[IPython-dev] Website

[Fernando Perez]

On Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 5:07 AM, Thomas Kluyver <takowl at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In terms of the logo, I think the only visually distinctive thing about
> IPython are the prompts, which inspired the existing IP[y] logo. We could
> also have some reference to the yellow & blue Python logo
> (http://python.org/), but on the other hand, we're pitching this as an
> environment for data exploration and interactive computing in general, not
> only as a Python shell.
>
> I've CCed in the dev list - Carl has offered to design some sort of
> banner-style logo for the top of our website (see the sites for matplotlib
> and sphinx for examples). Any suggestions on what it should look like? Do we
> have any theme it should fit in with?

I've never had any graphics design talent, unfortunately, so all I can
do is thank those willing to help us on that front (it really is much
appreciated).  From the ideas side, though, I think it's worth opening
up beyond the prompts metaphor.  It's true that IPython is more of a
library/environment and up until now it was only a console app and the
twisted-based parallel code. That made it kind of hard to come up with
nice visually impacting logos that would directly resonate with the
project's everyday use. I think Min did a great job with the original
logo, which we've used for a few years.  But (hopefully Min or nobody
else will object) I'd be open to some fresh thinking on that front,
perhaps something can be designed that better conveys all the new
machinery and use cases we now have:

- terminal-based interactive work
- rich console (Qt) with control over the Python VM (as embodied by an
IPython kernel)
- web console/notebook
- lightweight parallel system, with interactive capabilities

I know that IPython isn't the easiest project to capture in a logo.
So go crazy with ideas, and please post anything you come up with for
review!  Many thanks in advance for this help.

Cheers,

f

ps - in the end, whatever image(s) are chosen should be committed to
the repo in inkscape-editable SVG format so they can be worked on with
fully open source tools always (it's OK if the author works with other
apps that may be better than inkscape, but the final version should be
editable with open tools).  For convenience, committing a couple of
PNG renders at various common resolutions is fine, so people using the
logos in everyday work don't have to re-render them all the time.