Serendipity 1.0 Release Progress

Discussion corner for Developers of Serendipity.
carl_galloway
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Post by carl_galloway »

I would strongly discourage the logo (regardless of how good it is) from ever being placed in the default theme, although in the header of the Serendipity blog would be fine. We have to remember that Serendipity is just another blog engine in the eyes of most bloggers and forcing them to promote it would be wrong.

My personal feeling about the use of the logo is to make our project recognisable to other programmers, marketers, journalists etc, as we go about promoting it. At some point in the future we may wish to run banner ads or take part in adwords campaigns and the logo/branding would be needed for that.
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Post by judebert »

My personal feeling is that the arrows, themselves, are the logo. The atom is just... filler. I especially like the idea of changing the inside to be related to the current page. I even think animating it would be cool, fading from one Serendipity usage to another.

I think this is what is meant by "branding": the logo can be used with other thematic items, but still retains its identity. The Nike swoosh and the Coke wave can be used with images, or text in any language, and still be recognized as representing their company.

For a favicon, I'd use just the arrows. They could be minimized pretty well, perhaps leaving enough space for a circle, dot, or S in the middle.

And finally, inspiration strikes: how about putting an infinity symbol in the center?
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davecjr
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Post by davecjr »

As always, thanks for all the hard work. I've used s9y for a couple of years now with very little web experience and have always used the latest beta with great luck. The two or three times the luck wasn't so great, someone in the forums helped out quickly! That never happened with other software I tried!

My two cents worth. I love the new site layout or mock up and agree with a few posts here about the logo being a little too big or the arrows anyway. I love the idea RobA mentioned about the favicon and 'Powered By' button.

Again, thanks for all the hard work and help in the past.
Darryl
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Post by Darryl »

My own personal opinion...

The new site looks much better than the old one.

The new logo is entirely too busy. A logo should be something simple that people will instantly recognize as associated with Serendipity. Take a look at wordpress.org. A "W" enclosed in a circle. Everyone knows that it stands for wordpress. Mambo's simple flower is highly recognizable. Look at CPanel's logo, a combined CP.

A logo should be less instead of more.

Look at WindowsXP logo...colored windows. Look at the Linux Penguin. Joomla's 4 figures holding hands. vBulletins' checkmark V. How about McDonald's Golden Arches (a big yellow M).

Here's a quick example...go to http://www.telzilla.com to see a basic tree made with s9y. The outline of the tree is nothing more that a comic ballon (inviting conversation or whatever). The tree symbolizes growth, expansion, branching out into new territory (or the future or whatever you wish it to be really). Also, the words below the logo are not part of the logo, but in addition to it. I'm not suggesting you switch to this logo (or any derivative of it), I'm only suggesting that you guys look at other options.

BTW, I'm not a designer, but I do have some experience in marketing. Simple, effective, instantly recognizable. These are key to building your brand awareness with your logo. To me, the arrows and atom seem to be erratic. Something you definitely don't want in software.

This is just my own personal opinion and not meant as criticism to anyone in particular. I personally love the software and think it is not only easier to use than wordpress or MT, but also much easier to theme. Hopefully, with the release of 1.0, more and more people will start to use it.

Darryl
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Post by d_cee »

Hi

I've been reading the overnight comments with interest.

Rob A - I've made a few 'powered by' chicklet mock-ups too but the discussion here is only about the logo/website at the moment. I can post them tonight if the concensus is that it would be useful.

And Darryl
Darryl wrote:I'm only suggesting that you guys look at other options.
To get to where we are now, you can be sure that we've looked at many, many options :-)

Carl and Jude are both right about the use of the logo. It's an integral part of Serendipity's branding but not part of any theme or template for anybody's blog.

Dave Cummins
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Post by snafu »

Image

hi, what do you think about this one? i took davids idea, reduced it a lot by removing some arrows and minimalizing the atom icon. i agreed to remove the text inside, as one wrote above, only using "serendipity" alone.

i used some variations of fresh green (if you want: to indicate the rapid growing project :-) and omit the blue. the logo works also if resized to some dozen pixels.

Image

a straight version without shadows and a favicon version should be possible also.

garvin wrote: "The current look of Serendipity was found to be too plain". i like that plain look in the backend VERY MUCH, but the standard template could be somewhat more web3.0b, hihi...
maybe some more fresh colors will do the job. whats about these colors for basic design? used careful in very small amount...?!

Image
SoWhy
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Post by SoWhy »

Eeek. Tooo Cheerful!^^
Darryl
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Post by Darryl »

That design is much much better! I think it would work better without the arrows. The center design by itself suggests working together, communication, teamwork, etc. The symbol for infinity is also in there, which suggests continuous growth and maturity. The arrows are just fluff.

Also I think that the colors are a bit too obnoxious. I would suggest toning them down a bit, since they are a bit too trendy. Green, Blue, and Red in less neon tones would show professionalism...which would help attract businesses, etc. Not everyone who wants to start a blog is a 20-something (mid-40's here).

I guess it all depends on what type of user base you are looking for.

BTW, I really like the center design. Colors aside, it looks great.
snafu
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Post by snafu »

Darryl wrote:Not everyone who wants to start a blog is a 20-something (mid-40's here).
muharhar! mid-40 here too

you are right with the colors, the should become more pastel and less hip.

i played around with the center part alone and found it a bit too much like this yin and yang stuff on the organic food packages :-)

ok then, maybe some more comments
Darryl
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Post by Darryl »

What about instead of just the two pieces in the middle you extend it to 3 or 4? That would lose the yin yang element. But still embody teamwork, communication, etc.
carl_galloway
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Post by carl_galloway »

hmm, I really like those colors, I wouldn't mind using that combination in a new theme for kids, quite a few parents who use Serendipity are giving their kids their own blogs so might be popular...

I digress, may I comment on the average age of Serendipity users, it is getting older, and will get older still - my research indicates a trend towards new users being in the 35+ age group, with a significant number of mom and dad's. Haven't noticed too many grandparents yet but they are the fastest growing segment of Internet users.

Carl
Darryl
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Post by Darryl »

snafu: here is basically what I was talking about...

Image

I'm really lousy at design, so you guys figure it out. I'm only making suggestions...LOL.

Darryl
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Re: Serendipity 1.0 Release Progress

Post by sil53r »

The logo looks good at first sight - a huge improvement in any case! - but a little overloaded at the second. The arrow-heads are so big and the arrows are so prominent they leave an aggressive impression, in my eyes. I'd remove them.

I agree with the the round part in the middle. It's a bit like a sticker or a stamp, which is a good thing. (Any Serendipity stickers available yet?) I've also read sometime that a round design stands for reliability when it comes to corporate identity considerations. The colors fit in the design of the site, but I think they are a little too soft; slightly stronger colors would make the logo stand out more.

I would stick with the "Serendipity Web Journal" text around the atom as is. I think it's perfect. But what about changing the nucleus into a stylized globe? This would deliver the "tell the world" slogan in a rather subtle way. The graphics would function both as an atom and "moons" circling a globe as well. Which might be interpreted as a hint at the future-orientation of Serendipity.

Last, I think a logo-and-design discussion is important. The logo is the first graphic recognized and (hopefully) the one remembered best. It should be firmly linked to the product in the consumer's view. A very good design example in my opinion is the redhat logo, for instance. Better not to underestimate that.

As for the mockup page and apart from already posted comments, it looks functional, but I think it still needs a few more sparing, but carefully placed eye-catchers. A bit more color in the lower right corner as a counterbalance to the logo in the upper left, maybe?

Just my 0.02 EUR. Keep up the great work, all together!
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Post by sil53r »

Darryl wrote:I'm really lousy at design, so you guys figure it out. I'm only making suggestions...LOL.
No, it's a nice idea, Darryl! But... Am I the only one that spots a close resemblance to the Ubuntu logo in it?
Darryl
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Post by Darryl »

No, it's a nice idea, Darryl! But... Am I the only one that spots a close resemblance to the Ubuntu logo in it?
yes it's similiar, but I would also think that Joomla's logo is just as similiar if not more so, since they are recognizably based on humans.
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