To Those With Creative Skills... (Banner Redesign)
As some of you know, the current WinWorld banner has been around in more or less the same form since 2004. It originally started as a single JPEG with bad compression artifacts. I touched it up mildly when we brought WinWorld back from dead in 2010, and separated it three parts, the globe, the text, and the Windows logo.
I think we are long overdue for a new, modern logo that doesn't look like Office WordArt. I have no creative talent, so I call on the WinBoards community to submit a new banner design for us. The creator will be credited in our About section (if desired) and granted VIP status on the forums if they do not already have it.
Here are some guidelines which may be useful.
Layout & Size: I think the current 3-part design overlaying the star background works pretty well though I'm open to suggestions. The current height of the header banner is 125px which I think is ideal.
Colors: Use the colors already in use across WinWorld and WinBoards as a reference. Red, yellow, orange, etc. Check the WinWorld CSS file.
Center Text: The only 'requirements' I have for the text portion of the banner would be that the WinWorld text is prominently displayed along with our long-time, still good slogan somewhere near it, possibly smaller and/or a different style. Transparency would be preferable so it's easy to overlay against any background should we change from the starfield design in the future.
Windows Flag: I'd like to get away from having the Windows logo in the top right. Something more generic, that symbolizes that WinWorld is more than just a site for Windows software but a general old computer website, preferably without using trademarked logos prominently. If it could be downsized and used as a favicon as well, even better.
Left Globe: This could be changed to just about anything really. Even a better, cleaner version with better transparency would be fine.
By all means don't consider any of these rigid rules. If you have an idea, run with it and it might turn out better than anything I could imagine.
Existing Resources:
Star Background: http://winworldpc.com/img/header_bg.png
Left: http://winworldpc.com/img/header_p1.png
Center: http://winworldpc.com/img/header_p2.png
Right: http://winworldpc.com/img/header_p3.png
I think we are long overdue for a new, modern logo that doesn't look like Office WordArt. I have no creative talent, so I call on the WinBoards community to submit a new banner design for us. The creator will be credited in our About section (if desired) and granted VIP status on the forums if they do not already have it.
Here are some guidelines which may be useful.
Layout & Size: I think the current 3-part design overlaying the star background works pretty well though I'm open to suggestions. The current height of the header banner is 125px which I think is ideal.
Colors: Use the colors already in use across WinWorld and WinBoards as a reference. Red, yellow, orange, etc. Check the WinWorld CSS file.
Center Text: The only 'requirements' I have for the text portion of the banner would be that the WinWorld text is prominently displayed along with our long-time, still good slogan somewhere near it, possibly smaller and/or a different style. Transparency would be preferable so it's easy to overlay against any background should we change from the starfield design in the future.
Windows Flag: I'd like to get away from having the Windows logo in the top right. Something more generic, that symbolizes that WinWorld is more than just a site for Windows software but a general old computer website, preferably without using trademarked logos prominently. If it could be downsized and used as a favicon as well, even better.
Left Globe: This could be changed to just about anything really. Even a better, cleaner version with better transparency would be fine.
By all means don't consider any of these rigid rules. If you have an idea, run with it and it might turn out better than anything I could imagine.
Existing Resources:
Star Background: http://winworldpc.com/img/header_bg.png
Left: http://winworldpc.com/img/header_p1.png
Center: http://winworldpc.com/img/header_p2.png
Right: http://winworldpc.com/img/header_p3.png
Comments
You could be onto something...
Other logo for reference:
I like that website design Stitch. It looks nice along with that logo. Are you going to add a hover property to those tabs? ( Home, library, etc..)
Thanks. The navbar glows the text by Bootstrap default and while i'm not sure how exactly I'm going to adjust the hover it's certainly possible.
I couldn't find a globe, so I added something better - it represents the synergy of the website, and the possibility of new paradigms with old solutions.
What it could look like in place ...
Just bouncing some ideas around.
In action ...
Maybe if you flipped it around so it looked more like a satellite dish or something along those lines, then used small logos/icons somehow integrated with it as a part of it...I don't know, I have no art or design skills of any kind, just throwing ideas out there.
Here it is flipped around. I just have to figure out what kind of icons to use and how to integrate it/them without the end result looking cluttered.
Hmm, maybe something like this? Of course it's just a rough draft - it needs refinement. It looks like a lightsaber.
I lack the artistic skills though to provide a decent example though, anyone want to have a go or know where's some public domain images?
There's 30 different collections of free icons, some vector so they are easily resized.
I'm far from an expert myself. I build WordPress themes but I don't normally do the graphics stuff. But this is great practice not to mention fun. Drawing a floppy isn't too hard - it's basically just a few rectangles. I whipped this up in about 5 minutes ...
I do have a few vectors laying around though. I'll see what I can do.
I'll check out those links Duff posted as well.
Just so I'm clear, is the plan to use this new graphic (or one like it even from someone else) rather than the previous one I was working on or to somehow incorporate both of them?
I like it, but it does feel like it needs something more. Can you make in a wave pattern?
Can you redo that gradient but with the Montserrat font?
http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Montserrat
I know the logo height needs to be within 125px but I assume we can be a little flexible on the length?
That is gorgeous! Love the gradient.
I gave it a go. I can add a wavy look to it when it is still flat but as soon as I start to curl the object to give it that round look the waviness disappears. I'm sure there is a way to do it but like I said, I'm far from an expert.
Any way of forming that into like a satellite?