tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post2225393904624877665..comments2024-03-25T21:41:06.801-07:00Comments on Mobile Opportunity: The ugliest logo ever, but maybe it makes senseMichael Macehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-47830065111755648292011-03-08T00:05:19.765-08:002011-03-08T00:05:19.765-08:00"""
So Symbian app developers shoul..."""<br />So Symbian app developers should ask how they'll be able to market their applications when Symbian OS users don't even know what their OS is. Symbian has never had a good answer to that, and I think the new logo doesn't move them any closer to solving that problem.<br />"""<br /><br />Great post, thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-79920915930664869092009-04-15T19:37:00.000-07:002009-04-15T19:37:00.000-07:00That logo gives hope to those with less than great...That logo gives hope to those with less than great graphic design talents, I mean if someone could seriously get away with that first grader effort than hand me photoshop and call me an expert.Cheap Mobilehttp://www.megacheapphones.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-10701026957834110542009-04-11T16:37:00.000-07:002009-04-11T16:37:00.000-07:00"OS logos are generally used as compatibility mark..."OS logos are generally used as compatibility marks. In that role they need to be displayed on screen, and preferably printed on the back of the phone, to let the user know that he or she can run Symbian applications on the device."<BR/><BR/>The Symbian name and logo have NEVER been used as a compatibility mark, they have never been displayed on the screen or anywhere else on Symbian phones or their manuals. Symbian is just not intended to be a consumer brand.<BR/><BR/>As the article notes, if there is an on-phone app store there is no need for users to know what OS they are running, because the store will automatically only display compatible software. Even if you did tell people the OS, that wouldn't help much because phones run a lot of platform-independent software such as Java, Flash Lite, WRT and other stuff. <BR/><BR/>For various reasons most phone manufacturers aren't particularly interested in telling anyone which OS is running on their phone.<BR/><BR/>Also, AFAIK this logo isn't actually for the Symbian OS, it's for the Symbian Foundation. Only programmers would have any interest in the Symbian Foundation so the logo is irrelevant to typical users of Symbian devices.Tzer2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-29968876221947881352009-04-09T15:42:00.000-07:002009-04-09T15:42:00.000-07:00All I can say is...wow CorelDraw circa '97...that ...All I can say is...wow CorelDraw circa '97...that looks great.... <BR/><BR/>;-/ <BR/><BR/>PFFFFT. Lame.Rich Harrishttp://www.47project.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-59114851645083600472009-04-08T19:09:00.000-07:002009-04-08T19:09:00.000-07:00This is the best marketing move I have seen since ...This is the best marketing move I have seen since the best job of the world (www.islandreefjob.com)<BR/><BR/>Very clever. And actually, this will help in corporate presentation too because that will keep everyone talking, joking and comparing - what we have not done for a long time for Symbian.<BR/><BR/>NicolasUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10245110870046119655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-87353222778433020802009-04-07T21:50:00.000-07:002009-04-07T21:50:00.000-07:00Anonymous wrote:>>25-year old designers fres...<B>Anonymous wrote:</B><BR/><BR/><I>>>25-year old designers freshly out of design schools all across Europe are producing work like this</I><BR/><BR/>Yikes. I'll stick with DeviantArt.<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>>>Maybe you're too old and too American for this style?</I><BR/><BR/>More likely just too tasteless.<BR/><BR/>But here's the problem. Because the open source folks hate marketing, they are looking for something that doesn't appear artistic. If the new Symbian logo actually does look, as you say, trendy to a fault, it'll alienate the open source developers.<BR/><BR/>The really ironic situation would be if the logo is too unconventional for the handset companies and at the same time too trendy for the open source folks.<BR/><BR/>That sort of thing is why logo-creation is such a thankless task.Michael Macehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-18256184732721989612009-04-07T16:22:00.000-07:002009-04-07T16:22:00.000-07:00According to Anonymous:"At least this kind of visu...According to Anonymous:<BR/><B></B><BR/>"At least this kind of visual identity makes it clear that they're not even trying to play the same game as the lifeless immaculately marketeer-built brands in the same space..."<BR/><B></B><BR/>I would argue that that's exactly what they're doing. This is the latest marketing trend, similar to the splats, ovals, and swooshes before them. When this trend passes, the logo runs the risk of looking tired and dated rather than fresh and hip. <BR/><B></B><BR/>How tired does the Boeing logo look now that that trend has long passed?<BR/><B></B><BR/>Hiram.Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12975904161031644241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-8520416361880353912009-04-07T06:27:00.000-07:002009-04-07T06:27:00.000-07:00Symbian's previous logo was as professional and de...Symbian's previous logo was as professional and designed-to-please-the-company-board as it gets:<BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbian_OS<BR/><BR/>I'm just happy that they're doing something different. At least this kind of visual identity makes it clear that they're not even trying to play the same game as the lifeless immaculately marketeer-built brands in the same space, i.e. Nokia and Apple with their endless shiny vector graphics and happy clip-art people.<BR/><BR/>I don't really see the new logo as being "artless". From a Euro perspective, it just looks trendy to a fault: 25-year old designers freshly out of design schools all across Europe are producing work like this. Maybe you're too old and too American for this style? ;) (There's nothing wrong with being either, of course!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-89808502319894550982009-04-06T08:29:00.000-07:002009-04-06T08:29:00.000-07:00Hi Mike. Thoughtful as always.On certification ma...Hi Mike. Thoughtful as always.<BR/><B></B><BR/>On certification maybe they will just have text that says 'Symbian Compatibile', with a little yellow heart next to it... It doesn't have to be big, just readable and recognizable.<BR/><B></B> <BR/>Hiram VermaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-44880506108930038332009-04-05T23:18:00.000-07:002009-04-05T23:18:00.000-07:00Thanks for the comments, folks.Flash, you're right...Thanks for the comments, folks.<BR/><BR/>Flash, you're right that the FreeBSD mascot is more professionally drawn, but I'd still have trouble picturing that printed on the back of a phone.<BR/><BR/>Maybe what Symbian should have done is make a professional-looking logo, but then also get an open source-style mascot...Michael Macehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-87972271123593252812009-04-05T19:15:00.000-07:002009-04-05T19:15:00.000-07:00Maybe symbian should take a leaf out of phonegap's...Maybe symbian should take a leaf out of phonegap's book - they have no logo.<BR/><BR/>Or try crowdsourcing design (designbay.com) and let hundreds of or real web designers come up with a solution!<BR/><BR/>Cheers, Peter.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06506858255283682312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-25580529134026242272009-04-05T09:01:00.000-07:002009-04-05T09:01:00.000-07:00I agree that this logo is impossibly amateur, ugly...I agree that this logo is impossibly amateur, ugly, and dated; but I will point out that the open source community doesn't <I>always</I> insist on ugly amateurism: the most popular version of the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_Daemon#History" REL="nofollow">FreeBSD daemon</A> was drawn by Lucasfilm/Pixar/Disney's John Lasseter. (And I think you're a bit harsh on Tux the Penguin; he did rather well in <A HREF="http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/04/19/ibm.guerilla.idg/index.html" REL="nofollow">IBM's criminal guerilla marketing campaign</A>.)Flash Sheridanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13677318551997068520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-72391530396545920382009-04-04T22:47:00.000-07:002009-04-04T22:47:00.000-07:00Think there were better ways to make a logo that w...Think there were better ways to make a logo that was 'human', and that communicated 'open source'.<BR/><BR/>I like the hand-drawn idea as a starting point for people to remix it, but think they should have a more distinctive starting point to build from - looks too much like a second grade doodle.Jonathan Biddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11349239074318461911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-53826149910641264702009-04-04T21:22:00.000-07:002009-04-04T21:22:00.000-07:00I think that's *awesome*; in the most dry and sarc...I think that's *awesome*; in the most dry and sarcastic way possible.<BR/><BR/>It looks like they messed around with Microsoft Word and it's amazing "WordArt" feature.<BR/><BR/>Really though, it does embody "Symbian" pretty well; amateur, ugly, dated, and kind of a joke.<BR/><BR/>Spot on!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com