121–129 of 129 posts
Here's my proposal, very simplistic and based on the inconsolata font (which is licensed under an Open Font license). Original artwork is SVG. http://imgur.com/SVOZTC6
Interesting, but there's a big hole between the r and the s (tar (...) snap).
Here is the idea I submitted, uses Deja Vu monospace for the font. The shape is a bolt, and I am trying to go for the idea of industrial strength and security. http://dev.bitmono.com/tarsnap/tarsnap.png
This one is my favorite so far :) Very sleek. But I wish it distinguished "tar" and "snap" to give a subtle cue as to pronunciation. What if the "tar" part were set in a slightly heavier weight?
The logo is the wheel on a cassette, which is a fun throwback to the tape days, inspired by TAR -> Tape ARchiver.
Tarsnap: a guard dog for your backup data
An then your logo is the very stylized face of a bulldog, looking straight on. The word tarsnap is set to the right of the dog face for the full logo. You can use the face by itself for the favicon etc.
I think the word 'snap' has a lot of dog connotation to me. A dog snapping at your heals. The dog snapping at the mailman. And a guard dog is a pretty good metaphor for your product. It keeps things safe and protected from the bad guys.
Also, to have a 'mascot' like logo fits in with the penguins, devils, ponies, etc. You can make it stylized to project a "serious, reliable" image, rather than cartoon like.
If you like my suggestion, take the $500, and hire my favorite designer, tywilkins.com. You get a much better result than me trying my hand. The problem with a $500 budget is you don't have a the time to explore a lot of options. At $100/hour, you just have 5 hours. But that might be enough time to draw an already fleshed out idea.
Here is the idea I submitted, uses Deja Vu monospace for the font. The shape is a bolt, and I am trying to go for the idea of industrial strength and security. http://dev.bitmono.com/tarsnap/tarsnap.png
http://dev.bitmono.com/tarsnap/tarsnap-website.png
PS: Created in Inkscape, font is Deja Vu.
Slightly off topic, but is there a way to have tarsnap back up to my own server instead of S3?
... basic idea was: "box" - not very original, but imho appropriate when thinking of storing things. as illustrated on the right, the form is the intersection of the shapes on the three visible faces of the box. the two in the front make up the "T" and on top is a very minimal "S". i thought of this intersection as a simple visual analogy of encryption.
wouldn't consider this a final logo - probably there could be done some more work on the details.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reread this and imagine it's a code contest. Less subjective maybe, but would you want to build for someone with such a vague demand? "I need it to do, err, I don't know. Can't quite put my finger on it."
but it's not a code contest. Design is totally different.
You know what's funny? We use the word "design" for software, and you wouldn't think that you could run a contest to pick the design of a software system. But nevertheless you think someone can design his communication strategy & brand identity by a contest, without spending the time to write down the requirements first.
To the OP: my advice is, just don't bother with a contest or a logo. Find someone (a friend) who is good at typography, and ask him to typeset the word "Tarsnap" for you in a way that looks good on that banner. Just use that as a logo, until you have the time & resources to hire someone to do a proper brand identity for you (because that's what you are asking for here, not just a logo)
