[ocaml-biz] big O logos

[Brandon J. Van Every]

Olivier Grisel wrote:
>
> so here is my new set of logo proposals:
> http://champi.champiland.homelinux.org/~olivier/ocaml-logos.html
> (same address as before)

As far as the 'doing things with camels' approach goes, I think the big
round 'O' with a camel silhouette in it is a perfectly good design
direction to go in.  I don't think this specific logo will do, however.
It seems 'too natural, too friendly' and I honestly can't see it
competing with the likes of Oracle or .NET or any of the other big
business enterprise players.  An "O with a camel in it" logo would need
to be more slick and probably more abstract.  Think of the AT&T 'Death
Star' logo, for instance.

To say more, I'd have to get out my sketchbook and try some things.  I'm
not quite ready to do that yet, I'm still in "define the message" mode.
That said, I envision a black 'O' with a camel as the whitespace, the
center of the 'O'.

Another comment, about your font treatment.  The yellow letters and
their shapes are awfully reminiscent of R.J.Reynolds Tobacco's
marketing.  That's a negative.  We need a brand identity that doesn't
resemble a cigarette.

I think we should submit at least 2 prototypical logo concepts to INRIA.
One along the lines of "an O with a camel in it," and another along the
lines of cams, cogs, and machines.  That way, we see what kind of
connotation INRIA is willing to put its weight behind.  Also if they
have options they get to reject something.  It's very important to let
clients reject something, it makes them feel powerful and important.
The idea they keep is 'their' idea, 'because they rejected something'.

In other words, as we design logos with different major strategic
directions, we have to be fully prepared that one or more of us is going
to lose.  There Can Be Only One.

It's too bad we weren't smart about giving the Python Software
Foundation some things to reject.  We only showed 'em the one logo, and
they rejected it, so all our eggs got smashed in one basket.

On the subject of cams, cogs, and gears, I'm seeing a big 'O' with a
smaller gear inside it.  Maybe the big 'O' is internally toothed.
Possibly a big 'O' is the right design direction for either case,
whether camels or cogs.  It's just a question of what the inside of the
'O' should look like.


Cheers,                     www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every           Seattle, WA

Taking risk where others will not.