Hi all! I’ve gotten permission from @lFenix@lemmy.ml to start a thread here about changes to the logo/identity system for mlem.

This is the current mlem logo:

To start with, I have some thoughts, and a bit of a history lesson that can help inform us as to what directions we want to go in:

Lemmy was named Lemmy because of two reasons:

  1. The creator of Lemmy was fond of the game Lemmings, wherein the player leads an ever-increasing line of rodents through a puzzle to avoid certain doom (or towards their certain doom - you decide). (It might also be useful to note that at the height of its popularity, the Lemmings game was targeted and labeled a “satanic” video game by certain far-right christian groups, due, ironically, to the whole “leading a group of mindless entities to their certain doom” idea, and also primarily because there were levels that appear to take place in a hellish cavern, where you lead the lemmings into the mouth of a demon.) This is all part of the “Satanic Panic” often found among far-right groups who believe in Satan, and are afraid of him.

  2. Lemmy from Motorhead had just recently passed away, and so as a way of honoring Lemmy from Motorhead, they named it Lemmy.

Regarding the Lemming rodent itself: In popular culture, a longstanding myth holds that they exhibit herd mentality and jump off cliffs, committing mass suicide.

This myth was created and perpetuated by Disney in their 1958 “nature documentary” film “White Wilderness” wherein they staged a mass-suicide of lemmings that they had imported to Alberta Canada from Manitoba specifically to stage and film this myth.

The current mlem icon look seems really close to the Mickey Mouse logo, especially at a small icon size, which is why it struck me that maybe we need a new logo for this app, at the very least.

I’m also not sure how closely we want to try to associate with Lemmy from Motorhead. He was a great guy, by all accounts, but I’m not sure what his estate would say about it, nor do I think there is much mass-recognition or mass-appeal in going that route.

A few questions:

  • Are we married to the name “mlem”?

  • Do we want to emphasize any of the particular letters in the name? For instance: “mLEM” or “mLem” or “MleM”?

  • What is our primary audience going to be? Are we looking to appeal to feminine equally as well as masculine and androgynous?

  • What logos and identities do you think currently do a good job of straddling that line of appealing to the entire spectrum?

  • This is a mobile iOS app, so do you feel like we should make sure that it feels like it belongs within that ecosystem?

  • Should the emphasis be to make it fit within the overall Lemmy GUI ecosystem itself, adhering to and following the default GUI design of the default Lemmy instance installation, and change with that as it changes?

  • Should the default icon style be ever-changing, similar to how Apollo’s icon designs were customizable?

  • Even if the styles and aesthetics change, the actual logo for the app should probably remain consistent.

  • Color theory should be applied to the default aesthetic of this design, of course, so I’ll give you a link to the emotional/cultural impact of colors to inform those decisions. If this app is going to be used worldwide, we will need to take into account cultural variations in terms of color interpretation.

  • Given that lemmings are native to the arctic tundra, should we take that into account in the design/coloration? Using whites and blues to bring to mind ice and snow? Or is that too cold/forbidding, and we want to be warmer and more inviting?

Any other ideas to consider?

  • lFenix@lemmy.mlEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    Thank you for the great writeup!

    I would like to chime in:

    • The name Mlem is a little bit of a pun. I took the first three letters from the name “Lemmy” (so, “Lem”) and I noticed it’s close to the interjection “mlem,” which is the name for when a cute animal sticks their tongue out.
    • Speaking of the first point, I imagined the logo to be a head of a rodent with its tongue out.

    The Mlem Name

    I think we can’t change the name at this point. I’m already doing advertising on Reddit and other platforms, and the name is associated with the brand. It’s also going to be on the Lemmy homepage soon (as in, it’s already merged into the codebase), so I think we have to rule out any changes to the name.

    On the spot, I don’t know if any part of the name should be emphasized. There’s that “LEM” part paying homage to “LEMmy”, but also “Mlem” is a word of its own. I would love some ideas from other people.

    The Icon

    The icon is very close to the Mickey Mouse head because it’s AI-generated (I’m horrible at graphics), and I couldn’t get the AI to generate anythig else than a generic mouse head. And I couldn’t get it to generate a mouse head with its tongue out at all, so I had to settle with that we have now.

    I would love the icon to be 3d, cute and minimalist, a-la Panic apps. Something like their logo for Transmit:

    Transmit logo

    Another example of a pleasing icon is, in my opinion, NetNewsWire:

    NetNewsWire logo

    I also like this custom Telegram icon:

    Telegram logo

    I think the most important thing for the logo is to be 3d and cute. If it had a lemming sticking its tongue out, it would be even better. Also, it shouldn’t be hyper realistic and overly skeumorphic; I’m personally not a big fan of the iOS 6 icon design.

    The Audience

    The main purpose of Mlem is to be approachable (that’s why I’m emphasizing cuteness in the Logo section) to everyone (for example, I’m doing user testing with my teen sisten, my mom and grandma). I found approachability to be lacking in the Fediverse in general, so that’s what I’m focusing on with Mlem. Making a very coplicated concept friendly and approachable to the average user.

    Mlem has to be as simple and easy to use, sometimes having to hide features that the average person would consider too complicated (for example, Mlem doesn’t show instances at all, nor does it mention “Federation” or “Instance” and other terms the general public might consider confusing).

    Other Points from the Post

    Should the emphasis be to make it fit within the overall Lemmy GUI ecosystem itself, adhering to and following the default GUI design of the default Lemmy instance installation, and change with that as it changes?

    For me, that’s a no. As mentioned above, Mlem has its own way of naming things and doing things, so I think we shouldn’t try to belong into the ecosystem too much.

    Should the default icon style be ever-changing, similar to how Apollo’s icon designs were customizable?

    This is something that I think we should consider. I think there should be a static, non-changing default icon, with users being able to submit their own designs. And if they fit well, they could become available as options.

    Color theory should be applied to the default aesthetic of this design, of course, so I’ll give you a link to the emotional/cultural impact of colors to inform those decisions. If this app is going to be used worldwide, we will need to take into account cultural variations in terms of color interpretation.

    and

    Given that lemmings are native to the arctic tundra, should we take that into account in the design/coloration? Using whites and blues to bring to mind ice and snow? Or is that too cold/forbidding, and we want to be warmer and more inviting?

    I think we should choose an approachable color. Mlem is not meant to be a business or overly serious app, so we shouldn’t go that way. I’m leaving the color up to the others, just don’t make it stuck-up or too formal.

    So these were my points and opinions, I’d love to hear from everyone! :)

    • GuyDudeman@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Thanks for the considered reply! Awesome points all around.

      I noticed it’s close to the interjection “mlem,” which is the name for when a cute animal sticks their tongue out.

      I honestly hadn’t realized that until you said that, but that makes perfect sense now. I think incorporating a cartoonish icon of a fat little rodent with their tongue out would be super cute and fun.

      I also like the look of the Panic software icons and the other examples. I think that would be perfect. I’ll get working on something like that.

      Also anxious to hear other peoples’ ideas as well!

      • bird@beehaw.orgEnglish
        5·
        1 year ago

        I like the tongue-out idea. I agree with other comments that something a bit more minimalist looks nice. The current logo doesn’t really fit with the design language of most apps I see on iOS.

        I would love to see a variety of animals: birds, mammals, amphibians, etc. with tongues out as alt-options to choose from (seems like icon choices were popular with apps like Apollo).

        My main critique boils down to the current icon being very glowy and I’m not a big fan of it.

        • lFenix@lemmy.mlEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          The idea about various animals is great! I think this should definitely be implemented

    • GuyDudeman@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I was playing around with Adobe Firefly tonight and got some fun results I’ll post tomorrow.