Bluelight - Reboot 2019

[TheLoveBandit]

Greetings to all! In case you haven't heard, we're looking at updating our site software. Timetable puts us at end of DEC or early JAN. So, while staff are busy working to restructure the forums and exploring our server and software options, we thought we'd put this out to the most creative bunch on the site - are YOU interested?

Current BL logo is at our top left of the page

However, as we look to a new us, we should look for any new ideas for branding and logos. We are keeping the Bluelight name, of course, though the pill image can be dropped or swapped out with something else if you have new ideas. Additionally, we'd really like to work the words "Harm Reduction" into the imagery. Color scheme is yet to be determined, meaning the aria light blue we have on everything right now is not required - in fact if your image work can be flexible to color scheming that's a bonus, and two tone like we have not is not required (though it does help when we flip to blacklight). Things to think about and ponder as you speak with your muse to come up with some new things we could plaster on our site. Keep in mind, YOU will receive full credit, of course.


If you wish to see what's been done in the past, here are earlier attempts (broken links abound!), but the slate is clean for you to dream. Show us what ya got!



Reference:
Redesign the BL logo (2007)
Redesign the Bluelight Logo II (2008 )

Also:
The Bluelight 2.0.08 splash page discussion - because if you have ideas for that, we'd love to hear them as well

 

[TheLoveBandit]

Actually, for your benefit and mine, I've pulled the still-functioning images from the first two threads. Keep in mind, we have been "Bluelight.nu" and then became "Bluleight.ru" before we became our current "Bluelight.org". You can work the .org into it, or not (or offer both?)

Spoiler: so as not to flood the thread

 

[Shady's Fox]

Logo design would be quite a choice since we will update our software to XenForo and it will match perfectly.

 

[CFC]

Can it be animated? (ie a gif?)

 

[mal3volent]

Shit, can't wait to see what CFC comes up with!

 

[TheLoveBandit]

Can it be animated? (ie a gif?)

Well, I was more concerned with 'getting this out there and started' than spending time to clearly define what we want. Just make it! We'll tell you it isn't what we wanted after the fact.


From the links, some history that is still useful in terms of 'what we want'

I think the easiest way to answer both of those (from my understanding) is that the forum layout is - at the moment - subject to a degree of fluidity. Meaning that if you want to stick to a standard 50px banner, then so be it.... but the scope is there for us to use the logo in whatever way will work best. For example, we might want to go for a larger header. We may want to crop.

I think at the moment, we're just pitching for ideas and looking to see who can come up with something good. I would suggest that if you're doing this in photoshop or GIMP, you save your projects in a format that can hold each layer - that way, you can manipulate them if the needs change and export to bmp/png. The multi-layer GIMP format is .xcf.

...

A lot of forums these days will use a banner space that exceeds 100-120 pixels. Not all, but a lot. It allows a bit of creativity if you want to customise the navbar, gives opportunity to provide ample advertising/banner-sharing space and makes the top of the forums a little less squashed.

Resizing isn't too difficult anyway.

Nothing set in stone yet, chrissie. I know it's bad of me/us to kick this off without a base colour scheme platform and I apologise to everyone for this. I'm hoping to use this round as an "idea" round and we could always build on it and who knows, the colour scheme could very well take birth from the logo rather than the other way around. As someone suggested, however, the request is for all participants to please keep/save and make available their psd files. Thanks very much for the interest and I'd love to see some of your ideas.

Constructive: Logo's are supposed to be simple, memorable and work in black and white.

Actually, to follow on a few things I've picked up in reading this entire thread just now

1 - size is not defined
2 - color scheme not dictated, and need not follow the skin of the 'future site' as it may in fact influence what the 'future site' skin is set to be
3 - think outside the box
4 - definition of logo

A logo (Greek λογότυπος = logotypos) is a graphical element, (ideogram, symbol, emblem, icon, sign) that, together with its logotype (a uniquely set and arranged typeface) form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition.[1] The logo is one aspect of a company's commercial brand, or economic or academic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are different from others in a similar market. Logos are also used to identify organizations and other non-commercial entities.

...meaning the 'logo' ought to scale from a favorite.icn to a piece of the new site's web display to flyers and perhaps eventually banners. The ability to go two tone (black and white, blue and white, whatever) and size scalability are important on a 'logo'. That said, there would be room for many of the 'image designs' presented here to perhaps be incorporated in one way or another with the new site. But a brand logo for Bluelight.ru.....needs to be something that lasts until we go bankrupt (coming in '09 unless we kick in those donations!)....but ought to last a long, long time.

= = = =

Net from that...another poorly launched request for help! YAY!


i'd take it as

• Can be black & white
• Can be multicolor, though two-tone adapts best to b&w
• Size - can be scaled to fit applied space (banner, ad placement, bumper sticker, tattoo). I'd hate to say 'start with our current 550x50 px size' because I'm not sure how tied to that we will be going forward.

Animated would probably be good as well, for the live site, so long as we can have a static version for other uses?

 

[thujone]

I made an SVG version of the logo a while ago, since it's based on vectors it can be scaled up or down without any loss in quality, then exported to another format for whatever size is needed in a banner or icon.

Here it is in PNG format:

 

[thujone]

just noticed I also have a copy of the old .nu banner

 

[TheLoveBandit]

Thanks, thujone!

= = = =


As an example of WHY this thread exists, and I simply don't do it myself, is that my aesthetic skills suck as evidenced by the horrible NOTICEs I've been sticking around the site regarding the prune, forum mergers, and welcome wagon updates (I had nothing to do with the Festivus NOTICE, but would LOVE to know who did that and the forum style for FESTIVUS).

Instead, I'll continue to show my lack of skills with the banner I intend to stick in the top right rotation and point to this thread for help:

(transparent background for now)

 

[CFC]

thujone's pill gave me an idea to bring the two together, maybe a bit like this. There's a subtle flash of light that emerges around our name momentarily on a 30 second loop and the file's 11kb:

 

[Bagseed]

in my opinion, the current logo is quite subtle and easy on the eye as is; that doesn't mean it shouldn't be adapted to a new site, but I'd change it as little as possible, because it is established and aesthetic.

 

[thujone]

Thanks, thujone!

sure thing

in my opinion, the current logo is quite subtle and easy on the eye as is; that doesn't mean it shouldn't be adapted to a new site, but I'd change it as little as possible, because it is established and aesthetic.

agreed, though it could do with an HD refresh since it's kind of pixelated. Personally I think the best move would be converting most of the graphics to SVG since all browsers now support it and that way only a single version is needed to display perfectly on all screen resolutions.

CFCs logo looks cool too, though I'm not sure HPPD sufferers would appreciate the subtle animation