New logo coming

Woot I see things have move forward here while I was boosting modxcms.fr a bit...

I can certainly understand how the box is a used cliché, but visually it works well for me !

I liked the "connector" thing too, it seems to represent MODx better as kind of flexible modular but it doesn’t seem to work as well as the box...

There is a concept I like very much but I might not be skilled enough to draw :

a stylized 3d double helix modeled after DNA strands (but not as complex, so that it keeps its visual impact)

And then I imagine instead of having GATC sequence you’d have MODX.... XDMO.... ODMX.... maybe throw in XPDO as there are two common letter... etc used as low contrast background letter around but not to close to the logo. You could use it or not depending on context.

This would illustrate the great richness of ways you can combine MODx components to achieve anything...
Benefit would be : people would quickly understand the analogy and it’s a rather powerful one...

What do you think ?

There is a vector file illustrating DNA strands available @istockphoto which could be handy as a starting point

After consideration and looking at the site design and such I think the box can work but how about the box not completely put together yet? As if to signify the building of ones own box. It is the kind of thing I was getting at when I conceived the Origami.

Some of these concepts could be held for promotional items like CafePress ware and some other such that could be used to both promote MODx and to raise some money. Who doesn’t need to pay too much for a shirt if they like the cause it supports?

Quote from: rthrash at Feb 19, 2008, 08:55 AM

The box has indeed been used over and over and over and over. I’m definitely not upset about differences of opinion and welcome any alternatives. Another question might be do we need an icon at all? I’d prefer one personally, but obviously I’m open to pretty much anything.

I do like the treatment of the word with the split x, and its "greater than/forward progress" implication.

Perhaps less is more. I like the "greater than" logo quite a bit. It’s simple, has a built-in icon, and definitely gets across the message we want to imply. Plus, it’s easy as hell to market. Everyone has an icon in their logo (Joomla, Drupal, and others). Doesn’t mean we have to. I’d rather fallback on a good, solid stylized logo rather than have an icon we can’t all agree on.

Quote from: Bravado at Feb 19, 2008, 11:57 AM

I’d rather fallback on a good, solid stylized logo rather than have an icon we can’t all agree on.

That is a great idea! No Logo! MODx isn’t about any one design or aesthitic but about an incredibly awesome tool. Logos don’t make a tool good or cool. People raving about how cool MODx is and how much better their life is since working with MODx.

I agree 100% with the no logo approach until one does show up that we can reach a reasonable consensus on.

From a brand marketing perspective the logo or icon should not meet the desire of the owner but reflect the tastes and contextual expectations of the person--the ideal customer--in whom you wish to connect with. So deciding on who the desired target "buyer" is and then build a design around those things that represent cool to them. So if corporate, small enterprise is a target then one logo may work, if strictly php Wonks then another design may be due.

My personal choice is that there are great talented designers within the midst of MODxers and a contest for a design based on the above and an outline that meets certain style requirements would be good.

Cheers,

Jay

Agreed here Jay; I think it would be a fine contest.

And BTW, thanks for helping to resurrect the activity that has been absent in these team forums for far too long now. We should have gotten you here a long time ago.

Humble thanks Jason

I’ll start chatting with the Marketing Team about creating some mystery. I liked what Freshbooks did when they rebranded from 2ndsite.biz which was to say they’ve murdered their brand and then created a series of clues to the end of the rebranding release. It was silly but it attracted a fair amount of attention to the app and made the rebranding a part of the community.

We could do the same but instead get the involvement of the community in the actual logo design, issue some press releases relating to the logo jousting contest there may also be some ways we could get people from related sites to get involved and all the while spread the word about MODx. This could be a great tie-in to get people interested in MODx such as bloggers, tech-folks.

I have a contact at IDG News who might be able to point me in the right direction for some lights shone on the contest.

Not exactly sure what but the more mystery and involvement (that isn’t resrtricted to a forum) I just think that a Ditto based mini site that accepts comments and submissions for artwork.

Depending on how long a horizon the site is on (1 month?) the contest could be done in overlap so that the new site is revealed you could put a brownpaper bag or something over where the box is and "Design This" or some such.

Just running off here...

I’ll cool off and grab a tea.

Cheers,

Jay

Quote from: OpenGeek at Feb 19, 2008, 01:40 PM

Agreed here Jay; I think it would be a fine contest. And BTW, thanks for helping to resurrect the activity that has been absent in these team forums for far too long now. We should have gotten you here a long time ago.

Indeed !
I am glad I convinced Jay to jump in

Those are great ideas, which reminds me I am more of an evangelist than a real marketing pro, as I have always thought... it’s great to have complementary views and skills and I think I am going to learn here (nice stuff logo <-> ideal user, we tend to get perspective stuck more often than not) and MODx is going to benefit tremendously from your input

A minisite Ditto and Jot powered is a cool idea !

So whats next after all?
Are we going to announce a contest on MODx logo?