It came to me over breakfast, so this is just a quick sketch
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Not sure it how well it scales (to an website icon etc)… looks neat tho 
Hey folks, sorry to poke a sleeping dog. I find the current logo quite offensive (I am sure it was utterly unintentional) it’s very right wing. I think we could probably go for an entirely new logo (doesn’t even need an H) that is a better banner to march under… for want of a less nazi ideal.
Maybe something not rotated at 45 degrees and in a circle in primary colours and especially not with crossed hammers on it.
I mean, even a roll of duct tape would be a better more healing logo?
I welcome more thoughts on this and schooling in why I am wrong.
Dominic
I agree with the point that this logo isn’t great, the conversations got bogged down hoping Matt Brown (I believe) would be able to pull something out of his hat for us.
Although personally I feel the hammers are an improvement on the original Hackspace logo used since the early days by spaces like London Hackspace and Nottingham. These logos are all a derivative of each other.
Looking back now it would be good to have had a way of spaces using the mark without just resorting to different colours.
The major issue with the mark is that it is meaningless to anyone outside those who already know what it is, and that it’s use of a reversed out circle as the outline mean the shape is not very distinct.
All this being said logo design, especially icons are a specialist area, I really hope we don’t go back to the everyone design their own suggestions of what they think is nice and maybe we think about appointing a proper designer with some of the money recently donated?
Happy to help with suggestions for some designers if needs be.
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I’ve been having a think and I can see my horror at the logo is not the right approach. So here rather than horror I’d like to present some thinking.
I believe that the UKHF should have few clear objectives of which two are very clear to me.
The first is facilitating things for the membership, member spaces and helping hackerspaces and makerspaces in the UK collaborate and reach a high standard in terms of functionality, diversity and best practice etc an inward looking role.
The second and very important is that it should also be the outward face of the movement, should look to be a shining, professional beacon of an organisation, agile and well placed to represent the movement at the highest levels, including governmental and stand shoulder to shoulder with serious organisations, media outlets, governmental departments, large charities, local governments and so on.
To that end I call for us to go out and seek a designer from outside of the organisation to create a brand that in years to come we would be proud to have.
I really like how spaces can make their own branding, I feel the foundation itself, should have a slightly more polished look.
Thanks
Dominic
We’re going to ask Matt if he’s happy to do some more work for us. I’m also open to suggestions of designers we can approach - we will (and should) pay.
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Have you heard back from him?
Hello!
Yes, he’s keen to do it, but was extremely busy for the last few months. I’ll set up a meeting with him to discuss it.
If anyone is interested we could make it a group call?
Jonty
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Hello @jonty, I’m interested. It sounds like another thing to take up your time, feel free to delegate.
Would definately be interested in talking to him with you.
It’s March 2020 and I still dislike our branding, is this a do-ocracy thing? If yes then I’ll just get on and have it changed…appreciate nothing is allowed to change in an even numbered year and all.
edit 1: to take out duplicate word… edit 2: to write that I’d edited
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Seems like it should be to me - at least I’d say no harm in contacting some designers (including the ones already mentioned) and getting ideas / costs etc
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This was waiting on @jonty as per New Hackspace Foundation Branding - which received no response from people to be involved (aside from @unknowndomain) , so presumably the meeting didn’t happen. @jonty didn’t want to offend the current designer, however I think it’s offensive that we’ve been kept waiting if we can move on, so please do.
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Well, I’ll consider some ways forward.
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Yeah, let’s get this logo changed.
If we’re going to do that we need to think about what we want it to communicate?
Right now when you look at it the things you notice in this order:
- H letter - what does that mean?
- Why is it at a 45º angle?
- Green shapes (maybe you read it as a claw hammer head)
- Is it green as in ecofriendly?
- Are the hammers a communist thing?
Overall right now it doesn’t tell you much perhaps:
- that it’s an organisation who’s first letter is H
- that it’s ecofriendly
- you might stretch to DIY, making, or repair through the hammer symbol
But I think it leave an unclear message and theres not a better version of this which reads the full name, the closest is on the home page with the text set in a plain sans-serif typeface:
If you compare that to the logo we designed for South London Makerspace that others borrowed subsequently:
The problem with this logo is similar to the HSF logo it’s contianed in a bounding shape, in the HSF case it’s a circle, in the SLMS case a box which reduces the distinctiveness of the shape, although it does improve the liklihood of it reading on all backgrounds as it creates its own background colour.
The other issue with the full SLMS is the words south london are too thin for reproduction at small sizes.
The icon only version of the logo kind of reinforces the point about the HSF icon we have now, in that the design of the M suggests tools which could more readily lead you to the idea of making and makers.
Being a single colour logo like the original HSF logo used originally by London Hackspace and Nottingham Hackspace (Nottinghack)…
It allows multiple colour ways, at SLMS this was used to indicate Directors (black) and Systems (Blue)…
All this is to say we need to figure out what we want to ask for…
Sounds like you’re asking what the Hackspace Foundation should stand for? Which is its founding principles and representing that in a logo? That’s usually the philosophies behind designing these things.
Unity and support wouldn’t be a bad starting point. South London Makerspace is a great logo, you’ve got the representation of making and measuring in there which implies creation, people are going to make that association.
I think thats what I mean, but maybe more abstractly not what does HSF stand for but what do we want them to think of when they see the mark.
I started making a H but got distracted because I was trying to think of a range of making activities and tools that had identifiable shapes.
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My attention was drawn to the cog/thread of the adjustable wrench/spanner, that’s usually a symbol of inter-working or working together.
If we decide at least that the ‘shortened’ version should have the letters ‘HSF’ and any long version should say ‘Hackspace Foundation’ then that starts to add constraints on what it needs to look like, too which may help.
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