Re: [art] Joining the mailing list,
Hi Jack, On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 4:15 PM, Resident Rocker residentrocke...@gmail.com wrote: Hi im Jack Majlinger aka residentrocker Just wondering if i could join the mailing list to help out the art Of course! You are very welcome to join us, and we're happy to have more members. The art list is rather inactive at the moment - most of the activity is happening at the new branidng project, so if you are interested in contributing artwork, I highly recommend that you join the branding project and introduce yourself there too - please see the bottom of http://marketing.openoffice.org/servlets/ProjectMailingListList to join (I assume you have an OOo username and you are logged in), and to catch up on what's been happening so far, you can have a look at http://marketing.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=branding Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Style for the colour-blind
Hi Bill, On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 8:22 PM, Bill Cameron rockerbi...@ntlworld.com wrote: I've just registered with OpenOffice, so do not know if this has been addressed already. First of all, thanks for your email and welcome to the OpenOffice.org project. I, along with a surprisingly large proportion (7%-10%) of the male population, struggle with Daltonism (colour-blindness). I have worked on print production and found very little sympathy for my condition - I suppose most of us avoid such circumstances. Consequently marketing image-generators overlook this problem. I have seen bad examples using close tones, but even black print on red background can be unreadable. I would like this to be properly considered as you are offering the chance to become involved. I understand what you are saying, but I'm not sure what you would like us to do about it; would you like to suggest some feature(s) in OpenOffice.org to help create documents which take colourblind users into consideration, or do you have some examples where OpenOffice.org needs to make improvements to be more accessible to colourblind users? If so, please provide more details and we will look into it. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] More or less offlist for the next days
Hi Bernhard, On Sun, Jan 10, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi all, I don't know about the Internet facilities at the place where I stay in Hamburg, so it might be possible that I can't reply to mails I get during the next days. But from next Thursday I'll try to catch up... I hope you have a safe trip to Hamburg, a comfortable stay, and that you make great progress! I will be participating too, but obviously to a much lesser extent. I wonder if we could write a blog post about the event, or perhaps start an Art project blog that could be syndicated on the OOo Planet (as the UX project has done) so that we can better inform the wider OOo community (and possibly, the wider open source community) about our efforts? Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] OpenOffice.org Identity a little close to that of Coffee Sweetener?
Hi Brian, Nik, Bernhard, all, On Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 7:34 PM, Brian Coale coale.br...@gmail.com wrote: Hey everyone! Nice to see so much discussion over this, it really shows that this is an active community and that you care about what you are doing here. That's a definite positive for me. I hope you'll stay with us :) I really don't think who did what first matters as much as having a strong branding identity, perhaps we should look at it from this point of view rather than that of entitlement. +1. Colored circles aren't a particularly strong branding element, and neither is a curve. They're pretty generic and would be more suitable, as Nik pointed out, when they have a stronger symbolic value for a particular product. In this case, it seems that the OOo 3 splash screen was created before before Equal changed its branding, but the curved line and colored circles motif has probably been done many times over around the world across the decades. Even the wireframe gull style has commercial implementations elsewhere (e.g. ASB Bank - https://www.asb.co.nz/story_images/1343_portal_s3745.jpg - the wireframe design is like the complex designs featured on banknotes to make counterfeiting more difficult so it kind of fits in). It could be argued that whatever design we come up with, someone, somewhere has done something similar, or will do something similar independently in the future. Our splash screen curve is based on the SUN reverse-s, but when its lying down, where's the association? I think the reverse-S should always be vertical. Otherwise it dilutes the brand. This would be something for the new project to consider. I absolutely agree with this. OpenOffice.org, after all, is a product of Sun Microsystems, and should be treated as such. I would really like to see the branding and image more closely relate to the branding and image of, hmmm, say Java? Sun and Java are household names in the computer industry, and I think reminding people that they are related will only strengthen the branding and legitimacy of OpenOffice.org. When I told my boss we should migrate some of our dated Microsoft Office systems of OpenOffice.org she said who?, but I bet you if I told her we needed to update our Java she wouldn't even blink an eye. The S-curve is present on the splash screen and the website (horizontally), and in the icons and Start Center (vertically). It was inherited from Sun's branding. I disagree that we should pursue it further. To give OOo a more independent (i.e., community driven) and unique identity this should be replaced with something more fitting (e.g. a feather outline, a wing outline, etc if we stick with gulls - even that is up for debate). Especially considering that Sun will become Oracle. I'm only saying this because I feel strongly that the coloured dots should not be added to the OOo identity, not with such little relevance or thought, And this is a very valid point. Every element in a design should have a purpose, not just thrown together because it looks good; Personal preference should take a back seat to the message and the mission of a design piece. If we are serious about helping this product become a real competitor, we have to be absolutely serious about it's image and branding. +1. I think that the OOo logo is where our efforts should be focused, and branding elements should be secondary supports. This is one of the reasons I personally prefer brighter colors in designs - it doesn't draw so much attention away from the logo, whereas our current splash screen is pretty haphazard with overly strong colors and attention-grabbing elements scattered around. There should be a sense of harmony and continuity between the logo and its supporting branding elements, and that's one of the major reasons behind the new project we hope to set up. Very well put. I know a lot of people here might not like the idea of change to time-tested design elements, but without change, or at least discussion about change, there can be no innovation. Are we to roll out the same splash screen every version? Look at our competitor, Microsoft, does Office 2004 look ANYTHING like Office 2007? They change the look and feel ot their products for good reason: Obsolescence and perceived obsolescence for one; Make the new stuff look new so you'll want it, and so it will make the old stuff look old so you don't want it anymore. A version number isn't always enough to make people want to jump on the bandwagon, they want to see that it's better. And that's where we come in. Absolutely. We could even go to the extent where we evolve the design over the lifecycle of a release. If someone could put forward a good enough proposal to advance the design while keeping it in line with the general theme that has been set, then we could have slightly different splash screens for OOo 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, etc... instead of being restricted to 3+ yearly cycles. In summary, I think this is
Re: [art] Presentation at the OOoCon this morning = Next Steps
Hi Bernhard, all, I would love to be able to reply to this but unfortunately, as with yourself, time is scarce. From tomorrow I will be away on holiday for a week. Hopefully, in the meantime, more art project members can chip in with their thoughts - I don't want this to become a discussion just between us two, but at the same time it would be a shame for this discussion to go unaddressed. So, please expect a reply from me in a week's time, but in the meantime, I wish you (and this discussion :)) all the best! Regards, Ivan. On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 11:30 AM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi Ivan, all, sorry for not replying earlier, but this week I'm more busy with my job than at other times... (even this reply will be short...) Ivan M schrieb: Hi Bernhard, all, On Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 11:07 PM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: [...] With regard to a new branding project I mentioned my interest in including people from the different projects - and this seems to be taken quite positively. Excellent! Then our next step could be to engage with these different projects to develop a framework/structure/scope for the new project. They will probably be able to offer valuable inputs about things we may not have considered yet. There are two things necessarily to be decided before the creation of a new incubator project: - the project mission statement - the project's name All the other decisions on the project could be done afterwards, but I don't think we should hurry anyway. As multi-project discussions are quite problematic (not all the mails are posted to all the relevant lists, some have to become moderated) - what do you think of a dedicated wiki page where we could collect the relevant thoughts and ideas? As an aside, did you get any comments specifically from Sun staff? I don't think we'll be able to get very far if they're not on board with us. All the Sun people I talked to agreed in the necessity to work together on a general branding. For Stefan Taxhet the first step before creating an entirely new set of branding artwork would be to look among the present artwork and define a general branding including these designs. I'm sorry that Stella has not been at Orvieto, but Stefan, Martin Hollmichel and others agree with me, that she should be involved in any development in that area. Perhaps there might be a chance for a face-to-face meeting at Hamburg during the next months... [...] The video documentation [4] will contain my session too at the end of the day. Unfortunately the live stream did not work for the room you were in (some of the others were working at the time), so I watched the video later on (I saw Christoph come up to talk to you before the presenation, so it's great that you were able to meet!) We stayed at the same hotel as neighbours... - you covered all the bases really well, especially at the beginning, with the comparison of the splash screens and various OOo website pages. That makes a very strong case for a new project to coordinate OOo's branding/identity. Thank you for the kind feedback :-) The people I talked to at Orvieto seemed to understand what I wanted to address, so I think, it has been a success. Thank you Bernhard for being the voice of the art project at OOoCon! It was great being there - I met a lot of people I only knew from the lists and had a really good time there. Perhaps there might be a chance at one of the next OOoCons to meet more people from the Art Project (or what ever it's new name will be...) Remember: Next year's OOoCon will be at Budapest, for 2011 and 2012 the Call for Locations will start in a few weeks. So if there is an active OOo group near one of you, talk to them. Perhaps we'll have a OOoCon at your place... Best regards Bernhard Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Icon on 100 million download
Hi Alexandro, It looks OK to me - the image is based on Bernhard's proposal at [1], except I've kept the OOo logo the same size as previously - the arrow graphics and the text are the same. On my 1280x1024 monitor, the arrow looks fine - do you have a particular page or screen resolution you're referring to? The version 3.x is there to clarify that we're not talking about downloads of version 3(.0), but also 3.0.1, 3.1, etc. [1] http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Dedicated_Logos Regards, Ivan. On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 3:36 PM, Alexandro Colorado j...@openoffice.org wrote: I see that the icon for 100 million download has been launched but is really bad quality. First I see the green arrow somewhat jagged and almost look like the image was resized on the HTML. Please make a 1:1 icon and make no artifical resizing. Also 3.x looks awfully geeky and completely diffcult to understan please use version 3 and not 3.x -- Alexandro Colorado OpenOffice.org Espantilde;ol IM: j...@jabber.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Re: Orginal file
Hi Bernhard, Nik, all, This is a very important discussion, and now that I have some spare time to write a comprehensive reply, I would like to share some thoughts. On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 12:46 PM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: [...] We do need a new Art / Visual Design project - in a position that can work not only on marketing material, but on core graphical elements too. I know this got swept under the rug amidst a flurry of trademark technicalities, but I'd just like to know once and for all; Is there any point on working on an OOo logo, is there any talk of an update being considered anywhere on the horizon? version 4 even? I'm fast losing faith that OOo is actually OpenSource at all, given that most official design work is created by Sun and not by the community. I know your concerns - shared by many of the (former?) active members of this project. Berhnard, if it weren't for you, the art project would probably be experiencing deafening silence right now. Many of our very talented and active members have disappeared, and I suspect a lack of impact (by the Art project on OOo's artwork) would be the major cause of this. Personally, I was inspired to join the Art project when I saw your presentation at 2006 OOo Convention [1]. The vision contained in that presentation is yet to be realized, but I stick around because I am optimistic that it can be done. [1] http://marketing.openoffice.org/ooocon2006/presentations/tuesday_c3.odp Even if I'm in contact with some of the Sun people, I can't give you a positive or negative reply. If some people in the upper areas there decide to do something, it's quite hard to show them a better way... But there are signs of changes: - The new ODF related iconset [1] is presented to us explicitly asking us for comments and improvement of the design. - Implementation of these icons has been postponed because their presentation will be able to improved by the community. I see a need for a project that covers all the topics related to visual impression of OpenOffice.org - whether this would be at the desktop, on the web, in documentation or marketing. Yes! Christoph Noack of the UX project and I discussed something similar during the website refresh late last year (please see the appendix at the bottom of this email for the relevant extract). Unfortunately, due to time constraints we could not actively pursue this vision, but it is similar to what is being discussed in this thread. Now might be the time to try to take action - while there is plenty of time to establish the project and its influence in OOo 4. The community needs to take a more active role to create a consistent, powerful and effective visual identity for OOo. The latest issue with the ODF mimetype icons demonstrates that the art project is either not well known to major decision makers, or it is not considered relevant/useful. It is partially up to us to make sure that these sorts of things do not happen again in the future. Perhaps Art Project is too small as name - Visual recognition or Branding Art comes to my mind... Visual Design already exists [2], but Stella is the only one I can see taking part in it. A lot of important branding and artwork activity happens on those pages, but we aren't really made aware of their existence or involved in what goes on. Perhaps this is because a lot of OOo's artwork is derived from StarOffice and it is just assumed that OOo will have the same artwork as StarOffice (with the exception of, say, the splash screen and website). This is an assumption that we might need to challenge. [2] http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Visual_Design_Overview Such a project will have to be filled with life by Sun people as well as others. Absolutely, and also from different complementary projects that play a part in forming OOo's visual identity (UX, Marketing and Website are the most obvious examples IMO). These thoughts are not mature by now - but in such a broader project any changes to the core design could be worked on by non-Sun members too. By having a project where non-Sun community members can have a real impact on OOo's identity, we could attract more members and interest in the project. And with nicer, more co-ordinated artwork, we could attract more people to OOo. We all want to see OOo succeed, and I think this is an obvious way of helping to achieve that. Changes to the logo are more difficult, as the present one is trademarked as image mark. But if discussion on trademark policy and logo license would end up in introducing a second (community) logo under an open source license, this logo will probably be created by us! You see, I can't give you any one and ever reply - but perhaps there is more than just a silver stripe at the horizon... I hope so :) Regards, Ivan. -- Appendix -- On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 9:42 PM, Ivan M i2initiati...@gmail.com wrote: [... Christoph Noack wrote:] What
Re: [art] 9 years of OpenOffice.org
Hi Bernhard, all I made a few minor modifications (kept the logo at the current size, and added the age to the birthday text since not everyone might take the time to count the candles :) ) - I hope you don't mind - it's online now! Regards, Ivan. On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 8:31 AM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi Ivan, * Ivan M schrieb: Hi Bernhard, I got a 403 Forbidden message when I tried to access the image at http://.familie-dippold.at/OpenOffice.org/ooo_bcake_9th.png The same with me - but only when I tried it with SeaMonkey first. But opening with Firefox worked, afterwards I could open the file in SeaMonkey too. (This was before I sent the mail to the list) strange... Please email it to me (as a 32-bit transparent PNG preferably!) and I can update the website graphic. sent .png and .svg ... Thanks! Bernhard - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Ideas for a new OOo logo to be presented at Orvieto?
Hi all, I added my logo proposal, which retains continuity with the current OOo logo while (trying to) make it look more modern: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/File:OooLOGO.png Some parts are obviously more polished than others. Due to personal time constraints I can't dedicate more time to it - I just wanted to get the concept across. The bird's wings would need redoing and the font itself has some oddities, like the non-elliptical, slightly bulging 'O' glyph (I liked the shapes of the other characters though). Info about the font, etc can be found on the wiki page: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Visual_Concept_Proposals#Ivan_Miskovic Regards, Ivan. On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 10:52 AM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi Graham, Jens, all, Graham Lauder schrieb: On Thursday 08 October 2009 03:26:50 Jens Habermann wrote: Hi! A short time frame for sure, but I will contribute my ideas over next weeks. Until we have a main wiki site for this task, I will place images on my wiki user site http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/User:JensGH Jens Let's start it in a dedicated part of the wiki. Start a new page called New_logo_proposals or pizza_order or whatever just so long as we keep it all together. + 1 Rules? CC license? I would prefer LGPL. If any of the proposals (I'd call them design ideas for the moment) would be integrated in the main product some day, it's license should be compatible with the product. and any text has to be in a Free font, no nonfree fonts allowed? +1 That looks like enough From marketing POV and with regard to visual (corporate) identity I'd like to see some more points to be taken into account: - the logo should look serious and professional (remember that governments and large - provide graphical elements that can be used for our branding - please don't alienate users and supporters of OOo who feel familiar with the present logo. Some kind of recognition might be appropriate IMHO. Should we make an effort to put them in context as well. Like as it is on the website, stationery, webbanners? I'd keep with the logo - time is short already. Are we going to stick with the blue corporate color? I'd like to see the OOoblue (RGB 6,52, 140) as part of the logo - this would help us to keep at least parts of our visual identity... Best regards Bernhard - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Ideas for a new OOo logo
Hi Nik, Bernhard, all, On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 7:56 AM, Nikash V. SINGH igetrealc...@yahoo.com.au wrote: Hi Art! I've uploaded four logo designs here; http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Visual_Concept_Proposals#Nikash_SINGH As with everyone else's, they're not polished final works, (constructive) feedback is welcome. Every Design has an accompanying in-context image (of the logo as it might appear on stationery). All Designs are in vector, all use Liberation Sans(which has been carefully kerned per-glyph). And I spent quite some time sketching out meaningful ideas, which I hope you'll like. They might not be polished final works, but they look pretty close! I really like the sleek S curve design element - it looks great! You've also managed to make Liberation Sans look good as a logo typeface, which I certainly couldn't do. The logo designs are interesting and unique (the more concepts, the better!), but I'll just offer one brief comment on what you wrote on the wiki page [1]: All of my proposals aim at communicating Openness and freedom while keeping some focus on the fact that we make Office software. I think we should focus much more on openness and freedom rather than specifically keeping it office-related - OOo can be used for a variety of purposes outside the office as well (plus 'office' has a somewhat dull connotation) - I've got the gotta fly concept in mind when I say this. The other concepts are more interesting and abstract, but that's just a personal opinion :) [1] http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Visual_Concept_Proposals#Nikash_SINGH PS. Can someone get the word out to Paul @dead end cafe that this is actually happening! He was contributing amazing work before the quiet season. Yup, sent him an email. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Ideas for a new OOo logo to be presented at Orvieto?
Hi Graham, all, On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 8:11 AM, Graham Lauder yori...@openoffice.org wrote: [...] CC license? and any text has to be in a Free font, no nonfree fonts allowed? This is a fantastic idea. I'll try to put something together as well. In the meantime, here are some links to free fonts that people might find useful... http://openfontlibrary.org/ http://www.openfontlibrary.org/wiki/Existing_Libre/Open_Fonts http://delubrum.org/ (scroll down for a table of fonts and their licenses) Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
[art] New OOo Mimetype icons
Hi Art project members, Please see Bernhard's email below to the UX list about the new proposed OOo mimetype icons. I have to say that I'm dissappointed that no one involved with these icons made an attempt to engage with the art list about this. Regards, Ivan. -- Forwarded message -- From: Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at Date: Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 10:45 AM Subject: [ux-discuss] Change in OOo mimetype icons - known and supported by the UX project? To: disc...@ux.openoffice.org Hi all, as I'm not a regular customer of GULLFOSS, I needed someone else (thanks, Volker) to point me to that blog http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/unified_odf_icons where Lutz Hoeger writes about the change in mimetype icons probably already decided (by whom?) for OOo 3.2. The application colors will be given up and replaced by grey icons symbolizing the different applications by symbols. A blue rectangle with white ODF will be added to every icon. The main reason for this change is to enforce public recognition of ODF among different applications. My problem from UX side: - Is it reasonable to reduce the differences between all the different ODF supporting programs? Every program uses different algorithms, so the files will open a bit differently in each of them. And depending of the features of each program, the user will be or not be able to modify the file to more or less extent. - Will the new icons be different enough from each other to help the user to open file he wants to? In Windows I prefer the detail view in Explorer with 16x16px icons for documents.(I don't know studies about the relative usage of the different explorer views, if there are any...) In this size the color of the icons are more important than their (very small) symbols. Changing every color to grey reduces visual difference among the file types. - My third point (not only related to UX): Why should we reduce the strength of our (OpenOffice.org) visual design and recognition in favor of ODF? Every application changes the mimetype icons of the files it opens as standard application. I want to know if a HTML file opens in IE, Firefox, Opera or any other application when I open the file. More details if necessary, but I think you get my point. Best regards Bernhard - To unsubscribe, e-mail: discuss-unsubscr...@ux.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: discuss-h...@ux.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] New task for the Art Project? Create high quality clipart galleries!
Hi Bernhard, all, On Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 8:09 AM, Bernhard Dippoldbernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi all, the website project discusses a way to present OpenOffice.org extensions more prominently on the website. Just for reference, the main messages relating to this discussion can be found at http://website.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=devmsgNo=10849 and http://website.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=devmsgNo=10856 One of the four main topics among these extensions are cliparts that can be integrated in the program's gallery that is quite poor in comparison to the cliparts in MS Office. What do you think about creating new clipart galleries? They can presented for download on the wiki, and if we consider them to be good enough to become official, they should be moved to an official artwork gallery and might be integrated in the core program in a second step. IMHO this might be an excellent opportunity for us to take a quite important task for the program as well as to improve the Art Project's position in the OOo community. A big +1, and I'd like to offer help as well. The Gallery (click the picture frame icon in the standard toolbar) has some very outdated artwork, especially in bullets and homepage - dithered GIFs that would have blown people away last century but now they're quite outdated. We might even propose getting rid of some existing galleries (like the Homepage gallery - I don't envision many people using these graphics... or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part :P). You can find the graphics files for existing galleries in the basis/share/gallery folder. With regards to clipart, I'm wondering about how this could be implemented - would we just add a new gallery called 'Clipart'? If so, then does anyone know if it's possible to have sub-galleries? Otherwise browsing the clipart gallery could get difficult as the collection grows - I know MS office has a search functionality and keywords assigned to each image so that it can be categorized, but it doesn't look like OOo has this functionality. An alternative might be to have a gallery for each category of clipart (though then we have the problem that if a clipart image can be classified as more than one category, things get tricky - we'd have to duplicate the images if there is no categorization and that would mean redundancy) just thinking out loud :) Do you think we could manage such a task? It would consist of several steps: - creation of the artwork - integrating it in a new clipart gallery in OOo - creating an extension for easy integration by the user Do you envision creating the gallery as an extension first and then integrating it into the main OOo, or creating some default artwork and then creating additional extensions? That's all I can add at this stage, but in the meantime I'll try to get a better idea of how OOo's gallery works and what its limitations are. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Draft for new Additional Gallery Wiki page
Hi Bernhard, My first impression is that it's somewhat confusing; most of the graphics feature the OOo logo, so it's hard to make out which gallery is what. IMO, the pictures don't make it very clear as to the type of graphics contained in the linked wiki page. In some cases, abstract images would do a better job (e.g. using a computer monitor to represent desktop backgrounds... but some of these galleries would be hard to represent that way). My best suggestion is to add more emphasis on the text - right now the image is primary and the text is secondary. Reversing that could help - e.g. by making the font bigger, putting the text over the image (i.e., splitting each cell into 2 rows so that the top row is the text link with a light background color to draw attention to it and the bottom row is the image), etc. On a more pedantic note :), I'm not a fan of default table borders - try using class=wikitable in the table code. Regards, Ivan. On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 10:25 AM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi all, I worked on my draft for a new Additional Gallery page: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/User:BeDipp#personal_sandbox Even if there lack a few images and linked pages, I'm quite sure, you will be able to understand my intention. Please comment - would this (or something similar) be more user friendly than the present page (http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Gallery)? The new draft will have to integrate some links etc., but I wanted to show you what I did. Best regards Bernhard - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] VOTE for Official Artwork - CD labels
Hi Bernhard, Sorry, now I really see that I was confused! The color I was referring to was the light blue, which I now understand represents the main OOo application (that shows the start center). Chart 12 is a color that I use frequently from OOo's default color palette and it looks very similar to the shade of blue on the CD label, so there must have been some subliminal association :P Regards, Ivan. On Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 9:59 AM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi Ivan, all, Ivan M wrote: [...] I'm a little confused about the Chart module's inclusion, I don't understand if you think the Chart icon is included (it's darker green is not part of the points) or if it should be included? The Chart module isn't listed as official module - it has only a document icon like Macro, HTML and Global documents. http://ui.openoffice.org/VisualDesign/OOo30MimeType.html It might be possible to include the Chart color instead of the main icon color. But this would add another green instead of the blue. Probably this might be a bit more different from the splash... Best regards Bernhard - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] OOo2 colors used in the splash screen for OOo3
Hi Bernhard, all, I don't think we should get too caught up about making some changes to the splash screen - the votes were reasonably close according to Florian (though the results were never made available AFAIK): You see that this result means that voting was quite tight and all proposals have seen nearly equal acceptance throughout the community. Source: http://marketing.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?listName=artmsgNo=3387 and I'd say that the votes were more for a general look rather than an exact pixel-for-pixel design that should remain static - when Miroslav Mazel asked about this, Florian's response was: you have to cast your vote for one specific variant. Just choose one variant of the theme you like if unsure. Source: http://marketing.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?listName=artmsgNo=3371 I agree with Nik and Austin about Jens' gradient wave proposal, it looks great. As for the spheres, the light is coming directly from above (as the reflection suggests) so it seems a little odd to me that the light reflection on the spheres is at the bottom-right. It'd also be nice if they were aligned with the curve more closely - the Writer sphere is above it while the Base sphere is below it. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Art Project Home Page Proposal:
Hi Austin, I think it's great! I've made a few minor changes - adding a small bottom margin to the navbox, changing For other projects to Requesting Artwork (I think this is a more clear and to-the-point title) and getting rid of in order to eliminate the duplication of efforts in graphic creation by offering a central place from the introduction - I think it's unnecessary and makes the sentence more convoluted. I have also split the Additional Galleries page into 2 columns and hid the TOC - this greatly reduces the need to scroll through the page and gives the proposals equal prominence to the additional galleries. As for Van's comment, looking at some of his previous emails to this list [1], those posted since 2007 look a lot like spam. Van, if you're having trouble unsubscribing, please say so. Otherwise, please be more specific as to what you mean. [1] http://marketing.openoffice.org/servlets/SearchList?list=artsearchText=van+boltondefaultField=authorSearch=Search Regards, Ivan. On Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 4:28 AM, Austin Martin ajmarti...@gmail.com wrote: Hey, all, Van Somehow I expected a message like that, please elaborate on: What?! that means. Austin Martin - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Another website/wiki structure proposal:
Hi Austin, Bernhard, all, I think we are on the same page, or at least much closer than before. The navbox at the bottom of each gallery is a great idea - it would certainly help ease navigation around the wiki. Austin's structural proposal looks great, and I think it lines up closely with Bernhard's earlier email about the structure of the wiki [1]. So all in all, a thumbs up from me. Regards, Ivan --- [1] http://marketing.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=artmsgNo=3585 - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Artwork Developer Sandbox SVG:
Hi Austin, On Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 10:38 AM, Austin Martin ajmarti...@gmail.com wrote: [...] I collected a view things and now I have created the SVG version at this page: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:ArtworkDeveloperSanbox.svg (Direct Link: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/w/images/c/ce/ArtworkDeveloperSanbox.svg ) Wanted to let everyone know, and put it up for feedback. Please suggest any other graphics that I need to include. Excellent! It's a great start. It might help to include approved official artwork, e.g. splash screen but that might be seen as an optional extra since these can all be downloaded separately. Or maybe they could be bundled them along with this developer sandbox file in a single package. I'll reply to the wiki discussion a little later on today - time seems to be scarce these days :) Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Austin Martin's Report #2:
Hi Austin, Bernhard, all, On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 2:55 PM, Austin Martin ajmarti...@gmail.com wrote: [...] Let me clarify if what I think you are saying, you are. You think the additional artwork page should be moved into the gallery page, and that it would be the same just in a single place? IMO, this would be the most simple and efficient solution. *If so:* I agree, the only reason I made the directory like that is because someone made it and that wiki page before me, to be honest. Also the main reasons I use the Art/Website/** pages is because 1.) They are already there.. and so they might as well be used or deleted.. (which might be a pain for a sysops) 2.) They are a way that I can design how I think this should go. Fair enough. I was initially concerned about the Art/Website/* pages because they seemed to be duplicating a lot of content that was already there in the Art/* pages. *Also* I would like to ask everyone the mailing list about this idea: I think the main page should have buttons (with images) on the front upper part, where it lists the other main places in the wiki. The buttons would have an image related (such as Art - Paintbrush Paper or Security a Lock) and then a little below say the actual title. Overall I think this would just improve the look of the wiki front page. (Maybe making it more appealing to click one of those links too, or get involved with the wiki.) That's already planned for the excellent upcoming Art website homepage that Bernhard has been working on - IMO, the Art website should be the project's front end rather than the wiki. The Art website will then link to relevant wiki pages if necessary. The wiki would be more targeted towards contributors and collaboration. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Austin Martin's Report: Changes, Questions, Comments, etc.
Hi Austin, all, On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 3:18 PM, Austin Martin ajmarti...@gmail.com wrote: *Hello Everyone,** *I've been a bit hyperactive I guess (considering I jumped the mailing list number from 5 to 18 including responses (now 19)) so I decided to put everything I noticed, did, will do, am going to do, etc. in one compiled list, and I'll probably ask more questions on here if I have them, which makes it easier on me too, considering the amount of time it takes to get sent messages on the mailing list. First of all, you've already heard it, but I'll repeat it as well: welcome to the Art Project! It's not often that we get someone so willing to jump straight into things with so much enthusiasm - I think time usually beats that out of people :P. It's good to have you on board. * Reporting All the Changes I Have Made:* @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/IssueZilla_Artwork - Changed Offline materials to Physical Materials, and Online Materials to Computer Related Materials - Made the title higher so it looked better with the project list on the right.. - Added descriptions to the material types. Added link to About Issuezilla That page dates back to 2006 (IIRC), I just copied and pasted its contents over to the new wiki page. If anyone has the time to hunt around IZ and update this page, that'd be great, but I suspect most of the material would only be relevant for archival/historic purposes so it's not a high priority task. The wiki will provide a much more accessible and maintainable framework for future OOo artwork. @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Website/Additional_Artwork_Gallery - Added links to empty pages, eventually they will hold additional artwork I suppose.. - Added Wallpapers page (See why below). The Gallery page was intended to be a place where Art project members submit artwork for consideration/comment, etc. Now it seems we have another distinction that needs to be made: between artwork wanting to be official (or, rephrased, galleries that will have an official outcome) and additional/unofficial artwork. In the case of wallpapers, I don't think there are any 'official' wallpapers, or wallpapers wanting to be official, so it shouldn't be an issue. Perhaps we could split the gallery page into two columns based on this distinction rather than having two separate gallery pages... the intention is to reduce the duplication of content, and to make browsing easier. In this case, that might be reducing the number of pages, or the number of clicks it takes to get to a certain page from the wiki. Right now, the Gallery page is easily accessible, while the Additional Artwork Gallery is hidden away and potentially marginalized. Thoughts? @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Gallery - Added a link to a new wiki page, 1 down.. - Changed: These pages contain galleries of proposals submitted by members of the Art project. into These pages contain galleries of proposals submitted by members of the Art Project for official artwork. For additional artwork see The Additional Artwork Galleryhttp://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Website/Additional_Artwork_Galleryand follow the links provided. - Reason: I got the idea that it was for any artwork, and now I'm getting the message that it is for artwork that *wants* to be official, and I'm pretty sure that my background won't be official.. (as it hardly has much to do with OpenOffice.org, other than the flying birds and logo at the bottom right..) - Moved Art/Gallery/DesktopBackgrounds to Art/Website/Additional_Artwork_Gallery/Wallpapers.. - See Reason one up.. - Got rid of the link to the page on Art/Gallery.. _ @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Gallery/DesktopWallpapers - I created the page, setup format, setup guidelines. - Made My submissions.. @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:OOoSpaceDesktop.png - Uploaded Image @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:OOoSpaceDesktopWithoutLogo.png - Uploaded Image @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/User:Ajm47 - Numerous things, no one really cares about. lol. *Further Plans:* Objections are welcomed.. (They might need to come quick) @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Website/Additional_Artwork_Gallery - Making the pages, and like I did at the Wallpapers page, probably set guidelines, help, etc. @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Website/Join_us - Add some of this stuff: http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/about-participation.html, http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/How_To_Join, and along with anything else I feel is important in joining.. @ http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Community - Probably will add myself.. - If no one objects I might look through issuezilla to find artwork contributors and list there usernames.. (I notice this might not be looked upon as a positive thing).. Yes, please do add yourself!
Re: [art] Opinions about OOo3 CD label drafts? [was:] CD-Art for OOo3 needed
Hi Bernhard, all, On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 11:36 AM, Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi all, I started to work on the CD labels for OOo3 based on the new splash screen: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Gallery/OOo3_CD_label I had to move the logo away from the curved line because of the hole in the middle of the disk. That's the reason why the logo is no longer related to the curve. The germanophone project's PrOOo-Box (http://www.prooo-box.org/cover.html) solved this problem by modifying the orientation of the curve. This leads to more room for the wire gulls from OOo2, so they are more prominent than in the splash screen. (You should imagine the official logo instead of the smaller PrOOo-Box logo and less of the textual elements) As I'd like to keep as much of the impression of the splash screen as possible, I ask your opinion about the two drafts. Which one should be the basis for the official OOo3 CD labels? Do you have another idea how the adapt the splash screen elements to the disk label? I like the first draft - it has a nice balance between the light and dark blues. However, it could look even better (IMHO) if the wireframe gulls in the first draft were reduced to the same size as the second draft. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Logo page updated
Hi Bernhard, The Website sub-directory looks like it will be duplicating much of the content that has already been set up, and putting it one [virtual] directory deeper within the wiki - e.g. http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Website/Additional_Artwork_Gallery and http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Gallery ... http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Website/Join_us and http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/How_To_Join. What is the distinction between the top level Art project wiki and the Art/Website/* pages? Regards, Ivan. On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 1:38 PM, Dr. Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: Hi all, I updated the logo page so the OOo3 logos can be accessed directly via the homepage. I moved the page to http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/galleries/logos/index.html and added the OOo2 logos to the previous logo page http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/galleries/logos/previous.html Best regards Bernhard PS: I'm working on a new homepage I already began before I paused: http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/new_index.html Except the Official artwork button all buttons link to the wiki, so we can find the right information and wording more easily. When the Wiki pages are ready to be looked at by the public, I'd like to replace the present homepage by the new one. What do you think? - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Wiki or Issue Tracker for artwork?
Hi Bernhard, On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 8:30 AM, Dr. Bernhard Dippold bernh...@familie-dippold.at wrote: [...] Does anybody knows if the wiki size might be a problem one day? I remember times where the wiki was out of service - and these have been much more than the collabnet website containing issue tracker. I'm not sure why the wiki has been down so much recently, but here is a partial answer to your question from a recent discussion on the UX list: On Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 8:37 PM, Drew Jensen drewjensen.in...@gmail.com wrote: [...] The server that runs the wiki and the user forums is far from capacity currently. The user forums run on postgreSQL now. (We are moving to MySQL as we speak but that has to do with phpBB specifics.) Currently between the two zones (wiki and forum) it dishes up about 1 million pages a month, fairly evenly split between the two sites. [...] The forums run about 100 users on line at any given moment, pretty much 24/7. I would expect this number to double over the next 9 to 18 months as more NL forums go up. This still leaves plenty of excess capacity I believe (see below). I don't know about the number of wiki users on-line at any given time, but given that the page views are about the same as the forum I doubt it is much different. In the case of the forums the number of users browsing or searching is so much higher then those posting the CPU usage and hit to the db is pretty low. I would strongly expect it is the same with the wiki. Source: http://ux.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?listName=discussmsgNo=2645 What should be done to find an optimal solution? My suggestion would be to use the Art project website at marketing.openoffice.org/art to store official/approved artwork, and to use the wiki for submitting proposals [1] and other more general discussions and resources. This would keep the barrier to entry reasonably low and open. I like this idea: It keeps the official artwork in a prominent position and avoids changes to it. Slightly off topic - with regard to general discussions and resources, the problem with the current website is that it is really out of date in terms of content. After some discussion, I started 'migrating' the art project to the wiki, using the UX project's wiki pages as a model: Please see: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art How to join the Art Project: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/How_To_Join Art Project Contributor List: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Community (please add yourself here), etc. In terms of maintaining pages, it's much easier than tunneling and CVS'ing. What do you think? Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] HowTo for uploading artwork to the wiki?
Hi Bernhard, all, A very good guide is available at: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Images_and_other_uploaded_files#Embedding_internal_files Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
Re: [art] Need Free Advertising That Really Works?
SPAM. Please ignore. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: art-unsubscr...@marketing.openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: art-h...@marketing.openoffice.org
[art] Re: [ux-user interface] Re: [art] Request for logo graphic Renaissance Project
Hi Teren, Please post your replies regarding this thread to art@marketing.openoffice.org, not [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Art project at http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/ is where you will be able to find OOo related graphics - for example, have a look at http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/galleries/marketing/logos/ Regards, Ivan. On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 4:04 PM, Teren Teh [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi there, I am wondering if there's any documentation on the branding of Open Office such as the fonts and colors used as well as a template of the existing OpenOffice logo? Also, will this logo be used for black and white print material? Thanks, Teren - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Request for logo graphic Renaissance Project
Hi Jens, Christoph, Volker, all, On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 12:38 AM, Jens Habermann [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi! I created a really quick draft - just something to start with... http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1577/ren1hz8.png Jens What an interesting concept - great work! I agree with Volker that it needs color, but I would add that it needs some 'eye candy' - atm it's looking very industrial (one immediate suggestion would be to change Renaissance to a sans-serif font). Maybe having the 'facade' of OpenOffice.org partially painted with some colorful designs? Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] Art Project on the Wiki
Hello all, I've made some significant changes to the Art Project's section of the wiki (wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art). There is now a basic structure (based on the User Experience Project's wiki pages) that we can build on, with the hope of replacing IssueZilla based file uploading, as well as the current outdated Art project homepage at marketing.openoffice.org/art. Feel free to update the pages as necessary. Please add yourselves to the Art Project's community page at wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Community. Also, if you have a wiki user page, add the line [[Category:Art]] to the top of your user page. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] OOo 3 Countdown Graphics
Hello all, With OOo 3 coming up in a few weeks' time, it would be great to have a countdown on the homepage in order to promote and increase awareness of OOo 3's upcoming release. So I'd like to ask for your proposals/submissions for the countdown graphic. The only guideline is that it should fit in with the look of the homepage. Please add your graphics to this wiki page: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Website/Countdown You might also like to have a look at Ubuntu and Fedora's countdown graphics to get an idea of what it could look like (it should be about the same size) http://www.ubuntu.com/files/countdown/804/ubuntu/804UbuntuCountdown_17days.jpg and http://fedoraproject.org/static/images/counter/en/fedora9-countdown-09.en.png Thanks, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] OOo 3 Countdown Graphics
Hi Volker, -Si!eNT-, On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 6:41 PM, Volker Merschmann [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [...] You may not have so much time for organizing this, the estimated dates are on http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/OOoRelease30#OOo_3.0_Final The build for RC2 will be available at least on Monday, 15th and if there are no new showstoppers the release would be in the followig week. Yes, the problem is that the official release date hasn't been set in stone, so I was hoping the graphics would be done by the time we did know the official release date, and that there would be at least a week left to count down... even if that's not the case, we could reuse it for the following releases (3.1, 3.2 ...). On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 7:32 AM, -Si!eNT- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: What are the rules about using the newly chosen OOo 3.0 art theme? If you're asking with regard to the countdown graphic, you're welcome to use the new OOo 3 graphics. Otherwise, if you're asking about the new theme more generally, Florian would be the best person to ask. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] How to contribute?
Indeed, this is an excellent idea. I would suggest we make the main page, wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art, using most of the contents from http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org_Art_Project. Then, if we take a look at http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Category:Art, there's plenty to clean up there: For example, why is http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/OOoArt--OOo_logo_license not http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Logo_license? Many other project pages use this kind of structure (e.g. UX project) - it is more logical and easier to remember. A simple redirect can be made so that the current page points to the more clearly organized structure. And then we could start migrating the current OOo Art website's contents to the wiki and updating as we go along. Overall, the wiki is a far better place for the Art project, and these two reasons alone should be enough to encourage us to do this: 1) The wiki is easily editable - far more so than the current CollabNet framework, and it's not restricted to project leaders. Some of the current pages are over 2 years old and with OOo 3 coming up in just over a month, many of the graphics will need to be updated. The To-Do list [1] points to issues which are either misleading or no longer relevant; one example is Icon Design for OOo 3 [2] - this was done by Stella under the UI project, not the Art project; apart from some brief initial discussion, the submitted designs were ignored. The new icons are great, but we can't say that it was an Art project effort. Another example is Logo for OpenOffice.org 3 - we learned that we couldn't change the logo for OpenOffice.org 3, but there is a possibility of being able to do this in the future. In a month or so, someone new to the project might look at these issues and wonder, why is this issue still open even though OpenOffice.org 3 has been launched?, which might lead them to think: this list has obviously not been updated in a long time - this project is either inactive or dead. Or, OpenOffice.org 3 has already been launched, but the logo is the same as OpenOffice.org 2 - this project is not very good at what they do. It's a little cynical, but the point is that neither of these are true... but with the current website, it's hard not to think otherwise. Plus, because the ToDo list is likely to be a starting point for people interested in the project before they even consider joining the mailing list, we could be losing a lot of talent. With a wiki, we can update the ToDo list to reflect the current situation almost immediately. 2) Being a graphics oriented project, the wiki offers a far more straightforward way of browsing through graphics than the more intimidating IssueZilla layout, which is likely to be a barrier for entry to new users. The recent splash screen contest is an excellent example of the wiki being put to good use; for example, compare: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Splash_Screen/Proposals (OpenOffice.org version 3 contest) with http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=36491 (OpenOffice.org version 2 contest) Yes, there is a learning curve for wiki markup, but as wikis become more commonplace, it is a valuable skill and reasonably easy to learn (perhaps a brief intro could be written up for new users with wiki markup specific to things like uploading files, including thumbnails/galleries, etc). - Ivan. [1] http://www.openoffice.org/issues/buglist.cgi?Submit%20query=Submit%20querycomponent=marketingsubcomponent=artissue_status=NEWissue_status=STARTEDissue_status=REOPENEDemail1=emailtype1=exactemailassigned_to1=1email2=emailtype2=exactemailreporter2=1issueidtype=includeissue_id=changedin=votes=chfieldfrom=chfieldto=Nowchfieldvalue=short_desc=short_desc_type=substringlong_desc=long_desc_type=substringissue_file_loc=issue_file_loc_type=substringstatus_whiteboard=status_whiteboard_type=substringkeywords=keywords_type=anytokensfield0-0-0=nooptype0-0-0=noopvalue0-0-0=order=issues.issue_id [2] http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=54755 [3] http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=54361 - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] Re: [marketing] splash screen contest extended for two weeks
Hi Florian, all, (sorry if you're getting this twice, the original only went to the [EMAIL PROTECTED] mail list) Could you please specify the dimensions of the different graphics that need to be submitted? e.g. the NSIS installer image - Stella's proposal is 164 × 314 pixels, Kamonwan's is 164 × 312 pixels (as is mine). What about the other NSIS image (there is the big one that appears on the left hand side, and the short wide one that appears on the top) - in the Beta 1 setup, it was just the plain OOo logo on the right and it didn't fit with the default system background (see [1] - ideally, the image should be full width), compare with [2]. One last question - would it be possible to have a background image for the about box, instead of just a top image, as Kamonwan did [3]? I've uploaded vector versions of my designs (using Nikash's 3 gulls) if anyone wants to play around with these (Fireworks PNG PSD formats) [4],[5]. I was having trouble designing a rectangular non-transparent splash screen - you can see how far I got [4]. All other materials (NSIS, start center, etc) are included in [5]. Thanks, Ivan. [1] http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/installer-screenshot.png [2] http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:OOo3-3gulls-SetupTop.png [3] http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Ooo-about-1.png [4] http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/ooo3-proposal-splash.zip (1MB) [5] http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/ooo3-proposal-other.zip (2.4MB) On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 2:14 PM, Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Florian, all, Could you please specify the dimensions of the different graphics that need to be submitted? e.g. the NSIS installer image - Stella's proposal is 164 × 314 pixels, Kamonwan's is 164 × 312 pixels (as is mine). What about the other NSIS image (there is the big one that appears on the left hand side, and the short wide one that appears on the top) - in the Beta 1 setup, it was just the plain OOo logo on the right and it didn't fit with the default system background (see [1] - ideally, the image should be full width), compare with [2]. One last question - would it be possible to have a background image for the about box, instead of just a top image, as Kamonwan did [3]? I've uploaded vector versions of my designs (using Nikash's 3 gulls) if anyone wants to play around with these (Fireworks PNG PSD formats) [4],[5]. I was having trouble designing a rectangular non-transparent splash screen - you can see how far I got [4]. All other materials (NSIS, start center, etc) are included in [5]. Thanks, Ivan. [1] http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/installer-screenshot.png [2] http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:OOo3-3gulls-SetupTop.png [3] http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Ooo-about-1.png [4] http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/ooo3-proposal-splash.zip (1MB) [5] http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/ooo3-proposal-other.zip (2.4MB) - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Get a list together
Hi Florian, I think Luke was asking if there is anything other than the splash screen designs that also needs to be done by the art project, e.g. something like the Art Project's to-do list. As it stands currently, some items on that list are misleading, because they are not under the Art project's influence - e.g. [1] Logo for OpenOffice 3.0 (not possible for legal reasons) [2] Icon design for OOo 3.0 (looks like it's already done - http://ui.openoffice.org/VisualDesign/OOo30MimeType.html) [3] Design an Open Typeface based on Vera Sans (this is made obsolete by [1]) Could you, or another project lead, please clean up the list, as some of these issues might be confusing for newer users (it confused me in my recent emails to the art list). Many of the issues there also relate to OOo 2, which, given the upcoming OOo 3 release, also seem outdated (e.g. Artwork for the 2.2 press release). Since we are using the wiki more often than IssueZilla, perhaps having a to-do wiki page would be a more friendly way of navigating what needs to be done, rather than the intimidating-at-first-signt IssueZilla. I would also suggest that the Art project's website be redone and updated (the timestamp on the main page is more than 2 years old), but I understand that people are currently busy with other tasks relating to OOo 3. Regards, Ivan. On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 7:37 AM, Florian Effenberger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Luke, So with all the recent e-mails about logo's and stuff that needs to be produced, can we get a wiki page, an e-mail or something we can use to get a quick list of what needs to be done, when for, and any requirements that need to go with it. With this in mind and quick access to what needs to be done things can be done and proposed and produced faster and more effectively I think. see http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Splash_Screen/Proposals Florian - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Impress Wizard and OOo 3 Icons
Hi all, Having seen [http://ui.openoffice.org/VisualDesign/OOo30MimeType.html], it looks like the icons have been decided on (looking at the date stamp, it's a recent document) and this discussion will be fruitless - I had been under the impression that the Art project was responsible for OOo 3's icons (because there has been an open issue about it for a long time: http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=54755) and that if we didn't do anything, the icons would stay the same in OOo 3 - I see that this is not the case now. Instead, I guess this is a case for cleaning up the Art List Issues - some of those tasks have been rendered obsolete and are misleading because they do not fall within our domain, or they are not possible due to legal restrictions: * Logo for OpenOffice 3.0 * Icon design for OOo 3.0 * Design an Open Typeface based on Vera Sans (this is tied in with the logo) So I apologize for this 'phantom' discussion - let's focus instead on what we do have an influence over - OOo 3's branding and visual design! - Ivan. On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 1:14 PM, Miroslav Mazel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's better, but I still find the Writer and Impress icons a bit too indistictive. Try using the new suggested icon colors: http://ui.openoffice.org/VisualDesign/OOo_galaxy_mimetype.html#symbolic Anyway, enough of my nitpicking - I really think that we might see the Tango icon set replacing the current set. I like the icons, because they have more distinctive parts (although Writer would be better to use a pen, or letters, or something - the document can really stand for anything) and a symmetric base (the circle/sphere), although I still sort of like the current icons too. As for knowing which app one uses, I don't think it's that important. First of all, the Mac users will have (as it currently stands) a single application - OpenOffice. If one tells them to open up Writer, they probably won't know what it is (although the name still appears in the title bar). Second of all, I'd say it's a lot more important to be able to pick out the right icon quickly, so you don't have to squint at that Quick Launch icon to know which one to click, or, heaven forbid, mouse over it, rather than know the application's name. And third of all, I don't think knowing the name is an issue with any application, no matter how you rely on the icon. I'm a Mac user, so, naturally, I know applications by icon, but I still manage to know each and every application by name (although I do tend to forget if QuickTime and HandBrake use spaces or not...). 2008/6/21 Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Alexandro, thanks for that link, I wasn't aware of the Graphics project, but it seems they're having the same discussion at the moment, so I will join in there, as well as UX (in the future, to get rid of the wizard and replace it with something less annoying) - if anyone else is interested in this and wants to join in, the link to the mailing list post is http://graphics.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=devmsgNo=1314 As for the icons, Miroslav, you bring up a great point. But how many users actually know that the program they use to write up their documents is Writer, or that they made that presentation with Impress? Unlike MS Office, OOo doesn't show the application name in the splash screen, and the color-coded icons make it easy to ignore the app name completely so they might just come to know Calc as the green icon. That can be seen as a good thing and a bad thing... one problem that has been pointed out in the past is that Writer and Math have similar colors, as do Impress and Base... so one possible solution is to edit the Tango icons and colorize them - I did this quick so it's not pixel-perfect, and I aimed for softer colors than the current ones (this could be changed, but the icons do lend themselves to a softer color scheme). The 16x16 icons would need some serious work (making the colors more visible - the Calc icon being the most obvious example - but see the Math icon, which is much more distinct - so Calc could adopt a design like this, maybe a small pixel-sharp chart or something?), but the 48x48 icons look great IMO and so would 32x32 and 24x24. See http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:OOo-tango-app-icons2.png And for the comparison (updated image, you may need to CTRL+F5 or force refresh): http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Ooo3-icons-comparison.png Please let me know what you think. On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 9:52 AM, Miroslav Mazel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have to say I do agree that Impress should shed the dialog. I don't agree, however, that OO.o should use the Tango icons, just because they are not distinctive colorwise. When one wants a word processor, he looks for blue. When one wants a spreadsheet app, he looks for green. Presentation - orange. Only if the spheres in the Tango were to gain the color scheme could
[art] Impress Wizard and OOo 3 Icons
Hi all, 2 things I would like to raise: First, would it be possible to get new graphics for the Impress presentation wizard to ship with OOo 3? It looks scathingly amateur-ish (see, for example, http://z.about.com/d/presentationsoft/1/0/C/F/-/-/02startup_wizard.gif) - this is a look that a sophisticated application like Impress doesn't deserve. Even better would be to get rid of that dialog altogether, but since it's still there in OOo 3, at least it could be made nicer? The second thing is the issue of OOo 3's icons - Paul @ Dead End Cafe had started some promising work, but with the deadline for artwork drawing near, it looks like the icons will remain the same in OOo 3, inherited from OOo 2. I have proposed adopting the Tango icons as application icons in the past, and I'd like to offer that suggestion one last time (since only Graham replied to it) in the hope of at least getting a little more discussion on the future of OOo's icons, and to see if Paul (or any others) have updates on their designs. The icons I am referring to can be seen at http://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Fridays or here: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:OOo-tango-app-icons.png Here is how they look compared with the current OOo icons: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Ooo3-icons-comparison.png They are a little less distinctive, but they look cleaner and put more emphasis on the actual appication's name. They look much better at larger sizes though. Thanks, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Impress Wizard and OOo 3 Icons
Alexandro, thanks for that link, I wasn't aware of the Graphics project, but it seems they're having the same discussion at the moment, so I will join in there, as well as UX (in the future, to get rid of the wizard and replace it with something less annoying) - if anyone else is interested in this and wants to join in, the link to the mailing list post is http://graphics.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=devmsgNo=1314 As for the icons, Miroslav, you bring up a great point. But how many users actually know that the program they use to write up their documents is Writer, or that they made that presentation with Impress? Unlike MS Office, OOo doesn't show the application name in the splash screen, and the color-coded icons make it easy to ignore the app name completely so they might just come to know Calc as the green icon. That can be seen as a good thing and a bad thing... one problem that has been pointed out in the past is that Writer and Math have similar colors, as do Impress and Base... so one possible solution is to edit the Tango icons and colorize them - I did this quick so it's not pixel-perfect, and I aimed for softer colors than the current ones (this could be changed, but the icons do lend themselves to a softer color scheme). The 16x16 icons would need some serious work (making the colors more visible - the Calc icon being the most obvious example - but see the Math icon, which is much more distinct - so Calc could adopt a design like this, maybe a small pixel-sharp chart or something?), but the 48x48 icons look great IMO and so would 32x32 and 24x24. See http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:OOo-tango-app-icons2.png And for the comparison (updated image, you may need to CTRL+F5 or force refresh): http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Ooo3-icons-comparison.png Please let me know what you think. On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 9:52 AM, Miroslav Mazel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have to say I do agree that Impress should shed the dialog. I don't agree, however, that OO.o should use the Tango icons, just because they are not distinctive colorwise. When one wants a word processor, he looks for blue. When one wants a spreadsheet app, he looks for green. Presentation - orange. Only if the spheres in the Tango were to gain the color scheme could they be used as the default icons. 2008/6/21 Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Hi all, 2 things I would like to raise: First, would it be possible to get new graphics for the Impress presentation wizard to ship with OOo 3? It looks scathingly amateur-ish (see, for example, http://z.about.com/d/presentationsoft/1/0/C/F/-/-/02startup_wizard.gif) - this is a look that a sophisticated application like Impress doesn't deserve. Even better would be to get rid of that dialog altogether, but since it's still there in OOo 3, at least it could be made nicer? The second thing is the issue of OOo 3's icons - Paul @ Dead End Cafe had started some promising work, but with the deadline for artwork drawing near, it looks like the icons will remain the same in OOo 3, inherited from OOo 2. I have proposed adopting the Tango icons as application icons in the past, and I'd like to offer that suggestion one last time (since only Graham replied to it) in the hope of at least getting a little more discussion on the future of OOo's icons, and to see if Paul (or any others) have updates on their designs. The icons I am referring to can be seen at http://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Fridays or here: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:OOo-tango-app-icons.png Here is how they look compared with the current OOo icons: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Ooo3-icons-comparison.png They are a little less distinctive, but they look cleaner and put more emphasis on the actual appication's name. They look much better at larger sizes though. Thanks, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Splash screen UI proposal
Having given this some more thought, I would say that this is not a good idea. It is very creative, but not practical for the following reasons: * OOo's load time has been criticized throughout the past; to add an animation would only emphasize this - plus an animated splash screen would likely add extra wait time. We're loading OpenOffice.org, not an operating system - and even operating systems have a load bar. * An animation is more of a novelty; cool the first few times, but after a while, people will just want to get into the program itself. I guess people might say that a splash screen is itself a novelty, but I think it does a good enough job letting people know what's going on as it is now. * Depending on the implementation, the animation would need to be recreated for every new version (the OOo logo text is usually followed by a version number). Considering that the standard run-of-the-mill implementation would be to have 1 full-sized image for each frame, this would add up in hard disk space (and thus download size) and memory use. * Not to mention that it would take a lot of skill, effort, and most importantly, time - it's a pretty big feat for a splash screen. On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 3:28 AM, -Si!eNT- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: PS! I have also updated the art screen proposal with my example 2008/6/4 -Si!eNT- [EMAIL PROTECTED]: This is just one file, an animated GIF image. About the possibility of making an animated splash screen, i cant imagine why it would be possible, but i am going to check out the source code and find out if it is possible. Further more, i can ask some of my classmates, which are alot better at programming than I am, about it. 2008/6/4 Volker Merschmann [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Hi, 2008/6/3 -Si!eNT- [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I am proposing the idea that some elements of the splash screen graphics are hidden in the start of loading, but at the loading stages is completed some of these elements will be shown. When all things are loaded, all the graphics is shown. I don't think that this is possible. The splashscreen is a single bmp-file in the program directory which is loaded at runtime. Bye Volker -- ++ Volker Merschmann ++ Content Developer OpenOffice.org - Ansprechpartner Webseite ++ Office-Suite für Linux, Mac, Windows -- http://de.openoffice.org/ - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Splash screen UI proposal
Could you please include a link to the file (there was no attachment with your email, and emails to the list should not contain attachments), or add it to http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Splash_Screen/Proposals ? It sounds like an interesting idea. - Ivan. On Wed, Jun 4, 2008 at 6:55 AM, -Si!eNT- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: -Si!eNT- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 2008/6/3 Subject: Splash screen UI proposal To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I am proposing the idea that some elements of the splash screen graphics are hidden in the start of loading, but at the loading stages is completed some of these elements will be shown. When all things are loaded, all the graphics is shown. I have attached an example in gif. I have made the graphics in microsoft paint, as it only was a sketch. PS! sorry for the uncompleted message before, it was sent by accident - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Re: Splash Screens and what else
Hi Santiago, Don't take it personally - sometimes it takes a while to get replies on the list (a few days in some cases). The list also fluctuates in activity - sometimes it is quiet (like it is now) and other times it is more active and productive. If you take a look at the list's archives (http://marketing.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=art) you can see that the number of messages varies quite a lot from month to month. I would suggest waiting for some feedback/replies before you put more time into making other designs for now, just so you don't end up spending time unecessarily before getting other's opinions. Do stay with us, I'm sure things will pick up as OOo version 3 approaches :) - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Re: Drafting Splash Screen in progress
Hi Santiago. Here is a brief guide to uploading images on the wiki: First, you will need to create an account (http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Userlogin). Once you have an account and are logged in, in the left hand side menu of the wiki (accessible from any page in the wiki), under Toolbox, click 'Upload File' (http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Special:Upload) and upload your file. Then, copy the URL of the page containing your image (you should be taken to that page once the upload is complete), and paste it into an email. That way, anyone who wants to can access the image. Please ignore my comments about the design looking Mac-ish, when I wrote the email, I was using a computer with a display that made it seem as if it had a horizontal line pattern. - Ivan. On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 5:46 PM, Santiago Franco [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello Ivan, sorry for d-lay. Thanks for the input. Well, I do not know how to post them. Although I registered and have access to some pages, possibly my own, once in my pages, and inside, when I try to do certain operations, it asks me for an ID and password, I introduce them, and then it does not approve them, so I don't know what is wrong. About the Screen, I had more or less some of the same feelings, doubts about the map, and much moree about the bottom wire frame too - being first one and feedback wanted to see several treactions to different element to see maybe a general ile to follow... therefore I was trying more things, but some myself had also had very much doubts. Do you mean the dark colors of the fonts? or in general. I do not use a MAC, and although I have used some else's on several occasions I am not aware of what might be considered a Mac: ish look (maybe you could elaborate if you have time).Anyway, I can post something, this or other versions considering your comments and mt doubts when I know how to, and I understand why, despite having registered and followed the steps required, it still is denying me access to some things and recognition? Best regards and thank you for feed back and info. I you or anyone can maybe indicate to me what might be the ID password trouble plus how to post, I will be very grateful. Santiago Santiago Franco Rubio Taitoniekantie 10, A11 40740 Jyväskylä Suomi - Finland GSM: (+358) (0)50 9329081 Skype: santyako Messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.aquarius.net/expert/17629/Santiago_Franco http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/member75220.htm Downloads: http://fransa2.spaces.live.com/ - Original Message From: Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: art@marketing.openoffice.org Sent: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 5:43:00 AM Subject: Re: [art] Re: Drafting Splash Screen in progress Hi Santiago, From http://www.openoffice.org/mail_list.html: Please do not send attachments with your message, as they add to the bandwidth burden we must all deal with. OpenOffice.org features several other avenues for persons interested in submitting attachments. Check with your project lead or send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to find out which would be best for you. Next time, please add your design to the wiki page (http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Splash_Screen/Proposals ... you will need to register first) and include a link in you email instead of attaching the image (if you're not familiar with this kind of procedure, please let me know) That said, here are my thoughts: These look much better and more lively than the ones that are currently being used! (Although I do like the rounded bottom edges Paul introduced). The two color approach with the gulls is also interesting. I don't like the dark colors and the globe motif is a cliche - it has been overused too many times in too many applications/websites. IMO, we should stick to design elements that are unique to OpenOffice.org. The other impression this made on me was that it looked very Mac-ish with the horizontal lines. Overall, I would have to say that I don't like it, but let's see what others say. Don't start animating anything just yet - the splash screen will probably be static. However, maybe something could be done for the OpenOffice.org 3 CDs - maybe an autorun with a little animation?... just an idea... - Ivan. On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 1:41 AM, Santiago Franco [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Ivan, attached I send you one splash screen I am working at. Although I send it in png format but only double layered, every element in the original is layered so I can chose more presence or less of every layer and element,including suppressing whatever is necessary. This is just done more or less by eye, meaning I have done some of the basic work but a lot missing correct proportions, progress bar animation (how long it lasts, minimum, BTW) and is there any
Re: [art] Transparent Splash Screens
Hi Rex, The Splash-transparent5 is fabulous. Can you ship over a layered version to the list? I'd like to play with it a bit.-RH Definitely! You can download a PSD file from www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/splash/splash-transparent.zip or a native Fireworks PNG file (I work with Fireworks) from www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/splash/splash-transparent.png As far as I know, attachments are not permitted on the list :) - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Transparent Splash Screens
Hi Michal, Wikipedia tells me the Eee PC's resolution is at least 800x480; the most recent of my designs is well below that - the rounded rectangle is the standard splash screen size of 440x286. With the gulls growing out from the top right, it's still only 350px high so I don't see a problem there. Those wireframe designs would look great if they weren't so jagged but more smooth flowing. #10 is too much though. Next time, please start a new thread for adding designs so we don't use a single thread for multiple topics - Ivan. On Fri, May 2, 2008 at 10:43 AM, Michal Svatý [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello every one. I have some propsals: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Openoffice8.png http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Openoffice9.png http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Openoffice10.png P.S:But, Big splash doesnt look very well on small display. Small devices are trendy these days and we should care (eee pc and staff like that), On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 10:21 AM, Santiago Franco [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Thanks Ivan, and everyone else, for the info, input and supporthappy 1st of May to all...siis hyvää ja hauska Vappua kaikille! El Bestoes de los Regardoes Santiago - Tao Santiago Franco Rubio Taitoniekantie 10, A11 40740 Jyväskylä Suomi - Finland GSM: (+358) (0)50 9329081 Skype: santyako Messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.aquarius.net/expert/17629/Santiago_Franco http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/member75220.htm Downloads: http://fransa2.spaces.live.com/ - Original Message From: Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: art@marketing.openoffice.org Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 11:11:25 PM Subject: Re: [art] Transparent Splash Screens Hi Santiago, Hi Ivan, nice job. I started already working in the splash screen.It has also rounded borders...and I have several questions. I started doing the seagulls and I have done them them quite large so later there is more quality margin. Once thing still, I noticed that there where 4 splash screen that had huge proportions , elements ad been planning also in having a round bordered splash.screen back grounds are huge in size and quality...Is there any special reason behind this? Most monitors these days have quite a high resolution, and the splash screen size has remained the same for a long time - this is the reasoning behind the larger splash screens, but it is only a suggestion. Meaning in spite of maintaining the right proportions with the relations within Is it possible that there are other animated parts, progressing simultaneously to the progress bar or can there be other elements within the splash screen, e.g. some type of simple animation, parallel progress type motion, of the seagulls in the splash screen seagull occurring at the same rate than the progress bar? This is an interesting idea, but perhaps too complex for a splash screen in my opinion. Plus it would require a lot of work and could increase the load time and size of OpenOffice, which would be bad. These and other 1001 Questions next week in Ope... Best Santiago / San Tao /Tao PS: Do you O'people produce fast, because personally I have to be able to advance my translations simultaneously, so can not work full time...Are there any requirements such as deadlines, or ETA of the drafts and / or the final screen splash? How does the approval thing work usually or ...whatever... Not sure on any of these - I suppose the project leads would set a deadline (there isn't one currently, but it'll probably be before September :) ) and then we would have a vote? Florian/John/Cristian please correct me if I'm wrong. - Ivan. Santiago Franco Rubio Taitoniekantie 10, A11 40740 Jyväskylä Suomi - Finland GSM: (+358) (0)50 9329081 Skype: santyako Messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.aquarius.net/expert/17629/Santiago_Franco http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/member75220.htm Downloads: http://fransa2.spaces.live.com/ - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED
[art] Where are the Galaxy Icons?
I've seen them in screenshots of the OOo 3 M3 build. When will they be made available for us to use? (I would like to get them up on the homepage to replace the current icons). The only thing I could find was this link from the UI project: http://rapidshare.com/files/109305881/images.zip.html which is mostly made up of 16x16 icons. - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Transparent Splash Screens
Hi Rex, I took the 'tribal' vectors out and inserted the traditional vectors in, and gave the left gull a slight drop shadow to reflect its position in the layer stack order. The vectors weren't intended to look tribal - they were supposed to be waves (at least, in my eyes they were waves :D) I'm hoping Peter is still working on an abstract wave design (something like http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/PerRock/OOo/OOo-splash_waves-1.png), but we could just as well use the traditional v2 wireframe vector. Really, I've got a few nags about the logo, but that's all they are is nags. So far, this looks like a solid contender for release.-RH The logo might end up staying the same as previous versions for legal reasons - Florian wrote: [...] I talked to Sun and maybe get the information on how to proceed soon. One valid point they raised which I forgot: It might be a good idea of KEEPING the current logo, while the splash screen and CI can be changed. The reason behind that is that the logo is a protected graphical trademark and thus should not be changed. - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Transparent Splash Screens
Hi all, Thanks for the feedback so far. Here's one more: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Splash-transparent5.png This one is a transparent 32 bit PNG, with drop-shadows applied to the gulls as suggested. I've also added a wireframe wave design to the background. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Transparent Splash Screens
Hi Santiago, Hi Ivan, nice job. I started already working in the splash screen.It has also rounded borders...and I have several questions. I started doing the seagulls and I have done them them quite large so later there is more quality margin. Once thing still, I noticed that there where 4 splash screen that had huge proportions , elements ad been planning also in having a round bordered splash.screen back grounds are huge in size and quality...Is there any special reason behind this? Most monitors these days have quite a high resolution, and the splash screen size has remained the same for a long time - this is the reasoning behind the larger splash screens, but it is only a suggestion. Meaning in spite of maintaining the right proportions with the relations within Is it possible that there are other animated parts, progressing simultaneously to the progress bar or can there be other elements within the splash screen, e.g. some type of simple animation, parallel progress type motion, of the seagulls in the splash screen seagull occurring at the same rate than the progress bar? This is an interesting idea, but perhaps too complex for a splash screen in my opinion. Plus it would require a lot of work and could increase the load time and size of OpenOffice, which would be bad. These and other 1001 Questions next week in Ope... Best Santiago / San Tao /Tao PS: Do you O'people produce fast, because personally I have to be able to advance my translations simultaneously, so can not work full time...Are there any requirements such as deadlines, or ETA of the drafts and / or the final screen splash? How does the approval thing work usually or ...whatever... Not sure on any of these - I suppose the project leads would set a deadline (there isn't one currently, but it'll probably be before September :) ) and then we would have a vote? Florian/John/Cristian please correct me if I'm wrong. - Ivan. Santiago Franco Rubio Taitoniekantie 10, A11 40740 Jyväskylä Suomi - Finland GSM: (+358) (0)50 9329081 Skype: santyako Messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.aquarius.net/expert/17629/Santiago_Franco http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/member75220.htm Downloads: http://fransa2.spaces.live.com/ - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Transparent Splash Screens
Michal, you were working on some sort of abstract/wireframe wave design right? Please, if you can make something better than the waves on that design (which I made quickly since wireframe/abstract stuff isn't my area of expertise), that'd be great, especially if it can fill in more of the background. than the current ones do. - Ivan. On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 8:52 AM, Michal Svatý [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Nice staff. i think this one is the best On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 1:01 PM, Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, Thanks for the feedback so far. Here's one more: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Image:Splash-transparent5.png This one is a transparent 32 bit PNG, with drop-shadows applied to the gulls as suggested. I've also added a wireframe wave design to the background. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] participating in one of the art projects....introducing myself
Hello Santiago, and welcome to the Art project! It's great to have someone with such a wide skill with us. One area where your input would be appreciated is with regard to splash screens for OpenOffice.org (http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Splash_Screen/Proposals) - let us know which one(s) you like the most, or feel free to make your own design and upload it. Regards, Ivan. On Mon, Apr 28, 2008 at 4:20 AM, Santiago Franco [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Subject: Introducing myself and contacting for further advice To whom it may concern: My name is Santiago Franco and I am a translator, writer and TV director with many years of experience in these fields. I have worked voluntarily for some projects that to my judgment were worthy to contribute disinterestedly. Even though I had used Open Office in some cyber cafés, to open Microsoft Office documents, I did not have any information about the project, nor about its functioning. For professional reasons such as accessing proofing tools, dictionaries, and thesaurus in different languages, I have encountered the project, and learned more about it. After seeing the index, the art-work-to do and art-work-to maintain, licenses and the pages recommended in the how to participate page I have registered at OpenOfficeOrg. and sent an empty message as indicated in the aforementioned page, since it seems to me a commendable effort and work I could help with. I do not know exactly how to start helping so in any case I am introducing myself first so that you know who I am, what I can do, and then maybe we can determine were I fit and with what I could help. Although I know almost nothing about programming and programming languages, I am a translator, I transalte from Finnish, French, English, Italian, Portugues, Spanish, into English and Spanish, which are my mother languages but salso into French,Italian, Portugues. I am a fiction writer and write short stories and novels as well as short weekly episodes for magazines I I have received svveral awards and have several works published. I can make animations, graphics, paint with paint shop type software, and I can also record, edit sound direct, fx, músic and video/film. I can do al kind of video/film production technical work needed for any production etc so I could help in very diverse ways. I chose to join and try to contribute to the Art project and although I read the different projects, galleries and tasks I am still kind of green at this to do much more for the moment within the Art project. I have just sent also an empty email to confirm my participation to the address provided and yet I do not know how would I fit in your project but probably you know how or where I could inform me further about contributing with specific work. In short, if you need help, I am prepared to lend a helping hand disinterestedly, within the art project in any way agreed and possible. Although I have read many of the pages indicated during the registration and project suscription procesess I am still kind of very green regarding OpenOffice so I would welcome some help and advice. Best regards Santiago Franco PS: I double clicked the art joining project button and I am afraid I also sent an empty message with my Windows live Id, [EMAIL PROTECTED] please ignore that request since I am only one person (plus one error.) Santiago Franco Rubio Taitoniekantie 10, A11 40740 Jyväskylä Suomi - Finland GSM: (+358) (0)50 9329081 Skype: santyako Messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.aquarius.net/expert/17629/Santiago_Franco http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/member75220.htm Downloads: http://fransa2.spaces.live.com/ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Another Logo Design
I agree with Rex, but the waves are interesting - if they could be more subtle, they could be an excellent branding bug - reminds me of the OpenOffice 1.1 splash screen design a little (e.g. http://twiki.dcc.ufba.br/pub/PSL/OpenOffice/SplashScreen_OpenOffice.png) On Sun, Apr 27, 2008 at 6:59 AM, Rex Hollingsworth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's far too busy, and almost seems monotone. The logo doesn't stand out, and has to fight with the background for dominance. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Another Logo Design
Good point. I'd like to suggest putting all the proposals on the wiki page - that way they can all be viewed quickly (thumbnails) and compared easily. I have created the page http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Art/Splash_Screen/Proposals and uploaded my proposals, new and old. Please do the same with all your designs, that way we can have all the contenders up there accessible for all to look at and hopefully reach a consensus or at least pick a direction to go with :) - Ivan. On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 2:35 PM, Paul @ Dead End Cafe [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi again everyone, I think I've got to a point now where I'm not sure what to do next. I've got a few fairly similar designs that seem to meet with general approval, but any further changes means one person will be happy and another one won't. So I guess my question is 'where do we go from here?' Is there any one person I should be listening to in particular? Is there a committee somewhere that decides what gets used and what doesn't? If not, I feel the changes I'm making, while perfectly reasonable and constructive, are just causing me to go around in cirlces. - Paul Ivan M wrote: Firstly, in reply to Johannes, Have you ever seen the splash screen of Adobe Acrobat, version 7 if I remember correctly. There were lines going outside the splash window, dropping a correct soft shadow over the background. I'm glad someone else is thinking about this - and since I got no feedback on my suggestion, now looks like a good opportunity to moot it again :) What do people think of going outside the box literally - having the standard splash screen size, but with some of the design going beyond it - the perfect example of that is what Johannes mentioned - Acrobat 7. In other words, a splash screen with alpha-transparency? In reply to Paul's most recent work : I like option 1 better - option 2 is a little overkill IMO. The arcs are great, but they would look better if they were being used alongside something more complex (probably a background image of some kind). The rounding on the gulls is spot-on. In reply to Maarten: Don't want to impose anything, but I think it would be nice if the designs would correspond somewhat (and not only the logo being equal); of course we could make *minor* adjustments to the website's design to make both fit well. Maybe something of the curve in the upper right? (or are you getting bored with your own design, Ivan? ... quite a typical thing I guess... but its about building a brand, and that needs some consistency, imho) Not at all, I'm hoping the new download button I made will eventually get implemented :) and that small improvements can continue being made (Cor suggested an animated news ticker so more than one news item can be displayed on the homepage) but the curve is hard to work with in a splash screen IMO. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Another Logo Design
Hi Paul, I like the colors you used a lot, and if you decresed the radius of the rounding on the gulls, IMO they would look a bit better and might convince others to go with that (I like it). Regarding cloud images, I did a splash screen mockup over a year ago with clouds, and one issue raised was to try do something different and novel - ditching the clouds and going for some other metaphor. I'm not sure whether I agree with that, but in my recent mockup I tried to go with something a bit different. Do you have any thoughts on this issue? Keep up the good work! - Ivan. On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 5:27 PM, Rex Hollingsworth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I honestly don't mind it. It looks pretty good. My only complaint is the 'g'. With the clean look of the drop down on the 'p', you'd never expect it to go all nutty on the 'g'. More of a mark against the font creator than your proposed update, but it is what it is. Good work. On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 8:23 PM, Paul @ Dead End Cafe [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, I've done up another Oo.o logo design for you all to have a look at. This time I've used a great font called 'Qlassik', a free font which can be found at http://www.dafont.com/qlassik.font. To showcase the logo I've put it into three different scenarios - one is a splash screen similar to the one currently in OO.o, one is an 'About' screen, again similar to the current one, and the final is a just an image showcasing the logo at a larger size. Splash Screen: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/AnthariaJack/NewSplash.jpg About Screen: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/AnthariaJack/NewAbout.jpg Logo: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/AnthariaJack/LogoSample.jpg Some of these images are very similar to things I've done in the past, only this time I've used a free font, and the cloud photograph in the background is one I took myself. And yes, I know I've used my three curvy gulls again (3 gulls for OO.o3), but I just can't stand those pointy, lopsided ones the logo currently uses :p If anyone really dislikes them, I'd be happy to make something more traditional up. - Paul - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Another Logo Design
Firstly, in reply to Johannes, Have you ever seen the splash screen of Adobe Acrobat, version 7 if I remember correctly. There were lines going outside the splash window, dropping a correct soft shadow over the background. I'm glad someone else is thinking about this - and since I got no feedback on my suggestion, now looks like a good opportunity to moot it again :) What do people think of going outside the box literally - having the standard splash screen size, but with some of the design going beyond it - the perfect example of that is what Johannes mentioned - Acrobat 7. In other words, a splash screen with alpha-transparency? In reply to Paul's most recent work : I like option 1 better - option 2 is a little overkill IMO. The arcs are great, but they would look better if they were being used alongside something more complex (probably a background image of some kind). The rounding on the gulls is spot-on. In reply to Maarten: Don't want to impose anything, but I think it would be nice if the designs would correspond somewhat (and not only the logo being equal); of course we could make *minor* adjustments to the website's design to make both fit well. Maybe something of the curve in the upper right? (or are you getting bored with your own design, Ivan? ... quite a typical thing I guess... but its about building a brand, and that needs some consistency, imho) Not at all, I'm hoping the new download button I made will eventually get implemented :) and that small improvements can continue being made (Cor suggested an animated news ticker so more than one news item can be displayed on the homepage) but the curve is hard to work with in a splash screen IMO. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Splash Screen for OOo 3
Hi Volker, Could you please post screenshots of the start center? I have no idea what it looks like, and if some design elements have already been decided upon, it would help to be able to build off those instead of going off on a very different tangent :) Thanks, Ivan. On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 2:29 AM, Volker Merschmann [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi, 2008/4/20, Florian Effenberger [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Is this more along the lines of what you were thinking: http://patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/splash/outer2.png The font is thicker and the gradient falls down to blue instead of white. thanks a lot for the draft! This does look good in my opinion! What do others think? We did not have the wave/curve in thick lines before and it is different from the design of the new startcenter. If we want to introduce a new logo, the design should also appear in about-box, installation and so on. Just my 2 cent Volker -- ++ Volker Merschmann ++ Content Developer OpenOffice.org - Ansprechpartner Webseite ++ Office-Suite für Linux, Mac, Windows -- http://de.openoffice.org/ - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] Splash Screen for OOo 3
I've done a quick mock-up of a possible splash screen for OOo 3, using the open source M+ font for the logo. It's far from production-grade, but I hope to at least get the ball rolling: http://patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/splash/outer1.png Maybe we could even have a transparent logo and have the design bugs go beyond the borders? - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] new member introduction
Hi Angela, Have a look at pixel2life.com, it's an excellent site with loads of tutorials, there's bound to be something relevant there. - Ivan. On Sun, Apr 13, 2008 at 4:33 AM, Angela Guzman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Thanks for the response. I have a couple more questions. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Because I'm most familiar with print material, I would like to know if you could point me to good tutorials on application/document icon design. I have a general idea of how these designs are done, but would like more advise. :) Angela On Sat, Apr 12, 2008 at 2:26 AM, Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Angela, Welcome to the Art list! Basically, the workflow goes like this: pick an issue, design something, upload it (in IssueZilla) and let the mailing list know as well to start a discussion. The stuff we're looking for most now IMO is design material for OpenOffice.org v3 - logo, app/document icons, splash screen, design bugs to use in promotional materials, etc. Cheers, Ivan. On Sat, Apr 12, 2008 at 4:35 PM, Angela Guzman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi- My name is Angela and I'm a grad student in graphic design. I'm willing to help with the art projects. My interests lie in icon design and print material. I am particularly attracted to help with the Open Office logo (the task shows as NEW status), but I am willing to take any other suggestions. Please let me know if I can be of any help. Also, since I am new, could you please tell me what the workflow is like. Are the tasks in IssueZilla up to date? Are the only tasks needing help those marked as NEW? Thank you! -- Angela Guzman Rhode Island School of Design - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Angela Guzman Rhode Island School of Design - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] new member introduction
Hi Angela, Welcome to the Art list! Basically, the workflow goes like this: pick an issue, design something, upload it (in IssueZilla) and let the mailing list know as well to start a discussion. The stuff we're looking for most now IMO is design material for OpenOffice.org v3 - logo, app/document icons, splash screen, design bugs to use in promotional materials, etc. Cheers, Ivan. On Sat, Apr 12, 2008 at 4:35 PM, Angela Guzman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi- My name is Angela and I'm a grad student in graphic design. I'm willing to help with the art projects. My interests lie in icon design and print material. I am particularly attracted to help with the Open Office logo (the task shows as NEW status), but I am willing to take any other suggestions. Please let me know if I can be of any help. Also, since I am new, could you please tell me what the workflow is like. Are the tasks in IssueZilla up to date? Are the only tasks needing help those marked as NEW? Thank you! -- Angela Guzman Rhode Island School of Design - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Another Icon Design
Another thing that might be taken into consideration by designers is: http://opendocument.xml.org/wiki/odf-community-logo - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Another Icon Design
Hi Paul, This is entirely my opinion, but I think OpenOffice.org should build its own style/identity instead of basing it on its competitor's. I liked your earlier attempts better, though I like the Ubuntu/Tango icons most of all (http://patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/icons/icons.png) because they make the file type obvious and don't use abstract icons to denote the application that will open them. These new icons you've made could be made available unofficially for people migrating to OOo from MS Office who would find the familiarity useful, but I don't think they are appropriate as the default icons. Regards, - Ivan. On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 5:30 PM, Paul @ Dead End Cafe [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi again everyone, I've spent the last couple of days working on another new icon style for OO.o3. This time I've gone for the pixel-perfect approach that MS Office likes to use, rather than a resized vector style. Here's what I have thus far: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/AnthariaJack/openoffice_paulstone_april08.jpg I've not yet incorporated the 'Gulls' or the 'Open Format' icons - I figured I'd work out a base style before I added any extra elements. Simply put, this style is heavily based on the current Office 2007 style. I've replicated the page icon from Office 2007 in vector format, and the visual indicators on the icons (such as the table and bar graph on the CALC icon) are heavily based on their counterparts in Office. The main feature that sets this set apart from the actual Office 2007 icons is the coloured stripe around each icon, which features the existing OO.o logo for each app. I feel as if this set uses the best aspects of the Office icons, while at the same time not looking especially similar to them. Let me know what you think. - Paul (For comparison, here are a few of the Office 2007 icons --- http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/AnthariaJack/office2007-1.jpg) - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] OOo 3 Logo Font
Hi all, This issue of the OOo 3 fontface has been neglected for a while, but I recently came across the M+ font set, which looks to be more attractive than Liberation or Bitstream Vera, and it comes in plenty of varieties: http://mplus-fonts.sourceforge.jp/mplus-outline-fonts/download/index.html License details are nowhere to be found, at least not in english, so this might require clearing up, but as it is hosted on SourceForge, it'll be a lot better than proprietary :) See the fonts in action at: www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/logo/v3font.png The first 3 are from the M+ family The 4th one is Liberation Sans The 5th is Bitstream Vera (bold would be too wide) All have had letter spacing reduced. Cheers, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] OOo 3 Logo Font
Hi Damir, Also it seems that these fonts are primarily developed for Japanese char set, but they have limited character set for Latin language (not as Liberation or Vera/DejaVu) – which would be important if we want to use it as official OOo typeface for other materials also. (If we don't plan this, than we don't need to 'stick' to freefont at all). I don't think this should be much of an issue; current OOo promotional material doesn't use the Frutiger font, and generally the logo font is different to the font being used for general text in promotional materials. Does anyone know if the logo gets translated into different character sets (e.g. Chinese, Cyrillic, etc) for NL distributions? If this is the case, then using this font might be more problematic. License details are nowhere to be found, at least not in english, so this might require clearing up, but as it is hosted on SourceForge, it'll be a lot better than proprietary :) Here they are :) http://mplus-fonts.sourceforge.jp/mplus-outline-fonts/index.html#license These fonts are free softwares. Unlimited permission is granted to use, copy, and distribute it, with or without modification, either commercially and noncommercially. THESE FONTS ARE PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY. Great. If this is OK (as opposed to a more formal license like GPL, LGPL, etc) then we have no problems there. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Intro
Hi Jim and welcome to the art list! We're a little quiet at the moment, but things will start picking up soon as we start gearing for OpenOffice.org v3. You can take a look at the art project's to-do list, (http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/to-do-artwork.html) and see if there's anything you want to try there, or wait for a discussion to start here and join in (or start one yourself). Regards, Ivan. On Wed, Mar 5, 2008 at 4:20 PM, Jimmy D [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi, my name is Jim donahue, I've been impresssed with the Oo software, and wanted to help. I'm probably what most of you would consider very old school, I've been doing sign and graphic work for 25 years, since before computers were a practical reality in the field. Adapting to this age has been rewarding, I've ended up with wall to wall computers and vintage pen plotters. In fact, that's been an interesting aspect of the Oo draw program, it can send vector images to some very old machines. Quite interesting and usefull for me. I hope that diversity doesn't change. Anyway, I've been looking around the to do list, and I'm not sure the proceedure for starting a new project, it appears there are recognized steps to follow. I thought I'd hang around awhile and watch the process. I consider myself good at vectorizing images, node editing, that sort of thing. If anybody would like help doing some mundane part of a job, that might be a good way for me to get involved. Jim. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] new website design discussed at [EMAIL PROTECTED] list
Hi Alexandro, The URL is test.openoffice.org - Ivan. On Mon, Mar 3, 2008 at 4:17 PM, Alexandro Colorado [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 11:39:08 -0600, Florian Effenberger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi there, for those who don't know, currently there is a new website design discussed at [EMAIL PROTECTED] list. I'm off for CeBIT, so I'm not really engaged, but I just wanted to point the list to this thread. Florian What's the URL? -- Alexandro Colorado CoLeader of OpenOffice.org ES http://es.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] Icons needed for new OOo website
Hi everyone, On the website-dev list, we are in the process of finalizing the new design for the OpenOffice.org website. One of the things we still need to do is the icons that will appear next to each action statement. You can see a mockup here: www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/siteconcept-actionicons.png I found these icons all on www.iconfinder.com (with the exception of the swiss army knife icon, which was done by Nikash for OOo), and they are either GPL or LGPL licensed. There are a few problems with these: if we use them as they are, they will not be unique to OOo (with the exception of the swiss army knife) - they are free stock icons and while they're all nice, they are all by different designers and as such, have different styles and color palletes. They are are also fairly complex, with lots of frills like gloss effects, and this clashes with the concept of minimalism we have been trying to get into the new design. I proposed a solution that we simplify the icons - the advantages of this being we will have vector icons that we can rescale and reuse in other parts of the website and that we can make them more consistent and tweak them to suit OOo. In other words, something like this: www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/siteconcept-minicons.png The only specifications/restrictions I think are relevant are: not to have a perspective effect of the information and life buoy icons, and that the colors of each icon should be bright and the number of colors used should be reasonably small (5-6). The end result will look like this - www.patentpending.co.nz/openoffice/ (of course, with all the other icons in place). If anyone could help with this, it would really be appreciated and would help us finish the new design. We need simplified icons, based on the ones in the mockup - though if you can think of better symbols to use for the action statements, by all means do so (i.e. the information icon could be a person with a question mark speech/thought bubble or something else). I've made a zip file with all the icons in the largest size I could find: www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/website-icons.zip Thanks, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Offering my services
Clément Pillias [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Talking about these symbols, they are nice looking, but in my opinion, not very suggestive. The symbol used for Calc looks like a window, the symbol for Impress is a simple rectangle that suggests nothing, the three bars used for Writer could suggest an horizontal histogram, the symbol for Draw looks like an S, and the symbol for Base means who knows what. I agree with this; I posted what I thought were great icons a while ago (see www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/icons/icons.png), where the graphics showed what each application was for, and my suggestion is that the abstract symbols be replaced with more literal graphics. OOo Version 1's icons were more like this (see www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/icons/icons-comparison.png). This would mean that icons don't need any text on them because the symbols are clear enough on their own. New users particularly might find the abstract symbols confusing until they learn to associate each app with its color - and because the colors are up for change every version, I don't think that's a good idea (particularly since the most common document icons - ODT ODS, representing Writer and Calc, are muted and darker) - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Offering my services
The software you use has the right to associate the files it opens with its icons (an unwritten rule I guess) UNLESS it's not set as the default application to open those files, or if those file types are specific to the software. MP3 is not vendor specific. HTML is not vendor specific. If Firefox is my default browser, I get a page with the Firefox logo. If Internet Explorer is my default browser, I get an 'e'. Branded icons are especially useful because you know what application they are going to open in, rather than some generic icon. On Feb 7, 2008 8:51 PM, Alexandro Colorado [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just a thought, but since OpenDocument are not vendor specific can OpenOffice.org dictate the way the document icons should look like? I guess being free software you are free to use this icons but is just something that haunt me that maybe having our product name over the Open standard might be work against us just a thought. On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:02:59 -0600, Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Paul, Wow, these are great! I really like the colors you used. A few comments: I don't think the app icons should bear so much resemblance to the document icons. Also, maybe instead of Writer and calc appearing in document icons, how about document and spreadsheet (respectively)? Thanks for submitting these! - Ivan. On Feb 7, 2008 11:47 AM, Paul @ Dead End Cafe [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi guys, I've already posted one or two items over in some specific sections here, but I figured it would probably help to introduce myself here. I'm Paul (paullodec), I'm fairly new to OO.o, and I'm interested in helping with Logos, Icons and associated art issues. I've come up with the following so far: http://www.openoffice.org/nonav/issues/showattachment.cgi/51196/OOo_IconsAndLogo_PaulloDEC.jpg Looking forward to helping out in future :) - Paul - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Alexandro Colorado CoLeader of OpenOffice.org ES http://es.openoffice.org - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Offering my services
Hi Paul, Wow, these are great! I really like the colors you used. A few comments: I don't think the app icons should bear so much resemblance to the document icons. Also, maybe instead of Writer and calc appearing in document icons, how about document and spreadsheet (respectively)? Thanks for submitting these! - Ivan. On Feb 7, 2008 11:47 AM, Paul @ Dead End Cafe [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi guys, I've already posted one or two items over in some specific sections here, but I figured it would probably help to introduce myself here. I'm Paul (paullodec), I'm fairly new to OO.o, and I'm interested in helping with Logos, Icons and associated art issues. I've come up with the following so far: http://www.openoffice.org/nonav/issues/showattachment.cgi/51196/OOo_IconsAndLogo_PaulloDEC.jpg Looking forward to helping out in future :) - Paul - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art][OOo3] Potential Icons for OOo 3
Hi all, I was using Linux (ubuntu) on my university's computers and noticed the OpenOffice.org application icons: http://patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/icons/ubuntu-icons.png (two different variations based on chosen theme). The splash screen featured no Sun logo or any smallprint and had a light-brown sky instead of the usual blue (if that helps identify the particular distribution). Anyway, I thought that these icons looked great. With a few modifications, I they could become the icons for OOo v3 - the top row could be the basis for the document file icons, and the bottom row could be the application icons. They convey what each application does much better than the v2 icons in which a more abstract symbol and the coloring of the icon are used as the indicators of the application's use, so IMO, they are easier to distinguish. They are also more modern looking and use warm, inviting colors. Does anyone know who made these icons? - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Status of homepage redesign
Hi Maarten, I've made an update - the blue navbar is there, as are tabs - the CSS is there, now it's just the images that need to be customized - anyone got any ideas on what would make good tabs? View: http://www.patentpending.co.nz/openoffice/index.html Download: http://www.patentpending.co.nz/openoffice/openoffice.zip The navbar is a list, and each entry goes like this: lia href=#spanLink/span/a/li The link a tag contains the left part of the tab, and the span tag contains the right part of the tab. Onto fonts, I think Verdana would be better than Bitstream Vera, because Bitstream has poor kerning and this is very apparent in its small web size. One odd thing with Liberation Sans is that text within strong tags appears smaller than the normal text - even though it's the same size. It'll be fine for the action statements (headings) but might not be suitable for places where bold text is required (where there is a mix of bold and normal text). - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Status of homepage redesign
Hi Maarten, We need somehow try to find the Bazaar way of designing. Fine tuning exact blue prints for a cathedral doesn't seem to work here, it only delays. Furthermore I think it can be two somewhat separated efforts, finetuning design elements and creating browseable content. During the process both can be integrated. I'll see if I have some time today or tomorrow to convert your current design to HTML (simply slicing it up), and try to capture a bit of the intended user experience. No need, I've already sliced it up and made a XHTML (Strict), CSS design that you can see at http://www.patentpending.co.nz/openoffice/index.html and you can download all the site files at http://www.patentpending.co.nz/openoffice/openoffice.zip It should be fairly straightforward to edit, and the graphics add up to only 10.5KB (with the OOo logo being a 32-bit transparent PNG and the others 24-bit PNGs, all compressed with PNGOut). I removed the navbar so the wave seems to continue longer, but the lighter-blue navbar can always be returned easily. If you, and others, work in the meantime on improving the visual design, and others on finetuning the text... then we make progress. Text can be modified easily, even when converted to html... so content wise I don't see any objection to converting to HTML. About your suggestions, I personally can see the integration of something like the Fedora background curve, but clouds... :/ try to convince me otherwise but... About some other highlighting colours, yes, that might refresh it a bit... but, imho, everybody should try to keep it... minimal ;) Definitely - but I feel more contrast and complexity is needed - it's too blue right now. Furthermore don't look at the design as something final, we can always improve, even when it goes live. Even big corporate websites slightly modify/improve their online appearance. I think we now need to get ... 'real' (hinting at the 37signals' approach). OK. One last note, how much footer material do we need? Which of these must appear on the homepage: links to press releases, privacy terms of use, sun logo / collabnet graphics, copyright blurb, etc? - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Action statements
Hi Alexandro, Could you post a link to the talk you're referring to (if it was at the OOo conference or there's a slideshow somewhere), or elaborate in more detail? Your approach sounds different to what we're going for - we're promoting the brand and thus the product (at least on the homepage). But I'd say there's a big focus on the user with our approach too. One question (probably best answered by Maarten) - the final homepage design that the art list will decide on - is that then going to be used on the other native language homepages? Currently, the homepages for different languages differ vastly - compare openoffice.org with de.openoffice.org and es.openoffice.org. Currently, the only thing they have in common is that they promote OOo, and the header (granted, there are quite a few native language homepages that are directly based on the English OOo homepage)? I'm wondering about the possible merit of a more co-ordinated effort on the homepage, since many native language homepages take very different approaches. - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] Re: [website-dev] Results of the voting
Hi Maarten (and all others), It's Monday here, time to count the votes. Although the voting time was short, I think we have a clear winner already, and this is number 9, Minimalist OOo / murb_proposal1. Congratulations Ivan! Thanks, though I think the smart use of the action statements you applied to it helped significantly, as did the fact that the design is recycled from the Overkill2 mod, for which the credit must go to Nikash (plus thanks to everyone who gave feedback!) Still I would like to say many thanks to all designers who have probably been inspiring each other over and over, or at least been provoking each others with better and better designs. What I would love to see is that Ivan, is that you upload your rough material in compressed to http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=84067 so that everyone can play around with it when further developing their ideas. This would enable us to design in an true opensource type of style. Personally I also liked, like Rex, I think he was referring to this, the footer of Modifications of Overkill 2, so maybe we could try this also. I've attached a Fireworks-editable PNG (the format I work in), as well as a PSD version (compressed) to the issue (http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=84067) Alternatively, you can download a zip file with both formats from http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/minimalist.zip (137KB) I have done the same with the Overkill2 mod, which has bits and pieces that might be of use (like the footer mentioned above) http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/overkill2mod.zip (336KB) Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Re: [website-dev] Re: [art] Decide on visual appearance [update]
[1] de.openoffice.org [2] first4quality.co.uk OpenOffice [3] Overkill1 [4] Overkill2 [5] Molcan Mockup2 [6] Molcan Mockup3 [7] OOo_Multi-Lang [8] RandyDifferent + 1 for [9] Minimalist OOo / murb_proposal1 [10] Splash page [11] Modifications of design proposals [12] Overkill3 +0.75 for [13] RandyMinimal [14] YorkicksDoubleMod [15] Minimalist Set 1 + 1 for [16] Minimalist Set 2 - Highlighter OOo - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Wake up ART!
Hi Maarten, In the original list I once threw at this list there was such a statement, though not perfect, I think it makes perfect sense to include such a statement as well. For such a website, the Office.microsoft.com website is a good example. My suggestion would be something along the lines of I want to get more out of my OpenOffice.org or I want to extend my OpenOffice.org - I guess we want to encourage people to be possessive of their OpenOffice.org :) Some additional branding (the image) is good, though I wouldn't add as much text. On the other hand I was thinking of something like (I'm working on a proposal myself in the few hours I have behind my /own/ computer): The text is simply a guideline - I still think a brief paragraph with a few more specific links would be useful (reducing the need for a menubar), while the headings could remain as direct links to the 4 key 'homepages'. bigI want to download openoffice.org/big small condition=windows XP userOpenOffice.org is available for (among others) Windows XP, and you can get OpenOffice.org on CD-ROM./small or something... That would be particularly good if we could autodetect the user's OS if JRE is already installed on their computer - we could display the results of the autodetect there, and then point them to the download page (or we could provide both links to further customisation of download settings - i.e. a page with a list of mirrors and alternative ways of downloading OOo, as well as a link to a one-click download), as well as providing a link to let the user correct the autodetect results in case they are wrong or want to download for a different OS. Here's one last possible design for this kind of homepage and I'll stop there because I'm turning into an assembly line of similar designs. http://patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/siteconcept-actionsplash3.png This variation has a Google feel to it, which could be reduced by the type of graphic placed in the gray area (some ideas are listed) - it would have a rougher feel to it (i.e. the highlighter-like swoosh around the logo), which I think could work well and give the website an office/home look. The fifth action statement is included, plus a space for a marketing slogan that could help clarify that this is a free office/productivity suite website. - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] I'm going to reduce my presence for about 6 months
Hi Bernhard, I just remembered your email today - the art list died down for a while after you left (and is still under the marketing project), but it is now at its peak as we were given the opportunity to redesign the homepage - bringing together the website, art and most recently marketing teams. We are holding our vote today - as the design proposals on the wiki attest, there has been a lot of participation (http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Website/Proposals) - just thought you might like to know (and perhaps vote too?) as it's been almost 10 months since you left the art list. I hope your exams went well. Regards, Ivan. On Feb 23, 2007 2:16 AM, Bernhard Dippold [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi project members, I tried hard to avoid this step, but it's not possible: I have to stop my OpenOffice.org activities for about half a year until I finished my exam as specialized anaesthesist. The Art project became a vivid and active project during the last year and I'm proud of having been part of these activities. Many tasks has been started (only a few finished by now), and I have lots of ideas regarding our homepage. But I spent more time than I can afford in OOo - and I know that I can't stop that if I stay active here and in the other projects I'm involved. So I'll have to step aside and let you all take care of our project: - reply to newcomers - comment on new artwork (there are some interesting uploads to issue tracker during the last days) - work collaboratively on new ideas especially with regard to OOo3 If you need advise, please contact me directly via personal mail, but I'll unsubscribe all my mailing lists in the next days. I'm leaving with some kind of sadness - but I hope to come back ASAP to a still active and vivid project... Best regards Bernhard PS: If someone wants to monitor issue tracker activities, just subscribe to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Even if all the other marketing issues will be sent to you too, their number is small compared to the Art issues. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Wake up ART!
Hi Graham, This discussion (the gist of it, or a link to it) should go on the marketing list if it hasn't been posted there already. I don't know how active the marketing list is (since I'm not subscribed to it) but more opinions and insights would help - currently, the whole userbase of OOo's homepage is being represented by less than 10 people. Coming up Thanks, I'll follow the discussion through the mailing list archives, and I'd encourage others to do the same if they're not subscribed to the marketing list (in addition to discussing it here, of course!) Graham, I'm puzzled as to why you would like the design you mentioned: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/mwiki/images/5/52/Siteconcept2.png because it still has a menubar, a search box and a 'download' button plus other clutter. If you want people's stay on the homepage to be as short as possible and if your action statements are adequate enough to cater for every visitor's needs, why keep all that? From what you wrote about the homepage being a stepping-stone only, this is the image in my mind of what you've been suggesting: I was trying to be open minded and compromise by getting a crossover rather than simply rejecting your guys designs out of hand. Graham compromising? :) well you seem more determined for your points now. www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/siteconcept-actionsplash.png Throw in a gradient background and a few (graphic) design elements/artwork and it might look somewhat decent and not like an 'under construction' page. From what you wrote, that seems to be (to me) what you're arguing for, not something like the design above. I absolutely love this. It's simple and high impact, specific and no confusion involved for even the most unsophisticated User. THEN they go to the individual pages where we turn on all the design skills of our Web designers. The difference is we will be catering to the specific needs of the User at those pages rather than trying to be all things to all people on one page. I'm starting to see the potential of your idea now in a way that the discussion alone couldn't convince me of, though that proposal was thrown together in about a minute - I wasn't thinking of that ever being a candidate. So I'm thinking yes, this could work given: 1) the sheer majority of visitors are new or very occasional visitors 2) a website like portal.openoffice.org will cater to those that are either power users and frequent visitors and/or developers and/or contributors 3) another action statement be added for extending or getting more out of OpenOffice.org to promote templates, clip art, tips tricks / how-to's, etc because that doesn't seem to be accomodated in that list of action statements and if we get a decent set of these resources and make them accessible, people will visit more often and will be more likely to keep using the software. Isn't that what Microsoft's Office Online page is mainly for and one thing MS Office really has going for it? (office.microsoft.com) So we're either: Telling them more about OOo Pointing them to places where they can get assistance Taking them straight to download Or taking them to the contributors page But we're not catering for #3) in the list I mentioned above. Each of those are separate pages with their own specific reason for being Think of it as four different homepages an information home page (why) a users homepage (support) a downloaders home page and (download) a contributers homepage (contributors) linked up a bit like this(very basic) http://ooogear.co.nz/sitemap.html Basic but good, as long as each of these 'homepages' is well designed both in appearance in content. and the Splashpage gets the user to the homepage that suits them best quickly. Having given it some more thought, I'd offer something like this - www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/siteconcept-actionsplash2.jpg The image is from stock exchange (http://www.sxc.hu/photo/839442) so using that photo is probably out of the question, and the image is too large file-size-wise, but a similar photo released under a suitable license would do well. - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Minimalist Version of Something Completely Different
Hi Randy, I think this version is better than the first, mainly because there were too many forms on the header. Although it's too dark for my liking (then again, I'm biased toward brighter colors) near the top, the bottom half is very nice. Especially in the header and the footer areas, there are too many graphics. With the header, I agree with Graham that the gull is probably the best thing to go. I like the people in suits, but it projects a very professional image of OOo and might seem odd for home users - perhaps having a few people in suits, then a few people in a home setting, and maybe a teacher and a student or something like that done in the same style to illustrate the various users of OpenOffice.org? The footer has too many buttons/logos - Firefox (and other Mozilla products) will be promoted on the why.openoffice.org page. As for the Sun and CollabNet logos, I wonder if they would be necessary on the homepage at all if it's just going to be a stepping stone to other pages - the other pages could have the logos and the disclaimer, but the homepage could just have links to the policies and terms of use. The more proposals, the better we can make decisions - thanks Randy for giving us something completely different! - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Wake up ART!
Hi all, This discussion (the gist of it, or a link to it) should go on the marketing list if it hasn't been posted there already. I don't know how active the marketing list is (since I'm not subscribed to it) but more opinions and insights would help - currently, the whole userbase of OOo's homepage is being represented by less than 10 people. In response to what André wrote, [...] OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute. To help build the community, join us. Who reads that? I don't. Not in that smallprinty way. Where is that big fat Your all purpose office solution. tagline and where is the discussion on how to phrase that? And what other parts and gimmics we can come up with to help the user get motivated to hit that bloody damn boring download button and stick with it? IMO, that sort of discussion should go to the marketing list - isn't the art list more design-oriented? (that's why I'm not subscribed to the marketing list and why my proposals contain that very same smallprint :P) I don't want to make suggestions about content if there's someone else, or a whole group (marketing) more experienced or qualified in doing the same thing better. Maarteen, with regards to what you wrote, Nor, do I, nor Graham if I am not mistaken, suggest that these sentences need to be presented as a button, with some relief, a border etc. (I think it was Ivan who commented on this). Graham's proposal clearly shows these action statements in buttons: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/mwiki/images/a/a3/Home_page_draft_11-27.jpg And in [website-dev] I want/have... OpenOffice.org..., you wrote: Graham and I have had a lengthy discussion on several aspects, but one the main aspects is the type of text we are using on buttons. He proposed that we both used 'I' and 'OpenOffice.org' in every button. No one said it *needed* to be in buttons, but I assumed these were your intentions based on the above. I make very clear distinctions between buttons, links and headings. Graham, I'm puzzled as to why you would like the design you mentioned: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/mwiki/images/5/52/Siteconcept2.png because it still has a menubar, a search box and a 'download' button plus other clutter. If you want people's stay on the homepage to be as short as possible and if your action statements are adequate enough to cater for every visitor's needs, why keep all that? From what you wrote about the homepage being a stepping-stone only, this is the image in my mind of what you've been suggesting: www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/siteconcept-actionsplash.png Throw in a gradient background and a few (graphic) design elements/artwork and it might look somewhat decent and not like an 'under construction' page. From what you wrote, that seems to be (to me) what you're arguing for, not something like the design above. - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] One last proposal from me
Hi André, Thanks for your feedback. Something in me wants to see some kind of fancy image, but maybe i should just get over that. ;-) There's nothing to say more fancyness couldn't be incorporated but it would be at the expense of filesize. I'm not sure about the App-Icons (you used the mimetype icons, anyways ;-) ). They are too out of context and i think it is better to introduce the components as part of a more extensive suite introduction. I wasn't sure whether there was an intention to keep them or not (and whether they were being used), and they helped fill in the space, but I've removed them. Another thing I added is the top-right menu - a suggestion for something more interactive - on rollover (or click, whichever is best usability practice), a form could appear for the relevant option - for search, the searchbox, for language, the language selection drop-down box, and for login, the username and password fields and login button. - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Wake up ART!
Hi Maarten, So we look at other websites, how they tackle the problems. Turns out there are hardly any websites with the same problems. That's the best point in your message (for me at least) and it reinforces something I've started to think about reading this list and making proposals - we can't use iWork or Firefox websites as models because the OpenOffice.org homepage will be served to so many different people - and these other websites have only a fraction of the different purposes that the OpenOffice.org homepage will need to cater for. And in that context, a radical approach does make a lot of sense. If I ask my father to download OOo, I start, after a while, with pointing where to click. Somehow they don't get it immediately. I can relate to that, and I'm sure many others can too. I'm a very experienced web user so many of the things that cause endless frustration for my parents online seem obvious, simple and intuitive - we see things differently. And we need to make the entire process easy for the users. In a separate article on the website dev list, someone brought up the Basecamp FAQ (http://www.basecamphq.com/help/) as having adopted a friendly, guiding approach, and I agree that we could learn and use that. I said that the web is a medium with its conventions. That's not to say these conventions are fixed or stable, and as good as your argument is and as much as I agree with many of your points, the examples that have been provided in these discussions that represent your and Graham's overall arguments still don't seem as intuitive as you suggest. I want to download OpenOffice.org I want to learn more about OpenOffice.org I have OpenOffice.org, but need help I have OpenOffice.org, but want to help I have OpenOffice.org, but want get more out of it Excuse me for being 'conservative', but these are still far too radical (and repetitive), and not suitable as buttons on their own. Could we not be more diverse and creative with words? Must there be a personal pronoun in each one of these questions (it seems like spoon-feeding), or could we offer suggestion rather than directly thinking for the user? Instead of I have OpenOffice.org, but need help, how about Do you need help with OpenOffice.org?, Do you need help, or Need help? (ordered by length and radicalness :)) as a section heading and then offering a few alternatives with a bullet-list or short paragraphs, similar to the Basecamp FAQ blurb? It doesn't need to be long - a few lines and links should do. Wouldn't that be more helpful and informative rather than just labelling and packaging users instantly and shipping them off to a very limited set of predetermined pages? Wouldn't it be a more friendlier (possibly even more natural) approach than just having unanswered questions listed on the homepage? It could even save the user a click and get them to where they want faster (i.e. If the user is there to get help, we could suggest a few of the most common support solutions instead of just sending them straight to support.openoffice.org page straight away. For developers contributors/participators, we could offer links to the wiki, the contributing page, etc). - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Wake up ART!
Hi Graham, [...] Remember also that Basecamps user base is a lot more websavvy than ours Definitely. I was referring to the approach they took with the few lines under the Help FAQ heading - but this approach seems friendly and unobtrusive to both web savvy and non-web savvy people. I think this kind of approach would be the most user-friendly. I want to download OpenOffice.org I want to learn more about OpenOffice.org I have OpenOffice.org, but need help I have OpenOffice.org, but want to help I have OpenOffice.org, but want get more out of it Excuse me for being 'conservative', but these are still far too radical (and repetitive), The repetition is deliberate. The I and the OpenOffice.org have to be there and then we connect them with an action. If they weren't repeated it would be confusing. Yes, but why must I have OpenOffice.org appear 3 times - isn't that an obvious enough assumption? and not suitable as buttons on their own. The question is then by what measure?. Has anyone measured the effectiveness of action statements as buttons As links or headings, they would be fine. But encased as buttons, I would see that as a bad design choice (unless it was pulled off very well design-wise) - buttons are almost always short (Submit, Send Message, Subscribe, Go, Download Now, etc). Bad question = Can I help you? Answer: Automatic Reaction To Strangers = No!It's just the way we're wired Good question = Where can I direct you? Answer = I want to go to wherever There is no Yes or No answer the question leads to an openended answer Your 'good question' example is still different from (and better IMO) the I have. and want In this situation, the 'I' isn't the user's. When a webpage uses 'I' so explicitly and you see I have and want, who is the 'I' referring to? Is it the person that wrote the webpage asking for help from others, or are they trying to think for me/offer me options? On the web, from my experience, I tends to represent the former - the person writing the webpage referring to themselves. Of course, if the webpage consisted ONLY of these 5 action statements, it would be obvious enough. But is that the only thing we want on the homepage? Taking your example of a good question and applying it to I have OpenOffice.org but want help would become How can we help you?. This approach would make offering a few choices on the homepage all the more logical. However, it doesn't matter if it's you's or I's, too many of them and it still comes off as being spoon-fed, and we look like the overeager salesman - How can I help you? Would you like this, would you like that, etc. It could even save the user a click and get them to where they want faster (i.e. If the user is there to get help, we could suggest a few of the most common support solutions instead of just sending them straight to support.openoffice.org page straight away. For developers contributors/participators, we could offer links to the wiki, the contributing page, etc). The trick is to get them out of the doorway as quickly as possible. One of the problems with the Home page right now is that it tries to be all things to all people. By getting people quickly to the page that most suits there needs we are much better able to satisfy those needs because they are more specific. Sure, have a collection of most commonly asked questions on the first Support page, but what we're talking about here is a splash page. The user is here no longer than a few seconds. Perhaps the the 5th answer could be I want to see a Sitemap That could give Cognoscenti more comprehensive list of links to wiki and so forth. The trick is to get them out of the doorway as quickly as possible, yes. But there's enough space there to offer more options. Here is an example of what I mean: for the participate section, we could have the heading I would like to help (using a reworded action statement, though I still don't think that would make a good heading, but for the purposes of this illustration, it'll do.) Right under it, we could offer some options: - first time participating? [link]start here[/link] - or jump straight to the [link]projects page[/link], - go through to the [link]wiki[/link] - or head over to [link]some other option[/link]. ... 2 or 3 options would be enough. Marketing's not my area of expertise, and we've had limited (but significant) input on this list. I don't want to pretend that I know what's best for the site or its users - has this discussion been posted on the marketing list? If more people got in on the discussion (and took stances), a solution would be easier - that's not to say that the discussion shouldn't continue here with the people who have already contributed, but rather get more people into it. - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional
Re: [art] One last proposal from me
Hi Nikash, 1. Lotsa space below the search box, maybe you could bump up the top and right padding? Done - good point. 2. When I was new to OpenOffice.org, I wasn't immediately aware that OOo was their acronym of choice. Maybe the full title OpenOffice.org could be used in the download button to avoid confusion? Another good point (proposal modified accordingly), though all the content is filler and I presume someone more experienced/qualified in copywriting/marketing will decide on the wording of everything. The top 3 headings all have OpenOffice.org in them, which is too repetitive, but I didn't feel that just what how why would be sufficient for headings on their own. PS. I really like those 2 gulls sitting in the corner =). Initially I thought there could be a tiled sand dune motif near the bottom of the page with the seagulls and a wooden pole or something sea-side-ish on the right side, separating the content from the footer, but then thought it would be too artsy and not appropriate for a website like this, though the seagulls could stay since they were unintrusive enough. There goes my claim for originality :P Thanks for the feedback, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] One last proposal from me
Hi all, Here is my last proposal - an original one this time :) You can view it here: www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/siteconcept2.png It is also posted on the wiki proposals page (http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Website/Proposals) This design is much more minimalist (and would be very lightweight in terms of load time), with a much greater emphasis on the textual content. That's not to say that it couldn't be made more graphical or colorful - the tabs could add contrast and/or be made shiny, a badge with the words FREE could be placed in the header, icons could be added, the header background could be made a photo, etc. Ignore the text (and headings) there currently, it's all filler material (though the download button is on the left side to balance out the many tabs on the right side). - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] One last proposal from me
Hi Rex, Thanks, I'm glad you like it, and I agree with moving RSS down further - I've modified the proposal accordingly. I was thinking of the very bottom area being the place for the Privacy/Terms of Service copyright info. On Dec 10, 2007 5:04 PM, Rex Hollingsworth [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I like it. You're very talented there, Ivan. I'd slot the RSS and current news items to a bottom section. What do you guys think? - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Wake up ART!
André Wyrwa wrote: [...] I want to download OpenOffice.org I want to learn more about OpenOffice.org I have OpenOffice.org, but need help I have OpenOffice.org, but want to help I have OpenOffice.org, but want get more out of it I don't think those sentences are the best approach, they are simply too much to read and hardly distinguishable from each other. Just look at the first two...I want to ... OpenOffice.org is all the same for both. Distinguished content is download vs. learn more about. Compare the amounts of characters that actually help the user navigate to those that say...nothing(?). See what i'm getting at? I totally agree. Everyone seemed to be agreeing that the long sentences were the way to go, and since I'm pretty new to the website list, my comments would not be seen as very credible, so it's great to see someone with much more credibility than I saying this. The web is a different medium with established conventions, one of them being short and snappy buttons like Download Now instead of I want to download OpenOffice.org (plus very wide buttons look ugly). Yes, many people won't be experienced with using the web and its conventions but we're not here to teach them how to use the web - it's something they're going to have to learn sooner or later, and it's intuitive enough. The similarity of the options in terms of their word content and the fact that they're so long compared to other common link text (click here, more info, etc) makes them hard to distinguish. Having the download button off to the side and not so prominent is actually a good idea - this could have the desired effect of giving people a chance to have their unspoken questions answered before downloading, and users will get used to the placement of the download button so it won't affect them. One-click downloads might not be such a good idea firstly because of possible auto-detects gone wrong (it would be better to let the user know which system and language the site has detected, and provide other alternatives in case this is wrong). Second, it wouldn't help promote other ways of downloading (P2P, getting it through a CD - because if most of the world is on dial-up and they discover that the download is going to take half a day, alternative options might be of interest to them, i.e. listing magazines that regularly include the latest version of OpenOffice in their CDs/DVDs). Third, we can try to get people's questions answered again with a While you're downloading (... take a look at this) section to try to engage the people who chronically tend to lunge for the download button when they get to a site, only to delete the program 5 minutes after installing it because they don't get how it works. Nikash V. SINGH wrote: Oh THANK GOD for André WYRWA, I was sitting here thinking everything you just said, thinking I was the only one thinking so... +1 - a case study in the effects of groupthink :) - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Wake up ART!
Hi Nikash,
I'll be blunt - I don't like the first one at all - it has too much of
a 'tech' feel (too much gray and panels) - a layout like that would be
more fitting for a Photoshop tutorial website than for OpenOffice.org.
I see the second one as being a step in the right direction, though
the blues are too strong/saturated for my liking (at the top and
bottom) and the buttons next to each option are also too strong. But I
love the simplicity and effectiveness of that middle section (and that
seagull photo is great).
The OOo homepage should be simple, and correct me if I'm wrong, its
main purpose is to let people download the program. Yes, it should
have links to everything else, i.e. contributing, support, forums,
etc, but simplicity is a recurring theme in software package/program
home pages, particularly with the whole 'Web 2.0' shift, and I don't
think any of the designs have really captured that. So my idea/vision
for the new OOo website is something simple, with concise text/links,
not overpowering in terms of colors and most importantly,
future-proof.
Since the above is all talk, I'll make a quick mock-up soon to
illustrate what I mean. Thanks Nikash for getting the discussion going
and providing some inspiration :)
- Ivan.
On Nov 29, 2007 6:07 AM, joe lackner [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
hello nik,
things have been quiet lately. i myself have been overstack with
client work... more than enough to keep any sane man busy.
i like the start of the concepts, but i agree with the dev discussion
{although i'm not on that list} over going through a planning phase
before any design work gets done.
what are the call to actions?
what vibe do we want users to feel?
what do we need to call more attention to?
who exactly is the audience?
my critiques for your pieces are: the type seems sloppy, maybe
typography is not your strong point, but it definitely needs some more
love.
also, the color harmonics are another weak point. they are bright, but
they don't seem vivid - almost murky for the palette you've selected.
when i think open office, i see lighter, brighter colors. freedom,
air, oxygen - an gasp of fresh air from the $600 dollar microsoft
monopoly.
i do like the composition of both, especially the second. it seems
tactile and easy to get in and start clicking. a very good thing for
those just wanting to jump in, download the suite and get along with
their business.
don't you?
all the best,
-joe lackner
On 11/28/07, Nikash V. SINGH [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Hullo ART!,
Geez, is it just me or has this list been awfully quiet recently?... Well
we hope that's about to change. For anyone who isn't also subscribed to
[EMAIL PROTECTED], there has been plenty of discussion on the decision to
update the OOo Website.
As it stands, WebDev have decided it would be a good idea for them to sit
down and talk through the Website's requirements first before any actual
design occurs, but being the illogical+impatient+passionate+hyperactive
people we are, we've decided to keep the Website re-design discussion alive.
So we're moving this conversation here and hopefully all ye creative people
will have lots of helpful feedback and constructive criticism for us so
that when we're ready, we'll be able to gobsmack those WebDev folks with
disbelief. And indeed the whole OOo community and world-at-large.
To get things going, I've uploaded my proposals here;
http://overkill.hyperphp.com/site.php
(or http://overkill.hyperphp.com/e_site.php for MSIE users)
and here;
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Website#Design_proposals
Randy GILSON and Filip MOLCAN have been even more active in this respect
and hopefully they'll be along shortly to provide links to their own work
(unfortunately I don't have their respective URLs). Feel free to jump in
with your own proposals anytime!
-Nik
Make the switch to the world's best email. Get the new Yahoo!7 Mail
now. www.yahoo7.com.au/worldsbestemail
--
joe lackner
812.701.1602 | http://celsius.ws
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Re: [art] Wake up ART!
Hi all, Here is a simple concept based on Nikash's second concept. It's much more simple and much less bright and colorful: http://www.patentpending.co.nz/images/openoffice/siteconcept1.png I haven't taken the time to add colorful buttons and graphics - it might look gray and drab now, but add a few icons and buttons and I think it'll be colorful enough (i.e. the download button could be yellow/orange). This variation would be much quicker loading than one using photos (though there's nothing to say photos couldn't be used - it'd just be more of a problem in terms of catering for different screen widths) and simple to code. Cheers, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Art Gallery
Hi Randy, I like the bovine ones - very original :) as well as the seagull one. Maybe we could get a proper gallery together for all OOo artwork (i.e. using the Gallery open source program) - wallpapers, etc that would be far easier to use than the current official file submission method, especially since there's lots of interesting work going on here right now - just an idea. Thanks for posting! - Ivan. On Nov 11, 2007 1:20 PM, RJ Gilson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello Everybody, I have set up a small art gallery at: http://fission1.free-web-hosting.biz/cpg/index.php It consists of about a dozen OOo wallpapers, most of which wouldn't really be appropriate for the official gallery (though a few would probably pass 8^). Some I just did because I figured some of you might get a kick out of them (like the Bovine Series), or want them for your own personal use. 8^) The eCard function doesn't work (host doesn't allow use of sendmail), but the albums all seem to work OK. Enjoy, Randy __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] OOo 3 Logo Proposals
The instant I saw the logo, I thought of Hitchcock's film 'The Birds'. The arrangement also looks like some sort of tribal design. Maybe it's just the bevel effect that made me think of this - try getting rid of that and post that. On 10/21/07, RJ Gilson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Thanks! Randy Gilson (aka fission1) --- m n [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Very nice! That's is all I have to say. I am speechless! On 10/19/07, RJ Gilson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have made 2 OOo 3 logo images and attached them to Issue #54361. Here are the links: http://www.openoffice.org/nonav/issues/showattachment.cgi/49036/OOo3_Logo_1a.gif http://www.openoffice.org/nonav/issues/showattachment.cgi/49037/OOo3_Logo_1b.gif Hope you like 'em... I have also made several wallpapers, but I can't find where/how to post them, could someone help? Randy Gilson (aka fission1) __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] More logo proposals
Hi Nikash, I decided to wait a little to let others comment before adding my opinion (I was hoping others would agree with me that the seagull deserved more attention, which turned out to be the case). I agree with all of the above. Mainly because the iris is clearly black - in some other 'eye poses' (I agree, some of the others are amusing - the perfect philosophic seagull), the shine/reflection is overlaid over the iris and it appears more dull. But even if you changed that, I'd still go for the left one in the second row. A few pixels of repositioning can make a world of difference! On 10/7/07, Nikash V. SINGH [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hullo all, Ivan's words of encouragement have convinced me that the creepy seagull is worth saving. I've taken his advice and shifted it's gaze off-center, it's resulted in a lot of different looks. Some dopey, some friendly. I just want to know which one more people think looks friendliest so I can replace it in the Logo proposals and use it elsewhere as a branding bug. A couple of different iterations can be found here: http://overkill.hyperphp.com/logo.php (or http://overkill.hyperphp.com/e_logo.php for MSIE users) Just click the 'creepy.pdf' link to bring it up and please let me know which one you think is friendliest. Thanks in advance. -Nik - Original Message From: Ivan M [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: art@marketing.openoffice.org Sent: Friday, 5 October, 2007 11:45:26 AM Subject: Re: [art] More logo proposals It's good to see more discussion on the logos (and more activity on the list!) Nikash, once again, I really like your work and while I agree with the rest that the seagull is slightly creepy, if it wasn't staring directly at/towards the viewer, it could make a great branding bug - especially, if you combined the detail of the Round 3 seagull with the the Round 2 seagulls, this could be a great branding bug or graphic design element for promotional materials (in my opinion anyway). Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] More logo proposals
It's good to see more discussion on the logos (and more activity on the list!) Nikash, once again, I really like your work and while I agree with the rest that the seagull is slightly creepy, if it wasn't staring directly at/towards the viewer, it could make a great branding bug - especially, if you combined the detail of the Round 3 seagull with the the Round 2 seagulls, this could be a great branding bug or graphic design element for promotional materials (in my opinion anyway). On 10/2/07, Nikash V. SINGH [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Steve, Thanks for the feedback, up till now I was under the impression I was headed in entirely the wrong direction. Hi Nik, I like the top row on page 8 of allprops.pdf best, the stuff on page 13 is good too. I'm not keen on the overlapping stuff. Its too fussy and look as though the bird in being trapped in places. I also think the third idea is a bit creepy too. Yeah, I tried to avoid having the bird looked trapped by the type, but it still managed to happen in some places. But like you, I'm fond of some of these 'soaring gull' designs. It seems 'creepiness' is the general concensus so far in relation to 'round 03' =| On a more general note, I think it would be better to drop the .org part on the name. I think its confusing, sounds as though the product is a website or a group. That's why MS Office is not called MicrosoftOffice.org, I'd prefer calling it OpenOffice 3.0, anyone agree? I'm fairly new to OOo so I'll let you more established folk toss up the name debate. Till then I'll keep making the designs under the current name so as not to offend anyone. Seems my departure from the long established dark-blue is upsetting enough people =) I promise to post my own logo ideas as soon as I get back to my own office. Looking forward to seeing them. Just a question in general, does anyone have any opinions on the 'round 01' designs which has three gulls flying off in different directions. Ivan's done an awesome job of fixing the positioning which can be found here; http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1154029805size=o Anyone who hasn't seen any of the proposals can go here; http://overkill.hyperphp.com/logo.php (or http://overkill.hyperphp.com/e_logo.php for MSIE users) -Nik - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Website Banners
Hi all, Based on Nikash's logo proposal for OOo v3 (http://overkill.hyperphp.com/round01.pdf), here's my take: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1154029805size=o The Office.org part of the OOo text makes grooves perfect for the 3 gull design when it's rotated a little bit. I also think the logo looks better on the right part of the text because it puts an emphasis on the name of the program before the logo. The OOo text is the only difference between the two: one is Bitstream Vera regular at the horizontal percentage you specified (92% I think), the other is Bitstream Vera bold at 80% - both have a similar horizontal width. Before any decision on the logo itself is made, I think the typeface should be decided on beforehand - do we want Bitstream Vera, Liberation, the current font or a different one? Bold or regular, modified horizontal character width or not? Does the art project decide on this or is that left to someone higher up? Anyway, I hope this keeps the debate going because the mailing list has been quiet for a long time :) Regards, Ivan. On 8/16/07, Nikash V. SINGH [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi everyone, Thanks heaps to everyone who's commented on the Logos and Banners recently, especially Ivan, Florian and the Digital Pioneer. I'll take your recommendations on board and implement the changes as soon as I can. I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of my 'applications' banners either, but for some reason when I showed it amongst my design class, some liked that series more than the Blue wallpaper derivatives. Go figure. I'll soon colour-flood that design in Blue to see if that can save it. Otherwise, can anyone tell me if any specific details have been decided for the OOo3 logo?... Ivan brings up a good point about the continued use of Blue as the OOo colour. I'm the biggest fan of blue, but I think that the current dark-blue is uninteresting and that a more vibrant blue be chosen if a OOo colour is indeed chosen. Until then I'll keep making my logo proposals in many different colours because experimentation often has pleasant repercussions. And as always, my chosen colours are just demonstration colours, feel free to let me know when they don't add up. -Nik PS. I'm from Australia, that's why Colours keeps coming up with a u. Stubborn as I am =) - Original Message From: The Digital Pioneer [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: art@marketing.openoffice.org Sent: Monday, 13 August, 2007 4:08:25 PM Subject: Re: [art] Website Banners Hi, all! It's been a while since I've been active on this list, but I hope to be making my comeback. :) Nikash: I like them a lot, they look really good, except for the last ones, which are a bit too intrusive, in my humble opinion. When I see banners like that on pages, they're the first ones I block. The last ones aside, the others look really good, but they really need a lot more contrast on that text. Maybe it's just my monitor, but it can't be discounted on that basis either. I had a little trouble reading it myself. (Though I like the slogan. :) That's pretty much my only complaint. Great work! :) -- Thanks, The Digital Pioneer Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] New logo proposal
Hi Per, Is this an official proposal for the v3 logo or are you posting it here for consideration by the Art Project members (because it looks like you've put a lot of work into it and it looks quite official - is that what an official proposal needs to consist of)? Minimalism and simplicity are great, but I think the DVD insert and CD/DVD labels are too simplistic - a gray gradient, the logo and some text. This is where branding bugs/elements could come in to make the cover/CD label designs more engaging and interesting. The gray gradient reminds me a little of the DVD insert for Windows Server 2003; a more vibrant color would probably appeal more to home users (more along the lines of the v1 bugs/elements/colors/designs), while the current gray gives off a 'professionals only' image. For the text on the back, would not descriptions of the OOo components (Writer, Math, Impress, etc) be more useful than simply a description of the OOo project? Perhaps this could go inside the DVD cover, but the back is usually reserved for a product description, system requirements, screenshots, etc. Last of all, from past discussions, I gathered that the new logo would have an open-source font (even though Myriad arguably looks more aesthetic than Bitstream Vera). On 8/12/07, Per Eriksson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi there, I've updated my proposal with an element, a DVD insert, CD sleeve and a tryout for discs. It would be great to receive some additional comments on this, the more criticism I get - the better the proposal will be :-) It can be found here: http://erinet.se/openoffice.org%20logo%20v2.pdf ___ Best Regards Per Eriksson Marketing Contact Sweden OpenOffice.org Phone intl: 0046 70 560 10 33 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://sv.openoffice.org/ - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] More logo proposals
Hi Nikash, The design I like the most is on the second page of the All Proposals PDF - I think the 3 seagulls would be very effective design elements, however at smaller/low resolutions, their complexity would be a problem. The set on Page 3 are all too bright. So far, the key color for the OOo branding has been blue and I think it should stay that way, so the second logo in the second row on the second page has the color combination I like the most. When paired with the OOo text, the Page 9 designs look good, and using the 3 gulls instead of just one with one of those combinations would look great. If you could please provide a vector format of the 3 gulls, I could make a mock-up of what I mean precisely. Apart from that, I think your logos deserve serious consideration for the new logo, they are vibrant and dynamic and could have many uses as branding bugs. Regards, Ivan. On 8/3/07, Nikash V. SINGH [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Johannes, I'm just emailing back to clarify whether you were referring to one of my logo proposals or someone else's. If it was one of mine, I'd be happy to make the change to a colour(s) of your recommendation if you could tell me specifically which page the logo is on, where it is located and what colour to change it to. Please disregard this email if you were referring to someone else's logo proposal. Also, I'd appreciate any feedback from other users, you've all grown more accustomed to this logo than I have and would be able to describe what direction you'd like to take, what facets you'd like to keep. -Nik - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] More Mockups
Hi everyone, Here are 3 more designs for your consideration - more vibrant, bright and fresh than the first (at least I think so :)). A gel style OOo logo would probably look better on these ones (if anyone could provide one :)) ++ Abstract Concepts http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=386291893size=o http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=386291892size=o These both utilize the concept of 3 ribbons. The design is abstract while remaining simple. ++ Feathers Concept http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=386291894size=o This is a continuation of the original - now using real feathers and the morning colors - the clouds are still there except these ones are from my personal photo. An abstract element at the bottom-left acts in place of the light rays in the original concept. All 3 concepts utilise freeware Photoshop brushes, however for the actual splash screen we would probably need to make them ourselves for licensing reasons. I've also changed the position of the OOo logo, for these concepts I believe it looks better in a central position. Also, thinking a little outside the box, how about transparent splash screens such as the ones Adobe uses (particularly Adobe Reader 6 with its wireframe design)? Maybe this would not be an ideal solution because of heightened resource requirements, but it depends on the load time. Adobe's applications take longer to load than most others so they give the user something nicer to look at :) Cheers, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] OOo3 Splash Mockup
Hi again, Personally, I am strongly influenced by visual identity when it comes to software. OOo really proves that beauty is skin deep, like in the real world, beauty can still be too alluring. Microsoft, Apple and countless other mainstream companies (in their respective fields) have set the standard that consumers have grown to expect - from fancy logos to beautiful splash screens to interfaces with pretty icons. This is why I personally think that the arts project can make the most significant contribution to making Open Office.org 3.0 a success and a big step forward into the mainstream user market - the best way to do this in my opinion is through a strong visual identity so I take it as a great compliment that my mockup initiated this important debate. Onto the core discussion - to be honest, I didn't spend a big amount of time on my concept, that's why the feathers are so simple, the bird silhouettes might seem weird, etc. I agree that it's not new or vibrant enough but we should at least have a starting point that we can add/build abstractions onto. Introducing something drastic straight away without the contribution or approval from the wider community could be taken negatively. I agree that OOo and OpenOffice.org (in particular the .org) are significant in branding. I used the clouds and gulls because they have been recurring elements in OOo - while v1 had 2 different branding bugs (v1 and v1.1), v2 has stuck with the wiregulls and the cloud background. In that aspect, yeah it is the corporate influence. In saying that, a drastic shift in visual identity could be taken by critics as an 'identity crisis' or some form of instability. I particularly like the idea of a night theme, space, galaxies, etc but how does that relate to OpenOffice.org? I still find that the sky, birds and their associated connotations serve the marketing project well - lightness, freedom, etc. Perhaps instead of the sky we could have a more abstract design - fractals, light rays, swirls? On a final note, Bernhard's idea of a photo gallery is really good, if we can get some great free photography of various objects (not just the sky or birds), they could also help inspire us and serve in promotional materials. OK, maybe one more note - Graham's been mentioning thinking 'out of the box' a lot; Firefox made a crop circle to promote themselves. New Zealands tourism board organised a huge sand sculpture of a silver fern to be made on an LA Beach - it's things like this that go beyond the TV/radio advertising or brochures - they also get a lot of attention in terms of news coverage which raises awareness. I like Graham's idea of appealing to university students, perhaps once I get settled in we could discuss some strategies. I think I've rambled on enough, I'd like to hear what you all think. Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] OOo3 Splash Mockup
Hi Bernhard, With regards to the photo, would it be possible to send an email to all OOo contributors (perhaps through the newsletter) asking for photo submissions that would be available to be licensed as required? The photos wouldn't have to be restricted to clouds, maybe different contributions could inspire different ideas. I agree that the feathers are too strong but if people like the idea, maybe some better versions or ideas will come through. Personally I think the glossy logo would be more attractive but I did a pretty bad job on the shine. For your OOo Convention 2006 presentation regarding the art project you had the glossy logo on it and that was my inspiration but I couldn't find a high res version of it. Christian, the thought of using 3 birds hadn't crossed my mind but come to think of it, it does make a lot of sense :). The progress bar could also be easily acommodated. Thank you both for the feedback, I will continue trying other designs and hopefully other contributions will come in. Regards, Ivan. On 2/5/07, Bernhard Dippold [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Ivan, thanks for your mockup! Ivan M schrieb: I've finished my mockup and while it's a long shot away from an actual proposal, it has a few examples of what the branding bugs for v3 could be which will hopefully encourage feedback and other ideas. Creating a SWF with clickable options is a great idea to decide about different options! The end result is a SWF (Macromedia Flash) file that lets you mix and match various design elements and try different combinations (click the option to turn it on/off): http://www.i2.net.nz/sandbox/openoffice/mockup.html ... it took a bit to load, but the result is really good :-) WRT to the options: - Sun logo: Both versions must be possible (and both look good) - light rays: better with rays (perhaps even more visible - graphical in order to create a design element usable in other context) - birds: good idea as graphical element - balancing the scene with the logo (especially without feathers). I'm not quite sure about the birds (form) and the width of the condensation trails (perhaps two or three for each bird, but smaller). But that's just a minor point. - feathers: As plane shadows they look too mighty in my eyes - the scene looks better without them. What might be possible is a bit more of information inside the feathers: Small (light blue?) lines, some kind of 3D effect. I'm not quite sure, if that works, but in the moment I like your mockup better without the feathers. - logo: I prefer (at least for this splash screen) the normal one. There is no relation between the 3D impression of the glossy logo and the background IMHO. The clouds image used is a free stock image without restrictions: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/432730 Sorry, but we can't use this photo with the SXC license: http://www.sxc.hu/info.phtml?f=helps=8_2 It is not allowed to sell it or us it on sold items, share it with others, use it in website templates to be distributed... It might be possible that the photographer will license it under LGPL, if we ask him to do, but in the moment such an image can't be included in the OOo installer. But I don't think this is the main problem - let's concentrate on style and graphical elements. I'm quite sure we might include this or another similar photo in the end. Thanks for your proposal! Best regards Bernhard - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] OOo3 Splash Mockup
I've finished my mockup and while it's a long shot away from an actual proposal, it has a few examples of what the branding bugs for v3 could be which will hopefully encourage feedback and other ideas. The end result is a SWF (Macromedia Flash) file that lets you mix and match various design elements and try different combinations (click the option to turn it on/off): http://www.i2.net.nz/sandbox/openoffice/mockup.html The clouds image used is a free stock image without restrictions: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/432730 - Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [art] Introduction and ideas
Hi all, If OpenOffice has other alternatives for icons other than just Tango and there is a need for icons of a size greater than 16x16 for the suite then I agree that the Silk icon set is not the way to go, I wasn't aware of this and thought it could be considered as an alternative. As for the attachment, I put it on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=375258420size=o (as it's not a concept, just an example) my point being that the OOo 2 icons are less distinctive than the other major suites out there, especially at 16x16 size, while version 1's file type icons were more distinctive in terms of their function (ie spreadsheet, document, etc), while v2 uses more abstract symbols - my proposition was that in designing the icons for v3, the modern style of v2 and the distinctness of function in v1 be combined. Onto the splash screen and branding bugs - I am in the process of making a mockup, however in the design of branding bugs, we should consider what will be the main reasons to upgrade for v3 - e.g. performance, speed, stability and the perhaps have the bugs as metaphors based on these improvements... I saw in one of the online PDF slideshows of the OOo 2006 convention that the goal was to have 30-50% faster start up times. Could someone please tell me if there is a page outlining the expected new features/changes in OOo 3 and approximately when it is planned to be available? Regards, Ivan. On 1/29/07, André Wyrwa [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hei Ivan, welcome to the team. 1. Splash screens/Branding/Bugs I think, alternative mockups would be appreciated. They might inspire our ideas for OOo3. About the photo idea...i could imagine it to be good, depending on how it's done. The current splash screen uses a cloud image in a nice, subtile way. However, i would like for OOo3 to look significantly different. 2. Toolbars Icons Considering toolbar icons and the likes, it seems like we are about to get two new sets (hopefully for 3.0): Tango (fom jimmac) and Galaxy (from Stella). And i don't know if KDE 4 is using Krystal still. If not (there's an Oxygen icon project that seems to target KDE), i would expect another one from that corner as well. That seems pretty much enough for me, really. What we might need, though, is someone to collect common OSX toolbar icons, to provide a dedicated set for the mac port. As for gradients on Toolbars: I may be wrong, but i think the windows version of 2.0 does that already. At least if you don't use any XP visual style. If you do, it should be the styles task to provide a gradient or not. Same with gtk on linux. Or did you mean something else? This would also rather be a topic for the new user experience project (Did that start yet?). 3. Application Icons The list doesn't support attachments. There should be a bug in our issuezilla for icon proposals...it's bug 54755: http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=54755 You can attach your work there, and post us a link or just let us know here when you've done it. André. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[art] Introduction and ideas
Hi all, My name is Ivan and I live in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm 18 a web graphic designer currently attending university who is interested in playing a part in the openoffice.org art project, particularly relating to OOo3 (could someone please tell me roughly when it is expected to be released?) Now onto some ideas and suggestions 1. Splash screens/Branding/Bugs Do all elements regarding these have to be vector/scaleable? If not, I would propose that the splash screens consist of a photo. The design submitted by the user Andreas Sohns in the art project's folder (http://marketing.openoffice.org/servlets/ProjectDocumentList?folderID=455expandFolder=455folderID=455) looks great but I don't think the gray color makes the suite seem more friendly (for the power user maybe, but not the average home user) - I would propose a clouds-based photograph as the background, or a sunrise color scheme (blues and oranges). I could make some mock-ups if anyone's interested. I think this would provide a nicer welcome into the program. 2. Toolbars Icons I have read among the recent emails to this list that the project is considering using the Tango icon scheme. An alternative that might be worth a look is the famfamfam silk icon set (licensed under a creative commons license, free for use - do the icons have to be licensed with a open-source-type license?) - http://www.famfamfam.com/lab/icons/silk/. I could provide a mock-up of what OOo 2.0 would look like with these icons. Also, using subtle smooth gradients on toolbars (top-down gradient) instead of a single color would help make the suite look better and more modern. This could also apply to rulers, application backgrounds, etc. 3. Application Icons While OOo 2 icons are much more modern than version 1, the distinction between file types (presentation, document, spreadsheet, etc) was greater in version 1. I would propose a combination of the modern design of v2 and the distinction of v1 instead of colors being the major point of distinction between file types (please see attached file) I look forward to your responses and working with you Regards, Ivan. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
