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Branding #33

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GarthDB opened this issue Oct 1, 2013 · 77 comments
Open

Branding #33

GarthDB opened this issue Oct 1, 2013 · 77 comments

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@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 1, 2013

Doing some design work on the brand, feel free to fork the design, comment on layervault, whatevers.

https://layervault.com/garthdb/OSD%20Branding/Branding%20Postcards.ai/7

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 1, 2013

It uses the original icon I made for stickers I handed out at blendconf.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 1, 2013

Also posted the designs and artwork on dribbble. http://dribbble.com/GarthDB/projects/162559-Open-Source-Design

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 1, 2013

Also posted on Creative Cloud (the source artwork) http://adobe.ly/16emG3K

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 1, 2013

Started discussion on Forrst and posted as WIP on Behance.

@sodevious
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I just wanted to chime in and say that I really like the 2nd/3rd ones!

@xavibenjamin
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This one is definitely my favorite. I'm not digging the mark as an outline though

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 1, 2013

@ttimsmith you like the colors? or the typeface?

@xavibenjamin
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I like the colors and the typeface. I like the mark (emblem might be a better word? I don't know) filled in though.

@mrondina
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mrondina commented Oct 2, 2013

I agree. The outline of the icon minimizes the negative space of the pen icon within the circle.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 2, 2013

I'm going to aggregate the feedback here in one post - some seems like they are coming to a bit of a consensus.

Forrst:

I feel like the colors of the second one in conjunction with the type and logo of the first one would be a really solid winner -- I'm definitely partial to orange and red myself. Unfortunately, no Illustrator for me, only Photoshop, so I can't present a spin.

Dribbble 2 3:

Would be interesting to use Source Sans Pro using this style


I'd like the most this shape and font, but with your alternative orange colour scheme.
Also, maybe justifying the text centrally and placing the shape on the top of it would work even better. Having 'Open Source' and 'Design' in separate lines doesn't look very harmonious.


Email from Shawn Cheris (Design Manager, Brand + Icons at Adobe):

So first… why the pen nib? I'm not sure what it communicates about either openness or design. Unless you're making a specific reference to writing, hand-lettering or old-timeyness, it's kind of an odd metaphor (and one that's been used to death for the afore-mentioned circumstances).I'd probably forget about execution for a minute and get back to concept. Think about overlaps in metaphor ("open" + "design") and all the variations on those ideas ("open" = collaboration, feedback, iteration. "design" = formality, process, grid, classical design elements).

Formal comments:

I would definitely ditch the outline stroke version (or an outline stroke like that on just about anything). It's way too busy.

The kerning in all three lockups needs major love.

Pigeon Script (is that the font on the salmon colored one?) is extremely awkward and draws way to much attention to itself. It looks unintentional, like Illustrator auto-trace. Unless your intent is to say that Open Source Design is awkward and haphazardly assembled, I'd dump it for something a little more simple.

The kerning in the other two (Futura and Open Sans) both need serious love. The letters in Source Sans Pro are all crashing into each other (look at "urce" vs. "Open"… they're from two different worlds). Track that out and turn on optical kerning if you haven't already.


Same friend, different email.

The circle form is an easy one to play in. You can knock a lot of shapes out of it and have it still hold together. I'm not sure how much you feel the need to match up to that logo [he's talking about the open source initiative logo], but there's a lot of ways to get there. (though the logo and the strokes and all are kinda clunky)

I think the metaphors that most communicates design are grid and type. Doing something with grids could work. Or pixels, which are a kind of grid. Or a grid that turns into pixels. Or a stylized D for Design (maybe cheesy). Maybe something that speaks to digital design like bezier curve / handles? When I do stuff like this I try to spend an hour or two making spider diagrams.

OSD as an abbreviation / lockup is interesting, although only on its own (the O shape of the logo is supposed to be "Open" right?)

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 2, 2013

A good amount of feedback on a first post. Also @kyleroderick said on twitter he's going to fork it on LayerVault and take a stab at it. https://twitter.com/kyleroderick/status/385260941203365888

@kyleroderick
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Thanks for laying out all of the feedback so clearly above. Looks like you're on Illustrator CC using artboards. Any recommendation for working in CS6 on these files I've forked?

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 2, 2013

@kyleroderick yes cc. I'll post a cs6 version so you can work on it.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 2, 2013

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 9, 2013

branding-postcards-02

Playing. Used Source Sans Pro instead of Futura - @sodevious. Could use a sanity check on the kerning and word spacing.

@sodevious
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LOVE THIS! The O and p feel a smidgen too close though.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 9, 2013

yo o.p.p, yeah you know me.
opp

@sodevious
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Haha! I'm going to rebound this now. FYI - I think in Illustrator it's easier to expand the type + kern as objects, rather than having each letter as it's own type, does that make sense?

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Oct 9, 2013

branding-postcards

@sodevious so you think it is easier to get accurate kerning by outlining the text first?

@xavibenjamin
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I totally disagree with that. Kerning is a lot finer when it's still type.

@sodevious
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Well, yeah type as a whole. In this doc, the letters were on it's own - AKA not the whole words in one type object

@sodevious
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Also I just put this on the interwebz http://dribbble.com/shots/1266167-Branding-Postcards

@LeJasonGrote
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Hey guys - Just now getting to this post/issue. I think you all have some great points and initial designs.
I thought i'd do my first little iteration/post thingy. I'm totally new to this so please excuse any misuse of vernacular, or botching of cadence etc. Thanks!

So, I thought I would take a stab at combining some of my own thoughts on the typography, as well as (don't kill me) the possible idea of the name? After much conversation at our last meetup - the consensus seemed to be that the current name may be too narrow, or, may not convey or capture exactly all of what we are doing? Again, just thinking out loud here - in the spirit of open design. Also, scaling back to black and white, so there's no color distraction. I like the idea of playing with the mark - however I also LOVE the current one.

design open-01
design open-03
design open-02

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Dec 16, 2013

@LeJasonGrote this is awesome. I love the different layouts. I like how Design Open is an action/command. I think this is something we could include in branding/marketing.

I still think Open Source Design is the right term. I said something to that effect in the reply I made to @seecoy #66 (comment) (section 4 - 4. Call it Transparent Design)

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Dec 16, 2013

@LeJasonGrote Also, it looks like it's using Intro I think. I like the personality, but the license isn't conducive to the project. An open source font would be ideal - it lets us distribute it easily and people can use it as needed to contribute. I would recommend looking at The League of Movable Type

@LeJasonGrote
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@GarthDB Thanks Garth!
And yes - it looks like you got what I was going for with the wording ;)

I just read #66 (and agree on all your points by the way).
Also, good call on using an open source font.. makes sense.. I will take a gander over at our good friends at TLOMT :)

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Dec 18, 2013

@LeJasonGrote thanks so much for doing the work.

The League isn't the only place to find open source typefaces, but they are pretty dang good.

@equivalentideas
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love "Design Open" :)

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Sep 26, 2014

Should we change the url?
I found a couple:

  1. designopen.org
  2. designopen.co
  3. designopen.hiphop
  4. designopen.io

@Moodycomputer
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In a lot of the conversations I've had about our naming with people new to the project, Open Design seemed the most natural. A few people thought that Design Open was missing something, as though it should be Design in the Open or something.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 5, 2015

Opening this back up and talk about branding again.

I really like the idea of using multiply overlay. I have a couple color combination ideas.
image

I like the DO acronym and I'm thinking about overlapping the d and o. Here are a couple ideas.
image
image

I also like this, but it feels like nike or supreme:
image

@Moodycomputer
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I like color overlays as a concept a lot. Thematically there's a ton of good stuff there.

Skillshare does some cool stuff in that vein that's not as heavy- I like their branding a lot.
skillshare

Overlapping the DO is pretty nice- I'm going to explore that a bit too.

And that last thing does not feel like Supreme. It feels like Barbara Kruger, whom they stole from.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 6, 2015

I like the Skillshare stuff. It's awesome, and I don't mind biting style if we can do it tastefully (get it, tasteful? bite?)

I'll post the DO file I've worked on so far on pixelapse if you want to play with it. I would really appreciate the input.

Yes, Barbara Kruger, but it feels like Nike mostly because it says do, in a typeface similar to Futura.

Anyway, thanks for the comment @terracomma

@Moodycomputer
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Here's a quick little idea I had in the car coming home- a more geometric overall approach and a complete overlay of the D and O.

Thoughts? Questions? Favorite pizza toppings?

screen shot 2015-02-17 at 6 35 38 pm

@designopenbot
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I love the idea of the overlapping, and the shape has potential.

I think we could play with the line weight and the corners - maybe round the corners.


Sent from Mailbox

On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 5:36 PM, Christopher Moody
notifications@github.com wrote:

Here's a quick little idea I had in the car coming home- a more geometric overall approach and a complete overlay of the D and O.
Thoughts? Questions? Favorite pizza toppings?

screen shot 2015-02-17 at 6 35 38 pm

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

@Moodycomputer
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Here's a though with a partial overlap and some rounded forms. I like this sort of look better- less machined, more friendly. Thanks for the suggestion!

screen shot 2015-02-18 at 10 54 17 pm

@una
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una commented Feb 25, 2015

Ok I don't mean to sound like a jerkface, but I love the current logomark. What is the benefit of rebranding?

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 25, 2015

@una I'm a perfectionist who is never 100% happy with his own work.

Do we love love it?

@mrondina
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I like the current branding, but I don't think it self communicates well.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 25, 2015

@mrondina that's a great point; could you expound on it?

@ryanbrownhill
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@una @GarthDB I personally love the current mark!

What I have been doing on pixelapse has been mostly messing around with the typography and thinking about secondary graphics - like git badges etc. I did a little exploration on possibly enhancing the current mark but nothing has sold me yet. Current really rough WIP file here
screen shot 2015-02-25 at 10 07 41 am

Within the creation of these secondary graphics - I have been brainstorming about the possibility of loose guidelines for the graphics system - so multiple people can contribute but stay within brand.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 25, 2015

@ryanbrownhill I love the idea of setting up a branding system. It seems like the best way to create a playground for future collaboration and exploration.

@mrondina
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Well, icons work great when they have entered into the social conscience through exposure and proliferation through multiple sources. Take the settings icon; the gear. It's used so frequently that you can feel comfortable that a person will naturally understand what the icon means. With the design open logo, it relies on iconography that is clever, but not necessarily well known. The use of text as branding would do more to communicate what the brand stands for.

@una
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una commented Feb 25, 2015

@ryanbrownhill awesome work! I love the expanded iconography. I agree that I like the logomark, could use some love on typography, and an icon system can expand the brand.

@mrondina I'm curious to hear your take as well on why we should move away from what exists now! :)

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 25, 2015

@mrondina so you're not against the current mark, but pairing it with solid typography would help?

@mrondina
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And I realize that logos are somewhat independent in their use, but it still relies on large amounts of exposure before it is easily recognizable

@una
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una commented Feb 25, 2015

@mrondina i agree with your statements about the standalone logo. It would be aided with textual support next to it, especially on the website header

@mrondina
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@GarthDB I think pairing it with type would go a long way

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 25, 2015

Whatever we do, we'll need to work on the exposure front.

@una
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una commented Feb 25, 2015

YES! logo + type + icon system + color palette = win

@ryanbrownhill
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@GarthDB @mrondina @una Agreed - typography should be first priority as a next step for our branding.
Then icon system, then color palette, and finally exposure.

With that said: any open source typefaces you know of?
I know of Open Sans, Source Sans Pro.
and also The League of Moveable Type

@una
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una commented Feb 25, 2015

I'm excited to synthesize this into a styleguide :) #121

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 25, 2015

@ryanbrownhill Those are the primary ones. Some of the Google Fonts are open sourced.

@mrondina
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@una @GarthDB @ryanbrownhill How important to the brand is the use of Open Source type?

@una
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una commented Feb 25, 2015

@mrondina I think its pretty critical. All of our assets should be open source and available for use by anybody. This will allow a style guide and brand that can be expanded without barrier

@una
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una commented Feb 25, 2015

Here is @ryanbrownhill's icon work as of right now for visual reference within the thread:

screen shot 2015-02-25 at 10 20 04 am

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 25, 2015

True, and it speaks to our faith in the practice of open source applied to design. Typography is one of the few areas of design that are actually using licenses correctly.

@ryanbrownhill
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@una Thanks - the exploration above was just seeing what elements make up the current mark and thinking where we can push it. Just sketching in the open.

I agree with @una & @GarthDB I believe using a open typeface is essential for our brand - we need to practice what we preach.

@GarthDB
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GarthDB commented Feb 25, 2015

that being said, we should feel free to bend the typeface to our will.
bend to my will

@mrondina
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I don't disagree. Here are a couple of resources that I just googled and haven't vetted :)
http://openfontlibrary.org/
http://www.typewolf.com/open-source-web-fonts

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