Ubuntu logo v2022 has weird, 'imperfect' rotation angle (PR ready!)

[SebastJava]

Summary

At first glance, the three small circles of the logo seem to be placed at "standard" rotation angles, made of round numbers. The two small circles on the right would therefore be at equal distance, on the horizontal axis.

But in fact, this is not quite the case. And it gives the impression that there is a subtle error.

Process

Take a look at the three small circles, or heads, in Inkscape. Use guides or grids. Or just look at this:

Current and expected result

At first glance, the three small circles of the logo are placed at symmetrical angles (⁖). That is to say: 0°, 120°, 240°. In fact, it is more like 180°, 60°, 300°, if we place the zero reference at "3 pm".

In other words, I would expect to see a circle on the left and two circles on the right, at an equal distance, on the horizontal axis. But this is not the case. On closer inspection, the angles are subtly offset... Something like 182.75°, 62.75°, 302.75°.

If you wanted the logo to look less formal, less symmetrical, then I would suggest adding an obvious rotation, say 15 degrees. Otherwise, it just looks like a mistake to me.

In comparison, the 2010 logo version was absolutely "perfect", i.e. all made of "standard" angles and equal measurements...

But I'm not asking to go back to any old version, I'm just asking to redraw this logo with the same standards of perfection as for the 2010 version. (I already have done that, please look further down here.)

New logo version 2024 now available

That's exactly the same concept as for the 2022 version, but redrawn to perfection.

I've already redone this logo. I even have a repository that contains instructions on how to to fix your boot screen, login screen, and dash icon right away. I just couldn't wait for an official fix. :)

It's all there: https://github.com/SebastJava/Ubuntu-logo#readme-ov-file SVG core reference: https://github.com/SebastJava/Ubuntu-logo/blob/main/logo-v2024.svg

I could make a pull request, if you would just please tell me where to go for that.

[SebastJava]

https://github.com/SebastJava/Ubuntu-logo/tree/main/design.ubuntu.com-v2024 :

[gerwitz]

it just looks like a mistake to me.

When I first joined Canonical, I had a similar reaction. But after learning about this circle of friends glyph and it's history I came to appreciate that it was intentionally "hand drawn". You might compare it to modern humanist typefaces: not quite skeuomorphic but purposefully handmade.

Something we strive to express in our branding is a balance between made-by-people humanity and technically-perfect precision. It takes both to make Ubuntu strong and the logo attempts to convey that. So, the slight uncanniness you're experiencing is on purpose!

Also it accidentally serves as a detector for who is afflicted with the designer's curse of seeing slight misalignments, sorry about that.

Welcome to Ubuntu! (I love your README title 🙂)

[SebastJava]

(...) after learning about this circle of friends glyph and it's history I came to appreciate that it was intentionally "hand drawn".

@gerwitz I read this history you were talking about and I couldn't find any reference to this logo being intentionally "hand-drawn".

Moreover, I look at the previous version, that one from 2010, and I see it is just made of "pure straight angles": 270°, 30°, 150°. The previous version was geometrically and arithmetically pure, both visually and in SVG encoding.

Excerpts from https://design.ubuntu.com/brand :

Precise Ubuntu is crisp and clean in engineering and attitude. There is beauty in the precision of the process and product.

Otherwise, if you really want this logo to look hand-drawn, or informal, then I suggest a much more obvious, clearly intentional rotation angle. Something like 10° or 15° of additional rotation:

[SebastJava]

I just want to be clear again. I believe that the logo should either be perfectly "straight", or unmistakably, intentionally rotated. Otherwise, it looks imperfect, accidental.

[SebastJava]

I reviewed all my coding recently, on all files. This 2024 version looks as pure from the front as from the back...

Excerpt:

    <circle
       class="cls-3"
       id="head"
       cx="72"
       cy="256"
       r="72" />
    <use
       x="0"
       y="0"
       xlink:href="#head"
       id="use3"
       transform="rotate(120,280,256)" />
    <use
       x="0"
       y="0"
       xlink:href="#head"
       id="use4"
       transform="rotate(-120,280,256)" />