new logo

[brigazvi]

I tried to refresh the logo a bit.
I made two versions. One with a more massive change, and the second more solid.

the massive version:

the solid version:

I also have them in a vector file.

[dorkster]

Personally, I'm not a big fan of putting the existing icon in a circle like that, as it loses the silhouette. I'd rather have a dark grey/black stroke or drop shadow on the existing logo to make it "pop" more on certain backgrounds. Of course, this is just my opinion, so I'm open to other people's views on this.

If I had to choose one of your designs, I'd take the top one with the thick border.

[brigazvi]

Problems with current logo:

1. Flame is supposed to make a light effect. And if the background is not black it does not work. Here's an example of how it looks on my desk:
   

2. As you can see, there is not enough contrast between the logo and the background.

3. I think that in the world of computer games, and adventure games in particular, logo should be much more disturbed. Like in the games of Blizzard. I do not know if my suggestions solve this problem.

[McSinyx]

I'm thinking about a low poly icon - that way we can hint the tiles (the image below isn't an obvious example for that though) and maybe make somewhat a 3D-like depth for the icon.

Edit: the above image is not mine, just the best example I can find online.

[brigazvi]

Maybe something like this:

[brigazvi]

And now at normal resolution:

I changed the flame slightly.

[dorkster]

@brigazvi I'm sorry, but I don't think this design is what we want. Again, it lacks the silhouette that the existing logo has. Also, the next starts to become unreadable as you bring the size down to what it would be as an icon in many UIs.

[dorkster]

The only point in this comment that I agree with is the lack of contrast on different backgrounds. The icon is supposed to be abstract, so we don't need to worry about having a "realistic" glow from the flame. And as for making the logo more "disturbed", that doesn't really work for an icon we want to represent all games made with Flare. In other words, a disturbed icon might fit the darker tone of fantasycore/empyrean_campaign assets, but not other games. We want to keep it fairly generic and abstract.

Anyway, I figured I should "put up or shut up", so here's my proposal of an improved icon:

As you can see, I didn't do anything here besides add a stroke. Yet, it greatly improves the contrast when the icon is used on light backgrounds.

[brigazvi]

Why not make two logos, one for the game and one to avoid?
Good design should express the product behind it.
Game and engine are two very different things. With a very different target audience.

[brigazvi]

*....and one to the engine? (line 1)

[dorkster]

@brigazvi Because the engine and Empyrean Campaign are so closely developed, it felt appropriate to use the same icon for both. In reality, there's no reason why we can't use separate icons. If we go this route, the game icon can be completely different from the engine icon.

We'll still want to incorporate the engine logo in some way, but we wouldn't need to stick to the same color scheme, abstract design, etc. We could make use of fantasycore assets e.g. a tower shield with the engine logo as an emblem.

Edit: It might also be a good idea to have two launchers: one with the current icon that simply launches flare.exe and one with a new icon to launch flare.exe --mods=fantasycore,empyrean_campaign.

[brigazvi]

for the engine, i think we need somthing like this:
or

[McSinyx]

@brigazvi I think the current logo is meant for the engine (since flare is short for free/libre action RPG engine and the isometric tiles indication).

@dorkster I think your improve icon is better than the current one especially in small size, although if we make the change I hope the tile borders line up.

[brigazvi]

this is my last version:

left - the game logo. right - the engine logo.
I insist on making the logo of the game a dark background, because I think it should be less abstract. And the fire must create a light effect.
@dorkster What do you think about it?

[dorkster]

@brigazvi Most GUIs use either very dark colors or very light colors, so that engine logo clashes with the former. I'm probably just going to use my tweak for the engine, as it fixes the contrast issue without being a drastic change. The game logo should be the topic here now. And on that topic, your new game logo looks like an improvement over the original "medallion" design.

I think as we approach the next release, we can run a poll with the various designs and let the community decide. Maybe we'll get some more submissions before then, and I will also try to come up with some ideas on my own. For example, here's a rough edit for that shield emblem idea I had (emphasis on "rough"):

[brigazvi]

It's a wonderful idea.
I think every proposal should come in two backgrounds. Dark and light.
That way the community can judge the aesthetics of the logo in the real world.

@dorkster, I really like your new logo. On a white background (like in github) do not consider the part of it. I would suggest adding a semi-transparent frame:

[qubodup]

yes please.

brigazvi's engine logo suggestion is cool. The background color issue can be solved by giving it an outline.

Slightly related: icon doesn't scale on Windows