Replacing the default application icon

[ARE404]

While working on #3431 (letting users choose the app icon) I built a geometric
mark for the alternate icon set. Several people have since suggested it would
serve better as the default than as an alternate — and, if we like the
direction, as the project's mark.

That is a branding decision rather than a code change, so I would rather settle
it here than in a PR thread.

What it is

A single geometric form — a bar, a peak, and an M below it — readable as a
mountain, a pencil, or the letter Ā. Look closely and all four letters of
maka are in the construction.

It is drawn entirely by a ~400-line Python script from one table of constants.
SVG, every PNG size, and the .icns bundle all come out of the same geometry,
so no two renderings can drift apart.

Why I think it is worth considering:

• No third-party material. The shape is generated from coordinates — not
  traced, not drawn over stock art, not generated by a model. Provenance is
  the whole file.
• Reproducible at any size. The rasteriser is part of the source, so a
  16px favicon and a 1024px bundle icon are the same geometry, not a downscale.
• Legible small. Stroke weight and the gap between the bar and the peak
  were set by testing at 16 and 32px, where a thinner mark fills in.
• Works in one colour. It reproduces on a single-colour printer, and the
  high-contrast colourways meet 7:1.

Licensing

The design is my own original work, and I have an ICLA on file. I am happy to
license it to the ASF under Apache-2.0, or to execute whatever additional grant
is considered appropriate for a mark the Foundation would hold — I would rather
over-document this now than leave a question open for later.

Candidates

The same geometry in 41 colourways — grouped by family, each test-placed on
light / dark / chequered ground with real 16px and 32px rasterisations:

https://claude.ai/code/artifact/578f2422-c669-41dc-a6b0-9deff888c251

The overview image is numbered 1–41 to match that page, where each tile also
carries the id to quote in a reply.

What I am asking for

First: do you agree the default icon should be replaced at all? That
question stands on its own — please answer it even if you have no view on the
colour.

Second, if you do: which one should it be? Please name it by its id — the
sheet above is only an overview; each candidate's id (sky, midnight,
mono-black, …) is printed under its tile on the linked page. Seven of the 41
are some shade of blue, so an id is the only unambiguous way to point at one.

I will leave this open at least 72 hours. If the thread converges and nobody
objects, I will take that as consensus and open a PR.

To be explicit about scope: I am not proposing any change to the project name,
and the existing icon stays available in the chooser from #3431 rather than
being removed.

中文版

我在做 #3431(让用户自己选应用图标)时,为备选图标集画了一个几何标。之后陆续有人
提到,它比起作为备选,也许更适合直接当默认 —— 如果大家认可这个方向,进一步作为项目
的标识。

这属于品牌决定而不是代码改动,所以拿到这里来谈,而不是在 PR 里定。

它是什么

一个几何形:一条横杠、一个尖,下面一个 M,可以读成雪山、铅笔,或者字母 Ā。细看的话,
maka 四个字母都藏在这个结构里。

整个图形由一个约 400 行的 Python 脚本从一张常量表生成。SVG、各档 PNG、.icns
全部出自同一份几何,所以任何两个渲染结果都不会走样。

我认为值得考虑的理由:

• 不含第三方素材。 图形由坐标生成 —— 不是描摹的,没有叠加素材站的图,也不是
  模型生成的。来源就是那个文件本身。
• 任何尺寸都可复现。 光栅化器本身就是源码的一部分,所以 16px 的 favicon 和
  1024px 的包图标是同一份几何,而不是缩小的结果。
• 小尺寸清晰。 笔画粗细、横杠与尖之间的间隙,都是在 16px 和 32px 下实测定的 ——
  再细一点就会糊在一起。
• 单色可用。 能用单色打印机复现,高对比配色满足 7:1。

授权

这个设计是我本人的原创作品,我已签署 ICLA。我愿意以 Apache-2.0 授权给 ASF;如果
基金会持有的标识需要额外的授权文书,我也愿意配合办理 —— 与其留个尾巴,不如现在就
把手续做足。

候选

同一套几何的 41 种配色,上面那张图是总览。按系列分组、在浅色/深色/棋盘背景上试放过、
并附真实光栅化 16/32px 的完整版在这里:

https://claude.ai/code/artifact/578f2422-c669-41dc-a6b0-9deff888c251

总览图上的编号 1–41 与该页面一致;页面上每张卡片还标有回复时可以引用的 id。

想请大家帮的忙

第一件事:是否赞同换掉现在的默认图标? 这个问题本身独立成立 —— 就算对配色没有
意见,也请回一句是否赞同。

第二件事,如果赞同:选哪一个? 请用 id 来指 —— 上面那张图只是总览,每个候选的
id(sky、midnight、mono-black 之类)印在链接页面里每张卡片的下方。41 个候选
里光蓝色系就有 7 个,只有 id 才能指得明确。

这个帖子我至少留 72 小时。如果讨论收敛且无人反对,我会按共识开 PR。

另外把范围说明白:我没有提议改动项目名称;#3431 里的选择器仍会保留现有图标,不会
把它移除。

[Astro-Han]

I Agree to replace the current icon. A more general non character icon would be suitable for more audience with material meaning for Maka.

Personally I prefer The top left blue version(1) or black and white version(8). It matches the current Maka design token.

[yihanzhu]

I like 1 and 8. curious if we can remove the bar on the top for better simplicity

[zwpaper]

36 for light mode and 18 for dark

[sohardforaname]

+1，It looks smart.

[sunrioa]

+1

[M4n5ter]

English

+1 to replacing the current default icon. I have no objection to any of the proposed colourways; I defer the specific colour choice to the other PPMC members’ final consensus.

中文

+1，同意更换当前默认图标。我对所有候选配色都没有意见，具体选哪一种由其他 PPMC 成员的最终共识决定。

[shaokeyibb]

Every color scheme is prefect, and i may personally prefer 1 as the default one because it matches the main color of Maka

[jackwener]

1 3 8 for me

[liugddx]

18 for me.

[MatrixA]

8

[uzqw]

38 for me.

[somewan820]

18 for me

[sohardforaname]

18 or 36 for me

[liuxiaocs7]

1 for light mode and 19 for dark mode

[pyl1995825]

14