[ubl-msc] Re: UBL logo

[Jon Bosak <Jon.Bosak@sun.com>]

So far I've gotten three responses to my idea for a UBL logo, all
of them private.  Perhaps people are afraid of hurting my
feelings.  They shouldn't be.

Response number one:

> Too Ford like!

Well, ellipses are a fairly common design element...  But maybe
I should try circles.

Response number two:

> looks like a european country identification decal. 

In other words, it looks like a sign of authority.  That's what
I think we want.

Response number three:

> Do it in a basic color, like blue.

Good idea!  So good, in fact, that I had to rethink this.

Color would be a critical factor in the visual effect of such a
simple symbol as I proposed.  But color doesn't work across media.
Imagine the UBL logo on a draft specification (which is probably
where we'll care about it most).  As soon as someone prints it
out, the color is gone.  This does not mean that a simple design
is out, but it does mean that it won't have the help of color in
getting across the whole set of associations.

I went back and looked at the logos of the international standards
bodies with which we want to be associated (especially ISO and the
UN) and was inspired to try a different approach in an attempt to
design something that would look good when used in conjunction
with them.  The result is appended below.  Please unzip this into
a directory, point a web browser at the file index.htm, and tell
me what you think.  You can also access this at

   http://oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/msc/200202/logo/ver020/

Bear in mind that if we're going to use a logo at all, we should
start with the draft specifications that we intend to make public
in a couple of weeks.

Please be candid in your comments and please make your comments to
the list so that I don't have to play go-between in facilitating
this discussion while I'm traveling this week.  If people have
alternatives in mind, it would be good to see examples.

Jon

pair02.zip