New Logo

[o---]

I think I am speaking for everybody when I say that the New Logo sucks!
The previous one was just perfect. It was a signature.
The new one it's just a cheap copy of a widely used logo by each and every bellow average IM messenger.

[michiwend]

apart from the fact that a large font won´t give your comment a higher meaning, you are right in the point, that the new logo is far from being beautiful. I remember @iNPUTmice wrote not to use speech bubbles or locks used by every "secure" IM around. The new logo uses a speech bubble with a dashed outline and two different(!) icons for launcher and in-app (or in the market). I´m ok with the speech bubble as such but the dashed outline really destroyed the whole logo, not talking about the squared one (wtf?). I would welcome a new discourse about a logo that not only represents conversations but is beautiful and clear as the messenger itself. The previous one can not be discussed because it was a copy of the chat secure logo.

[ghost]

Hi,

I think, the ic_activity.png should be the launcher, and definitely change the ic_notification.png because is difficult to see when you have a notification.

[o---]

I think the Conversations Messenger deserves a better logo. Bubbles in any form, shape and colors are around since internet was born. You do not want to use the lock because its used by one another messenger. The Bubble is used by 1000 other messengers!

[o---]

[iNPUTmice]

the new logo was chosen because it was the best one available. everything I said about moving away from speech bubbles and lock symbols is still something I belive in but as of right now there is simply no alternative to the one currently in use.

[aut0]

I agree with @iNPUTmice. The new logo is still the best available one. I liked the ones with the "C" but I really like the colours of the new one. Unfortunately I am not a designer so I cannot provide a better logo. Also in the end it is for @iNPUTmice to decide what he want's. @o-- if you really feel that strongly about the new logo you can allways fork.

[emdete]

i played around with inputmices idea of a silhouette. as i did not like to put two heads i put in my old idea of an telex-punchhole tape to the right. i like the head, looks quite nice, not the punchholes. what do you think?

i compiled a version and it looks not bad on dark backgrounds but fails on light ones.

[HiranChaudhuri]

On 11. Juli 2014 15:35:50 MESZ, "M. Dietrich" notifications@github.com wrote:

i played around with inputmices idea of a silhouette. as i did not like
to put two heads i put in my old idea of an telex-punchhole tape to the
right. i like the head, looks quite nice, not the punchholes. what do
you think?

i compiled a version and it looks not bad on dark backgrounds but fails
on light ones.

---

Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
#253 (comment)

I like it. :-)

[iNPUTmice]

I'm gonna quote myself here from the old thread #14

my original thoughts on the logo involved moving away from both the speech bubble and the secure aspect. the speech bubble in my view is extremely overused in the entire chat market. I would very much like to see some new ideas in this field. (wild brainstorming on my part where two head silhouettes talking to each other. just to give you an idea of the direction . I wouldn't mind an entirely different approach either). furthermore I'm not a huge fan of the secure / lock / keyhole thing either. Conversations in early development was called SecureConversations but I would like to move away from the secure part as the image or the marketing for Conversations. security and privacy should be something that comes naturally and as something the user doesn't need to think about. I would like to put other great features of Conversations in the foreground.
Moving away from an abstract idea about the logo as for the actual design I would very much like to see something that is more closer to the stock Google Apps icons like maps, g+, pictures and so forth.

tldr: no locks, no speech bubbles, nothing to technical (so no telex-punchhole tape either - not even I know what that is - sorry) and something that actually fits more or less into the android ecosystem. Imagine an app drawer filled with google apps and ask yourself if the logo would fit in there. (This gets a little complicated because google is constantly changing their icon style but it doesn't need to copy the style it just needs to fit in.)

as for colors; we definitely need a monochrome version. (for the notification bar at least). So if you start thinking about a new logo I think it would be best to start with the monochrome version and give it a unique outline/shape. after that you can start thinking about some colors. google.com/design can be of help there.

[emdete]

a punchholetape is a "lochkarte" in tape form, more or less its what conversation does: it makes it possible to transport text written on the keyboard to the person on the other side of the cable ;)

but anyway, as its too technical for your eyes i provided a face2face, mono version included. please check my branch on my fork.

edit: wrong link supplied. this time i attached the image itself as here SVGs are not allowed.

[iliajie]

I would propose a logo that would look more like the old one and wouldn't conflict with ChatSecure. Something like this:

[o---]

[iliajie]

I personally like o--- icons. I just think in notifications it should be solid white and program icon could have some colours - I prefer green personally.

[o---]

[o---]

[iNPUTmice]

Hi,

there is obviously some talent in this thread. I really like the design language of your icons @o--- however I'm not a fan of the motives.
Let me repeat myself here again. No lock. No speech bubbles. Monochrome first
What I would personally like to see is a spin on my first idea with the two people (heads only) talking to each other but this time have one person whisper something into the other persons ear. This would transfer the privacy aspects of Conversations into its logo in a very, very subtle way.

I'm of course open for other suggestions as well but I would like to encourage the radical thinking of the head silhouettes. And please. No locks. No speech bubbles. And it definitely has to work in monochrome. Colors are easy. If you would like to include both a monochrome and a colored version take the inspirations for your colors of: http://www.google.com/design/spec/style/color.html

Please allow me to ignore logo suggestions that involve locks, speech bubbles or do not come in monochrome because otherwise this takes way too much time of me. Time that is much better spend in improving Conversations itself.

[o---]

[iliajie]

:)))

[o---]

[farion]

No locks, No bubbles.

[aut0]

I like the mask idea! I do not like the eyes and the mouth. They look angry. But I like the idea!

[andersruneson]

How about just the outlines of an ear and a mouth?
On Jul 16, 2014 7:52 AM, "Lukas Jünger" notifications@github.com wrote:

I like the mask idea! I do not like the eyes and the mouth. They look
angry. But I like the idea!

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#253 (comment).

[iliajie]

Made it myself.

As requested: no bubbles, no locks.

From a mouth to an ear:

[beriain]

What about something like this? (but properly done)
http://i.imgur.com/IOcgWKy.jpg

The right "thing" pretends to be an ear

[iliajie]

I personally would like to see not bulky, as clear as possible icon - that would be the same everywhere.

Not sure why something like this is not good:

Besides it represents the idea and will be accepted by almost everybody (I think.)

TextSecure uses the same, close idea.

If I look at the icon of TextSecure, ChatSecure or the one above - I will immediately tell that this program is about communication and most probably secure.

If I see ears and lips - I don't know what to think of..

[iNPUTmice]

@o--- they look waaaaay too angry. But I can see the general idea working
@farion nice direction as well. I like how the two torsos overlap a little.
to both of you: can we try not to have the logo cut of on one side? imho the logo needs to end naturally and not cut of. (no straight lines)

@andersruneson and @beriain I like the idea

The mental picture about the logo I had in mind was a little more childish / toyish / cartoonish. Imagine to kids sharing / whispering some childish / innocent secrets to each other. Maybe holding one hand up to cover mouth and ear. I don't know if this makes sense. But I always had Conversations associated with something happy. However I doesn't have to be exactly that. Thinking more about the mask or the torso thing would also be interesting.

@rostovtsev the thing is that Conversations isn't about security. It should be a messenger for everybody. Not only those interested in security.

I but together some (abstract) thoughts about Conversations if someone would like to read them https://github.com/siacs/Conversations/blob/development/docs/MISSION.md

[iliajie]

I liked your abstract and I admire your courage! I hope it's going to be just the way you see it.

I would suggest having/being an inevitable part of a product of a decade:

1. Ability to send different kind of files (not only pictures)
2. Advanced settings to manage host and port (at least)
3. Ease of saving exporting photos/messages
4. Proper and clear delivery/seen notifications
5. Audio calls (very important)

In addition, I personally believe that UI is simply great but I can't agree though having funny/not serious icon for the program. The icon shouldn't attract to much of attention but at the same time it shouldn't be very annoying. I personally again find TextSecure as being the best work and example for such implementation.

Another thing, is that you should provide program for free download, maybe with ads but most people will not upload something that they can't try first.

At last I don't understand why you see Conversations as not being about security at first. In our era of snooping it should be the primary goal - everybody has right for private conversation and using Conversations will make it even easier. It's all about security, I think. Yes, you can use unencrypted messaging but at the same time you can easily switch to encryption and the icon should represent this idea clearly. Ears and mouths is the worst possible idea, I think.

Regards,
Ilia

[BenoitBouvarel]

Hi everyone !

Even if I am pretty happy with the chosen logo and even if I think that changing logo twice could give a pretty unprofessional image of the application I had fun playing around with last comments:
Mixing child and secret conversations made me immediately think about one pretty straightforward game, where only 2 people can communicate without being spied by anyone and requiring only one rope and 2 tin boxes :)

Don't only focus on the guidelines or you might miss the meaning of creativity !

[iNPUTmice]

@BenoitBouvarel awesome! This is the out of box thinking I would like to see. I had to read your description though first to get the meaning. I don't know would could be done to make that a little clearer. Maybe tilting one of the cans a little bit? Furthermore the logo isn't monochrome. It's black and white. (Monochrome = one color. or black and white in front of a black or white background (not a grey one)) Otherwise great work!

I am pretty happy with the chosen logo

You are happy with the logo and I'm ok with it too. So are maybe a 1000 other people who are using Conversations. But happy people don't write issues to tell us how happy they are.

changing logo twice could give a pretty unprofessional image of the application

you are right. And I'm definitely not changing the logo again soon. I see it as something to celebrate the 1.0 release.

[HiranChaudhuri]

On 17. Juli 2014 11:02:39 MESZ, Daniel Gultsch notifications@github.com wrote:

@BenoitBouvarel awesome! This is the out of box thinking I would like
to see. I had to read your description though first to get the meaning.
I don't know would could be done to make that a little clearer. Maybe
tilting one of the cans a little bit? Furthermore the logo isn't
monochrome. It's black and white. (Monochrome = one color. or black and
white in front of a black or white background (not a grey one))
Otherwise great work!

I am pretty happy with the chosen logo

You are happy with the logo and I'm ok with it too. So are maybe a 1000
other people who are using Conversations. But happy people don't write
issues to tell us how happy they are.

changing logo twice could give a pretty unprofessional image of the
application

you are right. And I'm definitely not changing the logo again soon. I
see it as something to celebrate the 1.0 release.

---

Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
#253 (comment)

I did not have to think twice before understanding the logo. The beauty is the string/rope. It also reminds me of Nokia's slogan 'connecting people'.

And I like the logo. What is the colour issue? Why does it have to come in monochrome (One colour, one background)?

Hiran

[iliajie]

@moshpirit what exactly? Don't you like the version above with dashes?

[iNPUTmice]

The solid version of the notification is better than the one with the dotted outline and the solid core. I'm not 100% sure it will looks better than the current one. But I'm willing to try it in real life because of the problem the current notification logo creates on smaller screen.

@qooob can you update your pull request to use the solid version? And if you like you can also update the README to say modified by you in the logo section

btw what is the color of the three dots in the launcher version? I don't think they should be any darker than #eeeeee (they look kinda dark here but might be a monitor issue)

[moshpirit]

My favourite it's the current one, but I was saying that the second version that you have made it's much better than the last one. TL;DR: notification icons with 3 dots are better than notification icons without them.

[jkufner]

Take shape of solid version and add 1px (in smallest size) dashed border with 1px space. Maybe do not add border around that pointy piece in bottom right corner for smallest sizes. It should keep icon readable and unique.

[jkufner]

And what about the bulb instead of dots?

[iliajie]

Alright, @iNPUTmice, just updated the icons, made them more precise:

App:

Notification:

@jkufner - about your idea, here is the on the fly implementation - actually happened to be not that bad:

[jkufner]

@qooob Oh, no :) I meant to keep the dashed border. I like the first version in your last post. But I miss the dashed border in notification icon: Make filled ellipse 4px smaller, and add 1px dashed ellipse of the original size, keep pointy thing at bottom right as it is now.

Something like this (it is quick draft):

[o---]

I must say, there has been a lot progress made today. Thank you everybody. We are getting somewhere.

[o---]

[o---]

[o---]

[o---]

http://www.mobilefish.com/services/image2svg/show_svg_image.php?file=bk72580_created.svg

[devurandom]

I like @jkufner's notification proposal, keeps the dashed outline @iNPUTmice sees as unique to Conversations and still does not overload the icon too much. Can we do the same (dash a cricle only, excluding the pointy end) for the coloured logo?

[iliajie]

You mean like this one:

[iliajie]

I think there is a problem with dashes and small screens. But iNPUTmice, should also like it and he didn't for some reason.

[danielreuther]

@iNPUTmice Are you sure that there is enough value in changing the colors of the icon so drastically? Just because you're changing the colors of the UI doesn't mean that the icons need to follow. On the contrary, I believe that this move will weaken the identity and recognizability of the app.

While the new one might integrate seamlessly into Google's icon set, the previous green was kind of unique and had a very positive enlivening feeling to it.

[devurandom]

No, that's your original proposal, right?

@jkufner proposed a variation, where the speech bubble is solid, but has a dashed circle around it. That solves the issue with the dashes being badly visible on small screens (the main element, which gives the icon its contour, is the solid bubble), and still leaves the dashed "secrecy" element, which I understand is Conversations' "trademark".

If you need confirmation, I can try the icons on my old Samsung Gio, which has a terribly small screen.

[iliajie]

@devurandom In case @iNPUTmice says it should be this way, I will do it.

@danielreuther I personally don't think it will weaken neither identity nor recognizability.

[danielreuther]

@qooob Even if that's true, what's the benefit in changing it in the first place?

[iliajie]

@danielreuther 1. Improvement 2. Display that work is in progress and app is changing (for good reasons) al the time. 3. Why not?

[danielreuther]

@qooob Don't get me wrong, it's not that I want to argue about taste. Everyone is free to like whatever he/she wants. But when changing something there needs to be at least a valid reasoning.

As for your points, 1) That's a matter of taste. 2) While removing the box is a good idea, changing the colors wasn't strictly necessary. 3) Because people will have to re-learn what to look for when they want to open the app. If you're a color-focused person that might be annyoing.

[iliajie]

@danielreuther It's easy to agree with you.

I'm fine with lighter colors as well, as long there is no hollow notification icon or box in launcher icon.

[iNPUTmice]

Woke up today. Checked my conversations. Liked the new logo. Closed this issue.

[iliajie]

Well, updated to Android L 5.1 and realized, that most awesome IM app has quite outdated icon.

I propose the following, little bit tweaked logo, that will look more like Android L flat design and attract more attention and will not stand out (in the wrong way), among other (updated) apps' icons.

What you think, guys? It's time to move forward with this.

If iNPUTmice accepts the logo I will commit then.

[ghost]

Please, no.

1. Google's take on flat design is awful.
2. The current logo is great as it is with that dashed border. @iNPUTmice even mentioned "I feel that the dotted line somehow has become a key element of the logo and changing that could be too much." Without the border, what actually makes the proposed new logo different from other texting applications' logos? The fact that it's green? I really wouldn't say it attracts more attention than before.

[iliajie]

@plsng I'm aware that dots been there for a while. Like I said, it's time to move on. Google pushes its trends, whether we like it or not. By the way, most people do, including me.

Following proposed logic, we should never design Conversations in Android L style. What is the point? Besides everything, we must think what is best for the app and not only what we got used to have.

[WhyNotHugo]

Isn't there some way to display a different icon according to the OS version?

[moshpirit]

God, we discussed this a few months ago, wait at least a year, please.

Google can do whatever they want, Conversations doesn't belong to Google, we can learn from them but just like from any other company.

My vote is a no.

[iliajie]

As far as I can remember, you guys, also voted no for the previous icon update. What's the deal?