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Date:      Mon, 14 Feb 2005 12:39:18 +0100
From:      "Roger 'Rocky' Vetterberg" <listsub@401.cx>
To:        Chris Zumbrunn <chris@czv.com>
Cc:        freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Rework of the FreeBSDwebsite[was:FreeBSD'sVisualIdentity:Outdated?]
Message-ID:  <42108DE6.4000706@401.cx>
In-Reply-To: <c335bcc95b7f2e2b63d7c6aa834ebca3@czv.com>
References:  <BB0FF3A5-58B9-11D9-BA41-000A95C969C6@zumbrunn.com><736EAA55-5B8B-11D9-ACB2-000A95C969C6@zumbrunn.com><20050102110732.GB861@zaphod.nitro.dk> <20050103232207.GA44980@gothmog.gr><9FC79942-5DE3-11D9-BEAB-000A95C969C6@zumbrunn.com><AC17F3AB-5EFE-11D9-BEAB-000A95C969C6@zumbrunn.com><ef7d8303afd97d5e51272fdcdaf4fec0@czv.com><517329304.20050213155432@wanadoo.fr> <420FB80B.7040209@nbritton.org> <aa2724f1176c200cf56aaf1503d2077b@czv.com> <420FD36F.7050302@nbritton.org> <42106B6A.9030109@nbritton.org> <c335bcc95b7f2e2b63d7c6aa834ebca3@czv.com>

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Chris Zumbrunn wrote:
[snip]

> Again, my point was, you can create two billion different incarnations 
> of FreeBSD logos with pointy horns and tails - none of them will ever 
> beat Beastie or its silhouette as the strategically most valuable logo 
> choice.

No, its not. It may very well be the historically or emotionally 
most valuable logo, but it is not the strategically most valuable 
logo.
But then again, I guess that all depends on what kind of strategy 
you live by. If FreeBSD's strategy is to forever remain a niche 
player with the image of a garage project, then the logo is fine.

> FreeBSD has no need to disassociate itself from its BSD history. To the 
> contrary, it's "corporate identity" needs to celebrate that association. 
> My little pointy horns and tails might be pretty, but they are not 
> enough. Beastie always wins. No professional logo designer in their 
> right mind would ever suggest to the FreeBSD project to drop that logo.

I beg to differ, I think that even an amateur logo designer would 
immediatly suggest that Beastie takes its rightfull place as 
mascot, and a new logo is created. The reason for this is simple. 
Beastie *is not a good logo*!
It does not scale well to different sizes. It does not work well 
in print. The copyright is not owned by the FreeBSD project. 
Beastie is not a symbol of FreeBSD alone, but for all BSD's and 
in part even UNIX in general.
A good logo you should be able to draw freehand on a piece of 
paper in a minute or less, and it should still be recognizable. 
Beastie is far to complex. Im willing to bet that not many of us 
would come up with something that looks like Beastie and still 
looks good, partly because we are not artist but mostly because 
Beastie just isnt easy to draw.

If people could just put their emotional luggage aside, Im sure 
this discussion would never have taken place.

Dont get me wrong, I love Beastie. Thats also part of why I do 
not like to see him trying to be something he is not, and in his 
current form he is not and will never be a good logo!

--
R



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