Wikitravel:Logo voting page/Round 1

This is the voting page for the first round of the Logo contest. The three designs with the most votes will go on into the second round. Note that the objective is to select the design or idea of Wikitravel's new logo, not the final implementation.

About Logos

It might be a good idea to read up a bit before voting. WikiPedia has some good information on Logo design and some common mistakes and links to some really good articles like this one.

Also it would be worthwhile to read this classic essay by Paul Rand. Here's a summary:

• A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon.
• A logo doesn't sell (directly), it identifies.
• A logo is rarely a description of a business.
• A logo derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around.
• A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it means is more important that what it looks like.

he goes on to say that a logo depends on the following qualities to function

1. distinctiveness
2. visibility
3. useability
4. memorability
5. universality
6. durability
7. timelessness

About the entries

• All entries have had their author's names removed, and have been placed in random order.
• Authors are allowed to replace their entry during the course of the contest; however, all previous votes for that entry will be removed. (please do not alter anyone's work besides your own)
• Authors may choose to withdraw their entries at any point in the contest.
• Some authors have chosen to submit multiple treatments of the same logo (i.e., a main logo, a fav icon, etc.). In this case, the entry has been labeled, and the main logo displayed. You can click on the image to view the full treatment.

About voting

You can vote for as many of the logos as you like, but you can't vote for the same logo twice. Votes can be changed during the voting period and authors can vote for their own logos. Votes will only be accepted from logged in users and admins have full discretion for determining vote validity.

There will be two rounds of voting. The first round will be to decide the top semifinalists. The second round will determine which of the entries will become our new logo. In the event of a tie in either round, voting continues until a tie-breaker vote is cast.

Voting is currently in the FIRST round. Voting in this round ends on 2005-08-09T04:00Z (August 9 00:00 AM (midnight) EDT).

How to vote

To vote, please add your LINKED username to the end of the list. We ask that you link your username in order to more easily verify that you are a logged in user. In order to add your linked username, please format your vote like this: #~~~ where <username> is your username. For example, if your username is RandomUser232, your vote should appear like this:

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Tower

Comments

Note: this is not an actual entry.

Votes

1. FakeUsername90
2. AwesomeDude9_3
3. RandomUser232

Contest Gallery

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Silly Entry

Talk

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Stack of Books

Talk

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The Logo

Talk

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Yahrou-Wikitravel

Talk

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NewLogoWikitrave

Talk

Votes

1. Timoluege

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LeeLogo

Talk

Comments

Terrible. Just terrible.

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Handwriting/sketch becomes professional/real (Owl's Logo)

Author's notes | Talk

Comments

• This entry in IMO contains the only true logo which satisfies our requirements. The image is nice, and leads into the idea of the logo, but it's the text I would like to draw your attention to. The text part by itself is a fantastic logo idea, and only requires a little effort to render into a fantastic logo. I can see more skilled designers being able to hone and adjust it for years to come. Meanwhile the illustration which makes up the bulk of the entry is also good, and can work well as branding especially as part of a series which might involve other modes of transport, such as trains, bikes, and even a hiker emerging from the notebook page. Eventually this idea could, I think, be developed to express even more about the collaborative nature of Wikitravel. -- Mark 15:26, 3 Aug 2005 (EDT)

• I'll cast a dissenting vote here, as to my eye this looks amateurish and unscalable. I agree with Mark that the font is the best part, but I don't think the font alone suffices for a logo — I could, however, be argued into using the font as an accompaniment to some of the other logos. Jpatokal 23:54, 3 Aug 2005 (EDT)
  • This is my biggest problem with this logo. If I knew how to convert it from XCF (layers of raster graphics) to some vector format (ideally SVG, since I'm on a GNU system here) then I could start redrawing the lines and colours in a bolder and more professional fashion. It's certainly more a proof-of-concept than a die-cast logo at the moment. I'd like people to know at least if they agree with the concept, and then maybe I can work hard to make the image clearer and more logo-like. -- Owl 01:40, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)
  • I'm sorry I'm not being clear. I was in too much of a hurry when I wrote that first comment. I think this is a great idea and that it can be brushed up into a great logo and some seriously cool logotypes. The logo is just the text, and I've already gotten a start at the brushing up (check out the image talk page). Yeah, this rendering is a little sloppy, but you know, it's a sketch (my compass star would need a bit of a tune up to use as well). -- Mark 01:58, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)
  • More clarification: I think we'd need to change the font for the font-rendered characters "travel". Coolvetica seems to work even though the lower case "t" is pretty stylized, however something more trad like a nice Gothic could possibly work even better. -- Mark 03:55, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)
  • One more comment for Jpatokal: as it works out many successful logos are almost all text and no emblem. Check out the WikiPedia logo page. -- Mark

Votes

1. Owl
2. Mark
3. Quirk
4. PigleT
5. Comrade009
6. Ilkirk
7. Lars
8. Woodstone
9. Nicamds
10. Palito
11. AnyFile

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Magnifying Glass

Talk

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VL

Talk

Comments

it looks far too much like a pair of ... Berru 15:43, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)

I amost went for this one; like arabic lines... SurfingSpider 22:45, 5 Aug 2005 (GMT+8:00)

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LOGO

Talk

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PR-3

Talk

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Puzzle Logo

Talk

Comments

Very nice! The colors are a bit, um, Microsoft-y though — I'm reminded of the Windows logo... and I don't think this will scale down very well. Jpatokal 21:48, 26 Jun 2005 (EDT)

This is such an obviously strong image by itself that it seems unecessary to say so, but I'll say it anyway. -- Mark 23:27, 3 Aug 2005 (EDT)

I think a color study of this would be interesting; trying the logo with different color schemes? Thoughts?

One of the good things about it is that some specific details can be changed, but it still has the same feel. Some people have suggest changing some of the symbols to non-transport travel things, like a bed. Colors can easily be changed; it looks ok even with the colors removed. To scale it down, we could have just one puzzle piece with a W in it, for like a favicon. --66.188.138.70 01:24, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)

I believe that Evan's a bit busy with other things right now, so I'm going to add his comment from the talk pages that he's concerned that using a puzzle theme in our branding could cause confusion about our relationship with WikiPedia, or rather the lack thereof. I'd like to know what some WikiPedians think about that.

That said, I'd also like to point out that the Compass Star below is in effect a treatment of exactly this logo the logo being just the text part, especially if the puzzle tabs were to be put back in between the compass tabs. The reason I say this is that we use the same font, so the actual logo part of the logo is exactly the same between the two. The colours would need to be adjusted in both and the kerning in this one, but otherwise you could use a puzzle-like compass star along with this as part of a branding scheme. -- Mark 04:03, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)

I like this one a lot as well- just the colors are M$... Nicamds 15:15, 5 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Votes

1. Comrade009
2. Mark
3. ilkirk
4. Owl
5. sloturner
6. Aidan
7. Sami Koskinen
8. Thee rusty satellites
9. Akira742
10. Fluglotse2000
11. Woodstone
12. Oz
13. Nicamds
14. Katoomba
15. Mu5tan9
16. zeno

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Wt2

Talk

Comments

I kinda like this one, although it's not my top choice. The smileys are a little silly, but it's powerful in its simplicity and the color scheme is elegant. Jpatokal 23:54, 3 Aug 2005 (EDT)

I also like it, and I also don't like the histerically happy smileys. I also like it, because it is a simple logo. For a lot of other logos, people who made them did think a lot about it and are probably proffetionals, but youy see that. So it looks either like the logo of a tentacular multinational corporation, or the one of a useless.com with a 25 years CEO who wants to make as much money as possible before the planned fraudulent bankrupcy. Lets make it simple. Like a GNU head or a penguin... The WT of that logo can also be a tiny black and white special character.
By the way, it is better if the "WIKITRAVEL" stays on the right, thus it won't be too squared.Berru 15:42, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Votes

1. jb2510
2. Berru 15:43, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)
3. AnyFile

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à JS

Talk

Comments

Colorful, smooth, detailed, and just plain cool. Bob rulz 06:20, 5 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Votes

1. jsymmetry
2. Bob rulz
3. AnyFile

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Star

Talk

Comments

This one would definetly be cool on WikiTravel maps! Nicamds 15:19, 5 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Votes

1. rikouman
2. Admrboltz
3. Mnolf
4. Thee rusty satellites
5. qx
6. Nicamds
7. Steffen M.
8. Dee
9. AnyFile
10. 80.131.166.230

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Diagonal W

Talk

Comments

I like the idea behind this one a lot, although the implementation needs some work (mostly just being turned into vector image) and the font is not very good. I can see the un-rotated version on the spine of a book, for instance. Jpatokal 23:54, 3 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Yes, it's really slick, and quite pretty. I agree that the text has to change. Of course it doesn't say anything about the wiki process, but that may really not be so much of an issue. -- Mark 04:36, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Oh, and I agree with Jpatokal that it should probably be un-rotated. -- Mark 04:49, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)

What? It looks much cooler rotated and the text is fine. The text doesn't need to be stylish to look good. Bob rulz 06:27, 5 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Text font can be improved AnyFile 15:32, 7 Aug 2005 (EDT)

I like this concept the best, but how about using the font from Owl's logo? Greenman 16:50, 7 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Votes

1. Jpatokal
2. Pjamescowie
3. Mnolf
4. jb2510
5. Cjensen
6. Mark - with the caveats above
7. ddwiki
8. Woodstone
9. phma
10. AnyFile
11. Greenman

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Compass Star

Talk

Comments

Pretty versatile logo, as Mark has already demonstrated. You can modify the composition in any way but it still has the same feel. Can be easily adapted for merchandise, the web, fav icons, etc. Good work. --Comrade009 15:52, 3 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Very, very smooth implementation! You've obviously put a lot of thought into it and I like the 2nd row (text on lower right), but for favicon/tiny logos the "w" should be in the same place, not above. The font is also very professional-looking. The only thing I don't like about this is that it's kinda generic, the connection to travel is not that obvious. Jpatokal 23:54, 3 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Thanks for the kind words Jpatokal! The answer to both of your concerns is that this image is meant to be a Compass Star, to be placed on a map. The version with the "w" above would be put on maps, with the "w" for "wiki" replacing the traditional "N" for "North". You are quite correct that there would need to be a small version with a "w" next to the star as well.

To me the fact that the emblem part is a compass star for a map pretty much says travel, as do the fact that you can imagine the two bits travelling through the air. Of course I can totally understand why you might not see it that way.

By the way, as noted above: if the puzzle logo were ultimately selected we could just add the puzzle concept back (and adjusting the colors) into this one and still use it as a compass star in part of a wider branding scheme, especially since the actual logo part (the text) is exactly the same. Get out a copy of a Lonely Planet to see how their logo (mostly type, with a circle) and their Compass Star work together. -- Mark 04:14, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)

This Logo is a Logo - elegant, good colours, well scalable, big recall value - simply great work. --PhilipP 07:31, 6 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Votes

1. Comrade009
2. Jpatokal
3. Pjamescowie
4. Owl
5. Quirk
6. ilkirk
7. Allyak
8. Mark
9. Fluglotse2000
10. Nicamds
11. PhilipP
12. phma

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Existing Logo

Talk

Comments

Here's a list of thing that I think are wrong with the current logo. I'd like to make it clear that I don't mean to cast any aspersion on the designer of this logo, just that these are problems that make it difficult for us to use. Many of these problems are very common ones with logos in the IT industry:

• No Vector version, and the author has dissappeared.
• Too complicated by far. A logo should be drop-dead simple.
• Doesn't reduce well (I should know, I made the favicon version - what a pain).
• Doesn't work well on maps (can't be used as a map star).
• 3D - a bad cliché from dot-com, makes the logo more difficult and more expensive to print
• Glass effects - a bad cliché from dot-cmo, makes the logo more difficult and more expensive to print
• Drop Shadows - another logo no no.
• Swooshes - a bad cliché from dot-coms. This sort of thing gets made fun of in design circles these days.
• A quirky font for the logotype, could easily get dated
• poor/no kerning in the logotype
• misspelled WikiTravel should be Wikitravel

Anyhow, some of these complaints can be remedied but the Swoosh pretty much can't be. Of course it is a website, but still -- Mark 15:32, 3 Aug 2005 (EDT)

90s rock! It would be great as a revolving sculpture. -- SurfingSpider 22:49, 5 Aug 2005 (GMT+8:00)

True. Like I said it is a website so a classic dot-com logo is not really out of place, which is why I've never complained about it before. Actually I think there is a similar sculpture in the Macromedia building in S.F. so maybe somebody was already using it. ;) Actually the dot-com pet store I worked for once had a really similar logo. -- Mark 11:06, 5 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Votes

1. Sgrobertson
2. Mnolf
3. luvdapug
4. SurfingSpider
5. Cjensen
6. P.R.
7. jsymmetry
8. qx
9. Steffen M.

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Dymaxion Map Logo

Talk

Comments

• This logo is based on a Dymaxion Map, which is a highly accurate way of displaying our world. This map type lacks the normal massive skew / misrepresentation. On top of that, it also lacks cultural bias, and even seems borderless with its seemingly contigious landmass. It's fitting and clever, but it probably needs someone with the magic graphic design touch to make it work. -- qx

• I like the dymaxion map for serveral reasons. First, though appearing jagged and chaotic in that hip, cool, Shanghai skyline way, there's actually very much structure behind it as qx has described and can be found on the Dymaxion page. Secondly, everybody knows there's a big systemic bias in wikipedia leaning towards the west - I think the fair depiction of the world under the dymaxion setting, with no up or down, and the uninhabited arctic in the middle, quietly expresses the hope that wikitravel will have no such Western systemic bias and will have as much travel advice about Cambodia as it will France (though seriously - that's wishful thinking). Finally, I have to give credit to the author, very clever for actually finding a W for Wikitravel in the borders of the map. Kudos to that - though in my one moment of criticism, I think the W could be made cooler looking. -- Vincent

• great idea, as stated above - however, maybe it would be better with continents just outlined? this picture looks nice, but would render poorly on a bw printer, for example. Plus, the W could have a better look. Maybe we should also copy Owl's logo lettering? --Toitoine

Votes

1. qx
2. phma
3. Vincent
4. jsymmetry
5. Toitoine

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