We need an official logo

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sliptonic
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Re: We need an official logo

Post by sliptonic »

pathfinder wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 10:25 pm
sliptonic wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:50 pm Logistically, I just don't see how to do it. Imagine we get 50 submissions. You have to create a poll with 50 options. but the poll can't contain the images, so the person voting has to somehow understand which option goes with which submission. This is just a limitation of the forum poll software.

The second problem is that it doesn't avoid the possibility of internet shenanigans. A motivated 4chan mob could push 5 unacceptable submissions into the top five spots. To follow our rules, we would have to select one of them. That's why I think it makes sense for the FPA to select 5 acceptable options and let the crowd select the winner. Of course, that assumes we get at least five acceptable submissions.
Well, it's not elegant, but you could just not use polls and do it manually. Do a voting thread, make an image grid with the logos with each having a number next to it and have people just comment "3", "12" and so on. Then after the set time, go through the thread manually, check when a user was registered to prevent the 4chan problem, check for double posts (probably ignore edited posts?) and just run the numbers.

It's annoying, but even if it were, say, 100 pages, it's like a days worth of counting max? Less if you get multiple people ("You do pages 25-50, I do 1-25") and maybe even less if you have software that just pulls number, username, account age and puts them in a list.
For all that complexity, what's the advantage over running it the other way around?
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pathfinder
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Re: We need an official logo

Post by pathfinder »

Yeah, you may be right that it's too much work for too little outcome. It's also not really my place to have an opinion on that matter anyway.

If you do it the other way around though, in the rules, I'd probably say "up to five" rather than five exactly. Not that it's likely, but if people feel obligated to put forth an option that they feel doesn't represent them to get to five finalists and then it gets voted by the public, it's maybe unfortunate?
Storen3
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Re: We need an official logo

Post by Storen3 »

Here is my opinion:

Few words about me: I am a retired industrial designer/consumer product designer. Through the years I accumulated a bunch of reputable design awards, and patents and worked with a lot of different professionals, bla, bla bla… What I mean is I know my way around design problems.

See my advice in blue:

What process should we use for selecting a logo?

Should we have a contest? - No.

• Who's eligible to enter? - Only people with good portfolios and proven expertise.

• Who judges? - This is the main one. You need to find and invite an experienced designer/design director.

• What should be the criteria? - Should be set by the design director.

Should we contract with a designer to do the work? - No. The designer tasked with this should be willing to do it free of charge for the good of the community, the same way coders contribute their time and efforts.

• What should we ask for? - The design director should know that.

• How much should we pay? - You shouldn’t.

• How do we select a competent designer? - The selection would require competence and experience. You won’t be able to make an adequate selection without help. The design director should know how to approach this.

• How will it be received if we pay a designer while developers contribute code unpaid? - It is going to be very unfair and unnecessary.

Is there another process to consider? - What I am suggesting is probably the only way in your case that could bring decent results.

• What is it?

• What are the pros and cons? - If the initiative is limited to the logo design you won’t risk anything. If the idea is to later extend the collaboration to the UI it could be problematic as it may require revising the process and methodology of the development. It should be approached very carefully.

The readers of the UI/UX forum section should be the experts in this area. - Why should they be experts? By quickly browsing through the concepts in the FreeCAD logo thread I see is that the vast majority of the participants are amateurs without formal training and professional experience. I don’t mean this as an offense. I consider myself to be an amateur in everything I do outside of design.

This is an opportunity to benefit the entire FreeCAD project with your expertise. Let's keep it civil and professional.

-------------------------------

Some additional thoughts: Logo design is one of the most challenging areas of design and very few people are good at it. Compared to other areas of design it is very minimalistic and the problems are very easy to notice. It is like when you try to express some profound truth/wisdom with just a couple of words. The chance to sound dumb is very high :D

I am tempted to propose myself, but I am concerned I may not have the necessary amount of time, so I won’t. Of course, I would be happy to help with advice and opinion.
catman
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Re: We need an official logo

Post by catman »

sliptonic wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:23 pm ====DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT======== Don't submit suggestions yet.
# Logo Requirements
...
# Challenge Rules
...
Storen3 wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:22 pm Logo design is one of the most challenging areas of design and very few people are good at it.
sliptonic, I really admire your open and structured approach. And I find it most valueable that people with a professional background are joining in, offering their feedback as Storen3.

My 2 cent input is just to keep in mind that even major companies are known to change logos. If your are not going to invest millions in brand buidling for the FPA there is no reason to update a first logo with a better one after a few years.
I think there is nothing wrong if an initial "open" solution might be imperfect, Working with it a few years and learning about any deficits, you may come back to your process any time, refine it and do it again.
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chennes
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Re: We need an official logo

Post by chennes »

Thanks everyone for their input -- we're going to give this a shot: viewtopic.php?t=76211
Chris Hennes
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