Bitcoin Unlimited - Visual Identity

[Aquent]

@Zangelbert Bingledack do you mean on the other pages or on the index page? I haven't updated the size on the other pages as thought to get feedback on which one every prefers first.

To me they both look fine but I do sort of lean towards @Graphic 's version.

 

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

@Aquent The logo seems to be compressed horizontally on all the pages. Or if you mean the typo in "Strength in Numbers" it's just on the index page.
[doublepost=1450974676][/doublepost]Same compression when viewed on my phone. Also, the header section wraps around on my phone and when I reduce the screensize on PC.

 

[Aquent]

Thanks @Zangelbert Bingledack

Just updated the logo on home page and typo. Let me know what you think. I take it we going with @graphic 's logo then?

 

[theZerg]

Wow. I guess my new career in front end web design has come to an abrupt end

What is the technology driving this?

 

[Aquent]

Haha, thanks for the complements. It's just html, css and some javascript. I quickly modified an open source template (so a lot of stuff that can be tided up on the coding end) because I wanted to get something ok-ish out there as soon as possible with ubitcoin now getting attention.

So I guess I should just pull request this @theZerg ? You'll need to change the article and software links and add the javascript for the fingerprint on the download page. Otherwise it seems ready to go?

I'm in UK, so evening time here - won't be able to do much on it now but it seems fine to me as a first version. Other changes are prob just tiny cosmetic stuff. Except for typos. If you see any more typos let me know

 

[Peter R]

Instead of the single cover image (the orange network of nodes), can we make it possible to have a few different cover images that scroll through? The idea would be that if we're working on a new project and there was some cool artwork to go along with it, that this image could be shown along with a few words. We'd update the images whenever someone came up with something interesting to look at.

 

[Aquent]

@Peter R Yes. The underlying code is for a slideshow. It is meant to do exactly what you suggest, but I wanted to get something up as quickly as possible especially as it is being mentioned in many places right now.

Once we have a decent skeleton in place there are tons of things we can do to improve it. Such as adding more images to the slideshow, maybe getting a news section there, adding supporters in prominent places, maybe a blog, maybe a hackernews like section for a community upvoting/downvoting outside of reddit space, etc.

 

[theZerg]

@Aquent Do you know that the current web site code is at: https://github.com/gandrewstone/BitcoinUnlimitedWeb?

It might be easier to lift the content from there.

 

[Aquent]

@theZerg yup, I forked it from there, created a branch and added a pull request to your repository. As some links need to be updated though perhaps you want to modify them first...

you can find them here https://github.com/Aquentus/BitcoinUnlimitedWeb/tree/gh-pages

 

[rezzme]

I've put this up:

http://aquentus.github.io/testing/index.html

I'm wondering what you guys think of it?

It needs some tiny tidy ups but otherwise it's ready to go I think

@Peter R - I like use of Satoshi quotes, although having his name redundantly seems like a desperate appeal to authority. I'd rather: we find the most representative quote from Satoshi to convey the objective of uBitcoin, relative to his original vision, or take these quotes and consolidate them into a single block so his name is only there once.

@Aquent - I love it! I think your structure + @Graphics visual work would be sublime together.

FWIW: I am late to the party on this forum, I haven't frequented it much. But I have been courting a close friend of mine who is a professional designer. She only knows bitcoin through me, and might give us an opportunity to have truly objectively designed alternatives from someone who has no idea what "Core" or "XT" are and is not a stakeholder.

 

[AdrianX]

The Bitcoin symbol that @Graphics made with the highlight and the saturated orange works for me. The saturated orange is a makes the original one look old and faded.

As for the logo type I still prefer the original usage of the bitcoin fonts.

@Aquent as for the website I honestly feel we need to use bitcoin.org as the template.

We are building on the existing bitcoin code, this is not a new brand it's the same bitcoin just with bugs removed the brand assets should reflect this!

 

[rezzme]

Further to @AdrianX point, I do think for the time being, it makes more sense to treat identity as a fork the same as you do the code. Same network, new implementation; do not necessarily go for a look that reflects "new network."

@AdrianX - what specific elements do you believe ought to be sourced as "template?" Do you mainly mean the structure? Because the content is clearly going to be different, and the logo invariably needs to be different yet similar enough to signal a different identity upon the same protocol.

As someone who hasn't opened a qt wallet in years, I think the actual node/wallet implementation would be the place to grow/change visually moreso than the the website. They are two fundamentally different audiences for the same product, uBitcoin.

 

[AdrianX]

By using bitcoin.org as a template I mean change the menu names to the ones we have, use the same page layout icons and fonts.

Just change the logo to a new one same proportions as the existing one.

I think the target market is not new users but those who feel a little discomfort with the state of Core.

I'd leave the video on the home page. It's a good anchor to the idea that this is bitcoin proper.

I'd maybe say: Bitcoin Unlimited is the backbone for the Bitcoin Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.

or

Bitcoin Unlimited is the software that runs the Bitcoin Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System

Or

Bitcoin Unlimited is the backbone for the Bitcoin Peer-to-Peer network.

In place of :"Bitcoin is an innovative payment network and a new kind of money."

(Funny how the Blockstream Core developers don't respect the payment network vision either)

 

[Aquent]

Merrryyyyyy Christmass

I spent some time today before eating too much and drinking far too much to fix all the links and everything.

All should work now so I would be grateful if you guys can check for any broken links or any remaining typos etc

http://aquentus.github.io/BitcoinUnlimitedWeb/bitcoinUnlimited/index.html

The github source is here if anyone wants to fork and fix anything: https://github.com/Aquentus/BitcoinUnlimitedWeb

The only outstanding issue is the link to download the software. I am not sure where @theZerg is hosting them as I can not find them on the download section of the bitcoinunlimited github page. I have linked to where I have discerned the binaries should be though i.e.:

<p>64-bit: Version: 0.11.2, Dec 22, 2015: <a href="public/downloads/bitcoinUnlimited-0.11.2-win64-setup.exe"> bitcoinUnlimited-0.11.2-win64-setup.exe</a> <a href="public/downloads/bitcoinUnlimited-0.11.2-win64.zip"> (zip)</a></p>

So if anyone can find them I'd be grateful if you could let me know and I'll update those final links.

Btw @theZerg, since I am sure you are quite busy with a lot of things I was wondering if I could have commit access to the github page for the website to add new graphics, improvements, etc. ?

@AdrianX if we use the bitcoin.org template with minimal changes the orcs will invariably complain. Although they would have no right to do so as open source, they have previously complained when someone "copied" it and started making disparaging remarks of it being just a copy with no new content profiting from their work and being no different so what's the point of it etc.

Plus I think bitcoin.org is more for new users while bitcoinunlimited is about answering the question of what we want bitcoin to be, a transaction system or a settlement system, with a more advanced target market hence all the scholarly articles to educate them about more nuts and bolts than bitcoin.org aims.

 

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

@Aquent

Still getting the smooshing effect on the logo. Also, looks like an extra line of white space snuck in before "Satoshi Nakamoto" in his third quote.

I'm on the fence about whether to mimic bitcoin.org. I think hardened debaters get it in any case. New users are new so it may not matter; as with the strategy for growing /r/btc, it seems intuitive that we should focus on simply looking and being better rather than trying to ape, else we reinforce the notion that Core=original/reference (literally "reference" in this case if we imitate the website).

Plus the weusecoins video is a pet peeve of mine. So many misunderstandings I've had to clear up because of that vid: ledger not "coins you can send thru the net," investment now merchant adoption later not now, etc. Vastly prefer the XAPO History of Money vid or some other. Especially if we want to have Nakamoto Institute-like intellectual leadership including an essay section.

 

[Peter R]

Some thoughts:

1. I don't think the site needs to mimic bitcoin.org, and in fact I prefer that it doesn't. I'd like Bitcoin Unlimited to appear fresh and exciting. A return to the original vision for Bitcoin.

2. Now that someone mentioned it, I do find it odd to have Satoshi Nakamoto's name three times side by side (I like all the quotes, however). Not sure what to suggest...

3. Under "Our latest work" it appears that everything is listed twice.
3.b. Also, could the link to my fee market paper open up the PDF version instead? Until we get the equations looking proper in the HTML version, I'd rather hide it. The link is: http://www.bitcoinunlimited.info/downloads/feemarket.pdf

4. I'm not sure I like how the navigation menu folds when you reduce the window with. This happens at even moderate window widths:

Also, it appears as though the aspect ratio of the Bitcoin Unlimited logo is altered (i.e., the circle is an ellipse!).

To kill two birds with one stone, I suggest we use Adrian's idea of writing "unlimited" in small underneath the word "bitcoin," but keep @Graphics saturated orange coin. This will reduce the width of the logo and help with the navigation menu problem too.

5. Before this goes live, it seems weird to have the same picture float in as used for the background. Also, the background picture is too zoomed in. I think this needs to be refined.

6. Rather than "strength in numbers" how about something more inline with our goals: "A payment network for planet Earth" or something like that.

7. Social media icons: do these even work? I would prefer to omit them entirely unless someone is actually going to keep them up-to-date.

 

[AdrianX]

if we use the bitcoin.org template with minimal changes the orcs will invariably complain.

We're building on the shoulders of others. The Bitcoin brand is an important part of bitcoin. Ignoring it IMO does more harm than good. The brand should be treated the same way we treat the code.

After all it's all just code. No need to rewrite it to be something different for difference sake this is not a alt identity, it's the real thing.

 

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

Some considerations from Thomas Zander, though with regard to code, making the point that just building off Core is a losing game. (Hmm...what about a "btcd Unlimited"? @davecgh) If true, it may apply to the whole identity of BU.

 

[Graphics]

Bitcoin U/vertical & website folder below


https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B2B56ulU1D8Yenh5Tmw5eTZhUmM&usp=sharing

 

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

@Graphics I don't know how you folks do this stuff. Really nice work.

Found my new desktop background.