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Nsio — How Nsio would fix the new deviantART logo
#deviant #deviantart #fixing #logo #update #art
Published: 2014-12-05 18:42:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 67975; Favourites: 1108; Downloads: 444
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Description
I know nothing can stay unchanged to the eternity, but it doesn't mean that we should just accept everything that's brought in front of us. DeviantART is quite a spectacular example of this, but rather than bashing their actions, I wanted to explain myself why I don't like the new dA logo. I'm already in terms with it, but I'm still uneasy with it. Here is my analyze why the logo doesn't work and also an example how it could be fixed. Feel free to call me just typical whiner, but before doing so I kindly ask you to read my arguments
Similar alterations:
Analysis of the situation etc.
To close, what happens now?Art By yuumei
The logo has been brought up to the staff & also the fact that it's similar to Platzkart will most likely be addressed. It obviously wasn't stolen, but still. If they wanted to try & sue us, lets be real. Lol, it wouldn't be good. We brought it to their attention. & they know about it. Whatever happens from here on? Well it's up to the staff to figure it out.
The balance between staff & the members of this site, has been restored. (or at least more close to being equal)
Overall? I think it all went well.
I'll be honest.
Some of the staff like Ikue, (not a bad dude) even saw this as "rebelling". But I disagree. We're not supposed to just sit here & just agree with every single decision that's made. Like Drones. But, you SHOULD speak up.
Most of the people in this community here were afraid to speak on what they feel & know to be truth.
(If I had premium, I could have linked thumbnails, but these will do for now)
"New DeviantART logo - Why it doesn't work and how to fix it" by Nsio
I’m sure people have already noticed the new dA logo. At first I had no idea what I was seeing. Then I figured “of course, it’s an A letter”. Shortly after I also realized there was an upside down A as well. “This one must form some sort of pattern” I thought. I wasn’t very happy about the design though so I went and read the “Our Story” section.
The logo was indeed designed for tesselation. Okay fine, so we have an “A” letter, standing for Art. It’s also upside down. “Challenges perceptions and perspectives”, “by literally turning the art world upside down”. Okay, I can deal with that. But still, I’m not convinced. Something is missing with the new logo. “We love it because, like DA, people might not get it right away”. I find it weird that dA actually wants to make us confused. If you ask me, art should offer the sensation of realization, not confusion. Or if there is initially confusion, it should still offer some way to turn the confusion “upside down” into sensation of realization. Even though I got the message, I’m still confused. I don’t like the new logo but why?
I understood the reason right the moment I saw the youtube video about the story behind the logo. At one point, there was a logo where it says “dA”. The moment the logo is separated, the problem occurs. DeviantART becomes just ART. It’s not the DeviantART we know anymore. It’s just ART with cool tesselation effect.
I thought I would let it go, since I now know that the logo can be thought as if it reads “dA”. But it was still bugging me. Although I can force myself to think it like “dA”, I still see only “A”. I pondered this for a while and then I realized the issue: amodal completion.
Although we are intelligent beings, our brains are rather simple when it comes to visual perception. Our brains have an ability called “amodal completion”, which allows us to “see” the form of partially hidden objects. That’s why we can tell a person peeking behind the corner is a human, even though we see only half of the face. Our brains can construct human figure fairly well even if it’s partially covered, but with everything else, brains just lack the imagination.
If important details of an object is hidden, our brains can’t construct such complex or abstract things. Instead, the brains just rely on the visual cues to parse the image. A lot of data is lost and the image is greatly simplified. I drew few examples about the phenomenon on the left. For example, if there are arcing details, but no visual cues are offered about it, arcs are discarded in favor of continuity of the lines.
This happens even if you knew there were such details. Instead of seeing one complex object, you see only two lines. On second row I show the arcs. However, our brains are more likely to treat the partially hidden object as two separate objects. This behaviour is exaggerated because of the symmetry, since humans are naturally attracted to symmetry.
So basically this is what happens with the dA logo. Even if we know the logo can be thought to be partially covered “dA” logo, our brains fails to comprehend this because the “d” is discarded in favor of “A”. There are not enough visual cues to support this way of thought process, which leaves us just confused and unsure about the logo. It’s cool, but it doesn’t have any bonding with DeviantART.
However, I find that the new logo could still work, if there just were such visual cues present. In fact, the actual logo could be kept intact by just adding shadow images of the d and A. I made a quick test if this could work and I found that it looks pretty cool now. By using dark green for the shadow image, the visual cues are strong enough to make the dA logo visible while still allowing the real logo to stand out clearly. All the benefits of the new logo are retained, no confusion taking place and the bonding with DeviantART has been formed.
If this change was made, I would gladly accept the new logo. Right now the logo doesn’t feel justified. I’m not saying that my proposal is perfect, but it’s one way to fix the issue. Even if there is huge difference in artistic capabilities between dA members, our physiology is the same. We are humans and we function in a way that’s typical to humans, no matter how much we try control ourselves. I believe that even if people don’t agree with the proposed fixing, they at least acknowledge the need of fixing in one way or another.
Nsio
Related content
Comments: 404
I like your alteration where the "D" arm curves downward much better. When I first clicked the DA website I thought the url/domain was highjacked...
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I had the same problems with only reading it as "A", but this blew me out of the park. I love when things like this go so in-depth and I learn something new- so thank you for sharing.
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They basically stole this from another site. :/
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The new logo looks ripped off from Need for Speed: Most Wanted
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This is a mayor improvement. I can't see why they didn't go the extra 5 mins to ad some sort of effect to it.
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If they must change the logo, better that they add the touches you outlined so the D and A are more recognizable (the one in grey print). Otherwise, nobody will know what in blazes it represents.
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When I first saw the logo I thought it was a 'z' with a / through it. It took me a few minutes after reading to finally understand it was a modified version of the original logo. Overall I'm not impressed with it.
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I like your new suggestion. 
I personally like the earlier logo concept presented in the video, just before the dramatic slicing of the sides. 
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Well, I thought the new logo was a representation of the deviant Art, the art that's upside down, takes other directions, who does not follow the norm. So I thought the representation of the letter D wasn't necessary since the deviance is showed by the movements of the A(rt)
... And I still think that, am I wrong?
Nevertheless, your proposition could work if we had to represent that letter D
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No, you're not wrong. If you are content with how things are, then fine
Thanks
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Aw I see now, I don't understand why DA reacts like that with the community
Thank you for your reply
And you're welcome ^^
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Not enough information. Bingo. Nail, head 100% interface. They cut too much out.
Whittling away at the old logo is well and good, *as long as* enough is left to identify what the entity it is supposed to identify *is.*
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I agree, with Nsio's insights and MrEldfuel 's comments. I hope the staff does not think of us as opposed to change. Rather understand our initial thoughts and feelings to why this change may need more fine tuning for a more ideal environment.
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I first, I understood the logo. Then I visited www.movingbrands.com/work/devi… combined with your analysis. Now I can only see the A! Damn the power of subliminal suggestion!
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I agree with this completely. I had the issue of only seeing 'art' and not deviantArt. This solves that...
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Yea I like this better, it's makes sense and let's us know that this is the same site.
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I agree completely. The fact that the 'D' is missing is what first struck me when I saw the new logo
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I wholeheartedly agree with you on this, just one minor modification would change the new logo from unnerving and foreign, to vaguely familiar without being alienating.
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Sometimes one just needs to accept the fact that no matter how cool something is, it's worth nothing if it doesn't fit into the context. Just like well drawn detail that doesn't contribute to the rest of the drawing, be it different style, misalignment in relation to some other feature or whatever, it needs to be sacrificed for the greater good. Just too much of the information is lost due to the cut off. On step backwards and everything would be fine (or at least not as bad as the situation is right now
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This one is better, and I think that's what they want to represent.
I think the new logo is OK, the only problem it brought me is: "What's that website? Why I put it on my bookmark toolbar???"
Also, the ones who are hating the new logo is overreacting too much. Pepsi had changed their logo a lot of times and I didn't see anyone complaining.
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The biggest problem is the fact that dA used another company for rebranding and made the change without consulting the community at all. And it still claims that it listens the community :/ Well I do hope that the similarities with Platzkart logo will force them to rethink actions and maybe rely on the dA community next time.
I don't see Pepsi logo having any similarities with this situation though. I had a look in its history and the logo has always been recognizable, putting aside the change from simple text logo to a circle. And Pepsi probably doesn't have such a channel like dA or such devoted community to complain about it so that we would see it. At least not in dA
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Yeah, I think we will accept this logo eventually. When CartoonNetwork and Nickelodeon changed their logo, everyone was complaining too, but you can't see anyone complaining now. Also, when dA's new navigation bar was out, a lot of people criticized it, but now they are gone.
Change a logo is really not a big deal.
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I'm still not happy with the navigation bar changes, which is why I'm using an user script which moves the profile and message tabs back to their original location. Now there is just one problem: That "Our Story" tab is on top of them xD
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For me dA is doing good enough. I'm in a community that like reddit, and they made their system worse and worse, they made a lot of unnecessary changes and used all the way to made you pay to them. The worst of all, you can't complain or say bad thing to them or your post and account may be deleted, also all the feedback would be ignored.
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hire nsio for new logos, thank you.
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Although I pointed out the issue, I'm not the right person for logo design
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hire nsio for new logo checkups* haha
you surely have the right mind for it
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I see the all seeing eye pyramid upside down and right side up
that is all i can see lol
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this idea is good, maybe even better but instead of changing the new one people should just try to get used to it, the new logo might not be very easy to understand but its overall a nicer design, the old one just wasnt all that great and i think people just want it back because they were used to it. Nobody likes change but this may be for the best.
“The public is more familiar with bad design than good design. It is, in effect, conditioned to prefer bad design, because that is what it lives with. The new becomes threatening, the old reassuring.” - Saul Bass
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I think your profile pic could be a dA logo. It looks finished, cool, and it looks like a D and an A instead of a Z or just an A.
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oh cheers haha, maybe il change it up abit and submit it
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Though it's understandable that people simply dislike the logo, I believe the root of the issue lies in deviantARTs action of presenting the logo without letting the community take part in its creation, yet claiming it to be the new identity of the community. Sadly the logo just don't tell the story of DeviantART.
However, I can live with it. I wanted to make this version to prove people that the new logo could be made to work.
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i agree with you there, and i would of thought DA would of held a competition for a logo, DA has alot of very good designers like yourself and this could of been avoided. But we have a new logo and its here to stay, i think we should just carry on loving the site. Btw i really like what you did
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Thank you. Yep, it's better for ones health to think positively even at times of crisis
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comments.deviantart.com/1/4984…
Ok...
is very shameful that the image of an artist community (deviant art) is the exact copy of a corporate image of a Russian design studio, I hope this is some kind of joke...
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So the logo closely resembles another logo on the art community, and the text thing also resembles another company. Well we've lost some of our originality.
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Sadly, originality is both scarce and rarely accepted in today's modern society. Even if something seems unique at first glance (take the movie Warm Bodies for example, as this is an account of my thought process), chances are if you look at it long enough, there will be uncanny similarities to something else (as I began to realize in the end credits and seeing the names of the characters, slowly relating it to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) . Ideas are often loosely based, if not solely based, upon the ideas of others, even including my own. No matter how "unique" I attempt to make my art, what do I do to create it? Use references. These references are often incorporated in the design of my character. Chances are very VERY good that I am not the only person that does this.
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Oh, yes - great point. There was a theory that puts focus on the idea that everything's done before, and nothing is original. To demonstrate the point: sta.sh/01jljon4jq92
Also, I think, that anyone with a multi-million dollar corporation has more sense than copying from a Russian design company.
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I kinda figured it out after staring at it four a half hour (never watched the video) probably simply because I was desperately looking for some sort of 'd' or 'D' shape in the pattern once I saw the 'A'. It still looks like a mathematics symbol every time I look at it though... focus on the centre line way too much to make anything out of the smaller lines, let alone that they form two different shapes. Everything else is perfectly symmetrical why should my brain assume the unseen parts are otherwise?
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I had no idea what the new logo was. I didn't even see it as a Z, it was just a symbol. Even the explanation of it as a repeated A didn't really look right to me. This fix works, and if dA don't adopt it, more fool them.
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The logo just looks bad overall. Jesus.
I keep reading it as Deviant Fart. LOL.
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Thanks, now i cannot unsee the F.
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I actually like it, as an individual piece. But as a logo that should represent dA, I don't. That's why I wanted to make this analysis to prove that even this logo could be made to work.
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Like your work - but the logo doesn't work for dA (or me). To quote an old adage: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
It looks less like a logo for a website related to artwork, and a heck of a lot like many logos I've seen for transport companies, utility companies and transit companies.
On the positive(!) side of things, at least Spyed and Co. got some drama going - over three intersecting lines, no less.
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I believe that the predecessor was broken, just everyone was used to it.
Consider this: the old logo damaged the image of the company because of the outdated looks; meaning, that the dA sign had composition issues when trying to use with art pieces of the new, modern design era - you cannot fit it easily in a picture. Whereas, the new logo goes in hand with the whole essence of deviantArt - it leaves an immense amount of interpretation for the individual which is essentially what art is about, and is more pleasant to look at because it's not as cramped.
The whole point of a logo is to create imagery that would quickly identify with the company in question (that identity has to be established over time, of course), so you don't have to "read" it - just look at it, and BOOM you know that it's them. With the old logo you'd've still to "read" it, in a way; so it's a common opinion that that type of design is flawed. E.g., Coca-Cola knew about this issue with their product, so they quickly stamped the red color on to their identity. So now, as soon as you see a red bottle with white text on it, you immediately think of the brand.
Even on that note, abstract logos isn't a new thing. A lot of companies have meaning that you'd only fully understand if you'd read into their history; e.g., Maersk, the white star has no actual relation to the name, nor to the logistics sector, and still is a very memorable symbol. From what I've observed, the real issue might not be the logo itself, but the rebellious nature of humans to any change - I, for one, found the old logo to be hideous (but again, that's only me).
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I find it great that dA is trying to refresh it's image, but it's unfortunate that the new logo just didn't hit its mark. As an individual art piece, I actually like it. It something one would expect to see as a tattoo or a graffiti. But sadly the connection with dA is nonexistent. I wanted to make this conceptual analysis and proposal in order to prove that this logo could be made to work and many people who have commented here do agree with that.
I also like that saying, one should never tamper with something that already works. But if changes are inevitable, the need to improve the old greatly in order to feel justified.
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