[advocacy-discuss] Logo Feedback

[Patrick Finch]

John Plocher wrote:
> +1 - I like the idea of looking at new logo stuff, but
> 
> 
> -1 - I don't like the fact that we seem to be abandoning
>       completely the branding we have used up to now.  New
>       shapes, new colors, no connection to the brand awareness
>       we currently have.  I'd like to see stuff that maintains
>       a connection to our current opensolaris orange and blue
>       as well as its font and coloring (orange "open", blue
>       "solaris")...
> 
>       Being different from our past simply for the sake of being
>       different is (unfortunately) typical of much of Sun's
>       historical branding efforts.  It is easy to change the
>       colors; it is much harder to build a brand.



I don't think that what is being proposed is change for its own sake.  I 
think this is additive, in order to have a branded OpenSolaris desktop. 
  At the moment, Solaris Express contains a mix of Sun (cup and steam on 
a start button!) and Solaris branding.

By far the most important part of OpenSolaris' brand is its name (not to 
reopen that discussion).  I think that the (vast) majority of brand 
recognition that OpenSolaris has is in its name.   As for the wordmark, 
the colours are derivative of Sun's brand, the font derivative of the 
Solaris brand.  Retaining or modifying those is part of the discussion.


Name:	not changing

Wordmark: font / colour changes?

Logo: we don't have one

Mascot: we don't have one

Desktop theme: Nimbus/JDS - changes?


Not to use Ubuntu as an example more than is strictly necessary, but I 
consider Ubuntu to be the most heavily branded OS out there, open or 
closed.  And their branding is both coherent and reasonably unintrusive.

Saying all that, I also would like to maintain a connection and 
emphasise the attributes of OpenSolaris that we want emphasised.  My 
preference for a logo?  The globe on the current custom menu in Solaris 
Express, which is also used as the community icon on OpenSolaris.org, 
which I think Calum Benson also mooted back in September.

Pros
----
-literally iconic: can be (is) integrated into the desktop, start menu, 
hourglass etc.
-can scale large to small
-can be customised for different settings, colour, greyscale
-it represents (global) community
-connotations of strength, simplicity, transparancy, infinity, the web
-hopefully universal enough that it does not infringe existing 
trademarks; already in use, which implies it's ok.

Cons
----
-not especially distinctive? (Will usually be seen in context w/wordmark 
or on desktop though.)
-used in other brands today, such as Metro newspaper.
-might look awkward having a circular shape next to the "O" in OpenSolaris


I think those are the most important considerations but we risk this 
turning into a beauty contest.  Let's look a the branding brief as see 
if we can add to it.

regards

Patrick