I think you are on the right track with the insignia motif.

However, I envision an insignia as representing an established institution, a university or designer label. An insignia embodying a verb (“Carsonified”) just doesn’t hit me the right way.

What I do envision when I hear “Carsonified”, is something more like a stamp of approval. Much like “Certified Organic”, “Fair Trade”, or “CLAD”, it is a guarantee of esteemed quality, process or material, and it can always be expected. Of course, you can market “Carsonified” to mean what you want it to mean.

Now, a stamp of approval may not be too different from a crest. But, by embodying the logo as a verb, it may add a little extra meaning that people can identify with more easily.

A crest-ish looking “stamp” would be interesting…

Of course, this may have been touched upon already.
Thanks for sharing your progress!
Cheers.

I’d like to stress that we’re not going after anything that resembles a ‘tattoo’. Some of those insignia examples I cited were like tattoos, but many of them weren’t, and we understand the connotations that could be drawn from something like that.

I think Matt hit the nail on the head with his comment – those qualities (honor, elegance, and permanence in particular) are exactly what we’re going for (although at the same time it’s going to be more informal than traditional insignia).

We also feel that the hand-drawn feel – even if it only ends up being part of the final logo – is vitally important to emphasising our grassroots / lovingly crafted / down-to-earth / friendly values.

In your insignia overview, however, you take a direction that I think might be worth pursuing: taking the concept of an insignia (one central element, flanked by bits and pieces – or text – that enhance or alter the conotation of your central element). I think that if you keep pusching that a bit you might get really interesting results.