[IAEP] Branding and mascot (Was: Re: Color combos for the logo)

[Caroline Meeks]

My thinking is as follows.

When a kid is using Sugar you want them emotionally engaged with their work
and the other kids, who they probably know in real life.  The XO is a great
icon for transparently representing other people and letting your use that
as a symbol for a mental model of them.

When we are teaching about Sugar, making powerpoints, books etc.  We want to
emotionally engage out readers hindbrain, with cute images that helps the
person learning about Sugar feel like they are having fun.  I'm getting this
from a Kathy Sierra talk.  So a mascot is not something that appear in the
UI of Sugar. Its a branding element we put in book and slide shows and to
spark up web sites. Maybe we also make it a fictional kid character we use
in examples.

I like the animal, but  I think we need a cuter version then this first try.


On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 1:32 PM, Eben Eliason <eben.eliason at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 1:12 PM, Kevin Cole <dc.loco at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 11:45, Eben Eliason <eben.eliason at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> I'd strongly recommend against eliminating the XO as the core element
> >> of the UI.  It was chosen specifically to represent children, and to
> >> maintain the human/body metaphors where appropriate.  Substituting it
> >> with anything other than a human likeness would be counterproductive,
> >> I fear.
> >
> > Is it possible to "split the difference"?  It seems to me that by
> > adding "wings" of a sort to the XO figure, you'd be able to
> > approximate something that still looks human, yet also looks like a
> > sugar glider -- or a kid with a hang glider.  Clearly related to the
> > original, but like the Red Bull commercials say "Sugar gives you
> > wings!" ;-)
>
> I don't think so.  That misses the point, which is that the children
> themselves—not flying squirrels, however cute ;) —are represented as a
> fundamental part of the interface.
>
> - Eben
>
> > --
> > Ubuntu Linux DC LoCo
> > Washington, DC
> > http://dc.ubuntu-us.org/
> > _______________________________________________
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> > IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
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> >
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>



-- 
Caroline Meeks
Solution Grove
Caroline at SolutionGrove.com

617-500-3488 - Office
505-213-3268 - Fax
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