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OO.org Selects Its Own Sea Bird
Elektroschock writes "A new mascot of the OO.org project was announced today: A crazy sea gull. I wonder whether it will help to convince office workers of Open Office. "Andrea [Maggioni]'s contribution is not only beautiful and effective but also illustrates the potential of young people to contribute importantly to real projects under the banner of Free and Open Source Software." Andrea, "whose cheerful drawing, of a fun-looking seagull holding a fish, plays on the "OOo" shorthand of OpenOffice.org"... ehemm, it's a crazy sea gull."
Migration? maybe?
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
Voting is of course closed, but if you'd like to see the other students' submissions, our voting page is still displayed. You can click on the individual images for a larger view.
Also, a minor point of clarification regarding Timothy and Elektroschock's write up -- this is not a mascot for OOo. This is a mascot for OooEdu, the new Schools Project of Open Office.org. Please, read the attached article to learn about what the OOoEdu aims to do, and how you can help. We're an active and devoted community, and there are things you can do to further OOo's acceptance in schools, even if you can't contribute a line of code!
I think I should point that that I believe this mascott is just for the OOoEdu project, not for the OpenOffice.org project as a whole.
Things you think are in the Constitution, but are not.
Please note that this is not a new general OpenOffice.org mascot, but one for "The recently established Schools Project of OpenOffice.org (OOoEdu)"
Gully says:
"It looks like you're trying to run Microsoft Office via WINE. Would you like me to poop on it for you?"
...from "Finding Nemo", where that seagull picks up our fishy hero.
Oh and there's only one 't' in 'mascot'.
"Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
1) This is just the mascot for OOOEdu, not OOo.
2) It was a childs drawing, who won a competition.
I think it's quite cute.
Jay | http://oldos.org
That fish looks just a little too happy to be held by a seagull. Doesn't it know that the seagull is going to eat him?
Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
Microsoft's products all use formless colored figures as mascots. How come we don't get to use boring mascots like they do? All we get to use are high quality creative characters. That's not fair. I think all free/open source programs should adopt boring businesslike formless colored figures, so we can appear as boring as that crowd.
Quite frankly, the gull looks slightly... challenged. Not a good image for either open office or for a subprject aimed at schools :)
-naeem
In Brazil the mascot will look like a perverted psychopath with a thing for fish.
I agree with this guy. I mean the penguin's one thing, but what is this? The people they're trying to attract over are the suits, not the geeks with a sense of humor. I like the logo and I think it's funny, but I think it's going to make it harder for the guy in IT who's trying to convince his bosses to switch to OO when the brochure he gives them has a crazy bird on it.
Then again, that damn butterfly is starting to piss me off.
Amen brother. What the hell is the deal with so much of the visual symbology for OSS being ... well ... retarded? We're trying to draw folks in here, not push them away, right?
Proceed mods, I'll let the karma burn on this one.
Is it fascism yet?
The "OK" sign is another way of referring to the female genetalia in some countries, and is considered obscene, which could be a bit of an impediment to OO use in some countries.
Maybe they should have researched this a bit more...
In the MMORPG Ultima Online, everytime someone mutters something like "OOo", it means they are dead... In fact, whatever the ghost says will get translated into strings of "OooOOOOoo" unless you have the Spirit Speak skill...
www.rexguo.com - Technologist + Designer
That's a nice price, sure. But for a girl who's prolly still in high school or maybe even elementary school?
Hate me!
Seriously.
That gull looks like it's itching to ask you:
"So.... do you wanna get high?"
Uhhh.. she's 15. I guess we know why her sister's boyfriend talked her into contributing.
How we know is more important than what we know.
This is pretty much the same reason that Microsoft did away with their upraised middle finger logo.
http://ryand.net/oss/abi/abiantgnomepencil.png
AbiWord Word Processor
(leave off the file name for more images of Abi the Ant)
I recognize people by their sigs. Is that a bad thing?
quote:
Yes, the blurb was misleading.I hate Grammar Nazi's
I know you probably don't need a reply, but if you had read, it's for the Educational project that OOo is running, and is therefore child targeted. Obviously, it isn't meant to be used in a corporate setting. Let me summarize: RTFA.
Discworld.
Now that open source is becomming more popular, this branding is inevitable. A sign of success. But I hope these efforts stay focused on their target audience.
Maybe its just me. But I'm really getting tired of open source branding efforts. Go ahead and do this stuff but have developer.*.org with none of this. I dont care about branding. I'm interested in the code, the bugs and the developer discussion.
At developer.*.org place the following one click away with no product branding:
source tars
cvs information
bug reporting
developer mail lists and archives.
Fairly simple request. Nobody will go to developer.*.org for binaries.
Consider developers a seperate 'branding' effort.
Its my impression the branding efforts how their understand users but not developers. Keep them away.
Cute bird. have fun.
Why would the mascot of the Schools Project of OOo have any effect on credibility in the business world?
Having logo designed by school children for a school project is just so silly isn't it. The competition wouldn't raise awareness in the target market or anything, would it? And schools hate competitions.
And school children love boring corporate logos.
Surely you have to be able to read to be "in advertising", but obviously not...
But aside from that, can you honestly claim the seagull is any less professional than Clippy or the stupid Windows XP puppy?
Thank you (and could someone please explain to me why the parent was moderated redundant when three different people all wrote that this isn't the mascot for all of OOo and were all modded interesting?)!
/. karma: nothing.
/. userids have been auctioned on eBay, but that doesn't prove karma has value, only that a low /. userid does. And that some people have way too much money and way too little clue.
I don't see the need for mascots at all, and they are all so cutesy I could hurl. Tux, the BSD mascot, now this seagull which is the worst all all. Maybe the reason MS still owns the desktop and we don't is that they don't have a mascot, and the repulsive clippy is easily kept out of sight (in Japan, clippy is replaced by a Dolphin, which is less annoying but just as needless).
No doubt we'll both be modded down for daring to criticize open-source maskets as the disgusting, cutesy things they are, but I not only have karma to burn, I have a well-grounded grasp of the real-world value of
OK, I know
A lesbian seagul?
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
Thanks to Google, I was able to dig up one more photo of the OO.org mascot.
image1,
I hate to be critical, it's a great drawing, but why is the fish smiling?
his ass is about to get eaten!
`which fortune`
This just in... Pixar sues OO.org for tracing a screenshot from "Finding Nemo".
...then the new company motto:
Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!
ignore the sig
I am a lecturer and tutor in Graphic Design at Monash University. Perhaps I can add some comments on why this winning entry does not communicate well: - Its complex. As a rule of thumb a logo or mascot should be legible when printed out at about 10mm square and run through a fax machine. - Its not cheerful. This bird looks dazed and confused like it has been drinking all weekend. - It devalues the OO.org brand by making it look amateurish not accessible. The quicker open source projects take a leaf out of Firefox's approach to branding and identity the better. If open-source projects are going to have any kind of influence on mainstream software usage (which OpenOffice indeed has the potential to) it really needs to get serious with the way it comes across. Please do judge books by their covers and applications by their icons and mascots. No mascot is better than a bad mascot.
*.02c
Second, know that a fish, in the united states, is a non-direct however clear reference to the same. Pussy. Vagina. The odor of both is what has made the two a match in American vernacular.
Now, look at the photo again, and you will see a hard-core, sex crazed bird with two big references to pussy. I am laughing so hard right now I can't breathe. Need... help... and a 15 year old girl created this?!?!? Arrg.... short of breath.... help... too... funny...
Given all the European snickering about Americans complaining when Janet Jackson showed a tit on TV, I would think they wouldn't care about hand gestures. :-)
Before you pick a logo, or mascot, it is wise to consult with experts. Just wait until the Germans get online in a few hours.
People laughed at MS's attempts to have things like paperclips, and you go and find something worse?
I don't think they hated the paperclip because it was too cute. It could have been a hot chick for all they care and they probably would have hated just as much.
Little Bricklets
Yes, let's go with Phoenix's attempt at brand identity. I mean Firebird. Whoops, I mean Firefox.
I'm so tired of Slashdot not better proofing it's submissions. My first thought was, are they serious? So much for being taken serious.
I don't read every single submission on Slashdot, but like to at least scan through the different headlines, etc. If CNN had this many errors, they would be a laughing stock.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrgghh!!!!
open source mascots MUST EAT FISH. Seriously. Besides the obvious Tux, demons, gimps and gnomes certainly eat fish. Blowfish eat other fish. (I didn't look that up. I'm just assuming, for the sake of my argument, that they do.) A few members of Monty Python were in a movie where Kevin Kline ate live goldfish. Platypuses (the Darwin project) eat fish.
There is nothing even remotely fish-related about the wildebeest. What does this mean for the GNU project?
* And remember, it's spelled N-e-t-s-c-a-p-e, but it's pronounced "Mozilla."
That is pretty much the most un-professional image I have ever seen. I really don't think that the path to acceptance will be eased by this sort of thing. Help us out here guys - we're trying to get you in but you gotta act right!
Humor from a Genetically Molested Mind
Please accept this ascii art as a token of my appreciation to OO.org.
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--{o} {o}-- not
*bbbbbbbb*|||- an
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\/ / \
O|| / \-/|/
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-- -- Thank you, Andrea Maggioni
The problem is, it doesn't matter if it's "just" the mascot for OOOedu -- it reflects on the entire OO.org brand. Unfortunately, it communicates "sloppy, stoned bird," rather than "whimsical kid-friendly software."
The idea of using a kid's drawing is good, but as you see, the results leave you explaining it EVERY TIME ("see.. it was drawn by a kid.. see?). What about incorporating the feedback of kids? What about working with kids to come up with various themes? or having various schools vote on a selection of professional designs?
Cute isn't going to win us (the open source software movement) any battles.
Yeah. Because a penguin is not silly at all.
Uhmm.....
As a professional graphic designer, I'd have to disagree. Moreover, I image most of my colleagues would have opinions similar to the one I am about to voice.
That seagull somewhat works as a mascot (which it is) but not a logo.
Logos need to be simple color pallet . Moreover, logo's need to be scalable and preferably vector based. They should be recognizable at 3/4 squared as well as 4 feet squared. These factors allow one to easily apply a logo to a building, sign, letterhead, etc. Giant complicated bitmap logos are only going to give you problems.
Moreover, simple logos are easier and faster for a human brain to retain. (psychology and sociology are fairly important subjects for graphic designers to understand) People are more likely to gain sense of familiarity and comfortability with a simple logo.
But... anywho... I could go on and on.
Suffice to say, I'm not a big fan of the seagull in it's current state. Mascots can get by with silly complicated forms since they are (usually) not logos. However simplifying their characterization usually increases there ability to gain acceptance.
The seagull is a good start, but it could be cleaned up a bit.
just my 2cents
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
So it's been brought up that the OK gesture is offensive in Europe, but has anyone noticed that this girl is FROM Europe? Italy, in particular: "A short interview with Andrea follows, translated from the Italian . . . ."
"You know, when you are 15/16 years old you have several things on your mind other than work... ;-)"
Apparently that's very true.
I guess it's time to go back to proprietary software because the Free Software group has obviously lost their drive for just general fun. Sure that mascot looks a little crazy but for crying out loud this is "free" software. You want world domination go clone Napoleon or something.
Damn people have some fun will you.
Sure information wants to be free, but how much are you willing to pay for the packaging?
Andrea is a boy, he has 16 years old.
In Italy Andrea is a boy name.
Didn't you know that there's a certain substance in meat that stimulates the production of a neurotransmitter known as "Sanitonin". Without sanitonin, you generally start to lose your mind. This is particularly a problem in eastern nations that don't eat a lot of meat and are therefore particularly open to exploit by crazy political systems.
I've heard that asparagus actually contains a neurotoxin that completely defeats the effect of sanitonin. It's called insanitonin.
I don't eat asparagus.
Like what I said? You might like my music
Who's the target here? If kids are making the decision to roll out OO in schools, then by all means go with the demented bird, but if you're trying to sway Principals or MS-happy IT staff, then you might want to choose something that suggests professionalism, reliability, and easy for kids to use.
The retarded bird says unprofessional, flaky, and unattractive.
The competition was surely a great idea to get awareness up amongst kids, but I wouldn't run around with that bird as a letterhead to managers of schools and boards representing schools.
'Thats they exact same thing a banana wrench monkey.'
Speaking of which, the fish that seagull is holding looks a bit too happy for the situation he's in...
It's a shame - the "OK" gesture the bird is making is not universal in its meaning. In Brazil, Germany and Russia it indicates a certain private orifice and is an insult. In France, it is also an insult. It denotes the number zero or the concept of something being worthless.
I believe in Japan it means something like "I want my change in coins" which, although not particularly insulting, is pretty irrelevant.
Perhaps a "thumbs-up" gesture ought to be GIMPed over the top, at least as part of an i18n package for the countries affected.
"'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
- JRR Tolkien.
Okay, so I realize that this contest was for kids...but not only is the selection ridiculous looking, it's bordering on socially irresponsible:
1) FIRST OF ALL, the seagull looks like it's on drugs (and loving it might i add) with his "Drugs are A OK" hand signal
2) SECONDLY, he's holding a fish that everyone who saw it knows is gonna be devoured by this bird with a bad case of the munchies, and the fish's smile is disturbing (side note: if the fish looked more like Bill Gates, then you might be getting somewhere)
3) THIRDLY, the gull and the fish look a hell of a lot like that little Disney movie, and the Disney Law trolls might come after you. And even if they didn't, with plagiarism running rampant in our school systems, promoting such a blatant rip-off is negligent at best.
Okay, so let's recap...this mascot is endorsing drug usage, plagiarism...and savage consumption of your smiling prey...yep, sounds like an education program to me...OOooo...perfect.
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The seagull mascot sucks. I know it's for educational use, but it still sucks. Too complex, too flippant, and just plain unprofessional. This is the same general problem with a lot of free software; image. It's not just the logo or mascot either, it's even the names. Case in point, "Windows Internet Explorer" with a clean 3D looking 'e' as it's logo. Compare to "Mozilla" with it's stupid dinosaur logo. Now, any idiot can guess what IE is and what it does simply by the name, and the logo is simple and translates cleanly even in black and white. Can the same be said for Mozilla? NO!! Same goes for The Gimp and host of other really great software. And don't even get me started on the KDE "Kandalf" help screen thing.
This is the same problem with a whole bunch of free Linux based software; compared to their Windows counterparts, their names, logos, and general lack of polish make them look like something cooked up by a bunch of social misfits, hell-bent on being obtuse and cryptic just for the sake of being 133t.
"And now, Frank N. Furter, your time has come. Say 'goodbye' to all of this, and 'hello'... to oblivion!"
I did. There's no reason NOT to expect quality for an educational sub-project. Just because it's for kids doesn't mean it has to look like crap. They are going to want to use it for a lot of things related to promotion of the sub-project. For all intensive purposes, YES, it is a logo. They want to identify their sub-project with it. Sounds like a logo to me. If MS were doing something similar for kids or education, it'd beat the snot out of this, hate to say it.
Sorry, MS and Apple have the bar up HERE for marketing.
A lot of open source stuff is down here. And they'll continue to be down here if the "aww jeez, it's good enough" crowd continues to chant their battle cry.
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