (pull up bars) would look pretty boring I think though. And if I had a pair of hands holding onto that bar then maybe it could work though again even hands can look male or female (better than the full torso though). It may be time to contact some designers again!

LazyFace you should try it, it's definitely male dominated in most parts but is a great way to keep in shape while often being outdoors too.

There might be a local calisthenics or street workout club/gym/class near to you and no guarantees it would only be men.

A male logo would put me off, and annoy me if it is actually for both sexes so yes, please do change it. It does make a huge difference. Can you incorporate a muscular/strong woman into the design so it shows both sexes?

A park near where I grew up had these outdoor bars and stuff and it was good fun to try to swing on the monkey bars!

As a branding designer who creates brands for clients, I would think it's actually more than possible to create a logo that would appeal to both sexes and not actually portray literally one or the other. A brand doesn't actually have to be literal at all, it should convey the idea of strength without suggesting that it's purely a male attribute. I'd be happy to take a look at it if you like and make some suggestions. I could also take you forward with a rebrand if that is what you would like too! If you PM me I can show you what I do and explain the processes behind creating a successful brand!

Pull up bars are off putting because of differences in upper body strength , what in your marketing would make me think I coulda actually do the work out? I can’t do one unassisted pull up despite being relatively fit and strong (for my age anyway)

I know not really answering the logo question (good advice above already!) but what about running a women only class? I suspect there are actually quite a lot of women who would like to have a go but I know I wouldn’t want to try in a mixed class full of super-fit young men. Wouldn’t be able to keep up anyway!

Hi, OP, no advice! But just wanted to add my voice because I think it's great you're considering this.

A hypermasculine logo or one that featured on an aspect of great upper body strength would also be off putting to me - I would love to try something like this but would feel that it wasn't for me currently.

I'm sure you'll get a greater uptake of women if you do this.

I also agree introducing a women only class alongside male and/or mixed classes would encourage women to join.

Sportinguista, thanks it would be great to at least get some suggestions if that's ok - will send you a PM soon.

MIdgebabe - Yep pull ups are hard with many men not being able to do them either (although men have the natural advantage for upper body strength). There is another side to street workout/calisthenics emerging which is more 'gymnasticy' and some of the women are really good at this. Calisthenics really just means bodyweight exercise so it's not all about using a pull up bar although that is a pretty central part of the sport. By the way, if you want to learn how to do a pull up then start practicing 'negatives' ...use a step or jump up to the finishing position of a pull up and try to hold it for as long as you can/slowly lower yourself down. Over time your body will adapt.

Badgerthebodger - thanks, not running classes at the moment as it will be online but i'll keep the idea of an online women's program/plan in mind.

OhDearWhatHaveIDone - thanks for the kind words and your input. Will keep that in mind.

Oh and plattercake yep going to look into all ideas, thanks

Could you have more than one brand? Like some crossfit gyms have now, so that they appeal to both general population & hardcore cf people.

I love calisthenics & have really enjoyed attempting some in my very limited way.

Couldn’t the logo be not male or female? Like these sorts of figures:

Not male or female is usually read as male though

See the figures on toilet doors

Male = person shape
Female = person shape + skirt

A lot of these things have both eg male & female on starting blocks next to each other or whatever

If you change to female you risk alienating 97% of your market which wouldn't do anyone any good

Logo being both / or just the equipment or something - no figures is good

I do think a lot of women are put off by things that look v "blokey" although not all them obviously!

Meanwhile very very few men will attend stuff that is open to all but squarely aimed at women.

I just looked at the guys I follow online, as I've never registered their logo and it's a lion and when I looked closer, has a fit person too but I had to squint.

So it didn't scream men....

Yes I agree a stick figure does look like a stick man. But there's lots of options I think. Best to avoid stereotypical or superman/woman images of either sex I think. Maybe something that put people in mind of or embodies the idea of strength or vitality but without having a particular idealised human image to live up to or be measured against.

I used to be fit and strong and really enjoyed being strong in particular and love being outdoors so this kind of thing would have appealed to me before my body had other ideas!

Opps cut and paste fail.. meant to say that I am looking forward to hearing/ seeing how it turns out workoutg :)