Skirt Cafe is an on-line community dedicated to exploring, promoting and advocating skirts and kilts as a fashion choice for men, formerly known as men in skirts. We do this in the context of men's fashion freedom --- an expansion of choices beyond those commonly available for men to include kilts, skirts and other garments. We recognize a diversity of styles our members feel comfortable wearing, and do not exclude any potential choices. Continuing dialog on gender is encouraged in the context of fashion freedom for men. See here for more details.
Here's the first pass at a new logo for our new home:
A little echo of the past but a brightened theme for the new days ahead.
(I've changed the background gradient so that the words are easier to read. It's now a coffee-colored gradient. If you're not seeing it correctly, clear the cache on your web browser and reload this page.)
hey, that's pretty good! my only suggestion would be to use a slightly different colour for the background because the blue doesn't read as well as it might. I think using the blue for "skirt" is good and the typeface is great.
I just changed the colour balance to super-warm and surrounded it in black to get this version. but I don't mean to stick my oar in, just wanted to join in a little--I spoiled the text at the bottom in so doing, but what do you expect from an amateur
The only thing man cannot endure is meaninglessness.
I like the new design, but humbly offer the following observations:
The blue text "skirt" is somewhat difficult to read against the blue background. This might prove profoundly confusing for folks with some forms of colour-blindness or folks with low-contrast monitors. To my eyes, the word "Cafe" positively jumps out of the image where "Skirt" blends passively in.
Do we want to flip the tag-line to "Men in Skirts and Kilts" rather than "Men in Kilts and Skirts"? (Rationale: "Men in Kilts" are already very well catered to over at X-Marks.")
Caveat: I am not a graphic designer.
Thanks, Dan!
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
I don't think we should throw out "kilts" in our tagline, since that would send us firmly on the Freestyle side of the world, and I don't want to be there. Tom's Cafe was always a place of diversity, that was its strength.
I scrolled up and didn't see anyone suggesting anyone remove "kilts" from the tagline, one person only suggested reversing the order as far as I saw. I like the original order, just like I like the original look of the logo..a bit darker than the new look. I worry that the new more colorful logo might tend to draw some of the freestyler crowd that is already very present at plenty of other sites.
This is my opinion, you can agree or disagree. Opinions are like noses, everyone has one, even Michael Jackson, it's his nose, even though it's plastic, he bought and paid for it.
I had to remove this signature as it was being used on Twitter. This is my OPINION, you NEEDN'T AGREE.
Story of Life, Perspire, Expire, Funeral Pyre!I've been skirted part time since 1972 and full time since 2005. http://skirts4men.myfreeforum.org/
Monty wrote:why not try something new like a picture of a guy in a mug?
maybe theres a talented artist among us who can whip up a quick picture for us?
sure be more interesting than a coffe mug to look at
Hey, Monty,
Don't think I didn't consider that a couple years ago when I created the original. Here's the problem: No matter which kind of MUG you choose to portray in the logo, the other side of the house will complain. Put up a kilt and the skirters complain. Put up a skirt and the kilters will complain. Further, if you put up one manufacturer's product, you alienate the other manufacturers. (This coming from a guy who sells mens skirts.) Next you have the issue of who owns the copyright to the likeness of the real person depicted. It gets ugly quick when it comes to legal issues.
I sort of agree with Monty's idea. We know it's a cafe so we can assume both coffee and tea cups are going to be there. How about two guys, one in a kilt and one in a skirt, each holding a cup of something having a chat by a potted palm. Standing or sitting or both standing and sitting. Perhaps the kilted guy could be standing and the skirted guy sitting, but together having a seemingly spirited conversation about all the things we commonly chat about at this cafe. Perhaps put the kilted guy in whatever is the most universal kilt tartan and the skirted guy in a tiered skirt which could be easily seen even when sitting. Maybe even have an older un-recognizable face peeking out between the palm fronds. We could all assume it might be either the ghost of Tom or Hamish peeping in to see who's near his palm.
Then the logo of the cafe could be in the background easily seen behind the two chatting MUG wearers. I think that way because I used to be somewhat of an artist...my area of expertise in that is undersea and various sharks and fishes. Just a thought.
I had to remove this signature as it was being used on Twitter. This is my OPINION, you NEEDN'T AGREE.
Story of Life, Perspire, Expire, Funeral Pyre!I've been skirted part time since 1972 and full time since 2005. http://skirts4men.myfreeforum.org/
DanR wrote:Hey, Monty,
Don't think I didn't consider that a couple years ago when I created the original. Here's the problem: No matter which kind of MUG you choose to portray in the logo, the other side of the house will complain. Put up a kilt and the skirters complain. Put up a skirt and the kilters will complain. Further, if you put up one manufacturer's product, you alienate the other manufacturers. (This coming from a guy who sells mens skirts.) Next you have the issue of who owns the copyright to the likeness of the real person depicted. It gets ugly quick when it comes to legal issues.
You are correct sir, copyright infringement should be considered. However, I am with Skip, a dual picture with non descript skirts/kilts should keep everybody happy.
We have everybody electronically sign a limited indemnity waiver therefore, any legal disputes from users would be null. (not my first choice)
I like the "second revision" of Dan's proposed logo; the "coffee gradient" looks quite a bit better than the blue one. My eyes still have some problem with the blue that's used in the word "skirt", but that may just be me.
Here's a daring thought: How about a little bit of coffee spilling out of the top of the tilted cup? That might add some sense of motion to the logo.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
The updated logo looks great to me though after reading this thread I notice the mug is such a big empty space. Perhaps that idea of working a skirted man into the logo would work on the mug itself. Skip the issue of paired men representing the nature of this place with a simple black solid figure who is wearing a garment that could go either way. With nothing to clue you in but the shape of our icon's clothes he can be taken for a guy in a kilt by those wanting that representation and others can see him in a skirt. The nice thing about him being a symbolized guy instead of a likeness is that he is an everyman, just like the guys here.
