Coppermine Logo Competition 2006 / 2007

[LVV]

Пожалуйста выучьте английскую язык

Я не просил вносить твою лепту, если хочеш проявить себя в этом плане то переведи мне, а тупые советы свои будеш колдычить своим паханам

[Joachim Müller]

Sorry folks, I should have made this clearer: I'm not a designer, and I don't have every graphics suite in the world. That's why you can't send me .ai files (Adobe Illustrator afaik) or similar. Here's a list or files that I prefer to be sent (i.e. files that I can open): .psd (Adobe Photoshop), .cdr (Corel Draw), .cpt (Corel Photo Paint), .ppf (Picture Publisher), .riff (Painter 5/6), .eps, .xcf (TheGimp), .cmx (Corel Presentation Exchange).

[Tranz]

I just wanted to say thank you and kudos to the people who took the time to come up with a design for the contest. I am really impressed with the quality of the entries. Regardless of the outcome, you're all winners in my book. 

And thanks to GauGau for taking care of running this contest!

[Tweak]

I feel I need to comment on the submissions and voting of this competition....

First off, everyone has done a commendable effort in making a logo... however, the majority of the logos seem to be out of focus and have nothing to do with photos or a gallery.  And on top of that, those logos are the ones that are topping the charts.  Some are clean and don't represent much, which is fine for a logo to choose from, but some are not in the right direction in my opinion.  And it is strange to me why so many of the 'good' logos seem to be getting 1 star votes, as if there is someone trying to win this by ruining other people's votes.  As well as some very poor logos getting very high star votes???!!

To me, the competition was a little short, and the voting has been pretty sudden, and everyone is on a voting-spree it seems.  I think it should be strongly encouraged (I think it has?) that people keep in mind a number of things when voting:

• Think - The logo will be Coppermine's new logo.  This means it will need to represent them for a long time to come, and it needs to represent them in some way where it relates to a photo gallery (not movie film, not a pick axe, and not a gaudy copper color).  I think the name "coppermine" has affected people's perception of what ideas they can come up with.  To me, "Copper" and "mine" don't need to be taken word for word, it is just a name and a photo gallery software has nothing to do with a copper mine.  It's just a creative name I think.
• Colors.  Make sure the colors are decent enough to be on the classic theme of Coppermine, as well as darker themes if need be.  Color choices can always change, so don't always judge the logo purely by its color, look at its shape.
• Typeface.  The font used is important too.  We can't have Bladerunner fonts or something futuristic, that is the complete opposite of CPG's look... which is simple, clean and more boxy.
• COMMENT on the logos and give some feedback.  The artists, as well as the developers would like to hear some input I am sure.  Not many people are going around and saying what they think.  It helps when you get feedback.  I did it for quite a few logos... I think it helps.
• Size.  Make sure the size of the logo isn't too big, or too small.  Because you have to remember this will be on the homepage, in the header of the gallery, and various other places.
• Most importantly, it has to be recognizable and unique.  Adding effects and glows is nice and all, but it will turn out to look like any run of the mill logo, and just look overdone.

Take some other thoughts into consideration, like why you think the logo is good or not.  And where it could even improve.  Because I think if one logo was to win, it could always change from feedback, so that a better logo could be made for the final version.

Cheers

EDIT: Also I think people should be 'fair' with their voting.  I doubt many people have given 4 or 5 stars for several of the good logos.  And I think people have given probably a lot of 0 or 1 star votes for the average logos that should at least get 2 or 3 stars.

[rikhter]

Thank you for the very good post, Tweak. I can agree with you in every point.
I also have to notice that the situation around the voting is rather strange. Currently NO LOGO has average rating greater than 3. I also wonder why some better (IMO) logos are behind some.. hmmm... not so good ones (I use to be a designer myself and I believe I have enough experience to tell good logo from... "not so good"). I'm afraid that some participants use to give 0 or 1 to others just to lower their rating.

I would also suggest that competition gallery should be open. Good comments may encourage logo authors to improve their work or give them some more ideas. If gallery is open, new or improved logos could be published and who knows, may be such new logo will be chosen as the official one.

[Joachim Müller]

My thoughts exactly. A lot of the logos are just the word "Coppermine" in a nice font and color. That's not a logo imo. Tux (the Linux penguin) is a logo. The phpMyAdmin sailing ship is a logo. As suggested in the initial posting of this thread, the logo we're looking for is suppossed to work in many resolutions. It should be recognizable. Using gradients is a bad idea for logos. Using a font that is only readable on large resultions above 400 pixels wide is not a good idea.
Don't get me wrong: a lot of great logos have been submitted, and I thought that it would be quite obvious who the actual winners would be. But it turns out that a lot of contributions that look nice, but are not suitable as a logo get good ratings.
Apparently, some contributors have asked "their" local community to register and rate their pics to promote their contributions. Some even seem to do more: I'm monitoring the IP addresses used when voting, to track multiple registrations performed by one person with the purpose to track self-rating multiple times. It's OK to vote for your own pic once. It's not OK trying to cheat. It's sad that I have to spend the time tracking abuse. This is a community effort.
Please keep this competition clean.

I disagree with Tweak though on the use of the pick axe and miner hat: I think it's a great idea to play with the word Coppermine. The pickaxe is recognizable and would be a great logo imo. This is of course a matter of taste.

However, I strongly ask everyone to keep in mind what the logo is suppossed to be used for. Please don't vote for a contribution that is just well done in terms of artistic skills, but vote for those that you would like to see on your home page as a coppermine logo.

Joachim

[Tweak]

I disagree with Tweak though on the use of the pick axe and miner hat: I think it's a great idea to play with the word Coppermine. The pickaxe is recognizable and would be a great logo imo. This is of course a matter of taste.

Well yeah, the axe and hat are symbols to "mining" and a good connecting idea of course, but I was saying that they aren't really relative for a photo gallery in my opinion... regardless if the name is Coppermine.  Yes some software's logos have a completely different symbol to represent it, however you will get a lot of guff and opinions from people that are more observant than usual.  Identity for companies and/or products are always crucial that you are spot-on and making any design in the right direction.  And when you take a strong symbol like an axe or a hardhat, it symbolizes too many things to narrow it down to a photo gallery.

But then again, someone could have a completely different scope on things and make a completely off-the-wall logo, and it could actually work.  Something unique for Coppermine is needed... something you really haven't seen, and can make CPG have a more recognizable look.  If you really wanted a good symbol beside the words Coppermine, I could give it a shot, there are endless amount of possibilities.  But using something that is often used to symbolize construction or tools, those are things I'd avoid personally.

[LVV]

I feel I need to comment on the submissions and voting of this competition....

First off, everyone has done a commendable effort in making a logo... however, the majority of the logos seem to be out of focus and have nothing to do with photos or a gallery.  And on top of that, those logos are the ones that are topping the charts.  Some are clean and don't represent much, which is fine for a logo to choose from, but some are not in the right direction in my opinion.  And it is strange to me why so many of the 'good' logos seem to be getting 1 star votes, as if there is someone trying to win this by ruining other people's votes.  As well as some very poor logos getting very high star votes???!!

To me, the competition was a little short, and the voting has been pretty sudden, and everyone is on a voting-spree it seems.  I think it should be strongly encouraged (I think it has?) that people keep in mind a number of things when voting:

• Think - The logo will be Coppermine's new logo.  This means it will need to represent them for a long time to come, and it needs to represent them in some way where it relates to a photo gallery (not movie film, not a pick axe, and not a gaudy copper color).  I think the name "coppermine" has affected people's perception of what ideas they can come up with.  To me, "Copper" and "mine" don't need to be taken word for word, it is just a name and a photo gallery software has nothing to do with a copper mine.  It's just a creative name I think.
• Colors.  Make sure the colors are decent enough to be on the classic theme of Coppermine, as well as darker themes if need be.  Color choices can always change, so don't always judge the logo purely by its color, look at its shape.
• Typeface.  The font used is important too.  We can't have Bladerunner fonts or something futuristic, that is the complete opposite of CPG's look... which is simple, clean and more boxy.
• COMMENT on the logos and give some feedback.  The artists, as well as the developers would like to hear some input I am sure.  Not many people are going around and saying what they think.  It helps when you get feedback.  I did it for quite a few logos... I think it helps.
• Size.  Make sure the size of the logo isn't too big, or too small.  Because you have to remember this will be on the homepage, in the header of the gallery, and various other places.
• Most importantly, it has to be recognizable and unique.  Adding effects and glows is nice and all, but it will turn out to look like any run of the mill logo, and just look overdone.

Take some other thoughts into consideration, like why you think the logo is good or not.  And where it could even improve.  Because I think if one logo was to win, it could always change from feedback, so that a better logo could be made for the final version.

Cheers

EDIT: Also I think people should be 'fair' with their voting.  I doubt many people have given 4 or 5 stars for several of the good logos.  And I think people have given probably a lot of 0 or 1 star votes for the average logos that should at least get 2 or 3 stars.

The good fellow. Has well told.

[LVV]

Well yeah, the axe and hat are symbols to "mining" and a good connecting idea of course, but I was saying that they aren't really relative for a photo gallery in my opinion... regardless if the name is Coppermine.  Yes some software's logos have a completely different symbol to represent it, however you will get a lot of guff and opinions from people that are more observant than usual.  Identity for companies and/or products are always crucial that you are spot-on and making any design in the right direction.  And when you take a strong symbol like an axe or a hardhat, it symbolizes too many things to narrow it down to a photo gallery.

But then again, someone could have a completely different scope on things and make a completely off-the-wall logo, and it could actually work.  Something unique for Coppermine is needed... something you really haven't seen, and can make CPG have a more recognizable look.  If you really wanted a good symbol beside the words Coppermine, I could give it a shot, there are endless amount of possibilities.  But using something that is often used to symbolize construction or tools, those are things I'd avoid personally.

You are right!

[robbie_e]

I think a logo based on "copper" and "mine" concept is just way too logical given the coppermine name, these logos show no relevance to the application itself and are very flat and unimaginative in my opinion. Don't get me wrong i don't think there is anything wrong with the actual text "coppermine" but i think it would be a good idea to accompany it with some other relevant concept. I think this will also serve to better build brand recognition for the coppermine application.
Personally I would like to see a icon/logo which i could also use as a link for my gallery, so users would click it expecting a multimedia experience and not a copper mining one !
For me Tweaks logo with the coppermine name and shutter image for the letter "o" satisfies my expectations. Creative, yet simple and relevant.

[Tweak]

But sadly, the 0 star votes continue at a steady rate, and this has to be the worst voting habits I've ever come across.  I'd rather see what the developers think, so that we can understand what they like to see, or what ideas are at least on the right track.

If I were to run something like this, I'd let everyone have submissions, but maybe even have about half of the entrants to be semi-finalists and each of them take some comments and work on their logo a bit more after some feedback is given from the developers and the community.  If someone feels they don't have to edit it much, they don't have to, but this is something that is absolutely crucial to getting a logo done right.  A logo isn't made on the whim and suddenly done, there needs to be quite a few revisions until everyone is happy with what they see.  I'd prefer modifying mine, and maybe making a few more ideas, and I am sure other entrants feel the same way.  Making it more of a collaborative effort with everyone commenting and giving suggestions, you'll have a whole lot more quality work to choose from when you finally want to choose the final logo in the end.  It's the only real logical thing to do when making a logo --- especially with a large number of artists sharing the same goal, but each has their own creative ideas.

[Joachim Müller]

I agree with your demand that this needs looking into by the developers. Fellow devs, please vote and post your comments!

Joachim

[Abbas Ali]

Voted all the logos with comments on my favorite one .

[Gizmo]

I just wonder why all these comments came out AFTER the submission window was closed and not before when people could make changes. I'm not an artist or designer by any stretch of the imagination but I know what a logo is and there are very few "real" logos in this contest and none that really stand out for me. I will still vote and stand by the contest rules since I have little talent in this area and I want to take this moment to thank those people who did submit images. Please don't get discourged by these comments as they aren't meant to be personal because like I said, I have zero talent in this area.

[LVV]

Can't replicate what a pigeon and Coppermine have in common. Gradients should be avoided, as they don't work well in smaller resolutions.

http://coppermine-gallery.net/demo/cpg14x/displayimage.php?pos=-503
Comrade gaugau I do not understand you if you to not like that hold the opinions at myself as you are not right. The given trade mark was I am made on the size 250X250 other sizes can to give, if it really is necessary to you, and if you have decided to spoil reputation of my trade mark the comment that I congratulate at you it it has turned out! I explain for you (gaugau), I used a gradient as a background (black/green), it is chosen not casually as green color symbolizes - a life (mine-water, water-life), the pigeon - symbolizes, ease, freedom, dynamics{changes}, availability, beauty.
And to use for a photo галерии a trade mark - a pick, it is silly also I completely agree with opinion Tweak
Excuse for bad English language

[rikhter]

I'm sorry to to say that, but it's becoming more and more clear that voting is not fair. Completely.
Here is my submission. http://coppermine-gallery.net/demo/cpg14x/displayimage.php?album=toprated&cat=-35&pos=6

Voting details show that most marks are Zeros. In no way ANY of the logos participating in competition should be voted as Zero. Most of the them should have at least 2 or 3 or 4.

It's a pity that time and effort taken to create a logo are given Zero for any reasons (well, the reasons are quite obvious...).

It's a disappointment.

Viktor Rikhter.

[Tweak]

I agree, this is not what I was expecting, and dissapointed -- as well as a bit discouraged by all the votes.  But hey, that's what happens when you have voting open to the public... and people will cheat for top scores *shrug*

Not going on a witch hunt here... but LVV, all 3 of your logos have "strangely" topped the charts with 5 star votes in the last few days or so.  Ahem..................

[h4nh4n]

^^^^
only God knows who's cheating

Yeah I believe the voting is not fair for others, because I see some good artworks but low rated. Maybe we open a new voting for the team dev ONLY, since I trusted all people from team dev.... kicks all the designers and public to vote






(I believe I'll receive bad karma for this posting).

[Joachim Müller]

Yes, I had the impression as well that the voting count for LVV's contribution have risen in a strange manner. It's a pity that this competition is being spoiled by cheaters. It's a waste of resources, as there are fine contributions that deserve better. It's sad that I have to spend so much time to track votings and moderate this thread.

hold the opinions at myself as you are not right.

I'm a user of this board as well, so I'm allowed to voice my opinion. This is of course a matter of taste, but I'm allowed to say what I said there. You're welcome to reply to my comment on that pic. But don't drag this discussion into this announcement thread. Nobody wants a flame war here.

only God knows who's cheating

God knows. The database that keeps track of the votings knows as well. I'll review the cheaters when I have the time.

Maybe we open a new voting for the team dev ONLY, since I trusted all people from team dev.... kicks all the designers and public to vote

If the ratings don't improve as more "normal" users (oppossed to cheaters) vote, I'll trash all the previous votings and will do as you suggested.

(I believe I'll receive bad karma for this posting).

Can't see why you should get negative karma for your posting. However, this thread is already very confrontational. Please don't add a meta discussion about karma to this thread.

[Tranz]

If the demo gallery does groups based on posting, how about allowing votes from people who are in groups of X number of posts? That way, people can't sign up only to vote. People who have contributed to the community would still have a say in the logo that will represent the community. If there is still abuse, we can resort to dev-only voting. That depends on what GauGau has time for, of course.