The H isn't on the same baseline with the other letters, but moving them more towards the center of the C instead of in-line with its base-line has made it more readable as "Cheer". Fix that H and you should be good to go. I'm not sure if I like the line or without the line better. I think it would really depend on the color of the background it's being presented on. If it's on a white background, it's a little harder to read because of the brightness of the colors. The thing I do like about the stroke around it, though, is that it--along with spreading out the gradient--helps to tie the letters together.

And now I'm going to say something you don't want to hear, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn't say it? I know you're trying to just be you, but you really need to put this stuff into Illustrator and do it right. If you're trying to do something that looks and feels professional, something you can be proud of for your portfolio, why half-ass it? If you're going to be a professional graphic designer, you need to start using Illustrator. Hell, change it to black and white, import it to Illustrator, and live trace it if you think it's going to be that much trouble.

It looks good and you worked hard on it, but nobody--from a completely professional standpoint--is going to want a logo that's going to be super pixelated poo when it's blown up or shrunk down. I know this is for a work contest, but in the application of real life, you have to consider: why would someone hire you to make this logo in Photoshop, risking said pixel-poo, when they can hire someone else who will do the exact same thing, but in vector format so that their logo will stay crisp and clean? Just because it's not for something you're getting paid for, why refuse to use it as practice for real-world application? The more you refuse to use Illustrator, the more you're hurting yourself professionally, because you won't be getting that time and experience with it, so when it comes time to graduate and step into the real world, you won't have the experience you need--the thing that people are going to want.

Trust me, when I worked at Hell Job, it was very common for people to send pixelated jpeg logos, and then they were upset--not only at us, but at their logo artists or designers--because they had to pay us to redraw the logo in Illustrator so it would be a clean file--and we charged an outrageous amount of money for it. Things like that make a big difference. Like I said, if you're that worried about being able to recreate the C in Illustrator, import it and live trace it. I'm going to keep pushing the point because I know that you're capable of doing it right, whether or not you like Illustrator. You're smart and you're capable, and I only think that getting over your irrational hate of Illustrator will better your work, not worsen it.

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"Remember the old adage: starve a cold, feed a fever, behead a zombie." --Stephen Colbert

I think that perhaps the outline is slightly too dark, but otherwise I do like the outlining overall.

At first, I thought the one without the outline looked better, but I took another look and changed my mind. You're right about it looking more "professional" now.

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