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Tarsnap logo contest

mail.tarsnap.com

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Re: Tarsnap logo contest

#62

Post by eps »

"Design contest" to a designer is what "prototype me my facebook idea" to a programmer. You will be laughed out of the room by professional designers at best, so what you will end up with a clipart logo based on a ripped concept done by someone who has zero idea of what tarsnap is (but who really needs your 500 bucks).

Do the right thing, Colin, call this thing off, take an hour to go through logopond and dribbble and email a dozen of guys you like. $500 is a good budget to get a good logo.

EDIT - alternatively, just pick a good sans font (something that you personally like and that matches well what you think tarsnap is about - simplicity, clarity, reliability, etc.), take a semibold or bold weight, type "tarsnip" in lowercase letters, kern it tightly and you got yourself a clean and concise wordmark.

Re: Tarsnap logo contest

#63

Post by eps »

tptacek wrote: post #58
jasonkester wrote: post #54

I've said it before and I'm saying it again: It needs to be a parsnip. That's what springs to mind when you hear the name of your company, so that's what you need for a logo. Here are a few options: https://www.google.com/search?q=parsnip

I think a parsnip would also be an awesome logo. Before you discount it, remember that Sourcefire has a goofy looking cartoon pig.

Yeah, but snout is a great concept for something that involves sniffing. Parsnip on the other hand just goes well with pancetta.

Re: Tarsnap logo contest

#64

Post by eropple »

eps wrote: post #63
tptacek wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a parsnip would also be an awesome logo. Before you discount it, remember that Sourcefire has a goofy looking cartoon pig.

Yeah, but snout is a great concept for something that involves sniffing. Parsnip on the other hand just goes well with pancetta.

Tarsnap: for secure recipe storage.

Re: Tarsnap logo contest

#65

Post by SwellJoe »

cperciva wrote: post #18
parennoob wrote: post #6

I suppose tarsnap is named like 'portsnap', which you also wrote, but what is the thought process behind calling that 'portsnap'? That might help stimulate some ideas and suggestions. I am assuming it's not a piece of tar snapped in half. Although sometimes, having the FreeBSD ports system compile perl and python from scratch when I am trying to install emacs does make me want to snap it in half (yes, yes, I know I a…

portsnap = SNAPshots of the FreeBSD PORTs tree tarsnap = TAR backups, in a SNAPshotted model (vs. incremental backups). I also liked the fact that it reminded FreeBSD users of portsnap, which is a very popular tool.

I understood the name immediately, but always considered it an awful name for most "normal" users. But, maybe UNIX culture will win in the end and "tar" will become a word everyone knows.

Re: Tarsnap logo contest

#67

Post by huhtenberg »

cperciva wrote: post #40
AnotherDesigner wrote: post #34

I've wrote about this a few times on HN before. You guys like to downvote me every time I do but here we go again ... Good designers, the ones you want if this is important to you, don't do contests. We have families to feed and bills to pay. "Winning" a popularity contest, not based on substance but instead on style, doesn't allow us to support ourself and our families doing our work. So, who are the designers doing…

Good designers, the ones you want if this is important to you, don't do contests. I'm not looking for a good designer. I'm looking for a hacker (ideally a unix hacker) who happens to have some design skills.

Then you should've not offered the $ reward. This motivates wrong kind of people and sure as hell it does not do much to motivate a "hacker with some design skills".

Re: Tarsnap logo contest

#68

Post by anologwintermut »

eps wrote: post #62

"Design contest" to a designer is what "prototype me my facebook idea" to a programmer. You will be laughed out of the room by professional designers at best, so what you will end up with a clipart logo based on a ripped concept done by someone who has zero idea of what tarsnap is (but who really needs your 500 bucks). Do the right thing, Colin, call this thing off, take an hour to go through logopond and dribbble an…

And yet I bet he will get results and they will look good enough, even if you and everyone else who considers themselves a designer laughs at him.

He can actually judge the logos he gets and choose the best one (or potentially non at all). Designs don't have anything close to a monopoly on good(enough) taste.

Evaluating the quality of a code base, on the other hand, requires close to enough skill that you probably could write it your self. It's not analogous.

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