
New GitHub Logo - hoov
https://github.com/blog/1472-new-github-logo
======
kepano
The new logotype looks great. The capitalization is a non-issue in the long
term, it doesn't matter if people continue calling it lowercase git.

I have qualms about the Octocat mark though. Everyone wants to be Apple and
drop their name in favor of a recognizable logo. What people forget is that
the logo for Apple is actually an apple. That's what made it so easy for Apple
to adopt this strategy early on. The same approach can work for companies that
have a massively recognizable brand and an advertising budget dedicated to
burning the icon into our retinas (Nike). But it still requires having a
memorable mark.

For applications of the logo where scale comes into play, GitHub's designers
clearly haven't reviewed their branding 101 coursework. Read Paul Rand's IBM
style guide for a refresher on the 8-stripe and 13-stripe versions of his
logo. The applications they show on their site at 30x30px and lower are barely
readable.

~~~
jacques_chester
The original Apple logo was doubly clever, as it referred to both of Newton's
important contributions to physics (gravity and prismatic separation of
light).

~~~
digitalengineer
Funny. I never thought about it and just assumed it was a hidden wink to Adam
and Eve eating an apple from _the tree of knowledge_.

------
jawns
When the Octocat Mark is rendered at any size less than 75x75 pixels, it's
pretty much impossible to tell that the "tail" of the cat is actually a
tentacle.

That's unfortunate, because on <https://github.com/logos> the only recommended
use for the mark is in social buttons, which are going to be relatively small.

Even at larger sizes, the tentacle just seems tacked on.

~~~
tptacek
Agree. They should have a guideline about using the cat at small sizes, or
provide customized low-rez versions. I looked at it and thought it might have
worked better if they ditched the suckers and just used multiple waving
tentacles.

~~~
Oompa
If you download the mark, it's a .zip including some smaller versions without
suckers on the tentacle.

~~~
trhaynes
Exactly. Compare the logo in the blog post to the one in the masthead. And
then go one step further and compare to the favicon (no tail there).

The small sizes don't have to convey that the tail is a tentacle, they just
have to convey "GitHub".

~~~
addandsubtract
There is a tail in the new favicon[0] It's also been the old logo[1]

[0] <https://github.com/favicon.ico>

[1] <http://octodex.github.com/favicon.ico>

~~~
wfraser
Only at larger sizes. At the 16x16px version, there isn't anymore.

------
iandanforth
The homepage now looks very bland. Perhaps to people who really know
typography the GitHub name is very distinct, but to me it doesn't distinguish
itself and reminds me of a bootstrap site with a couple hours of tweaking more
than a unique and memorable brand / style.

~~~
shitlord
Yeah, I'd agree. The original, full-color logo gave the site a personalized
touch.

------
calinet6
Given the old icon was just a lowercase g in various containers, I think this
is a good step. The octocat is already recognizable, and although it's a
little too detailed for small rendering, it's still relatively unique and
distinct.

Nice work on this one. It may not be the perfect symbol, but it is uniquely
and definitively github.

~~~
addandsubtract
How old are we talking about? As far as I know, their logo has been the same,
only inverted [0], for the last year or so.

[0] [https://raw.github.com/travis-ci/travis-
assets/6ce43a0eee505...](https://raw.github.com/travis-ci/travis-
assets/6ce43a0eee505c18c8b5f37882811f75d15491e3/assets/images/icons/github-
logo.png)

------
instappen
While I love GitHub, and I use it on a daily basis... I'm really confused how
news like this gets to the very top, but other submissions (many highly
technical) sometimes barely get 5 votes. I'll get off my soapbox now.

------
philipwalton
Does anyone else notice the striking similarity between the new Enterprise
design and Bootstrap? I guess that's what you get when you hire Mark Otto.

<https://enterprise.github.com/> <http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/>

~~~
dangrossman
They built the page with Bootstrap. Almost all the CSS classes are provided by
it. What's wrong with that?

~~~
philipwalton
I wasn't suggesting anything's wrong with it. Certainly the creator of
Bootstrap has liberty to copy himself. I guess I'm just a little surprised he
didn't want to showcase his variety.

~~~
markdotto
Meh, I'm usually not one for variety :).

The purple space background was designed by an illustrator here at GitHub and
I just put it to use. That the page ended up being purple and blue like
Bootstrap is kind of just a coincidence. Previously the Enterprise site's
background was a custom-made OS X ish space background—lots of blue and gold.

Beyond that I don't see a huge concern of the two looking similar. Bootstrap
3's homepage will be massively different from v2s today if it helps though.

------
Tobu
From <https://github.com/logos>

Please don't do these things:

\- Create a modified version of the Octocat or GitHub logo

Do they have something against the Octodex?

<http://octodex.github.com/>

~~~
hga
<http://octodex.github.com/faq.html>

The most relevant one:

" _Q: Can I submit an octocat to the Octodex?

We make quite a few octocats here at GitHub. Since they probably wouldn't be
seen by more than a few people internally, we created the Octodex as a way to
show them to the world. Everything on this list is official GitHub artwork and
is under GitHub's trademark license, so we only include submissions from
people affiliated with GitHub._"

And their quality is indeed very high.

Since others might be wondering about the implications of what you quoted:

" _Q: Can I make my own octocat?

So long as it is created for personal/fan use, you are more than welcome to
create and display your own octocat. If you choose to distribute your octocat,
you may not do so with a license, Creative Commons or otherwise, that allows
modification or distribution of the octocat._"

------
mimiflynn
I don't remember what it used to look like, which, I suppose, means they did a
good job ;)

~~~
larrydavid
Old logo: <http://i.imgur.com/ge0P400.jpg>

~~~
arrrg
I can see why they changed it. Their old one wasn’t a logo (type excluded), it
was an illustration.

~~~
haddr
but the font was nicer in the old one, i think

------
staunch
It probably feels to them like GitHub is so well known that the company needs
to be called that. I think they're actually early enough on that they could
just make it one of their products.

    
    
          SocialCoding, Inc.
            /     |     \
         GitHub  ???    ???

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
I'd prefer:

    
    
       OctoCat Enterprises, Inc.
              /     |    \
           GitHub  ???   ???

------
bmuon
It seems that GitHub wants a more "serious" look. I wonder why that is. Do
managers dismiss GitHub for Enterprise as a possibility because it feels
hackish/unprofessional?

~~~
alex_doom
I think it's not that they want to be more "serious" but more they didn't want
the logotype to look like the first idea a college kid had.

The type was so terrible on it.

~~~
bluedino
I think it just looks more modern, and less '2007'.

------
salahxanadu
Penta-cat, they must mean.

~~~
dagurp
Or Tentaclecat

~~~
Samuel_Michon
It’s hard to tell whether this creature has arms or tentacles, or both.
Octopuses have both. Also, 7-arm octopuses are still called ‘octopuses’.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod_arm>

~~~
Aqua_Geek
According to Zach Holman, it's four legs and a tail:
[https://speakerdeck.com/holman/git-and-github-
secrets?slide=...](https://speakerdeck.com/holman/git-and-github-
secrets?slide=148)

------
lasome
I'd really like to hear their thoughts around the capitalization of GitHub.
Everyone who uses git interacts it with it in downcase. To see it upcased like
that is unfamiliar.

~~~
brodney
I think the difference is the command vs the product. Even the git homepage
refers to it in uppercase almost everywhere [0]. A similar example would be
capitalizing Java everywhere, but using java for commands.

[0] <http://git-scm.com/>

~~~
bonzoesc
"Git" is the system of software, protocols, metaphors, and storage. "git" is
the executable.

It's similar to "Perl" and "perl":
[http://perldoc.perl.org/perlfaq1.html#Whats-the-
difference-b...](http://perldoc.perl.org/perlfaq1.html#Whats-the-difference-
between-%22perl%22-and-%22Perl%22%3f)

------
frazerb
I'm a little surprised by the striking similarities between Octocat and the
"Octonauts" (www.octonauts.com) - a cartoon in the UK that my two kids are mad
about.

I'm trusting that these copyright/design right concerns have been contemplated
at least - not least because of the similarity in name as well as in design.

(See the google images link for a collection of octonauts:
<http://goo.gl/Xek21>)

~~~
aspir
If the Octonauts wikipedia page (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Octonauts>)
is correct, the show's airing was 2 years after the founding (and copyrighting
of the octocat) of GitHub

~~~
martey
The Wikipedia page also notes that the Octonauts are based on books published
in 2006, 2 years before the founding of Github.

While I am not a lawyer, I do not think there is very much similarity between
the two. Github's Octocat is half-octopus, half-cat. The Octonauts are 8
nautical animals (including an octopus and a cat).

------
juice13
I clicked on the link, and this made me chuckle: <http://imgur.com/c2NKgO1>

------
Kristories
I don't recognize gist.github anymore

Old : <http://drupal.org/files/images/gist.png>

New : [https://gist.github.com/assets/modules/header/github-gist-
lo...](https://gist.github.com/assets/modules/header/github-gist-
logotype-40d4cbbac0d65917e732449ebe4a0ff5.png)

------
cmelbye
Is it just me, or is the logotype very similar to Atlassian's? I like it a
lot.

------
ryanmarsh
I'll probably get down-voted into oblivion but...

Quick, find a way to make this about you.

------
prezjordan
Does this mean I have to get a new shirt?

Logo looks cool, where's the new favicon? ;)

------
ctdonath
What's the story behind Octocat?

That...thing...doesn't really do much for me as far as a corporate logo goes.
Rather complex shape (see references to scaling problems), sorta catish but
not, WTH is that weird tail (cat, four legs and a...), this post is the first
reference to "octo" I've seen in the months I've used the service, there's 5
limbs not 8, etc. Makes me think of a little kid in a Halloween costume.

"Github" name works fine. "Git" spoofs "get" a la archiving, "hub" is central
connector/repository, concatenated the name just rolls off the tongue and
instantly works as a coined term. Rendered in a nice unique font, great. But
then there's that creature...

~~~
jlgreco
It was a stock image apparently. Here are a bunch of the others:
<http://octodex.github.com/>

I've always figured it fits because: 1) The internet likes cats. 2) Git can do
octopus merges I guess?

~~~
petepete
Ah, thanks for that - I didn't realise they were stock images.

The Github for Android logo is amongst those too
<http://octodex.github.com/droidtocat/>

------
aviswanathan
The logotype reminds me of Font Awesome for some reason

~~~
Samuel_Michon
It’s probably a tweaked version of Secca Extra Bold or Botanika Bold.

Compare and contrast: <http://imgur.com/hdcz2Sd>

(Top: Botanika, middle: GitHub, bottom: Secca)

~~~
ben_straub
It's Apex Sans: <http://vllg.com/Constellation/Apex_Sans>

~~~
Samuel_Michon
So it is! I see that it was tweaked quite heavily; rounded corners on all the
glyphs, altered ‘G’, ‘i’, and ‘t’, different weight, etc.

Comparison: <http://imgur.com/ggI204m>

Were you involved in the design process? How was Apex selected? It’s not a
particularly well-known font and it’s for sale at very few places.

~~~
ben_straub
Nah, I'm just repeating what @bryanveloso said:
<https://twitter.com/bryanveloso/status/324204710888357888> and
<https://twitter.com/bryanveloso/status/324214383989383168>.

------
callmeed
Does this mean my GitHub hoodie is a collectors item because it has Octocat v
1? Should I stop wearing it?

------
sergiotapia
Anyone have before and after shots?

~~~
larrydavid
Old: <http://i.imgur.com/ge0P400.jpg>

New:
[https://f.cloud.github.com/assets/72919/381606/fffdd290-a5e2...](https://f.cloud.github.com/assets/72919/381606/fffdd290-a5e2-11e2-8099-e1b5d8286da3.jpg)

[https://f.cloud.github.com/assets/72919/381609/0cf7be70-a5e3...](https://f.cloud.github.com/assets/72919/381609/0cf7be70-a5e3-11e2-8943-6ac7a953f26d.jpg)

------
garyspl
I think it's a solid step forward. It's a more serious typeface for a more
serious company.

------
tinco
The b in the logo feels a bit strange to me.. anyone else get a comic sans
feel with it?

------
revx
Anyone know the reason for the drip of water that the Octocat is holding?

~~~
jamiltron
I assumed since she is part octopus, she probably just got out of the ocean or
something /shrug

------
lifeisstillgood
oh dear.

I may be reading too much between the lines, but thy post, and the logo-page,
are corporate, goal driven projects (maybe top down) that are then wrapped up
in nice fluffy words.

Its not the same as nice fluffy ideas, getting thrown out and tested, with
maybe as much attention from lawyers as aspell.

Of course it happens, but this is the time github went from that nice sparky
startup, to the long slide into corporate beige.

In many ways its a triumph, startups just don't succeed like this. And I would
wish success and money and more success on them all - but my antennae
twitched.

Still paying monthly for it though. Octocat will cry all the way to the bank

~~~
davidu
The negativity and bitterness (even when wrapped in the veil of a nice
comment) on HN continues.

The only difference between a sell-out and a not-sell-out is the presence of a
buyer. That's it.

How you treat your customers and your employees, the work you put into your
products, and the service and loyalty that you engender in continued business
is all that matters. GitHub does all those things extraordinarily well, and
more.

Changing a typography and logo a tiny bit signifies nothing more than they
wanted to change their brand's typography and logo a tiny bit.

Providing the usage scenarios for their marks is not needed at worst, and
really useful at best.

~~~
lifeisstillgood
Negative and bitter? Really?

Come on, they are at an inflection point that has ruined many many other
companies before - and I want this one to succeed.

Bitter because I did not do it back in 2006? Nah- the litany of "if only" is
boring even if I am the one saying it.

Negativity. Well ok, yes but that's what the pills are for

------
campuscodi
I still like the old one more. But whatever....

------
Shtirlic
They should add whiskers to the new logo.

------
wilfra
Looks like this came with a homepage redesign as well: <http://github.com>

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Drew Houston ought to be
feeling great right about now.

~~~
jlogsdon
They redid the homepage a while back. December 2012:
<https://github.com/blog/1355-new-homepage>

