FreeBSD Announces Contest To Replace Daemon Logo

An anonymous reader submits "The FreeBSD core team has announced a public competition to design a new logo to replace the current BSD daemon logo. The new logo will be used on the FreeBSD website, software media labels, printed media, hardware equipment, and more. The winner of the contest will receive $500." It's too early for an April Fool's Joke; according to the contest page, "this daemon character seems cute from somebody's point of view, but somebody may think which does not suit for the professional products to indicate that are using the FreeBSD inside."

It's not going to replace Beastie

[Anonymous Coward]

The logo will go in concert with beastie but will also be seperate. This helps with official letterhead and small "powered by freebsd" logos where beastie doesn't show up very well. Beastie is still the mascot and will be displayed on the web site and t-shirt...

Re:A True Shame

[Anonymous Coward]

There is also a petition [petitiononline.com] to keep the existing logo.

Daemons and texans don't mix...

[imroy]

Some misguided individuals have taken offense [rmitz.org] to the daemon character.

How about a non-cute demon?

[SteeldrivingJon]

Not necessarily a Shoggoth, but demons and devils are not unheard-of in corporate identities. [bgfoods.com]

Underwood's devil trademark dates from 1870, and is the oldest US food trademark still in use.

"The original red devil was a real he-goat, half man, half goat, with horns, pronged spear and a tail. He was a leering demonic Lucifer, frequently portrayed in early ads dipping a whole ham into a boiling caldron as flames roar in the background and Satan's sons dance with glee. The current red devil has been stripped of evil. He is a happy Satan, smiling, carrying his spear, and apparently waving at the potential customer. His footwear appears to be elves slippers. The logo appears prominently on Underwood's entire line of meat spreads, chunk meats and sardines.

Advertising showing the little red devil began to appear nationally as early as 1895. It has become and icon of American culture. "

Keep the demon, but - if someone's got his panties in a bunch - make it a grown-up one, not a cute one like George Lucas would insert into his movies.

Or maybe the BSD logo could incorporate a cute chunk meat.

oh come on...

[m2bord]

they don't think the logo is professional enough?

that logo is fine the way it is.

that logo is what got me to try freebsd in the first place.

this is what happens when companies listen to marketing wonks instead of their clients.

they wind up wasting money on stuff that doesn't need fixing in the first place.

Re:A True Shame

[Anonymous Coward]

There are a couple of issues, really.

The first issue is that every time we hold a presentation we have to spend five minutes explaining that it is not related to devil worship etc, and the history of the daemon. That's five minutes we do not have to explain something about what FreeBSD is useful for.

The second issue is that mascots are really kind of out. They're a hobbyist thing, not a professional thing. And the daemon doubly so.

The third issue is that every six months or so there is a long, long discussion about changing the logo, about what the disadvantages of the daemon are, how we should have a more professional logo, etc. And, quite frankly, we're sick and tired of those discussions. Switching logos every now and then is a good way to make them shut up.

Eivind (FreeBSD committer).

Logo, not mascot

[cperciva]

Nobody is suggesting that Beastie should cease to be the FreeBSD mascot; this is about selecting a new logo.

The reasons for this include not just that some people consider the daemon to be offensive, but also legal issues: The daemon image is owned by Kirk McKusick [freebsd.org] and right now if companies want to use the image, they need to get permission from him. A "powered by FreeBSD" logo which is actually free for everybody to use would make things much easier.

Re:How do you pronounce it?

[jtev]

Dee-mon. That's how it is in the dictionary [slashdot.org]. It's just a variation on the Demon spelling, is pronounced the same way. Daimon (a Greek word) is a lesser diety, and of course since the judeo/christian/islamic tradition has "thou shalt have no other gods before me" as a core law such beings are considered evil under the current religious mix for much of the world. However as that these Daemons are controled by the invoker (anybody seeing a trend here?) they are not being worshiped, and as such are imune to such a restriction. Any further questions?

Re:Another contest

[codyk]

>From: Jun Kuriyama >Subject: FreeBSD logo design competition

Hilarious. Notice the "Kuriyama"?

Somehow, I think your Japanese is much more laughable than his/her English.

Re:Another contest

[Tribbin]

There is somebody who finds the deamon cute and there is somebody who finds the deamon is not suited as [logo for indicating the use of FreeBSD] on professional products.

Supplement - not replace

[gpmac]

About this site

This is the future site for the FreeBSD logo competiton which is meant
to create a new logo for the FreeBSD Project to supplement the current
Beastie mascot. Despite an early draft announcement that got out we
are not quite ready for the logos yet. Please watch this space and the
freebsd-announce mailing list for more information in the near future.

http://logo-contest.freebsd.org/

Evidently, they are adding a logo without removing the old, according to their site. Still, the daemon is FreeBSD and it should not be changed.

GP

Re:A True Shame

[Brandybuck]

What's truly sad is that these people are so caught up in their paranoia that they don't realize that the daemon mascot is NOT GOING TO GO AWAY!

Re:my entry!

[adamwpants]

I'm pleased that you like my "artwork", but please at least make it clear that you weren't the one who created it. p.s. I've been working on some other FreeBSD-related logos. I have them up at http://www.magnesium.net/~adamw/logos