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[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (38 children)

Too late. Sort of. Not really. I just sketched some stuff. I need to either find and install a scanner or wait for a camera battery to charge.

Design can work incrementally too. It also helps if you have goals in mind. I'm going to try and help tease out a branding strategy.

I threw a lot at you. Of all of it, I'd like you to revisit #3 for an answer, if you don't mind. Maybe you don't have one. That's okay too.

[–]magnora7 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (37 children)

For #3 I don't care so much as I just want it to look modern and attractive to normal people. Doing paper sketches probably isn't the best way to approach this... don't you think starting in a digital art program would be better? I just don't want you to invest too much time in to this before we decide to include stuff or not. Small pieces is best

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (36 children)

Sketches are MUCH faster to get out some ideas. But they can also seem "sketchy" too and imprecise. It all depends. I'm fast and good so it's no prob. I already did them. Quickly.

Ironically, I just spent hours doing this which I'm not thrilled with - in Photoshop. Sometimes I like symmetry and maths and sometimes it should not apply. This is meh. Sometimes I love pixel art and sometimes it's meh. This one is meh. BUT it would be easy enough to add some geeky animation to make it a groovy pixel GIF. I used 3x3 pixels so it's 300% but I find pixel art looks better at 400%+.

One has the technical symmetry marks : https://infogalactic.com/info/File:SaidIt_Bold_Pixelized300%25_DotNet_FanArt_Technical_561x99.png

And the other is the cleaned up plain SaitIt.net bold logo adaptation : https://infogalactic.com/info/File:SaidIt_Bold_Pixelized300%25_DotNet_FanArt_561x99.png

The "A" is the worst casualty, and it needs to slide over 1 pixel towards the "I". I don't mind wasting time to find out what doesn't work. It's not terrible but it's not good either. It's meh.

My sketches have more promise.

All these images will be in the https://infogalactic.com/info/SaidIt gallery until it gets too much and will need it's own gallery page which will be linked from this main article. Like the table there will similarly be moved off the main article.

I forgot to also mention that if you want to be conservative with incremental improvements it's be ideal to gave that font.

[–]magnora7 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (35 children)

I'm going to be very honest with you here, I don't think we want to go in a pixel-art direction with saidit. People have already complained that it looks outdated and unpolished, and the pixel-art look (especially if not done absolutely perfectly) would just play in to that. We're really looking for stuff more modern and visually friendly to the widest range of users, like I said. I appreciate the effort, but this isn't the right direction sorry.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (34 children)

I agree 1,000,000%. I just thought it'd be fun should someone want a "oldskool" sub banner or whatever. It would also be fun to do animated gifs on.

It started with the Dot Net addition being in pixels.

Of the half dozen sketches I have for you, I feel I can share 2. 1 is just for fun, in part because it's not what you're after, understandably so, but is fun and I can critique it after I figure out this fucking Sony camera software shite. The other may not be a final design but it's very promising and familiar and with some adjustments and vectorizing, might be worthy. I have another in mind that I might bash out too.

[–]magnora7 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (33 children)

Okay sounds good. Whenever you're ready to share them, let me know

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (31 children)

Never got the old no-longer supported software working but I hacked it.

So I'm not even close to happy with it but it's a start. The camera flash was too much and without it not enough. I pushed and pulled the image. It's just a sketch but you get the idea.

https://infogalactic.com/info/File:SaidIt.net_Free_Speech_Bubble_Rounded_Rectangle_-_50%25Rez_-_1500x700_-_DSC02776.png

1) I love the frame. I drew the left side like the squared right side but the clip, shadow, and Photoshopping makes it look ovoid on the left. I like both a lot, but really prefer the squared right side with rounded corners. I like the 1-unit wide thickness of the outline. It's mathematically consistent with most of the lettering, but more so it is a bold feature and integral part of the logo and branding. That said, it would be folly not to experiment with options, ie. half as thick, or just a different background colour.

2) I squared the letters more to be less futurist-mod-flattened. Except the "S" which can easily be made to match.

3) The "S" came to me while sketching it. I feel like there's some similar "S" logo out there but I don't know where.

4) Finding the best "A" angle will take refining. 45 degrees (like on the pixel version) is too broad. This one is more like an equilateral triangle which seems too narrow - or maybe that's just because I'm used to it wider and because I compressed the kerning (space between letters) around it.

5) I like the slightly thicker "I"s thought in the "bolder" font it's not really as necessary.

6) The "D" I'm meh about. It loks better large but when small adds confusion. I'm almost tempted to do something like the sideways "D" in the Disinfo logo. I think simply adding part of the vertical "back" like the original logo - but with an angle like on the top of the "I" would likely be best.

7) The "T" is terrific.

8) The "Dot Net" could be in this same custom font, or just super simple (like the pixel version except for the pixellated "N" diagonal). While it may seem like a trivial matter, I think this demands a lot of attention to get the proportions just right. When large enough I want folks to easily read "Dot Net" and when too small I want folks to see an exclamation mark, and most importantly in between the large and small I want there to be as little room for blurred confusion as possible - preferably none.

If you like I could easily invert it to show how it would look with light text on a dark background.

Also, I can do a version without the bubble, or change the bubble style (there are countless variations possible, more than you think that might be suitable or even preferable).

One more thing I'd like you to imagine if you will, and I can easily mock up for you if you react favourably to this - is a truncated version. Imagine everything in the bubble gone, except the "S" and an "I" and an exclamation mark - and the bubble would be fitted around them. This "SI!" truncated "logo/icon" of sorts could be a mini-logo used on square buttons, faveicons, ballcaps, whatever. The con to this idea is that you might start getting users that don't speak English. But at least it's a positive word in other languages.

I have another one in mind that I don't yet know if I can pull off in a way to beat this one. Essentially you'd have the "SAIDIT" text, either the original or my new design, or whatever you like. Then with a speech bubble to the right side, pointing back at that logo, within the bubble would say "Dot Net". Conceptually it's meh. "Saidit" should be in the bubble if you like bubbles. This is where a mascot might come in handy.

The next image is a concept I had almost from day one here. The concept is great, but it's not what we're looking for, and my execution of it is weak, at best. But it's still fun and worth showing you. I could list all the things wrong with my first and only sketch in this direction but I don't want to waste anyone's time.

And lastly, my cat, Miss Ivana Barfsalot, wouldn't move. The camera flash works better from an angle but skews the page. Next time I'll just unskew it. I cropped and blurred the background with my work desk and all the crap on it. Miss Ivana Barfsalot 1 and Miss Ivana Barfsalot 2 .

I numbered my critical points in case you prefer referring to them in short form.

Feel free to give me feedback, ideas, directions, likes, dislikes, try something new, clean it up into a vector, or to forget the whole thing.

Edit: Also, I can just take the existing SaidIt log and put it in a bubble.

[–]magnora7 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (30 children)

https://infogalactic.com/info/File:SaidIt.net_Free_Speech_Bubble_Rounded_Rectangle_-_50%25Rez_-_1500x700_-_DSC02776.png

This one is not bad! No drastic changes to the font, and adding the speech bubble around it, not a bad idea at all. /u/d3rr what do you think of this logo? I think we'd have to see a digital version before I can really make any critiques though. I would probably change the "D" to be more like the current "D" though. The way it is now it looks a bit like "sadit" from a distance. We don't want to be sad lol

The other one is fun, but it doesn't match the feel of the site imo. This site deals in serious content so it should have a somewhat serious look.

Nice cat :)

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (28 children)

I like it. The logo goes with the meaning of the site name so that's pretty cool. Not sure if it will detract from the vaporwave thing we have going on, but maybe that's more about the colors.

And as a minor point I like getting away from the pyramid A since multiple people have told me it looks occultist or illuminati like :)

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

What is vaporwave? I can design you something custom if you like.

The thing about the current "A" is that it's wider than all other letters by a significant margin making it much more noticeable. I don't have the font, nor know why they did this. Perhaps they match the golden proportions of the actual pyramids in Egypt.

Without any complications you'll have a couple vector versions by morning.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (20 children)

/u/magnora7 /u/d3rr

https://infogalactic.com/info/File:Saidit.net_2019_Logo_Revision_Variants.svg

https://infogalactic.com/info/File:Saidit.net_2019_Logo_Revision_Variants_Part_One.svg

So here's a bunch of variations. From the top down...

First row left has an extended "D". First row right is inversed and I forgot to extend the "D".

Second row is without the bubble outline. I prefer this "tail" shape to the one above, but it does not conform to the angles of the text nor the curve of the "S".

The first two rows have my experimental "S". I like that it's different and is echoed in the shape of the tail of the bubble - but I am not thrilled with it. I suspect that it could be improved if my font were bolder like in my sketch. The two existing fonts IMHO are too thin and too bold, leaving me lots of room between those extremes to play with. Another note about the "S" is that it might go nicely in a bubble, alone without the "I" and exclamation mark, like in the examples lower to the right.

The first and second row "tails" are in the center, coming from the left but could potentially come from any direction, including from above. All the bubble have the same rounded corners but can be increased decreased, or a different bubble shape all together could be made. For example, I like pill shapes. It could be a subtle/subliminal red pill reference should we choose to pursue that course.

The first and second rows are very similar but you can see what a difference an outline can make. I'm not expecting you to really choose between having an outline or not, so much as bringing to your attention that we may land upon branding options including several versions, all valid, but within usage guidelines for different purposes.

I'm not thrilled about the "dot net", but it works better when small. Needs work.

Third row left, features and extended "D". The bubble has a straight "tail" and the angle of the tail "cuts" through the "I" and the "D". The bubble overlaps the fourth row. There is potential for interesting tiling.

Fourth row left, inverses the overlapping example above, but with the truncated "D". Personally, I like that "D" best because it echoes the "tail" as well as with the "I" and the "A" creates a downward negative space triangle, though granted I already addressed the dominant "A" of the current logo to minimize any pyramid-like imagery (especially with the bottom 45 degree angles on the "A"). Further, SaidIt doesn't downvote so the negative space downward arrow is not as topically relevant. Also, it is not a wide 45 degree "A" so the downward triangle is lop sided. Still I like the truncated "D" for one final reason - it slices the word equally in half - like a fair dialectic, yet not still remains a whole word unit. I aligned the point of the tail above to hit a mark lined up to the "I" and "D" not letting the bubbles overlap. Now I see it would have made more sense to tile it better so the "slice" were continuous.

The straight "tail" is almost too mathematically sterile, without humanity. Maybe that's just me. Maybe I'm a robot.

Fourth row right, all forward slash angles were changed to back slash angles. There are pros and cons that speak for themselves. It's a little jarring compared to what we're familiar with. It's also unusual in type as most calligraphy hold the ink nib at a forward-slash-like angle. The "S" has a different character as does the "D" and the slice. I don't know what to think about it.

Third row right, are two variations on an icon. I don't like either - yet. I don't like the "I" in either and the exclamation point is stupid for several reasons. SaidIt not YelledIt. The dot net had a purpose of clarifying the address. And it just clutters it up. I also made the icon bubble smaller so it feels more crowded. Whether you go for the upper or lower "S" I think it may actually work well alone.

Aside from tiling the SaidIt bubble much much more (like for a bold banner or subtle background) I don't recommend doing the overlapping bubble thing too much. There are ways it could be fun, though. For example, if "SaidIt" text only had an empty bubble, perhaps in different proportions, coming from it. This image is black and white so colours may be used to avoid the masonic checkerboard tiling - unless you wish to embrace that - assuming you even like the tiling idea. Tiling is just a bonus whimsical design idea.

Also, I just noticed they are all lopsided. All have less space beside the "S" than the "dot net". Duh.

So that's my own initial self criticism.

I thought I'd pitch it by you to see what you thought before I do a dozen more variations on these variations. Don't be afraid to tell me what you don't like, even if it's all of them. If you can't tell me why you don't like them, that too is okay, but the more you share with me the better I can deliver something we all like.

I'd rather you don't use any of these designs as they are not final and have issues. Feel free to post it for a survey and/or copy paste any of my words you like. Or don't and keep it between us for now. It's up to you.

P.S. I have some new ideas I didn't mention.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Good to hear. I'll whip up a couple vector versions.

The other one is weak at best but it does feature a different shaped bubble that might be useful for icons, flair, or whatever (as if there aren't already dozens ready out of the can). It was just for fun.

She is not only furry (thus the constant furballs) but fat as fuck.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I won't be offended if you don't like my pitch. That's just a part of the design field. I'm also very keen to please my clients, and you - so feel free to hit me with your harshest so we can not waste time and get to where you want to be.