I'm bringing back sexy ... to (J)ruby OR Time for a new logo

Hi all:

So I talked to Charlie Nutter briefly at RubyConf and we
got to talking about how they were thinking of dropping “Ruby Duke” as
the mascot.

Sexy technologies should have a sexy mascot/symbol.
Since we’re always talking about beauty/beautiful code with Ruby, how
about a beautiful mascot?

I was discussed this idea with Diego
Scataglini and Dan De Aguilar. Basic premise: sexy female representing
Ruby presenting something Java related. They showed a website where
you could get custom mascots made and asked me if I meant something
like one of the samples. Instead I pointed them to the Ruby’s Diner (a
50’s type diner chain in California) symbol as being the sort of look I
had in mind. Diego being a fan of that retro pinup look readily
identified. So now we had the basic look, what to represent Java? Dan
had the idea to her offer coffee, and Diego photoshopped the attached
image. I think they turned out quite well and they are representative
of what I was thinking.

As this is the Ruby’s Diner symbol (with
hair colored red), we couldn’t use this, but it serves as a good
prototype. The waitress getup need not stick either, I had some other
alternatives in mind, Red Sonja, business suit/skirt, etc… But I
think the notion of the red haired female representing Ruby (working in
a Bruce W. type ruby logo in there somehow, possibly on a
necklace), serves well as a base for Ruby. Then we could have
variations for the various implementations

  • coffee for Jruby
  • barbell/weights for Iron Ruby
  • MRI tatoo for MRI, (thinking a view from the back, and MRI tatooed at
    the lower back
  • etc…

What do you think? Have I lost it, or am I on to something? I’m seeing
some kick butt t-shirts.

On Tuesday 11 November 2008 00:55:55 Forrest C. wrote:

I was discussed this idea with Diego
Scataglini and Dan De Aguilar. Basic premise: sexy female representing
Ruby presenting something Java related.

Don’t get me wrong, I like sexy females, but as a mascot? Are you
serious? (Or
are you just 145 days too early? :slight_smile: )

  • coffee for Jruby
  • barbell/weights for Iron Ruby
  • MRI tatoo for MRI, (thinking a view from the back, and MRI tatooed at
    the lower back * etc…

What do you think? Have I lost it, or am I on to something? I’m seeing
some kick butt t-shirts.

Why not, some T-Shirts might be funny, it’s not such a bad idea at all,
and
it’s quite creative. But as a mascot? Come on…

Cheers,

Mirko


To unsubscribe from this list, please visit:

http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email

-1

On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 6:55 PM, Forrest C. [email protected]
wrote:

I was discussed this idea with Diego

  • barbell/weights for Iron Ruby

To unsubscribe from this list, please visit:

http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email

-1

On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 8:55 PM, Chris N. <

:smiley:


Eng Khaled al Habache

Unfortunately, -1, but it’s a nice effort and a neat looking logo :).
But to represent the project it might be a bit too much.

What might be neat is a logo generated by a snippit of JRuby code
using a graphics library of some sort.

On Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 3:14 AM, Khaled al Habache [email protected]
wrote:

got to talking about how they were thinking of dropping “Ruby Duke” as
like one of the samples. Instead I pointed them to the Ruby’s Diner (a
alternatives in mind, Red Sonja, business suit/skirt, etc… But I


To unsubscribe from this list, please visit:

http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email


To unsubscribe from this list, please visit:

http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email

I think the -1s aren’t terribly informative.

I think the logo’s a nice idea, but the major pitfall is that it sort
of seems a bit on the sexist side. Lowcut top & short skirt. Appeal
seems mainly targeted at guys. The pinup idea isn’t a bad one, cause
there are certainly a lot of pinups that are just art, and everyone
can appreciate how attractive the subject matter is. But i’d say this
is a bit too far on the pinup side, and not far enough on the mascot
side.T

he subject matter is a little weird, the idea of codifying a mascot as
an attractive woman there to serve you is perhaps the real heart of
the problem :stuck_out_tongue:

Making her less subservient might go a long way to making it less
obnoxious?

-Ted (knowtheory)

Beautiful work though :slight_smile:

On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 6:55 PM, Forrest C. [email protected]
wrote:

I was discussed this idea with Diego

  • barbell/weights for Iron Ruby

To unsubscribe from this list, please visit:

http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email

It’s gorgeous! Very nice work and a +1 for the effort.

Alas, this is the 21st century and it seems everyone can be offended by
anything by reading too much into inferences. So, on just a practical
standpoint, this probably won’t fly.

However,I like the concept: The serving of “java”, Red hair, she looks
like a “ruby”. The first question would be, would having female be
exclusionary? Again, just about any group can read something into
images and make something out of nothing. Perhaps that is why the more
“cartoonish” characters seem to survive and more lifelike ones become
points of contention (like the “indian” mascots that are being replaced
with “less offensive” animals or other mascots").

Perhaps a more “Rosie the Riveter” approach would be more acceptable (if
using a female at all is OK). A headshot, with head and shoulders (a
bit muscular), rolled up sleeves, ready to work, exposed along with the
coffee cup ready to be consumed and framed by the circular “riveted iron
plate” look that is currently part of the artwork would work.

I guess the first question would be: Would a “lifelike” female be an
acceptable image to use or do we need to stick with a more cartoonish
figure ?

My 2 cents.

Pete

I first had to look at my calendar to make sure it wasn’t April 1. As
appealing as the imagery may seem, it is sexist and objectifying. Try
again.

-1. I prefer more abstract graphic logos (when a graphic logo is
required),
otherwise, I prefer logos that make creative use of the font/type/color
instead. Classic logos like Coke, FedEx, IBM, Apple, etc… are graphic
identities that everyone recognizes. It would be great to come up with
a
classic looking JRuby logo that’s very simple and clean. I don’t think
a
logo needs to necessarily describe the meaning behind it (I suppose that
should be a good goal though).

BTW, is this the start of an official logo contest? If so, I’d love to
participate.

Rich

Rich M. wrote:

-1. I prefer more abstract graphic logos (when a graphic logo is
required), otherwise, I prefer logos that make creative use of the
font/type/color instead. Classic logos like Coke, FedEx, IBM, Apple,
etc… are graphic identities that everyone recognizes. It would be
great to come up with a classic looking JRuby logo that’s very simple
and clean. I don’t think a logo needs to necessarily describe the
meaning behind it (I suppose that should be a good goal though).

BTW, is this the start of an official logo contest? If so, I’d love to
participate.

The original graphic is beautifully done, but I tend to agree it’s a
little too far away from the subject matter and probably likely to give
offense. That said, I like it better than Duke + Ruby or the “JRuby” +
Ruby logos we’ve been stuck with.

I wouldn’t say this is a contest, since that would imply we’re going to
definitely choose one. But how about we use this to kick off an official
“beat the current logos contest” that’s open-ended. If we get some
really great ones in, we’re definitely willing to switch.

And as our Japanese friends told me last spring:

“You need a cooler mascot than Duke”

  • Charlie

To unsubscribe from this list, please visit:

http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email

/epiclevel eye roll.

Although i agree a more rosie the riveter type character might be more
palatable. Actually someone like Lucille Ball might be most
appropriate. And i think that further caricaturizing a mascot might
actually be -worse- (ala Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians).

-Ted

And as a postscript which i’m sure will cause a massive flamewar,
which we should fork from this thread, if it should even be had at
all, i can say as a social/cognitive scientist, sexism is a very real
thing that can be demonstrated experimentally on humans, and is
evident economically and socially :stuck_out_tongue:

On Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 12:24 PM, Pete H. [email protected] wrote:

“cartoonish” characters seem to survive and more lifelike ones become points
acceptable image to use or do we need to stick with a more cartoonish figure

Ruby presenting something Java related. They showed a website where
hair colored red), we couldn’t use this, but it serves as a good
lower back
To unsubscribe from this list, please visit:

http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email

To unsubscribe from this list, please visit:

http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email