Pug Logo

[ForbesLindesay]

Unfortunately, as per #2184 we need a new logo. The original discussion around the logo was in #1882.

@GarthDB and @viktorbezdek have both volunteered to help with the designs.

[GarthDB]

I have some sketches I'll start posting. It's been fun drawing pugs :)

[benedfit]

From the talented Emily Moore @clocklimited

[ForbesLindesay]

Awesome, thanks. My initial reaction is that it looks like a very unhappy pug. I wonder if we can make it look a little more playful/happier. I'm looking forward to seeing a few more options so we have somethign to compare :)

[benedfit]

:) Sure

[smaili]

How about this?

I kept the green as an ode to Jade, but gave it a more modern pastel feel to it. I'm also envisioning the redesigned website would use the same three colors from the logo (green/blue/brown) for its headers, links, etc. so that everything matches the same common style/theme.

[ForbesLindesay]

I like it :+1:

@GarthDB it would be great to see your suggestions for comparison.

[christopherdowson]

Can anyone chime in with a logo? If you want to see some of my previous examples head to https://christopherdowson.info

[ForbesLindesay]

Absolutely! The more people the better :)

[benedfit]

@ForbesLindesay playful pug by Emily Moore @clocklimited:

[ForbesLindesay]

Thanks @benedfit, that looks much more cheerful/playful. Definitely an option of other people like it.

I'm currently leaning towards @smaili's suggestion (it just looks so huggable). I agree that we could style the website throughout using those colours.

@TimothyGu and @alubbe - do you have any preference?

[TimothyGu]

I personally prefer @benedfit's, although if its body and limbs are added it would be even better. IMHO.

[alubbe]

Also leaning towards Emily Moore's version because it looks more distinctively like a pug, especially when you zoom out (relevant for favicons and smaller logos). The other one kind of needs the word pug to tell you what it is.

[crookedneighbor]

Could you just keep the rabbit even though it's called Pug?

[TimothyGu]

@crookedneighbor is there a reason for this?

[jimmytheneutrino]

@crookedneighbor +1 IMHO, The rabbit is awesome. It is full with some kind of appealing raw power and swiftness. Just like jade is quick and powerful and without any clutter.

The proposed logos are cute and adorable but they lack this. Of course, maybe one can do something similar with pugs. But why not stay with the rabbit in the logo?

[ForbesLindesay]

@jimmytheneutrino @crookedneighbor: I like the rabbit a lot too, but it's not a pug. I think it would be very strange to have a rabbit for the logo and pug for the name. We considered a lot of names that would make the rabbit logo make sense, but ultimately none of them made any sense and weren't already taken. It's worth the change in logo to have such a short, easy to spell, easy to pronounce name.

[christopherdowson]

I don't know if cutesy is the best approach. Yes, pugs are cute (if you like dogs) but it all needs to tie together and - more importantly - be taken seriously. If you look a the style sites like Yeoman have used for their branding - distinct, adaptable and while cartoon-like, isn't cartoonish.

[smaili]

Pugs by nature are friendly animals, and I'm fairly certain when most people hear/see a pug their initial reaction isn't serious. So for me personally, I think it's a bit strange to convey a tone that doesn't match the animal.

While on one hand, I actually don't see anything wrong with having something cutesy for an important tool like Jade, if serious is really what the intent is then maybe pug isn't the right name? I mean even the word "pug" itself has a friendly sound to it.

[KyleKing]

What about keeping the style and branding from Jade to keep more consistency during the rename? I threw together a really-really-really rough mockup, what do you think?

[GarthDB]

Hey @ForbesLindesay I've been crunched with PhoneGap day this last month - it's over next week so I'll be able to put some time into this. If you can't wait around that's fine too.

[ForbesLindesay]

I want pug to seem friendly. To me that seems much more important than making it seem professional (although of course it needs to be both). I want it to seem welcoming to beginners as well as experienced developers, and to offer a great environment for people to get started in.

@KyleKing Certainly an option :)

@GarthDB no particular rush, we can definitely wait for your input.

[peeofive]

[KyleKing]

@peeofive that looks awesome!

[desfero]

+1 for @peeofive, icon is simple and beautiful

[timothyis]

+1 for Emily Moore's recent via @benedfit. Nice work!

[IgnetStudio]

@peeofive +1

[stlg]

@peeofive +1 for icon, because it's great for small, as well as large size applications. Typography should match an icon style, and it's a To Do list's item no. 1. The second thing to be done is a color version, maybe with the current jade.js pug.js palette.

[peeofive]

@stlg you're right, the font DIN was quickly chosen and rounded to match the pug. Other fonts may work better. I did some variations and applications, would be happy to hear your comments.

[thibmaek]

@peeofive these are actually the best I've seen.

[christopherdowson]

I've chosen Montserrat, which is available via Google Fonts and so won't hit the same licensing issues as DIN (as that's a licensed typeface, so you can't use it without paying a fair amount).

I've only knocked this up quickly, so it's not as refined as my usual work. But that said I can always refine it :smiley:

[diquinnyonk]

christopher dowsons is the nicest so far here!

[christopherdowson]

Thanks @diquinnyonk - Colours and things need looking at. It'd need a couple of revisions at least before it was something I'd be happy to "release". The Pug could be happier, but they also always look concerned! What have they seen? What do they know?

[christopherdowson]

I also did a quick mockup using Arvo - again from Google Fonts. Lower case this time as I think it lends itself to the word "pug" much better. I also made the green slightly more Jade-like as a nod to the past.

Also there are 128px and 64px "icon" sized versions to see how they'll perform.

[timothyis]

Nice work @christopherdowson! So great! :smile:

[christopherdowson]

Thanks @CodeTheory

[mattcdowning]

I'd say @christopherdowson's is the clear winner so far!

[ForbesLindesay]

I love both @christopherdowson's and @peeofive's. I'm really impressed with how @christopherdowson's performs as a small icon (which I didn't really expect, looking at all the detail in the larger version).

I think I prefer the blue to the green (although i appreciate the nod to the past). I don't know which font I prefer.

[christopherdowson]

@ForbesLindesay It comes down to what performs best for the use-case at hand. I have my preferences, but it might be that neither of these font samples is the right one to use - I just chose them because the license wasn't particularly restrictive and they suited the project needs at this point.

Branding is my day job, when I'm not knee deep in code. Which is also my day job. Welcome to being a unicorn... ;D

[timothyis]

I think that, even as a throwback to Jade, the green/teal that @christopherdowson most recently used work extremely well and, well, that is just some perfect piece of branding right there.

As for the font, It works well with the logo, it took a second for my eyes to adjust to it at first but quickly became happy with it.

[christopherdowson]

Ultimately it comes down the needs of the project and how flexible what's presented can be. If mine is chosen it'll be the first piece of spec work I'd have done in a long, long time!

More than happy to discuss iterating it out to a proper, considered brand exercise. I like Jade and it's been so useful to be over the past year or two that it's nice to give something back.

[stlg]

@peeofive Font now looks better, but colors are still "strange". I did one user test with non-English speaking person, and it was hard for her to tell what your logo represents, since "pug" has no meaning whatsoever for her.

@christopherdowson Nice logo, but small elements (eg. "P" on charm) will become invisible in small icons.

[christopherdowson]

Stig, indeed it will but the P on the collar is incidental to the over all design. A feature, perhaps a motif in an expanded brand scheme, but not a focal point.

With any logo, you don't just shrink it all and hope for the best, but rework and proportion it for extreme use cases. This logo sample is just that - a sample.

Pug might not make sense to all languages but the pronunciation should be broadly similar. Jade would actually be pronounced Hade or Yade across large parts of Europe.

[peeofive]

Hey everybody, first of all also thanks to anyone who liked my logo. And second of all thank you to Christopher for his nice rendition. And of course the other ones too.

The question at hand is what the logo should be or do. My logo is just an abstract drawing of a pug's face with the least details possible. Christopher's logo is a beautiful cartoony drawing with so many details that it reminds me of the earlier OS X icons (like TextEdit with the full Here's to crazy ones written on). Yes, his pug works in small which is nice. Still to me it doesn't come across as a logo, more as an avatar. Christopher has some nice iconic examples on his website like the logo for Wharf Cottage. I wanted to convey simplicity which was why I chose DIN (which is included in OS X) and no script font, although I like the new appearance of stylus.

By the way, pug translated in German and pluralized is a naughty word for female breasts. Ironically, there is a small river in Northern Germany called Jade (pronounced Yah-duh) which flows into a bay which name translates to Jade Bosom. And the most famous German humorist Loriot had a fable for these dogs. Maybe pug's claim should be "The funniest templating language"

[christopherdowson]

who doesn't love a double entendres in their templating language?

I actually had to pull back on the details for this, but as I mentioned above it would be tweaked for various uses. Mono, for one.

Avatar? Perhaps. But that's no bad thing.

[smaili]

@peeofive you just made my day.

[ndelvalle]

I really like @KyleKing logo! :+1:

[christopherdowson]

Quick greyscale/mono test before I head home for the day.

512px/256px/128px/64px - make sure you click to view @ 100%.

Colours and details adjusted at some sized on some variations.

[petja]

:+1: I love logo posted by @benedfit.

[diquinnyonk]

pug still looks concerned in the black and white version too @christopherdowson awesome. Pugs and concerned expression go hand in hand

[christopherdowson]

All's quiet on the pug front?