Project logo, favicon, etc.

[Fantailed]

@mikonse has tasked me with designing a logo for this project.
I will use this issue to post any design iterations ✍️ that come up in the process.
That will include all ideas and sketches, as well as variations on those, so do be prepared for some spam.

Feel free to vote on them with 👍/👎, leave comments and if you have any ideas of your own, share them here as well!

Also, if there are any specifications that I should be aware of, please list them.
Some relevant factors include:

• Real-life display size (can be implied through specifying formats)
• Pixel resolution (it will be vector art but very low-res displays like favicon may need pixel art; can be implied through formats)
• Aspect ratios (can be implied by other factors)
• Display formats (e.g. "app icon", "favicon", "loading screen icon", "engraving in merch"), list all that apply
• File formats (svg, png, etc.)
• Do you want the project files as well? Any preferred formats (e.g. adobe PSD/AI)? I personally use Affinity products for the final icon.
• Do you need a 1-bit version (e.g. github icon on the top left)?
• Is there a color scheme?
• If you already have any graphics, what is the style/is there a style guide (e.g. does it have to fit with other SFTtech products)?
• Any other personal preferences or wishes

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Disclaimer: I am not a professional designer and am doing this in my own time. This means I may be slow to respond and may not be able to iterate through all ideas that come up.

[Fantailed]

This is the first sketch following the idea @mikonse gave me.
My personal feedback is that it

1. is too convoluted. It will not fit smaller formats or at least won't look good in them.
2. It does not convey the cost splitting aspect of this application. Instead, I get a "get rich when shopping with this app" vibe.

[Fantailed]

Here are some iterations on a cost-splitting idea using an arrow splitting-icon and some representations of money.
Do you like the tree-like look?

[Fantailed]

Versions where sharing is incorporated by multiple people and money.
The first is much more intimate and gives off more of a friend-group vibe while the latter is better for larger networks of people who do not know each other as well. It has the benefit that it also looks a lot like the social media share button.

[Fantailed]

Or maybe you want something more esotheric and less literal?

[TheJJ]

Great that you're working on this task :)

The only other proper logo we ever created was for openage: https://github.com/SFTtech/openage/tree/master/assets/logo

The process there was pretty much that we gathered many (hand)sketches and ideas and kept iterating until a good one seemed to show up - then drawn in inkscape, refined, and it was done.

Since we're free software hipsters, we'd prefer open formats, but please choose whatever you think works best for you (as long in the end we have some svg:)

I also drew some sketches a while ago (don't have them here) but the ideas were:

• smiling banknote with wings
• tiny shopping cart with goods and a banknote as "blanket"
• top-down view of 3 (abstract) people holding hands standing around a shopping basket
• 3 people looking up to a floating shopping basket
• 3 people holding a banknote together
• 5 coins around a banana
• ...

[mikonse]

Here are some iterations on a cost-splitting idea using an arrow splitting-icon and some representations of money. Do you like the tree-like look?

I think my favourite so far (and that of some other people) is the arrow splitting-icon with the money bag. That would also be simple enough to fit as a favicon.
Only requirement: Euro sign instead of a dollar ;)

[Fantailed]

I really liked the idea of the top-down view of abstract people holding hands around something and did some iterations on it:

I personally prefer the ones to the right, the other ones may be a bit bloated.

[Fantailed]

Here's some iterations on the "people holding up <money/shopping stuff>" theme:

@mikonse I didn't see your response until now (forgot to reload page; doesn't github auto show new stuff like gitlab does?).
Anyway, I'll do some cleaner drawups and versions of the split money bag idea then :)

[TheJJ]

I really like the bottom right one with the 3 people below the euro-circle! Maybe if we can somehow morph the floating circle also into a shopping bag? :)

[mic-e]

Let's not make it too complicated :D ideally it should remain somewhat recognizable in a 16x16 favicon.

[TheJJ]

favicons can be svg today, and it's more important to habe a good-looking project logo in general that ideally is still somewhat recognizable as the small favicon. i think the priority should be a good and memorizable project identity logo, so all these are not too complicated.

[Fantailed]

The money bag is somewhat difficult because the Euro sign gets hard to read, but it can be somewhat worked around.

Before I read your latest comment I also let my ideas wander a bit on the last version I posted. It took quite an interesting direction IMO.

[heinezen]

I really liked the idea of the top-down view of abstract people holding hands around something and did some iterations on it:

I personally prefer the ones to the right, the other ones may be a bit bloated.

These are pretty cool stylistically, especially the bottom left and bottom middle ones.

[TheJJ]

we added some svgs in 1acf946 in /frontend/assets