[libreoffice-design] Re: Visual identity: Application icons - logos, or "just" icons?

Hi all,

Le 2015-05-04 10:32, Charles-H. Schulz a écrit :
> Hello K-J,
>
> Le 04.05.2015 16:16, K-J LibreOffice a écrit :
> > Hi all,
> > Am 04.05.2015 um 15:29 schrieb Jan Holesovsky:
> > > Hi Marketing,
> > >
> > > We've recently had a question in the Design team that we don't feel
> > > empowered enough to answer without consulting Marketing:
> > >
> > > Should the "application icons" have status of logos?  Ie. should they be
> > > still the same regardless of the icon theme?  Or are they "just" icons,
> > > and should be modified according to the theme?
> > >
> > >
> > > By the "application icons", I mean:
> > >
> > > https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/File:LibreOffice_icons_256.png
> > >
> > > These are apparently in the Tango theme; and from the purely Design
> > > point of view, it would look better if they were consistent with the
> > > icon theme to which LibreOffice is switched (so should be Sifr-like when
> > > LibreOffice works in Sifr; Breeze-like in breeze; etc.)
> >
> > To see what is meant (Breeze):
> > https://bug-attachments.documentfoundation.org/attachment.cgi?id=114543
>
> Thanks! The new icons do not appear in any way problematic to me (this
> is an actual statement, not my personal aesthetical judgement).
>
> > > But in case they have status of logos, that is if they represent the
> > > application, I think they should not change, ie. the Writer icon should
> > > still look the same regardless of the theme.
> >
> > Branding rules [1]:
> > "Logos that don't represent the LibreOffice software or the Document
> > Foundation, but are related to it in some way, may use the LibreOffice
> > symbol to show the relationship they have to it without adhering to
> > the above guidelines. Examples of derivative logos are logos of the
> > individual LibreOffice modules"
> >
> > [1]
> > https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Marketing/Branding#Derivative_Logos
>
> You should read this as a specific example in the context of trademark
> practices and logo policy but not as an actual definition of what the
> application icons are.
>
> best,
>
> Charles.

It would seem to me that Marketing should more clearly define what is 
considered logo brand. We are all aware that the main LibreOffice logo 
brand should not be part of any such change.

But, it would seem to me that the 6 module icons, that have become so 
familiar with our users, have just by this line of reasoning, become 
part of the LibreOffice brand and that if we are going to subject the 
icons to more frequent changes (if they are treated as non-brand logos) 
that we may in fact create more user confusion. We (marketing) would 
then have to do more work to familiarize users of the new icon 
representation at each change.

If we were to consider the main LibreOffice icon and the 6 module icons 
as part of the brand, then they would only change when LibreOffice were 
to undergo a re-branding. If Marketing were to consider these 6 icons as 
brand, then the icons should not then undergo a change.

I believe that thus far, none of us had contemplated a change in the 
module icons and that we have been using these logos in our marketing as 
a defacto look for the modules. I suspect that, if we were to treat the 
icons as non-brand logos, we would soon find out that our users would 
become confused at each change of looks subjected to these logos.

IMO, it would be better for the logos to be treated as part of our 
brand, as it gives the users an "anchor point of view" of our module 
logos and it also gives Marketing leverage to use the logos as a 
familiar set of logos in marketing ... user confusion would only occur 
when a rebranding of the set of the 6 logos would occur.

It would just be less confusing to our user base, and new user base, of 
the official brand "look and feel". I am especially thinking of our 
large institutional base of users where large LibreOffice installations 
would undergo a logo change and where the confusion over the look may 
add more work to their sys admins (they would have to prepare users of 
the change in icons looks) etc.

Change is always difficult, and, in this case we may be adding more 
unintentional trouble to our logo brand than what we expected.

For my part, I would rather like to see the module logos as part of our 
brand.

Cheers,

Marc


--
Marc Paré
Marc@MarcPare.com
http://www.parEntreprise.com
parEntreprise.com Supports OpenDocument Formats (ODF)
parEntreprise.com Supports http://www.LibreOffice.org


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