Clean-sheet identity needed for next-generation job site

Talently

Talently is a next-generation online employment marketplace where talented people and employers meet. Our provisional tag line is "Career empowerment for talented people!" We are a lean startup and have not yet brought our product to market. We need a logo, logotype and basic color palette. These will be used on our website, print materials (e.g. business cards, promotional signage,) clothing (e.g. hats, tee shirts) and so on.

Although our product will be used by small, medium, and large employers to identify and recruit potential employees, our real focus is career empowerment those for talented people, whether active job seekers, passive job seekers or just people looking to keep abreast of their career options.

To use the site, talented people register and provide an employment and salary history (not unlike LinkedIn.) They are then provided with a dashboard that shows them custom salary estimates, custom historical salary trends, trends based on their skill set and relevant job opportunities.

We're a dynamic and disruptive company. We utilize sophisticated algorithms and refined user interface to provide an unparalleled experience. We work hard and play hard. We have fun, but we definitely mean business. If Google built an employment site, Talently would be that site.

Our initial audience is talented technical people (e.g. programmers, system administrators, database administrators, etc.) but that audience will expand to cover all other professions such as life sciences, healthcare and finance. We see ourselves as advocates for these people--almost as if we were their agent, coach or counsel. Our mission is to make sure our users are always equipped with the data and knowledge they need to make sound career decisions. The service is always free for these users.

Our audience will also consist of prospective employers for these talented people. Initially, these will be hiring managers and recruiters at smaller companies, but as time passes we will be dealing with larger and larger enterprises. In our business model, it is these employers who pay for our service.

We need a logo, logotype and color palette that will be used to represent our company, brand and product across a variety of media.

* No stock images or clip art.
* Must look good on a white background.
* All color selections must be easily reproduced on screen as well as in print.
* The logo and logotype must be simple enough to be embroidered or printed on shirts, hats, bags, balls, etc.
* The logo should be done in a way that it will not be too difficult to create an application icon on the iPhone.
* The color palette should contain 4 to 8 colors (i.e. background (white), foreground, text, alternate text, accent colors). Some of these colors can appear in the logo itself. We will need the RGB and CMYK values for these colors. (Pantone would be a plus.)
* The logo and logotype should be no stodgier than LinkedIn.com's or PayScale.com's, but should not be as over the top as Monster.com's or GoDaddy.com's.
* Please avoid logos that depict groups of people intertwined.
* Please avoid logos that have "pointy" or "swooshy" people.

Please refer to this web page in advance. http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo-…-to-avoid/

Thank you for your time and attention!