Time for a new Opera Logo/identity?

Time for a new Opera Logo/identity?

A conversation has started in the "What do you want to see in opera 8" thread about the Opera "O" logo. Go and see the posts if you want. This made me curious to what others might think. So I wanted to ask

What do you think of the Opera Logo/identity?
Is it time for a new logo/identity?
If you would change it, then how?
If you would not change it, why?

You mean like New Coke?

See also this thread, this one, this one and this one.

I see nothing wrong with the current logo, but would be interested to see any alternatives, or reasons why the red O is not considered good enough.

My friend said he won't use a browser that's named Opera.

Originally posted by iopg
My friend said he won't use a browser that's named Opera.

Whats wrong with the name "Opera"?

well for my part i will not use a browser with the pretentious name of 'firefox' or 'mozilla', and never explicite web-names like Explorer, Netscape, and other.

I find names like Opera and Safari (even if i am not a safari-mac fan) very original and efficient.

The time is NOW!!!

Definitely time for a good designer to revamp the Opera logo. There is nothing wrong with the concept of a giant red O - but the current implementation sucks.

The icon (which is emblematic of an application) is simply badly drawn - go on open it up:

[url]http://promote.opera.com/logos/Opera4.jpg

I did this some time ago and never got round to posting it, good time now (points here relate to image):

[url]http://nontroppo.org/test/Op7/Opera-logo-critique.png

1) Notice the specular reflection (shine) is really wonky and off axis - from a materials perspective this suggests the structure has been dented or smashed, and thus the two main flanks of the O cause different reflections. Opera's icon looks like it has been beaten up! Notice how the left side of the O looks "thicker" (check the edges), as if the right side has been flattened or stepped on.

2) Imperfections can be seen on the inner and outer rim of the O - notice how bits look dented (especially bottom left inner rim). These again make the O look buckled and deformed.

3) Ridiculous! The "shadow" has a highlight (3a.)!!! How can shadows reflect light:cry:? Also 3b. shows gaps in the shadow when no gaps appear in the object causing the shadow!?

4) Since at least V3.x - Opera has used a neo-classical/romantic (neo-imperialist!?) font with very exaggerated differences in the axis (high-contrast rationalist axis in typography speak). This type of font looks dated and austere. The actual logo text is in a postmodernist san-serif (Triplex Sans), and the two do not work together IMO. Dump the pompous romantic font and use something better for a logo / icon.

5) There are few things worse than following temporary trends, and so Opera gaining an aqua/candy look will not be solution. BUT what is worse than blind trend following - is following trends from years ago and getting stuck there!!! The O originally was a flat neo-classical icon, then it morphed into a monster hybrid neo-classical icon with the several years ago trendy faux-3D look. If the icon was a classic, then there may be no need to change it, however it is not even a classic but a motley farrago fake-3D once-trendy monstrosity!

SUMMARY:

It is long-overdue time to bid farewell to Opera's hodge-podge dented faux-3D. If an icon is supposed to represent an application, then Opera is a lumpy passé fake that has taken a hammering from a bunch of heavies!!!

What takes its place is another matter, but IMO we are starting from a position of nearly anything being better! The time of the visual revolution is now!

I think a hummingbird stands exactly for what Opera is proud of : lightweight, speed, maneuverability.

Originally posted by non-troppo
There is nothing wrong with the concept of a giant red O

Until you discover that all browser logos are big circles (and IE is not even shown in that image). Opera should be able to do something different.

So, it is time for the Opera triangle! - Δ

Re: The time is NOW!!!

Originally posted by non-troppo
Since at least V3.x - Opera has used a neo-classical/romantic (neo-imperialist!?) font with very exaggerated differences in the axis (high-contrast rationalist axis in typography speak). This type of font looks dated and austere.

Huh? LOL. You can't say what the font is only by analising the "O" letter. Some sans-serif modern fonts are 2-element fonts as well (I mean the differences in the axis, I don't know english terminology), for example Zapf Humanist. And no, antique fonts are not dated. They look "classical", but what's wrong with this?

The O is neoclassical/romantic by design - I said nothing about the rest of the font (it may be a post-modern hybrid - but we only ever see the O - your point about not seeing the rest of the font is irrelevant). As I said, the other text (Opera software) uses a post-modern sans-serif from Emigre.

There is nothing wrong with antique fonts (I love them!); however the exaggerated contrast of romanticism fits well in some places, and less well in others. For example Times New Roman uses neo-classical finishes (thus highish contrast); that is fine in print but on screen it cause problems with illegibility; fonts have their purpose (I'm not suggesting Opera's O is illegible however). I simply don’t think a romantic font fits in with the design of Opera’s main application icon (my acknowledged subjective position).

Now if Opera used a lovely 15th-century renaissance serif with a humanist axis, it would've be a different matter entirely...

hey, i still love Baskerville!

i still want a red 'O', whatever the style.

my preference would probably a red. flat. classic. 'O'. but i am a minimalist, so it probably needs a bit more visual oomph. not so much, however, that it should ever be trendy and quickly wearing out, as most ultrastylish and zoomy graphics are.

The basic variant of the logo is red flat classic 'O'. Personally I think the gradient is not needed at all...

[img]http://my.opera.com/community/graphics/takeaction/takeActionGirl.png

If there was to be a new logo it should definately remain a red 'O'.But it could be something like this:

opera.png

Jakub: I also think the flat O is better.

prodea: (Lar's design IIRC) is also better, though the glassy look is now getting a bit overused.

Anyay, I have designed, with much painstaking labour and keen hand-eye coordination an application logo much better than the current monstrosity - I am willing to licence it for a reasonable fee (don't rush me all at once):

superopera.png

Yes, I know Effovex, you are speechless. My art often does that to people...

Originally posted by non-troppo
Anyay, I have designed, with much painstaking labour and keen hand-eye coordination an application logo much better than the current monstrosity - I am willing to licence it for a reasonable fee (don't rush me all at once):

LOL. Very much.

You're quite the artiste, non-troppo.

Thumbs up for non-troppo's original logo .Picasso would be proud

Originally posted by non-troppo
Yes, I know Effovex, you are speechless. My art often does that to people...

Non-troppo,
does your design represents the complexity of the web? Can one, whe zooming in indefinitely see the web form and unform, the information move around and eventually be one with the information?



A flat 'O' maybe, but with more than meets the eye when looked at carefully.

Re: hey, i still love Baskerville!

Originally posted by firstnight
i still want a red 'O', whatever the style.....

I agree,
but please keep it smart, speedy and simple ; just the way Opera is and hopefully stays!

Re: The time is NOW!!!

Originally posted by non-troppo
The icon (which is emblematic of an application) is simply badly drawn - go on open it up:

[url]http://promote.opera.com/logos/Opera4.jpg

That is a work of art - a thing of rare beauty!

The complaints you have are surely nitpicking. The highlights in the shadows would suggest multiple light sources - it doesn't look wrong to me. Besides, no-one sees it at that size.

I find the choice of font just right. How horrible if they had chosen a more modern font, perhaps square like Verdana.

The arcs of the highlight across the two sides of the O make it look realistic to me. A lot of 3D illustration looks too perfect - as if everything was made without slants or angles, but solid flat surfaces.

The shadow has some faults in the inner edge, but so what - again, nobody can see those when the logo is much smaller, nothing to point out I feel.

I vote for keeping the logo exactly as it is. Sorry.

I noticed an avatar a while back... cant remember the name, it had something to do with trollop?? (hey, nothing bad... ) see attached.

If you dont like the name opera, change it!! (F2 to rename) I use 'Internet Opera' to show the students the way..

some I know rename it to 'Internet Explorer' and give it the right Icon!!! - once they are in, they are hooked!!!

"hey this is working a lot better - whats that red O doing in the corner??"

and lukefab, et al - how about finding a good pic to show??

avatar.bmp

Re: Re: The time is NOW!!!

Originally posted by Chris Hester
The complaints you have are surely nitpicking.

¡¡¡Philistine!!! How you can ignore my work of genius while praising the monstrosity is sacrilege of the highest order. Hoards of PI's (members of The Pretentious Inquisition) are leaping and bounding to hunt you down and re-educate you!

The off-axis specular reflection is visible even at 16px - remember that is what makes it look like someone squashed one side of the O!

I find the choice of font just right. How horrible if they had chosen a more modern font, perhaps square like Verdana.

<pointless historical interlude>Romantic fonts ARE modern!!! The very first fonts were sans-serif (truly classical), Roman inscriptions that came later adorned the sans-serif (e.g. the famous inscriptions on Trajan's column in the Forum in Rome, though there was no miniscule). Fonts slowly became more and more ornate, leading to Black Letters - but the Renaissance brought back an appreciation of the calm lines of Roman typography. These letters have a warm humanist axis, and are the base of the classic serif fonts we have today. Some 400 years passed until we get to romantic fonts (exaggerating the contrast and using a rationalist axis), and they are usually classed as "Modern" by typographers. Sans-serifs resurfaced from millennia in cold-storage about a century later - they may look modern but that belies the complexity of typography's history.</pointless historical interlude>

So Romantic fonts are really no more "classical" than sans-serif fonts are!

The arcs of the highlight across the two sides of the O make it look realistic to me. A lot of 3D illustration looks too perfect - as if everything was made without slants or angles, but solid flat surfaces.

Adding volume is fine, but not through clear material defects...

The highlights in the shadows would suggest multiple light sources - it doesn't look wrong to me.

It breaks fundamental laws of optics (3a. in my rant-image)! It doesn't suggest multiple light sources at all[1], but impossible reflection off a shadow. How would multiple light sources cause this shine - they simply can't. The two intensity steps at the edges of the shadow does strongly suggest two light sources, and this further conflicts with the physics-defying 3a. shadow glow.

The shadow has some faults in the inner edge, but so what - again, nobody can see those when the logo is much smaller, nothing to point out I feel.

Because Opera's logo should simply not accept myriad glitches and imperfections. The shadow imperfections are visible at the smallest size available on the promotional banners page:

[url]http://promote.opera.com/logos/Opera1_t.png

It is simply badly drawn, and no amount of cheap gloss and excuses will make it better...

----
[1] The only way the shadow could have these highlights is if it was refractcted through a translucent glass-like material - this could cause a lensing effect that would look similar. The O is clearly not translucent, and so the shadow, whatever type of optics you use to justify it, is simply wrong.

I think its time for a change in the logo cause it look the same a the shopping website "Overstock". What are we over stokers or Opera users.

You know, AdreLi I was thinking the same thing when I saw the commercial on television. I almost mistakended it for an Opera ad!! I couldn't believe it. I thought how could they take the logo for Opera...guess it's not copyrighted.
BernieB

Originally posted by scipio
Until you discover that all browser logos are big circles (and IE is not even shown in that image). Opera should be able to do something different.

they ignored K-Meleon

I needed a blue O for my dock. I couldn't find one so i created this.

Originally posted by rethompson808
I needed a blue O for my dock. I couldn't find one so i created this.

Sorry i forgot to attach the image ...

opera_07.blue2.png

Originally posted by BernieB
You know, AdreLi I was thinking the same thing when I saw the commercial on television. I almost mistakended it for an Opera ad!! I couldn't believe it. I thought how could they take the logo for Opera...guess it's not copyrighted.
BernieB

It might not be trademarked, but I doubt that they put it in the public domain, which is the only way it could be "not copyrighted". Heck, there's a copyright notice at the bottom of every page...

May be they should add more letter to the logo cause that "O" is kinda boreing. Or may adding some graphics to it.

Yea that the ticket ...

Maybe someone should start the Traditional Opera Logo Preservation Society.

I will sign up.

M.

I will not care one way or the other as long as the Opera browser is good.

I mean really, if Opera ASA is staying afloat and keeps developping the software, where's the worry?

@non-troppo: Sorry, I thought the shadow you referred to was the shading round the O. If you mean the angled flat grey circle lying on the floor, I see faults there, probably down to the 3D software used. Perhaps some touching up in Photoshop was needed.

@rethompson808: nice! I like it. Just don't let non-troppo see that cropped shadow.

@Moose, who said "Maybe someone should start the Traditional Opera Logo Preservation Society."

Do you mean to preserve the existing logo rather than a whole new one, or to preserve the original flat non-3D red O?

Originally posted by Chris Hester
@Moose, who said "Maybe someone should start the Traditional Opera Logo Preservation Society."
Do you mean to preserve the existing logo rather than a whole new one, or to preserve the original flat non-3D red O?

I mean the red O as it is, and always was. I don't want it changed to a pregnant zebra, an orange orangutan, a candysome apple, or anything else for that matter.

Ìan van ðer Rubens only complains about typographical details of a particular rendition of the logo, whilst others talk about things so irregular that my appendix begins to contract before I even finish reading

M.

Originally posted by Moose
... don't want it changed to a pregnant zebra...

superlogoii.png

Please, no!!!

That is by far the most disturbing thing I have seen this week

Hey, what's wrong with a pregnant zebra's ass? Ya prudez!

That zebra ass is gay as hell ... No no no no no ... HELL No

Originally posted by non-troppo
Hey, what's wrong with a pregnant zebra's ass? Ya prudez!

I don't even find the backside of a pregnant zebra as disturbing as the fact you actually managed to find the picture and edit it in

Hey, great art needs to be made, OK?

eh... that was not that cool

Originally posted by Chris Hester
@rethompson808: nice! I like it. Just don't let non-troppo see that cropped shadow.

Hows this one without the shadow.

opera.png

OK here is mine:

[img]http://img100.exs.cx/img100/1606/opera47aq.png

aaaah!! my eyes! my eyes!!!

anyone tried a hummingbird yet??

yes, my graphic-foo is very weak....

I dont think the current logo is all to beautiful and would appreciate a change of it