231–240 of 355 posts
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If you click the triangle next to the username it will 'upvote' the comment and help get it to the top. Replies have no effect on rank so there is really no reason to reply unless you have something to add.
Hi, Welcome to Hacker News. If you get a chance, check out the welcome letter ( http://ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html ) which explicitly states that empty comments are okay as long as they're positive .
So make them look like Apple? Gotcha.
1) Space themes – This is old in Apple land. Leopard launched with a space screensaver and the galaxy background. This was in 2007. Every year they update the space themes. Not cool, not sci-fi, and far from unique.
2) Packaging – The packing mirrors Apple's current packaging exactly. Side color with white text, main image from a direct shot, black text on white.
3) Utilitarian Design – The stark modernist style was pioneered by Apple. I run a design firm, and the number one thing I've heard consistently over the past ten years "I want to look like Apple". I got sick of Apple's style in 2002. Stark in computers is one brand.
4) Logos – The flat shape approach would be good if it wasn't mirroring Apple again. The lack of depth, the application on images, the short "inspirational" text...all of this is so common for Apple it is pained. Windows is one of the most recognized brands in the world, so it still needs to retain the iconic nature.
Do I think this is cool? Yes. But do I think they should do it? No way! Adopting this design is adopting cultural defeat. MS gets labeled a copycat and the worst thing they could do would be to rip-off the worlds most profitable brand.
Why not adopt the Metro approach? It can be refined further, made into a similar overview, and actually still "feels" Microsoft with being something completely new.
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HN criticized, but I've heard "the guy who redesigned American's website" referenced in several times from several sources. It spread, it got him a reputation, it gave him a brand! Dustin Curtis is now recognizable in any kind of design discussion. I've never heard of minimallyminimal, but I'll remember "the guy who rebranded Microsoft" for a long time.
He may be recognizable in a design discussion on HN, but hardly out of this context. Same goes for this guy. That of course is not to say that these sorts of efforts should be avoided, but I do think you are overestimating their impact.
Nearly everybody who matters reads this site at least sometimes.
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Any ideas how to promote this kind of initiative in students?
Are you allowed to give your students assignments that involve redesigning existing brands? I did not go to school for design, so I really have no idea if this is allowed, but what would happen if you told the students that their assignment was to create an ad for Nike? I'd jump at something like that.
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Upvoting a comment is an anonymous and nearly invisible action. The only way to show visible support for a comment is to reply to it.
At that point you're not adding anything to the conversation though, it's just noise. If you want to add vocal support to a comment you should at least expand on the points they brought up or provide some of your own reasoning.
As an experiment this is interesting, as a proposition it's very poor, it's design-poor.
This is subjective, but in my view it's both too abstract and unruly for microsoft and fails the continuity test. Unstructured logos need careful examination, this is more experimental than logical. Also Deutsche bank has a very similar logo which is ill-advised in general.
With regard to the new microsoft logo type this is visually imbalanced, particularly with the use of various clashing typographic styles. For example the x-height limited 'i' is at odds with the "ft" ligature which ascends above the x-height. Letter terminals are square, then the 't' on the end suddenly has two angled terminals which directly contradict the 'f' it's attached to. It doesn't come across as flair, it comes across as trying to add interest where there is none.
Also the type in general is poor, it's variously weighted strokes present a mottled "grey area" and the surrounding "white space" is unnatural to read.
The space motif screams of a PBS or Discovery Channel special. Also, isn't the "Slate" already the name of an actual tablet?
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He may be recognizable in a design discussion on HN, but hardly out of this context. Same goes for this guy. That of course is not to say that these sorts of efforts should be avoided, but I do think you are overestimating their impact.
I think you are underestimating the impact of being well known on HN for something like that. Nearly everybody who matters reads this site at least sometimes.