[Mageia-dev] Art, Logo and Branding

Thu Sep 23 15:00:22 CEST 2010

The artguide and logo guidelines are seriously incomplete and need a lot of 
+work.  Free software projects have a history of rushing into branding that 
+they will be stuck with for a very long time, from logo to colour scheme to 
+pallett.  If it's not thought through and given the consideration it needs, it 
+can turn into a millstone around the projects neck or a chaotic round of ever 
+changing looks that confuses the market.
+
+The project needs to get it's branding process it's organised.  Until then 
+everything should be fluid, even the name should be seen as a "Working Title".  
+
+So therefore:
+
+We need to identify our vision, 
+Identify the way we want the world to see us. 
+We need to identify our target market 
+and then come up with a Brand to suit that market.
+
+The brand does not have to be out there until the announcement of the first 
+release.
+The brand that is created now, will shackle the Marketing team for all time.  
+The marketing team will only hang around if the brand is good.  Hackers need 
+the tools to do their job, if the IDE they are forced to use when making code 
+is a pile of shit then they'll go elsewhere.  It's the same with marketers, 
+give them a good brand and they'll come in droves to be part of it.    
+
+Ubuntu's strength was in that initial marketing, targeted at 18 to 35 age 
+group with warm a comforting and attractive pallett (Browns Reds and Yellows) 
+and a slightly zany way of doing things (Warty Warthog and so on)  They 
+identified a market of young people of  above average intelligence who were 
+not satisfied with the cold clinical professional brand of principal market 
+leader.  
+
+This group had several advantageous facets to them.
+1) They were leaders and early adopters of new technology
+2) They were rebellious to a degree
+3) They had a very positive view of themselves
+4) They felt that they deserved to be noticed and that the world should do 
+stuff for them.
+
+So Ubuntu's branding is aimed directly at that market and very successfully.
+
+The problem that many projects suffer from is that they come up with a 
+branding that feels good to their own community, while ignoring the market.  
+And make no bones about it, much of the reason that Ubuntu gets lots of 
+developers is because of it's wide user base.  That makes it sexy, the 
+opportunity to be famous:  "I am part of that.."  
+
+Now there is a good argument to be made for going after the same market for 
+all of the above reasons.
+
+We can learn some lessons from the way Ubuntu did things.
+
+They leveraged their location, used a local language and traditions to give 
+them a name and a story:  Ubuntu = Humanity to Humans and a logo that reflects 
+and enhances that story.
+
+For me, for this project, I think it's untapped branding strength is in it's 
+Latin South American Heritage. Connectiva.  
+
+Connection, 
+Computers are about connecting with others and when the world thinks about 
+South America and connecting they think Dance, .. Tango.  If it was my project 
+in these circumstances I'd be calling it Tango-Linux. The name even 
+immediately evokes the branding colours and the pallet, Bold Blacks, Fiery 
+Reds  and silvers, the colours of passion.  Tango evokes passion, rebellion 
+but at the same time precision and teamwork.
+
+Unfortunately there is already a Tango Linux, not to mention the Tango Icon 
+project, but you get the idea.
+
+
+To conclude: my point is that there needs to be much more consideration given 
+to the branding elements at this point before we start voting on logos and the 
+like and I would like to see everything up for discussion, name included, we 
+are brand new, the world is watching, this is our unique opportunity we need 
+to stamp our mark boldly but with serious consideration of our goals.
+
+Of course the communities desire maybe just to stay as a small minor player in 
+the desktop universe, but if that's the case this is not the Mandrake I knew 
+back at 8.0 when It was on every other computer magazine cover CD, and it was 
+going after the market in a big way, not worrying about the Ubuntus and 
+Redhats but out to take down the Redmond machine.  Personally I think that 
+spirit is still there.  
+
+   
+-- 
+Graham Lauder,
+OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ
+http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html
+
+OpenOffice.org Migration and training Consultant.
+
+INGOTs Assessor Trainer
+(International Grades in Open Technologies)
+www.theingots.org
+