The on-wiki version of this update can be found here:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Abstract_Wikipedia/Updates/2021-02-25
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The logo concept
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Abstract_Wikipedia/Wikifunctions_logo_concept>
submission phase has come to a close, and we received 46 submissions and
variants
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Abstract_Wikipedia/Wikifunctions_logo_concept#Proposal_11>.
I am deeply impressed with the submissions, and am looking forward to the
vote.
Some of the submissions have a number of variants, and in order to avoid
the decoy effect <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decoy_effect>, we would
like to remove concepts that are too similar to each other. For Wikidata,
we made the decision inside the team about which variants to choose, and we
also dropped a number of the proposals. Here, I would like us to make the
decision together, but in order to ensure that things move on, we’ll take a
look at the status of the discussion on Monday and then the team will
finalize the exact candidates.
We also plan to have short notes on each submission (3-4 sentences), so we
are asking the submitters (but also everyone else who wants to join in) to
write short notes for each of the candidates. A short explanation can do
wonders for making a logo more interesting (my second favorite example is
the seemingly simple FedEx logo <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedEx#Logo>).
[image: Screenshot 2021-02-25 at 12.46.10.png]
This time can also be an opportunity to remove submissions from the pool,
or to flag other concerns and make them explicit in the notes, so that
voters are aware. This would include similarities to other, existing logos,
and we should decide whether we still want to keep the candidate or drop
it.
We will open the voting on Monday afternoon Pacific time, and keep it open
for two weeks until 15 March. Everyone eligible can vote for as many
different candidates as they like, and the logo with the most votes will
then be submitted to the legal department in order to scrutinize it, and to
the design department to refine it.
To give an example of how far the refinement could go: this was the winner
of the Wikidata logo voting, and it was refined by using a different ratio
on the bar and changing the wordmark considerably. We will take similar
freedoms with the logo concept this time around too.
In summary, here are the next steps: until Monday, let’s agree on the set
of logo concepts to vote on, and decide on the notes to accompany them. On
Monday, we will then start sending out messages inviting people to vote.
I am very excited to see what will be in the corner of our new Website, on
t-shirts, stickers, and badges. And thank you all for joining us in this
exciting process!
