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Have a mascot #828

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mcollina opened this issue Sep 15, 2023 · 86 comments
Closed

Have a mascot #828

mcollina opened this issue Sep 15, 2023 · 86 comments

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@mcollina
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It was recently pointed out on twitter by @bnb and @marco-ippolito that Node.js does not hav mascot.

How about making the old unofficial one official? I mean the πŸ’πŸš€!

image

I think we would need to get a β€œfresh” drawing done (maybe with a contest).

Previous art: node-forward/discussions#33

cc @rginn

@marco-ippolito
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A contest would be amazing! I would leave it open to new ideas, maybe something totally new πŸ˜„

@DominusKelvin
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Wow, I didn't even know there was an old unofficial mascot.

@EddyVinck
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If a frog is chosen then a β€œit’s Wednesday my dudes” meme can be posted every week, which would be a huge plus

image

@ovflowd
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ovflowd commented Sep 15, 2023

I can be the mascot, Im already a joke 🀑

Okay, now for all seriousness, I love the idea of the turtle and the V8 rocket ✨

@UlisesGascon
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I think we would need to get a β€œfresh” drawing done (maybe with a contest).

Yes! The community will love it πŸ‘

I see a lot of potential for swag! We all love stickers! ☺️🐒

giphy (1)

@VoltrexKeyva
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I think we would need to get a β€œfresh” drawing done (maybe with a contest).

Absolutely, though I also agree with what @marco-ippolito said, new ideas would be good too.

@sheplu
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sheplu commented Sep 15, 2023

Yes ! 200%

Why not a community contest ? Would also be nice to be able to have the mascot as a 3D printable file (stl) for fun πŸ’πŸš€

@GeoffreyBooth
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Not sure if a turtle is the best look. We have a hexagon theme on our site, we could go with a honeybee to complement the honeycomb theme.

@fabiospampinato
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Not sure if a turtle is the best look. We have a hexagon theme on our site, we could go with a honeybee to complement the honeycomb theme.

The turtle's shell is made of green hexagons πŸ˜‰ That image is so good on so many levels.

@marco-ippolito
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My only concern with the turtle is that is usually associated with being slow πŸ˜…

@adamphivo
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adamphivo commented Sep 15, 2023

My only concern with the turtle is that is usually associated with being slow πŸ˜…

Well as we say in french : ne pas confondre vitesse et precipitation !

A turtle can be seen as an animal moving steadily, that's fine for me :D

https://read.gov/aesop/025.html

@ovflowd
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ovflowd commented Sep 15, 2023

Isn't the Deno logo also sort of a turtle?

I also think that even tho turtles are slow, they are steady and live long ;D

@rkaw92
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rkaw92 commented Sep 15, 2023

This is what the Node.js homepage looks like on a 4K screen. You're on to something!

node-home

@THernandez03
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This is what the Node.js homepage looks like on a 4K screen. You're on to something!

node-home

fixed

image

@JacobMGEvans
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JacobMGEvans commented Sep 15, 2023

Matteo... hear me out South African Rain Frog

https://twitter.com/JacobMGEvans/status/1702706027358036189

@rginn
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rginn commented Sep 15, 2023

Let's do this! I'm a rocket turtle fan with a new design. Or...a rocket tortoise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tortoise_and_the_Hare

cc: @kyliewd

@ljharb
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ljharb commented Sep 15, 2023

+1 for a redesigned rocket turtle

@kyliewd
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kyliewd commented Sep 15, 2023

Love this! I will start doing some thinking πŸ€“ πŸ’»

@developedbyjay
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would love another design apart from the turtle

@bnb
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bnb commented Sep 15, 2023

Not sure if a turtle is the best look. We have a hexagon theme on our site, we could go with a honeybee to complement the honeycomb theme.

I believe when we were working with someone from LinkedIn, they actually took it upon themselves to do a full mascot treatment with a bee. They put a lot of work into it, and I appreciate it, but my recollection was that it wasn't quite what anyone involved with the website redesign was expecting/felt represented Node.js. I'm not sure where that treatment is, but I assume it still exists somewhere.

I'm fine with rocket turtle/redesigned rocket turtle, but would expressly prefer we don't use a frog for... uh... U.S. political reasons.

@bnb
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bnb commented Sep 15, 2023

Isn't the Deno logo also sort of a turtle?

@ovflowd no, Deno is a dinosaur.

@ovflowd
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ovflowd commented Sep 15, 2023

Isn't the Deno logo also sort of a turtle?

@ovflowd no, Deno is a dinosaur.

Oh true!!

@juanmnl
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juanmnl commented Sep 15, 2023

I don't think i'll have more time to invest in this, but here are the assets of the retweet from @JacobMGEvans
Maybe someone wants to keep iterating or put in a shared figma file, or other. (.fig file and svgs for the variations)

Do whatever you want with it in the name of OSS spirit πŸ˜…

Screenshot 2023-09-15 at 14 33 26

node frog (svgs & fig file).zip

@ljharb
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ljharb commented Sep 15, 2023

i'd also echo @bnb's comment that a frog - especially a green one - should be a nonstarter for US political reasons (even though frogs are cute and i like the previous comment's artwork)

@JacobMGEvans
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i'd also echo @bnb's comment that a frog - especially a green one - should be a nonstarter for US political reasons (even though frogs are cute and i like the previous comment's artwork)

Awww DAMMIT, I googled frog and "US political reasons"... Yeah I agree, thanks for the callout @ljharb & @bnb

Context:
https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/pepe-frog

@juanmnl
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juanmnl commented Sep 15, 2023

oh crap, I completely agree @ljharb. Being not US'ian I wasn't aware of that. Sorry! πŸ₯Ή

@kibertoad
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We can still do a turtle, though.

@juanmnl
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juanmnl commented Sep 15, 2023

I know this is not what was suggested (πŸ’πŸš€) but in a burst of inspiration i went for something more abstract (it can become anything though, a πŸ‘», 🐒, ☠️ , etc.) i just love how this simple shapes can scale.
There are 3 different eye shapes for character variants.
It's also an example of how you can be playful with the file and/or the svgs if anyone wants to iterate over, or test things. (files attached)

Screenshot 2023-09-15 at 18 41 02

node eeaao (svgs & fig file).zip

@adeleke5140
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I have really enjoyed working with NodeJS and would be glad to see it have an official mascot.

I am not a graphic designer so not sure how I could contribute.

@thebergamo
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At least for me since beginning of usage of NodeJS the turtle with rocket was always seemed as the true mascot of Node.
So I would vote also for a rebump of it.

Feel free to use my cat(profile pic, but he was too young in the pic, nowadays he is lazy and fatty , like Garfield haha) which is also Node hehe

@zimonitrome
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zimonitrome commented Oct 19, 2023

My proposal is Jess the Node Toad! (tentative name)

Concept Quick sketch
image image

I see that I wasn't the first one to come up with the toad concept but I think there is a consensus on either a frog/toad or a turtle (preferably with a rocket) although that might be the mascot for JS as a whole rather than Node. I have to admit that I am a lot biased towards frogs and "it's Wednesday my dudes" like @imcm7 mentioned πŸ˜‰

I designed it to be a bit hexagonal and green like the Node logo with a simple :> face and I encourage people to elaborate on the idea.

Alternative versions:

Alternative concept Alternative sketch Face concept Face concept 2
image image image image

The last two faces could also double as a turtle.

It would also be nice to see a concept of an isometric cube turtle in the same vain as the hexagonal logo.

@kyliewd
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kyliewd commented Oct 19, 2023

@kyliewd what exactly does

Must be separate from the current logo

imply?

I see a lot of Twitter submissions that are based on the original logo. Is this a strict no-go?

Also, the Twitter DMs are restricted to verified (premium) users.

hi @zimonitrome ! i hear you. the goal is not to replace the node logo, it's to have a supplemental icon to the logo. so we just don't want something created on top of the logo itself. hopefully that makes sense!

most of the submissions we are getting are through replies so all good. i'm monitoring and collecting them :)

@mhdawson
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Tagged for agenda as Foundation staff will provide a private update on how the submissions are goind so far.

@ThisIsMissEm
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I've just seen the tweet that went out on the official Node.js twitter feed, calling for submissions in a logo design contest, and quite frankly, I'm deeply upset: this is speculative work, and undervalues the work that designers do.

Primer on "Spec Work" (Speculative Work): https://www.nospec.com/
Longer thoughts: https://hachyderm.io/@thisismissem/111264978146405220

The notion of spec work being harmful dates back to at least 2007. Have we learned nothing? Just because Node.js is an open source project, that relies on 'volunteer' contributions (often from those employed by large companies specifically to work on node.js), does not mean that it should rely on speculative design work, which greatly undervalues the value that designers bring when they create branding for a project.

@zimonitrome
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hi @zimonitrome ! i hear you. the goal is not to replace the node logo, it's to have a supplemental icon to the logo. so we just don't want something created on top of the logo itself.

Thanks @kyliewd, I thought as much πŸ™‚

Hopefully it's still okay to take inspiration from the current Node logo when creating mascot submissions (i.e. green color, hexagon outline, cube shape).

@Whbbit1999
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What about Xuanwu? It is a mythical beast in ancient China, and its image is a combination of a snake and a turtle.wiki
66dcf5b9d4b84250a8a494737510103e

@natemoo-re
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There are some great ideas in this thread! Here's an early concept from me, an (yet-to-be-named) aviator turtle. Felt like a nice reference to the unofficial mascot and also a nod to Node's hexagonal logo.

aviator-turtle

@robbiespeed
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Here's a rough sketch with a fresh take on the old unofficial mascot. Replaced rocket with, turbofan wings.

Screenshot from 2023-10-20 16-51-51

@bnb
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bnb commented Oct 23, 2023

I've just seen the tweet that went out on the official Node.js twitter feed, calling for submissions in a logo design contest, and quite frankly, I'm deeply upset: this is speculative work, and undervalues the work that designers do.

fwiw I completely agree with @ThisIsMissEm on this. I was also deeply upset when I saw that was the approach we took, especially since we've done it multiple times in the past and... it's never been ethical or at least not in the instances I've seen and it ends up taking advantage of community members who put time, energy, and effort in only to toss away their work when we instead could be directly compensating someone we as a project (presumably the TSC) select for their work.

Initially I wasn't going to say anything, and I don't plan on saying anything further, but wanted to +1 what @ThisIsMissEm said since I both agree with it and appreciate her speaking about it.

@jt3k
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jt3k commented Oct 25, 2023

image it's a rocket coming straight here

but actually I like the image from the first post better

@lsvs
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lsvs commented Oct 26, 2023

Text-based mascot idea:

<β€’ _ β€’>

<' o '>

<# . #>

<` ~ `>

<- , +>

@lobotgn
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lobotgn commented Oct 28, 2023

What about a "Spider" as a pet ?

NodeJS-Proposal

@lobotgn
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lobotgn commented Oct 28, 2023

"Spiders" are a professional Node Makers !!!

@TheInvoker
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nodelogo

@ThatOneCalculator
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It seems that people in this thread missed the whole "Must be separate from the current logo" part

@jarrensj
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jarrensj commented Nov 5, 2023

turtle with rockets and goggles

can be dynamic, too, where it's just a hexagon until the turtle and rockets come and extend out

turtle_rockets

@USP123
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USP123 commented Nov 5, 2023

Love this

@sheleoni
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sheleoni commented Nov 6, 2023

How about a Node Turtle on a surfboard? I think water / waves can represent speed as well. Also the water form is quite versatile so it can be quite flexibly styled.

Here are the standalone & integrated versions.

Standalone mascot with waves

Standalone mascot without waves

Integrated with text logo

Integrated with text logo (BW)

Here I tested the design with "V8" on the surfboard
Node_Turtle_BW

Symbolism explained:

  • 🌊 Waves β†’ ocean β†’ deep sea β†’ stuff "invisible" to the naked eye (invisible to the frontend) β†’ backend
  • πŸ’§ Water: flexible
  • πŸ„β€β™€οΈ surfing: lightweight & fast
  • ∞ on the surfboard: can be "infinite" (for infinite possibilities) and 8 as in "V8"
  • πŸ’ͺ dumbbell: heavy-duty, strength and prowess

A slightly animated version:

Node_Turtle_With_Logo_Slightly_Animated_Waves

Let me know what you think!

@neon4on
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neon4on commented Dec 29, 2023

NodeJS Mascot

@hyunbinseo
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Meet Rocket Turtle πŸ‘‹ https://twitter.com/nodejs/status/1759953849849167878/photo/1

image

I guess this issue can be closed?

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