What do you think of the current MobileRead logo?

[Azayzel]

Interesting take on the mobile reader; however, I wouldn't necessarily call this a Blog. My general idea of a blog has always been a single person carrying on sort of an online diary, this is actually a forum where many disparate people chat, converse, compare, and contrast many things revolving around mobile digital content.

[NatCh]

I guess I think of it as a community blog.

[Bob Russell]

I love the animated picture with the hand and transparent reader. Probably needs some modification before being considered for the logo, but we'll have to see if we can find someplace where it does fit because it's really neat!

[vivaldirules]

I rather like it (the transparent reader in hand with animated logo), too. But I think I'd like it better if Mobile Read morphed to a page from a popular ebook title. Say, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Okay, maybe "Chapter I. Call me Ishmael....."

[JSWolf]

Well, what we need is a static logo for the books posted here. The one on the site can be animated.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by Azayzel

Interesting take on the mobile reader; however, I wouldn't necessarily call this a Blog. My general idea of a blog has always been a single person carrying on sort of an online diary, this is actually a forum where many disparate people chat, converse, compare, and contrast many things revolving around mobile digital content.

The content of the caption can change but we need it, this site is all about reading so it is fitting that we use words.

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

I rather like it (the transparent reader in hand with animated logo), too. But I think I'd like it better if Mobile Read morphed to a page from a popular ebook title. Say, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Okay, maybe "Chapter I. Call me Ishmael....."

I agree too. It crossed my mind to do it but I didn't want to infringe on rights. My suggestion would be to ask our friend Steve Jordan to loan us the beginning of one of his ebooks.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Well, what we need is a static logo for the books posted here. The one on the site can be animated.

We can still do it with the last image composing the animation. The whole design can be reworked to be smaller, less complicated and fitting for lets say... letter headings.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

My suggestion would be to ask our friend Steve Jordan to loan us the beginning of one of his ebooks.

Hey, I don't mind at all!

(Actually, I had to go back through this thread just to remind myself where we left off.) I'm leaning towards the handheld screen with the lines, though I'm not sure there's a need for anything legible on those lines (sometimes, the logo is going to be so small as to render any text unreadable).

[aapezzuto]

The point of a logo is the same as a classical trade mark: To be easy to identify as to a specific maker or brand. We are effectively trying to brand mobileread. As far as text... i think that the recent fedex logo (4-6 years now) when they changed to a text based logo... what I love about it is the implied arrow with such a readable font. (see attachments) heck, if you really want to see the power of a decent logo go to http://www.logoquiz.net/ and take that quiz.

This is not to say that a good logo can't have a great interactive presence, but its base form needs to hold to the standard criteria.

I think that an animated logo like the one presented here is a great example of how a recognizable logo in a rich setting made a catchy video. I think that if I could sit down with someone with decent flash mastery for 10-25 hours I could make any of these logos appealing.

heck, the one that I refined that people seem to like with "matrix" like code streaming down it would be awesome and hilarious. "MobileRead, Plug in and assimilate" I love the idea of bits changing into words, and that could be made into a nice pixilated to script version of the name...

I just got an idea, if we could make the ER between mobile and read into a book shape... Leave Mobile in a monospaced, old style electronic font, and the ead in read in a nice script... hmmm quick mock up... ok so the book idea is kinda forced, and im trying to do to much with it... Ill keep playing with the iidea of the words mobile read and the shape of a book, see what i can come up with.

time for some sleep now

[mogui]

Oh no! yvanleterrible is turning into a mime!

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by mogui

Oh no! yvanleterrible is turning into a mime!

Hey! I make my living working with my hands, this seemed in the same vein!

[yvanleterrible]

I'd like to point something out. (pun intended with my previous post) The actual logo failed survival because of its physical link with technology. We are writing of things happening in a new, active, quickly evolving field. There is no telling where it will be in the next five years. Ergo our update of the logo should be thought out to survive trends. Hey! We might have to deal with holographic screens sooner than we think!

aapezzuto's play with fonts is a more appropriate approach and my main reason, at the risk of repeating myself, to use a faceless reading device... if we go graphic.

A 'forum' based on reading devices should have a logo representing it with words even if it seems retro. But we also deal with futurology and change which we are fierce defenders of. We must find novel ways of expressing them befitting of the mediae we use.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by aapezzuto

As far as text... i think that the recent fedex logo (4-6 years now) when they changed to a text based logo... what I love about it is the implied arrow with such a readable font.

Y'know, I don't think I ever noticed that arrow in there until you mentioned it here!

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

I'd like to point something out. (pun intended with my previous post) The actual logo failed survival because of its physical link with technology. We are writing of things happening in a new, active, quickly evolving field. There is no telling where it will be in the next five years. Ergo our update of the logo should be thought out to survive trends. Hey! We might have to deal with holographic screens sooner than we think!

aapezzuto's play with fonts is a more appropriate approach and my main reason, at the risk of repeating myself, to use a faceless reading device... if we go graphic.

A 'forum' based on reading devices should have a logo representing it with words even if it seems retro. But we also deal with futurology and change which we are fierce defenders of. We must find novel ways of expressing them befitting of the mediae we use.

Awful opinionated for a mime, aren't you?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Awful opinionated for a mime, aren't you?

Speaking of mimes, Marcel Marceau recently died.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

I'd like to point something out. (pun intended with my previous post) The actual logo failed survival because of its physical link with technology. We are writing of things happening in a new, active, quickly evolving field. There is no telling where it will be in the next five years. Ergo our update of the logo should be thought out to survive trends. Hey! We might have to deal with holographic screens sooner than we think!

Excellent point, yvanleterrible -- not the holographic thing, the rest of it.

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

aapezzuto's play with fonts is a more appropriate approach and my main reason, at the risk of repeating myself, to use a faceless reading device... if we go graphic.

A 'forum' based on reading devices should have a logo representing it with words even if it seems retro. But we also deal with futurology and change which we are fierce defenders of. We must find novel ways of expressing them befitting of the mediae we use.

Retro isn't a bad idea, actually, reading itself is kind of retro. Folks have been doing it for thousands of years, and while the technology (walls, papyrus, paper, etc. all the way to computer screens and e-ink) has been changing continuously during that time, the actual act of reading, recognizing symbols which have meaning, really hasn't changed at all.

Maybe the juxtaposing ancient to future approach is something we should focus on.

Maybe the MobileRead font change idea could do a more gradual change. Perhaps the M in some sort of brushed letter, with dot-matrix worked in there in the middle somewhere and progressing to a nice reading font by the end ....

I like the book idea around the letters, but it may be too small to see properly. How about putting the whole thing on a book's pages, with a very obvious, perhaps retro, antenna coming out of one corner (or the spine) of the book, which would allow for keeping the rings around the tip of the antenna for visual continuity?