From: Phrogz Date: 2007-10-31T12:35:01+09:00 Subject: Re: the result of Ruby official logo contest I'm saddened by the outpouring of criticism that this logo has created. A few thoughts: 1) It's hard to unit test a design, because it's largely subjective. (This can be one of the most rewarding and frustrating things about art, for me. You don't know when you're 'done'.) It may be that different people have different ideas about what makes a good logo. (Should it be 'sexy'? Simple? Cutting edge? Retro? Is a simple clear recognizable favicon important?) 2) Like open source software, this was an open project. I'm disappointed that so many people choose to outpour and outcry "THAT SUCKS, I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER!" If you could have done better, you should have done so. I feel that this behavior is similar to not voting in an election and then complaining bitterly about which candidate won. You could have helped, but you didn't; you need to learn to respect those who actually stepped up and tried to help out. 3) In being saddened by this, it's important to realize that (a) some people don't have the necessarily skills to help create a good icon, but (b) that doesn't necessarily mean they don't have valid criticisms. As long as the criticism is accurate and clear, it can prove very useful to improving the end result.[1] 4) I wish to express my thanks to Tom Schaub (the winner) for his efforts. Tom, I wish you luck in seeing any valid criticism openly, and discarding the unhelpful vitriolic easily. I also want to thank everyone else who made submissions. Finally, I want to thank people who have clearly conveyed what they don't like about the logo. 'Right' or 'wrong', at least you've provided something less subjective than "gag", or "hideous" or "abortion" or "a joke". Something that might be useful in a future iteration or design choice. 5) I hope that this can be an open, iterative process. I don't think that we want the Ruby logo changing monthly, but perhaps once a year the community can work on and improve the official face of Ruby, if only slightly, continuously improving the marketing to match the beauty of the language. [1] http://phrogz.net/nodes/criticismwithoutasolution.asp