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Brainstorm: Representing OLS' Values #38
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@Ismael-KG To collate resources that discuss OLS' values and understand what the values of OLS are we need to note important things like
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Can you link to places where OLS discusses its values? |
Okay |
For sure... |
Here is somewhere on the website that speaks on the core values of OLS https://openlifesci.org/community I went ahead to list them below for accessibility Education: Educate scientists about open science Transparency: Emphasize transparency and the sharing of resources, material, knowledge, and experiences Open science: Promote citizen science and decentralized access to science Modesty: Know you don’t know everything Community: Carefully listen to any concerns and questions and respond honestly Respect: Respect humans and all living systems Responsibility: Recognize the complexity and dynamics of science and research and our responsibility towards them |
@Ismael-KG Thank you for opening this issue. These resources provide a view of some core OLS values... https://openlifesci.org/code-of-conduct https://github.com/open-life-science/policies-procedures-and-docs/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md |
Wow, thanks @jilaga i was about to ask for resources to use |
I like these ones in the code of conduct. "a welcoming, friendly, and harassment-free environment for everyone to learn and grow by contributing." |
Super! @jilaga shared values from the website and @NPDebs has found those of the code of conduct (I'll past these here):
With @Caxri7's comments and #34 in mind, how do we represent these values? |
@jilaga You're a starrrrr!!! 🌟🤩🙌🏼 |
@Ismael-KG For starters, we can take each of these values, condense them into taglines and add to logos and other features on the website. 🤔 Also... We can also represent them visually, without literally spelling it out. E.g. This clearly says "community" and "collaboration." |
you swoon me 😃 |
Core values of Open Life Sciences from the code of conduct present on GitHub https://github.com/open-life-science/policies-procedures-and-docs/blob/c342530ffe943bcc1a84a1a8a8e3b5b3c0fa4547/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
On the OLS website, https://openlifesci.org/community you can find the values; Education: Educate scientists about open How can the values be represented? |
How can the values be represented? We are already having discussions on rebranding so I'm guessing we would end up with an expanded color palette. Colors help to forge visual connections of a company’s personality and values. We can visually communicate the community values by choosing the right color combinations to work with. Also on Typefaces/Fonts, The font used in designing the current logo of OLS as stated in the repository is Raleway. Raleway is a sanserif font and sanserif fonts are used to signify sensible, minimal, and friendly so we could still maintain Raleway. |
Phew! Finally here.
Thank you @NPDebs and @jilaga for the resources. While there is a theory on colour psychology about how different colours evoke different emotions in people, I have also read somewhere that the theory can be bent. The perception of colour and a brand depends on how it used by the brand. Like @latifatakin mentioned, Copies. There is a strong power in using the right copies. When copies are used right, they communicate and sell the brand in clear manner to its users and investors. Copies are used to set brand tone and OLS as a friendly community will lean towards informal tone. I agree with @jilaga on Typeface. San serif fonts are the ones that best denote friendliness and since OLS already have that we can continue to work with it. We can also work with other san serif fonts and do some testing to see what works best. I know some really sweet typeface for suggestion 😅 @NPDebs You were in my house last night 👀, I just know it! |
You ladies are giving me joy @jilaga @latifatakin @NPDebs . Fonts are like outfits , they provide people with first impressions about a brand, because they are the first things people notice about the brand, hence they set the tone of the brand which is why we have to be strategic and intentional about the font selection too. I agree with @Bisola15 suggestion about Sans-serif because it embrace simplicity and the feeling of being modern, youthful, approachable, fun, informal, friendly, casual , cutting-edge and it is very humanistic just like OLS . Hence my Sans-serif typeface suggestion is Open Sans Open Sans is versatile and give room for communicating different messages throughout your design with just a single font and it was was designed with an upright stress, open forms and a neutral, yet friendly appearance. It was optimized for print, web, and mobile interfaces, and has excellent legibility characteristics in its letter forms. |
Hello Friends,
I chose the following. OCTE - Open Community for Technology and Empowerment. |
My people with the sharp brains! I want to start by saying that if OLS has a mantra, we should be told what it is. This will guide us in choosing a fitting tagline for the brand. This is vital because now that OLS wants to be more encompassing and accommodating of not only physical sciences but Tech and Law, we should have a tagline that suggests a general message to everyone in the necessary fields. Regarding colours, I'm sort of cool with the existing colors. Maybe more usage of the color green will make the site more visually pleasing but the green, white and black is very cool and balanced. It is also quite minimalistic which is the new trend now. For typefaces, just like @Bisola15 and @jilaga suggested, I definitely subscribe to Sans Serif fonts. This is because the sans serif fonts are considered more modern and minimalistic in nature. These fonts are also quite legible, very orderly and clean in appearance. I, for one, love the typeface used in Slack app: LARSSEIT. If not, there are great Sans serif fonts like OPTIMA, GILL SANS, VERDANA and so many others. I rest my case for now 😂 |
Alot has been said by my colleagues, when talking about how to represent values like that of OLS, it basically is all about research as we all know, the frontier we would be giving should as much as possible indicate what exactly we are talking about research, science, core values, community so how could all these be represented all at once;
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Hi @iremide1022 no, no design has been accepted yet. The green colour is not only limited to science. Yunno Yo mentioned that OLS is now beyond life sciences and sciences in general. Philosophers, Anthropologist, Lawyers and so on are among contributors so we need to accomodate them. The green colour is still okay though as you said, not because of it's association to life but because it's a simple colour that's friendly and easily identified with. I agree with you that OLS is teaching us how to be more precise, detailed yet simple in approach. 😌 I like it |
@Bharlikiss Your description of fonts as outfits; I love it!! Captures the essence of fonts in a summary. |
Well done @niyolynate The open community does work, but the technology part is still is still something, hmmmm. OLS is trying to work towards an all encompassing name for all it's members |
@Bisola thank U for the headsup. Its amazing how this makes total relief. Because this will totally welcome all talents. |
I like Open Sans its modern. and in regard to the color green, it represents life also, so it doesn't just relate to people who are in science fields. Using a font checker, I saw that OLS currently uses BlinkMacSystemFont on its website and Raleway in the Logo. Which is a thinner font and minimalist font, which I think we can also stick to that. However, Inter is also a great font and is popular for its ability to maintains great readability on all screen sizes. Oh, and it's open source too 😂. When using font psychology, Sans serif fonts represent cleanliness, modern, and engaging. Which is exactly what we are tying to communicate here. Clean in the sense that OLS is simple and east to navigate, more meaning it's "forward-thinking" and engaging, which is exactly what the community is. @Ismael-KG when you say "how the values can be represented, or what they look like" do you mean on the website? I was thinking of a more unified pallet so when they are all used in one place it doesn't cause confusion because they don't fit together or contrast issues. If we still decide to, maybe a much simpler color palette. Each value represents different things, so I believe they should stand alone. I think a good way to represent them is by putting it in a grid with an icon for visual representation and a warm, short and concise copy that explain what it is which OLS already has. Another way I think it can be represented in by sorting them into cards. In doing this, we can now explore the use of various colors that aren't too flashy, so they pass across the message and grab attention. |
Fantastic feedbacks so far and I mostly agree with our contribution to the importance of color and typography as they must accommodate the band values. San serif fonts accommodate OLS values. As for colors, I did a little research earlier, I listed out the OLS values stated above by @NPDebs @jilaga @latifatakin and searched for the colors associated with most of them (color psychology). Here are my findings |
@Ismael-KG OLS supports people of all backgrounds and identities,therein images that represents people of various skin tones and also people with disabilities can be used to show Ols as a community that is diverse,inclusive and opens its arms to people regardless of background. Once the whole concept is finalized the shape format it could take could be in a circular format because circular images give a feeling of whole,togetherness which is what a community is about And finally for the text a sans-serif font such as Visby could be used because it gives off a warm and friendly feeling and generally most sans serif fonts give off that. |
Thank you @Ismael-KG for encouraging our ideas. I think all the contributions so far to this issue suggest that OLS core values can be represented visually with choice of colors and fonts. |
Like @latifatakin has highlighted, the parts of the website that people are conversant with should have the dopest copies. If we recognise who our target audience is, we can understand better how to make our copies feel comfortable and relaxing for them. Copies are a way to get to people. You can't get to people if you don't understand the people you are trying to reach. |
and taglines |
Since reading is how communication is done on a website, fonts play a big role in how the sound comes out. If we think of Sans-serif Type will help convey stability and Welcoming to the public. These present the values of the Organization where one calls for customers and Partners while the other calls for the core values that make core and They’re associated most frequently with confidence, solidity, and a sense of bold attitude. indicate a sense of honesty and sensibility but more it represent I choose Sans-serif for coy fonts, with change in size depending on the theme, call for action and colors simple.
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@Ismael-KG I hope it's not too late to contribute to this. The major values that OLS upholds include: Education, community, transparency, respect, Open Science, Modesty, and responsibility. To ensure these values are properly represented by OLS, it helps to list out what design elements/principles, as well as other factors that give the brand its identity; that we would want to incorporate these values into. Company's name: Although this is currently still in the works, it is good to keep in mind here that the name used should be more inclusive of other fields beyond science, since OLS is currently rebranding. A single name that instantly lets people know that this is a respectful community that prioritizes education. Logo: The logo should maintain the green color currently used. This color plays a big role is the user's' psychology, and perfectly communicates the brand's identity and values. Font: I suggest the use of open sans for the website content . One may say this is overused, and I agree. However, it is overused for a reason, it gets the job done! Open sans is a neutral, simplistic and legible font. It has been proven to be one of the safest font options to use. Color Palette: The color palette used is an important tool for communicating the brand's personality. The current primary color (green) is perfect. The subdued green shade has the same calmness that blue has. Hence, blue can also be considered as a secondary color in the color palette, as well as other neutrals. Seeing as these colors are not too bright, they communicate the perfect blend of seriousness to a reasonable degree, and at the same time pass on a friendly message. Line spacing: This contributes to the entire composition of the content of the website. Compare these three examples. It's clear the difference line spacing makes. Thankfully, the current spacing used on the OLS is perfect for the message being passed. If the line spacing were to be any less than it is, the words would look too tight together and would give off an overly serious and rigid image of the brand, rather than the friendly and welcoming aura that it currently gives. Brand Imagery: Pictures are worth a thousand words. A lot can be communicated through these. The brand's choice of images should primarily take the values of community, modesty, education and education into consideration. Images with people from different works of life, different skin colors, as well as different backgrounds and cultures, depicts a strong sense of community, as well as respect (as it takes respect for differences, for people of varying cultures to work together in the first place). Currently, not many images are used on the site, and the ones used, only represent a single demographic, and this does not properly communicate the diversity that OLS welcomes. Graphics (illustrations, patterns, textures, icons): These should be used mostly in the brand's colors and fit the overall direction of identity. They should also be simple and easy to correctly interpret so that the wrong message is not passed. It is also important that the shapes used in creating these icons and illustrations have a friendly and fluid touch to them, so the brand does not come off as being too rigid. Copy: Last year I took a course on copy writing and realized how underrated it is. A brand's copy can make or mark the brand. Your brand is only as effective as how you communicate it. Consistently using a friendly and respectful, yet compelling tone or "brand voice", across all platforms, would properly communicate OLS' values. This also humanizes the brand, and people love brands they can connect with. Social Media presence: I feel like OLS' social Media presence can be much stronger, especially on platforms like twitter. This is an avenue for OLS to clearly articulate its values in every post made, either explicitly or not. This adds an edge, even beyond subtle messages sent by the visual elements on the site. It also helps to make the posts engaging, such that the brand connects with them its target audience more. This way, it is even easier to find out what the audience genuinely thinks of the brand, and to confirm that the right message is passed across. It also builds a stronger community and would bring more traffic to the Website, where more of the brand's values are clearly expressed. Here, OLS can also practice strategic commenting, by leaving comments under posts of brands that clearly share similar values of education, respect, transparency, open science and modesty. It is usually clear, by association, what a person/brand stands for. Note that it is important that all these elements should be combined in a way that they all align and deliver a coherent message. |
Hi @Ismael-KG, So copies in the context of representing OLS values are contents, content across several platforms. For your next question on the elements that form a copy, here are a few elements to consider:
With these in mind, one can create captivating headlines, subheadings, body text, captions, benefits, and features as earlier mentioned by @latifatakin. To set out guidelines that inform a welcoming tone, let's first establish the difference between brand voice and tone. Brand tone is the mood or emotion you convey in your content to your audience through specific word choice and writing style. We all have unique voices, but our tone changes depending on the situation. This applies to branding. In defining the guidelines for OLS tone, first, we know with the OLS brand voice, its tone has to be informal but it's important to keep it simple and clear. Some guidelines to take note of;
Understanding OLS audience, creating a persona, and making a list of keywords will also help in crafting welcoming copies. |
You are all doing spectacular work and providing amazing insight – I hope you don't take it personally if I don't comment on exactly what you said! I just want to mention some two thoughts based on @niyolynate's PR #46:
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Thank you, Ismael for your sweet words of praise. |
@Chalcedony219 I feel where this is coming from: "the proper use of gradients can require some level of mastery" – I learned many moons ago that I don't know how to use them right, haha! |
@Ismael-KG Thank you for creating an opening for us to obsess about gradients!! Rather than using one or more solid colours that may be bland and underwhelming, it's always great to make things interesting using gradients. 😍😍 And hey, nothing screams "we are a community that welcomes people of every colour" like using multiple colours, combined in a beautiful synergy. 🥰🌈 Gradients are an innovative way to make the brand stand out! How? There are limitless possibilities when it comes to colour combination. This is bound to give OLS its unique identity! 🤍🕺 |
Exactly @Ismael-KG |
We are unanimously agreeing on gradients, yes!! 💃🏽💃🏽 |
Thank you for the words of encouragement @Ismael-KG .
@Ismael-KG I have a question. Is there a design system for OLS? |
This is a good question. I will like to know also |
@latifatakin you're apt on the font sizing. We have some design guidelines in this repository, you could check the files. |
@latifatakin what do you mean by design system? |
A design system is a collection of reusable UI (User Interface) components and guidelines. It helps designers to maintain consistency across the brand. In a design system, we can find the type style , icons, buttons, images, colors, dropdown lists, input boxes, interaction guidelines and others. |
Since users would see the visual assets when they open the website, I believe they better reflected the values. We ought to put more effort into letting our fonts, color scheme, infographics, logo, and other visual components better express our ideals. |
On deciding on the perfect font size, we have to consider the type of page the OLS website is and when we do that, we find out that it is a text heavy website because it has a ton of text and doesn't have a lot of interactions which suits the purpose of the platform Since people are visiting with the goal of learning something, it is important that we don not make them strain their eyes. So I suggest bigger font sizes. 16px is the minimum body size for text heavy pages which is also the default font size in all browsers, while 18px is also a great size. |
I prefer the look of solid colors. We may utilize a variety of green hues. According to studies, science is best portrayed using solid colors, and our basic principles follow this trend. Additionally, a command of gradients as well as an understanding of color theory and its meaning require mastery. |
I will check the files out. Thank you 🙏 |
I think the design guidelines we have here just talk about the brand color and the font that was used which I believe is Raleway not the font size. Since it's just for the values I don't think a design system might be needed. Cause we don't require various font sizes max 2 if there's a need for that. And I'm on board for a gradient too but like @Chalcedony219 stated, the right use of gradient requires mastery so maybe we used much toned down colors. |
This is a good idea. But remember we're trying to deviate from the community being seen as "just a science community" and one that everyone is welcome. |
Finally here 💃🏾💃🏾 For the gradient, we can explore gradient as @NPDebs mentioned keeping in mind what @Chalcedony219 mentioned about being careful otherwise it can lead to a fail (not what we want). Balance of colors is very important in the use of gradients. There are also websites like; coolors, uigradients etc that auto-generates gradients for use. It gives someone a balance ground to begin when it comes to the use of gradient. |
This also varies with font choice but yes, those are standard minimum body sizes. |
Hi, I'm open to other suggestions but because a typeface is widely used doesn't make it less unique or less effective though, i believe if a typeface is popular or widely used, we should first check the reason why its so popular and if it meets the purpose of usage. |
I designed each of these images to illustrate the core values of OLS as shown in this slide https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fXnQvrt0uBXrYwUlvePSx6N7m7DnKLD1hCRTxos-QOk/edit#slide=id.p16 for open-life-science#38 and open-life-science#45
Hi all, I made some illustrations for the core values of OLS and they are linked above. I would really love some feedback or suggestions on improvements if any, Thanks. |
This issue is to discuss how we represent (in colour, image, text...) the values of OLS. We can follow two stages for this:
Everyone is welcome to contribute to this issue!
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