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Subject: Re: CouchDB brand identity and design of couchdb.apache.org
From: J Chris Anderson <jchris@apache.org>
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Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:35:48 -0700
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 <4091F8A7-8186-4BAB-90ED-370C50B7920D@me.com>
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 <4BC4C219.5040603@julianmoritz.de>
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To: user@couchdb.apache.org


On Apr 13, 2010, at 1:22 PM, James Fisher wrote:

> On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 8:40 PM, J Chris Anderson <jchris@gmail.com> =
wrote:
>=20
>>=20
>> On Apr 13, 2010, at 12:21 PM, James Fisher wrote:
>>=20
>>> Apalling internet connection atm.  Try:
>> http://i41.tinypic.com/156aeds.jpg
>>>=20
>>=20
>> I really like the simplicity.
>>=20
>>=20
> Thanks.
>=20
>=20
>> I think you will have a hard time convincing people to change the =
word mark
>> associated with the current CouchDB / Relax logo. If you can go back =
to the
>> old (less relaxing) font and type-setting for that,
>=20
>=20
> Mmm, I do wonder how ingrained it is.  I suppose the pros and cons =
are:
>=20
> ---
>=20
> Myriad (if that is what it is) pros:
>=20
> * Expensive.  Possibly gives a subconscious feel of luxury.
> * Already used.  If (if) CouchDB already has a well-ingrained brand
> identity, it's wise to keep it.

I think the "Already used" point is the most salient. There are already =
a ton of t-shirts, releases, etc all using the current logo.

I think if we were gonna move from the current logo / word mark, we'd =
only move to something even more expensive. But that's my opinion...

CouchDB is relaxing, but overplaying that too much can scare away people =
who want to use it for serious things.

> * Presumably has a much better character set if it's ever going to be =
used
> extensively (I doubt it).
>=20
> cons:
>=20
> * Expensive.  Even my own warez collection of fonts hasn't managed to =
hoover
> it up.  I doubt many people except professional graphic artists own a
> genuine copy.
> * Extensively used by Apple (http://www.apple.com/ I don't think =
there's
> much they produce that *isn't* in Myriad).  I suppose you could call =
that a
> pro if you want to piggyback; but I don't think the CouchDB identity =
fits
> very well with brushed aluminium.  I don't want to kick back on an =
aluminium
> couch.
> * (my own feeling is that it is) a bit too formal.  It has a "friendly
> high-class business" feel (can't find the words there).  E.g.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myriad_%28typeface%29 mentions it's used =
by All
> Nippon business class flights.
>=20
> ---
>=20
> Candela pros:
>=20
> * I think it looks like a couch, in a hard-to-define way.
> * Free (and libre) (at least for the purposes of @font-face and any =
other
> CouchDB literature, AFAICT from the license).
> * Untrammelled by other prominent commercial use -- making it =
potentially
> highly distinctive as "that CouchDB font".
>=20
> cons:
>=20
> * CouchDB community rebellion against it? (?!)
>=20
> ---
>=20
>=20
>=20
>> and perhaps drop the saturation on the Cyan (light-blue-grey would be =
nice
>> I think) you'd be getting somewhere.
>>=20
>=20
> I agree with you there, I think.  Alternatively, turn up the =
brightness.
> Doing a bit of both helps.
>=20
>=20
>=20
>>=20
>>> On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 8:12 PM, Julian Moritz =
<mailings@julianmoritz.de
>>> wrote:
>>>=20
>>>> Hi,
>>>>=20
>>>> James Fisher schrieb:
>>>>> I've no idea if I can attach PNGs here, but here goes.  Find =
attached
>>>>> one proposed design.  Only Inkscape atm, but I should be able to
>> convert
>>>>> to HTML with little fuss.  A few notes:
>>>>>=20
>>>>> Let me know if
>>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>> no png attached. Seems you've been interupted while writing this =
email?
>>>>=20
>>>> Regards
>>>> Julian
>>>>=20
>>>>> On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 2:05 PM, Noah Slater <nslater@me.com
>>>>> <mailto:nslater@me.com>> wrote:
>>>>>=20
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   On 13 Apr 2010, at 13:54, James Fisher wrote:
>>>>>=20
>>>>>> Certainly will do.  I'm doing some rough sketches now; might get
>>>>>   something
>>>>>> up in the next couple of days.
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   Please take a look at these designs:
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   Homepage:
>>>>>   http://twitpic.com/pme28/full
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   Homepage/Downloads:
>>>>>   http://twitpic.com/pmetj/full
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   Homepage/Screenshots:
>>>>>   http://twitpic.com/pmevr/full
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   Wiki:
>>>>>   http://twitpic.com/pmexo/full
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   Wiki/Syntax reference:
>>>>>   http://twitpic.com/pmf2r/full
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   I think we all agreed at the time that this was a good way =
forward
>>>>>   for the site.
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   Search the dev mailing list for "Website redesign" and maybe get =
in
>>>>>   touch with:
>>>>>=20
>>>>>          maddiin <maddiin@googlemail.com <mailto:
>>>> maddiin@googlemail.com>>
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   He was doing most of the work on this last time!
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   Thanks,
>>>>>=20
>>>>>   N
>>>>>=20
>>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>=20
>>=20