[meta] Logo Suggestions

[martinrieder]

Any software deserves to have logo, so I am starting this issue for sharing and discussing any suggestions. With Daniel Rojas being the originator of this great tool, he deserves the right to make the final choice. We could still have a community vote (before the next major release?) to come up with the best candidates. Feel to also list some criteria that the logo shall fulfill. @formatc1702 @kvid @amotl

I will start by posting some of my suggestions, putting each one in a separate comment for easier reference. Please use the emoji reactions below each one to provide direct feedback.

[martinrieder]

One last logo draft that I would like to share, because it became my favorite recently...

@obelisk79 @tobiasfalk @kvid What do you think about this one? I am aware about the fact that it conveys neither of the following properties, as stated in https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/issues/373#issuecomment-2144419694, but it scales well... > - Diversity of connector shapes > - Spliced connections with dot > - Bundling of multiple wires Anything else to criticize other than me providing too many ideas? 😇 Note that I am not intending to come up with any more suggestions.

[tobiasfalk]

@martinrieder yes looks good, could you put it on a white background?

[obelisk79]

Looks decent. As far as the properties stated in #373, I'd disregard them. In the world of graphic/logo design we aren't necessarily conveying purpose as much as we want a unique and easily identifiable design loosely associated with the purpose of the brand/product. This checks those boxes fairly well.

[martinrieder]

Simply filling the dark background with white color looks ugly. I would need to vectorize it and add some dark outlines.

The best I can offer for the moment is the following, as I only did some quick fingerpainting on my mobile...

EDIT: Vectorized SVG added.

[martinrieder]

(256/128/64/32/16px)

[martinrieder]

(256/128/64/32/16px)

[formatc1702]

Hi, thanks for getting this discussion going and for the many submissions. It's true that it would be nice to give the project a bit of a visual identity.

Some rough points from my side. Very personal opinions obviously, and up for discussion:

• All the AI-generated logos are very cluttered and lack some soul (i.e. they clearly look AI made), so I like that the conversation is going towards simplification. I admit I do like version nine!
• Having letters/text in the logo can "cheapen" it if not done carefully
• Having the logo resemble WireViz output could be clever, but might risk making it too bland. Depends on the implementation.

So far, I see the most potential in:

• by @obelisk79 With a bit of imagination, one can almost see a W and a V. It's a VW more than a WV but subtle and far enough from Volkswagen. The connectors look a bit like Lego figures wearing tophats 🎩 which is not necessarily bad 😄 Regarding the splice dots, to me that is more reminiscent of a PCB-level schematic, and (currently), dots are not used as splices in WireViz, so I don't miss them.
• by @martinrieder More reminiscent of WireViz output. It evokes a letter E; perhaps rotating it can help evoke a W. Generally, if done well, a W without V could be iconic enough.

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For what it's worth, here is my own attempt, quickly sketched out and terribly colored in.

Full version: <img width="300" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/df592b44-c7cd-4428-80fe-3fd176e48d1b"> <img width="300" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/b6fd0cbb-44d3-4021-b1d3-62844d94f3db">

Simplified icon version (64x64, 32x32, 16x16, downscaled in browser, looks good on retina) <img width="64" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/88afd629-101d-42b4-accc-4f9171b783af"> <img width="64" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/136ef538-5665-4ac2-a4ac-63c34d85499a"> <img width="32" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/88afd629-101d-42b4-accc-4f9171b783af"> <img width="32" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/136ef538-5665-4ac2-a4ac-63c34d85499a"> <img width="16" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/88afd629-101d-42b4-accc-4f9171b783af"> <img width="16" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/136ef538-5665-4ac2-a4ac-63c34d85499a">

Icon version (true 16x16 px, retina screens might apply some blurry upscaling) <img width="16" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/bff39f63-43ef-4a39-b4ae-548f235f10aa"> <img width="16" src="https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/assets/2447251/c567239f-3603-43fd-959f-0cb5f6331d02">

• Simple basic structure: One connector on one side, a curly cable, a splice, a ferrule and some loose wire ends on the other side
• The W is quite obvious, the V is a bit more subtle
• Should work in color and B/W; monochrome version could look good as a "watermark" in the corner of a fully black and white technical drawing
• Colors were chosen quite arbitrarily. Orange could evoke high voltage cables and roughly forms a triad with purple and green.
• The line thickness on the large version could probably be optimized
• 16x16 retina version is readable, true 16x16 would need some pixel tuning
• I like the proportions of the icon version better, the V on the full version is quite slanted.
• Would need to be paired with an appropriate font (also curly for cohesion, or more angular as a contrast?) when combining logo with "WireViz" spelled out next to it.
• A quick google for "curly W logo" mostly brings out the Washington Nationals and I feel this logo is distinct enough and the topics are totally unrelated.

If anybody wants to try their hand at digitizing/fine-tuning it, go ahead 🚀 If I find the time, I might give it a go as well.

[martinrieder]

Interesting idea, which led me to another crazy thought:

• Twist the wires, so they will form a Gordian knot
• Add two connectors in the center to possibly untie it
• Label these connectors each with the letter W and V

Going further:

• The knot could contain diffent-colored wires
• Connectors would create the link between colors

[martinrieder]

I wrote:

I found that it would be nice to have an option like show_colors for hiding the color names... Besides that, I made up this one using WireViz and some tweaks (see code below):

SVG created directly in WireViz v0.4.1-rc

I implemented the option to hide colors in PR #405 by https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz/pull/405/commits/5e4271df1c22e5f73b81ef2b34f915657d4bbb25, see the result here: