On Fri, Jun 16, 2006 at 10:07:07AM +0200, Erik Moeller wrote:
As MediaWiki 2.0 is slowly moving closer, I think we should consider replacing the current logo. The problems I have with it (and I say that as its co-designer) are that the colors feel washed out, the flower is asymmetrical, and the square brackets look just a tad bit too square and ordinary.
Wow, a topic I actually feel competent to expound on. :-)
I found a very nice flower photograph on Commons, and decided to experiment with it a bit. The result can be found at: http://scireview.de/wiki/logos/
I rather like that, Erik. I think I'd choose a typeface for the square brackets with a slightly tighter radius, so it remains clear they're supposed to be *square*.
The flower used here looks more like something airbrushed than a straight crop of a photo (even though it is the latter), which I think is an advantage for a logo. I do like the notion of using a complex flower rather than a purely stylized one; I think that this is allowable in the context of an entirely web-based product.
I personally think it looks fine.
I think the colors/brightness and the brackets could use some tweaking. I'm also not sure if I prefer the version with a shadow behind the flower or the one without (the two people who have sent me feedback so far prefer the one with, I have a slight preference for without). If you want to play with it, there's an XCF link for editing in the GIMP; all the elements of the picture are represented there as layers.
I concur on the drop shadow, as long as it's implmented as an alpha-channel PNG: it will eventually end up on things with non-white backgrounds. I actually quite like the color balance as it is.
You might need to bold up the tagline just a touch, for small sizes, though it's fine at the larger size. Or darken it. It should still stay noticeably lighter than the mainline.
For favicon size, we probably want to draw something from scratch rather than resizing the logo. In the "Powered by" button size, it could use some tweaking (perhaps some pre-processing before scaling down).
I see that you've taken the brackets off of the favicon; did you try rendering it with (at least one set of) them?
I'd appreciate your comments on these experiments. Perhaps we should start an open logo process when MediaWiki 2.0 comes within grasp.
Perhaps.
And the project tagline, as a separate thing.
Perhaps someone should put a page at meta soliciting suggestions, and making the case for a CC license, and publicize?
Cheers, -- jra