v9 branding

[Skirge01]

I like the paper bloom Fuzzy came up with, but I think the second one somehow lost the paper look. I think it might need more depth to show the layers more prominently. I'm no artist, though.

I was thinking about this a little more and I still feel the OSS (sorry, tired of the "Operating System" shorthand) needs to differentiate itself from the paid version. There could be confusion that Sage is back in business and selling the software, when that's obviously not the case. That's where I was coming from with the "reloaded" moniker. Anyone else think that could be a concern or no?

[Fuzzy]

That's sort of why I added 'Community' to the splash screen. Regarding the concern of people thinking sagetv is back in business, a quick visit to the sagetv web site will fix that.

And yeah, it does look like the paper effect got lost a bit. It looks like it lost some of the shadowing that were giving it the depth in the translation.

[Fuzzy]

Made some tweaks to it (replaced my previous post) to make the flower levels show up better.

[stuckless]

Does anyone have a friend that is a graphic's artist? I have a friend that teaches digital art at the local college, I might ask for his help in designing something.

[dinki]

Originally Posted by stuckless

Does anyone have a friend that is a graphic's artist? I have a friend that teaches digital art at the local college, I might ask for his help in designing something.

Barring a graphic artist showing up to do this for free, I have used Digital Point Forum Design Contests to create logos for some of my websites. You set the price you want to pay and detail what you're looking for and folks submit their entries. Pick the one you like and pay them with Paypal. You can get some pretty nice stuff for not a lot of money. Just a thought.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by dinki

Barring a graphic artist showing up to do this for free, I have used Digital Point Forum Design Contests to create logos for some of my websites. You set the price you want to pay and detail what you're looking for and folks submit their entries. Pick the one you like and pay them with Paypal. You can get some pretty nice stuff for not a lot of money. Just a thought.

That's a good idea as well...

<shameless plug>I created a simple puzzle game a few months back, and I had my friend do the graphics for it... this is really basic stuff, that he did in a couple hours... for the entire game, but what a difference it made... I wish I had a before/after screen shots

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...es.rgb.android
</shameless plug>

When I see him again (and give him a couple beers) I'll see if I can't convince him to create something... or make it a project that he can give to his students

[pjpjpjpj]

Oh, good Lord. Don't you guys remember from the UI threads that you'll never satisfy everyone? Leave it alone, ditch the release number (since it will always change) and call it something like "Sage TV Open" or even "Sage TV Infinity".

I think it's interesting that the number one determiner of what is hip and current in UI's (Apple) changed their UI to be simple and flat, such that the current Sage TV logo looks completely modern and hip... And you guys want to overdo it. While I personally was not a fan of the iOS7 look (not that I use Apple products), it's what people are used to as a "modern" or "current " look and I don't think we will come up with a universally liked new look.

[wayloncovil]

Hello, All.
It sounds like this lot's of branding questions and thoughts are coming up.
I was surprised that we're talking about renaming the application - not that I don't agree with a name modification - it just sounds like this is a real brainstorming session and that all ideas are welcome.

I would suggest that there is a very clear delineation between what was the Proprietary version of SageTV and the Open Source Version.

I'm guessing when users go to SageTV.com, there will be some banner indicating that there are two versions of Sage - the proprietary version and the Open Source version. Click here for historical information about the product, click here for information about the open source version. Etc... Eventually, SageTV.com will be all about the open source version with a mention somewhere that if the user is looking for information about the old proprietary version, click here.

And eventually, the forum will probably become more about the open source version than the proprietary version.

That transition needs to be thought through a bit.

I think naming is important to get right the first time. XMBC has become Kodi, GB-PVR has become NextPVR, For The Record has become Argus TV. Let's not put ourselves in a position where we need to change the name.

Legally can we still use Sage TV? If so, adding something to the beginning or the end of it seems appropriate. It would be nice if it could be a cool name that's good.

And, I also think you should consider starting the version of this product at 1 not 9. Treat it like it's a new product. Yeah, it came from Sage TV but you want a clear break from that for the consumer.

Just some free advice.

[skiingwiz]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

That was just the icon source. Here's what I've worked up so far for a splash screen:

I like this a lot. I'd say, either keep the logo as is, or go with this. I especially like that someone in the community made it (and could presumably update it as needed.)

I also think we should keep the version number off the splash screen. "Sage TV Community' has a nice ring to it.

[sacrament055]

Originally Posted by skiingwiz

I like this a lot. I'd say, either keep the logo as is, or go with this. I especially like that someone in the community made it (and could presumably update it as needed.)

I also think we should keep the version number off the splash screen. "Sage TV Community' has a nice ring to it.

I like that it pays homage to the original but different enough to notice it's new.

[ckewinjones]

Originally Posted by sacrament055

I like that it pays homage to the original but different enough to notice it's new.

That's exactly what I was looking for, and Fuzzy's splash screen looks great (much better than my lame attempt).

[KryptoNyte]

Whatever you do, make the background dark (or dark-ish), so it doesn't blind us all when we go to fire up a movie on a 70" screen at 11pm. Yet it works during the daytime, too. It's a win-win.

[briands]

Originally Posted by jreichen

I've always liked the older icon better. The attached icon is a more updated look and could be a freshened up look for the open source project. I pulled it from my old installation when I created @SageTVOpenSrc on Twitter. I think it came from a plugin.

I'm with jreichen, I like the older logo better. I thought the newer one looked a little like BP.

[korben_dallas]

Older logo, and agreed that it should work well in both light & dark rooms. Maybe a darker paper-ized version of the old logo.

[Fuzzy]

The old logo just makes me think of a 1980's CRT projection television...

[ptzink]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

Oh, good Lord. Don't you guys remember from the UI threads that you'll never satisfy everyone? Leave it alone, ditch the release number (since it will always change) and call it something like "Sage TV Open" or even "Sage TV Infinity".

I think it's interesting that the number one determiner of what is hip and current in UI's (Apple) changed their UI to be simple and flat, such that the current Sage TV logo looks completely modern and hip... And you guys want to overdo it. While I personally was not a fan of the iOS7 look (not that I use Apple products), it's what people are used to as a "modern" or "current " look and I don't think we will come up with a universally liked new look.

Designer (Industrial, not graphic, but still) weighing in here. I agree with pjpjpjpj on this one. Simple and flat is on trend and frankly I prefer that aesthetic anyway. All due respect to the contributors here, but I prefer a simpler approach and actually don't mind the V7 logo much. Perhaps a slight refresh is in order and maybe that could some via some slight tweaks to the "flower" or the SageTV font. Don't have a lot of time right now, but wanted to through out my suggestions below. They are heavily influenced by Material design principals (perhaps too much so for some people's liking). I am open to input (like I am not going to get it anyway ).

[ptzink]

Originally Posted by briands

I'm with jreichen, I like the older logo better. I thought the newer one looked a little like BP.

This logo will drive "the kids" away faster than you can imagine.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by ptzink

Designer (Industrial, not graphic, but still) weighing in here. I agree with pjpjpjpj on this one. Simple and flat is on trend and frankly I prefer that aesthetic anyway. All due respect to the contributors here, but I prefer a simpler approach and actually don't mind the V7 logo much. Perhaps a slight refresh is in order and maybe that could some via some slight tweaks to the "flower" or the SageTV font. Don't have a lot of time right now, but wanted to through out my suggestions below. They are heavily influenced by Material design principals (perhaps too much so for some people's liking). I am open to input (like I am not going to get it anyway ).

I really like the first one. (They are both good)

[tmiranda]

I think the new logo looks like the BP logo and the old logo looks like the hazardous waste symbol (or maybe the markings on an alien spacecraft).

[lewispm]

Originally Posted by ptzink

Designer (Industrial, not graphic, but still) weighing in here. I agree with pjpjpjpj on this one. Simple and flat is on trend and frankly I prefer that aesthetic anyway. All due respect to the contributors here, but I prefer a simpler approach and actually don't mind the V7 logo much. Perhaps a slight refresh is in order and maybe that could some via some slight tweaks to the "flower" or the SageTV font. Don't have a lot of time right now, but wanted to through out my suggestions below. They are heavily influenced by Material design principals (perhaps too much so for some people's liking). I am open to input (like I am not going to get it anyway ).

I think the icon should start with a "sage" color. Hex BCB88A. Source.

After that, I like the simplicity of the "01" version of this logo.