405th Logo Update

[Art Andrews]

As with so many other things within this community, we are bringing a fresh approach to the look of the core logo.

Logo History

Now... I won't claim to know the entire history of the community's identity, but this is one of the earliest versions of the logo I could find from around August of 2007.



Which eventually appeared on the website around Oct of 2007.



I am not sure exactly when the current logo was first created (roughly ~2008) but Adam shared some of the very earliest versions of it with me:





This triskelion-styled design with three hexagons and the (Halo) ring eventually gave way to our current logo:




Updated Logo

In approaching the new logo, we hired Ever and Oak to help us. Douglas is a friend (and long time RPFer) and understands these type of communities, where a typical design company probably wouldn't truly get the nature of what we do. In talking with him I told him that I did not want a NEW logo as much as I wanted a new take on the existing logo as so many within the community identify with it. I asked him to keep the core elements of the logo:

• The ring - representing Earth.
• The three stars - representing the core values of our community: honor, armor and unity
• The three hexagons - represent you, the building blocks of our community, who hold our values at your core
• The eagle - which has long represented a fighting force, most notably in history, the Roman Legion, but more currently, the US Marine Corps
• The wreath - from the UN and UEG insignia, a symbol of the peace the UNSC are striving toward

I also asked that Douglas give us a design that didn't exactly mimic any specific Halo design, but had a feel that would fit into the Halo universe. I also asked him to limit the color palette to two, subdued colors (in addition to black and white) and make the logo something that we could easily break down into more simple forms for various uses. For anyone who knows anything about design, it is much harder to recreate something than to create something from scratch and my list of needs was no small task.

With that being said, Douglas brought back to me a stunning update to our logo that addressed EVERY concern I had and did so in a fantastic way!

I hate to start on a bad note, but before you scroll further (stop scrolling... stop!), PLEASE DO NOT USE THE NEW LOGO FOR ANY IMAGERY AT THIS TIME! Over the next few days, we will be setting up new logo usage guidelines and providing high-resolution artwork for approved usage. Again, please do not use this logo in part or whole at this point!

Here is our new full logo for the 405th Division:



Here is a horizontal variation:



And very importantly, the logo can be broken down into smaller components... such as ranks:



... or it could also be used to represent the progression that so many of us make from small and simply things to complex and difficult things:



And here is just an example of me playing around in Photoshop...


No matter how you look at it, this is a strong update to the community's identity, paying homage to what has come before, while giving us something more versatile and usable for what is ahead!

Here is a chance to see the evolution of the community identity, side by side:



I know I said it before, but I want to remind you again - DON'T SKIP THIS!
While I am confident you are excited about the new logo, PLEASE DO NOT USE IT FOR ANY IMAGERY AT THIS TIME! Over the next few days, we will be setting up new logo usage guidelines and providing high-resolution artwork for approved usage. Again, please do not use this logo in part or whole at this point!

So, where do we go from here? As we continue to update the site and social media venues, we will be adding in the new logo (as well as offering swag with the new logo). We will also be setting new guidelines so you too can use the logo in support of your community!

 

[Art Andrews]

Slapped it on my ODST chest plate. Wondering if you have any thoughts on weathering guidelines. I redid this a couple of times because I was concerned the weathering was making the logo too unrecognizeable.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/23/9upe6e2e.jpg

We could try to micromanage you on this but honestly, all we ask is that you try to leave enough so that it IS recognizable as the 405th logo, which I think you have done very well!

 

[Master Builder]

Ok, I finally got a shirt painted with the logo.

Please note that this project was only done to improve my shirt painting skills. I did NOT make this to wear around in public (I don't know if it's even allowed).

It didn't turn out as good as I hope it to. I am happy with the stencil work, but as you can tell the blue colors are off, especially the earth/eagle. When I mixed the colors they looked right but as soon as I sprayed them, they darkened. Also if you look closly you can see the area where I got some over spray under my masking (which I was very unhappy about), but I managed to some what cover it with white. If you are interested, the color ratios are 20:1:1 for the earth/eagle (blue, black, white), and 3:4 for the hexagons (blue, white). I guess it's ok for only being the third shirt I have ever painted.

I'm really going to put this shirt through a lot to see how it holds up, especially washing (I don't have a heat press).

http://i.imgur.com/IXZ8rWq.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2RBrkpK.jpg

So with those rules, am I able to wear a shirt I painted in public?

I know it would be alright on armor, but would it also be acceptable on something like a shirt or a hat? I know you don't want it to look like you are someone representing the 405th, but more like advertising it, or showing you are a part of it.

 

[RobotChicken]

Okay, how are we supposed to get the logos from a PDF? Without an image extractor, all the visible graphics in a PDF are rendered bitmaps (and without transparent backgrounds). Something as important as the usage guidelines in the document would be information on how to retrieve the embedded images and font. Otherwise the PDF is of no more use than a web page image.

Also, what is the font in the logo? I saw "Baksheesh" mentioned, but a Google search on this font yields results which look nothing like the font in the logo.

 

[Art Andrews]

Okay, how are we supposed to get the logos from a PDF? Without an image extractor, all the visible graphics in a PDF are rendered bitmaps (and without transparent backgrounds). Something as important as the usage guidelines in the document would be information on how to retrieve the embedded images and font. Otherwise the PDF is of no more use than a web page image.

Also, what is the font in the logo? I saw "Baksheesh" mentioned, but a Google search on this font yields results which look nothing like the font in the logo.

The graphics in the PDF are vectors. Opening the PDF in photoshop will give you usable images that are completely scalable.

...guessing you didn't make it all the way through the PDF as the fonts are listed at the end.

 

[RobotChicken]

Thanks on the font info. I'm not about to go buy Photoshop just to extract the PDF's vectors...

Edit: Got them using Inkscape for Mac, thanks. (Sadly, the colors are near invisible on my blue background.)

 

[Art Andrews]

What program do you use for image editing?

 

[RobotChicken]

What program do you use for image editing?

Depends on the end usage. For print and PDF work I use Scribus. For more-enhanced vector editing I use Inkscape. For video graphics I use Motion. For bitmap editing I use Gimp. Adobe software is too pricey, including their cloud-based subscription services. Open-source applications have nearly all the same significant features.

 

[RobotChicken]

On the "tag" version, would it be acceptable to replace "BUILD YOUR CHARACTER" with "www.405th.com"?

Or, if the "full" logo is used, does a full hexagon space need to be between the logo and "www.405th.com" below it?

And, is it allowed to cast a background shadow when placed in a 3D environment (like a drop-shadow but not exactly)?

 

[ColFork85]

Art Andrews, I got it to work, I will have a revised version for the midwest regiment/michigan battalion for approval, including horizontal versions.

 

[Saeka]

Art, say we want to use specific elements of the logo to design a potential regiment logo. Would that be allowed? IE, something similar to Pacific?

 

[Art Andrews]

Art, say we want to use specific elements of the logo to design a potential regiment logo. Would that be allowed? IE, something similar to Pacific?

I don't want to give carte blanche, but yes, in theory, that is why we made the individual elements available.

 

[Jen A266]

View attachment 795

I bet you're pretty sick of hearing about the ranking systems and all but if you DO implement some ranks i think you should stick to your original idea of these 3 simple 'ranks' for all the past, present and future members. Not only is it simple, it's also very eye-catching in a way that it shows some significance in what we're doing. Like i said before, simplicity is the new complex

And before i go ahead with what ive planned, so is it safe to say that the new 405th logo can be used as an emblem on my armour piece? Just so i wont accidentally offend anyone.

 

[Dagger06]

Art, say we want to use specific elements of the logo to design a potential regiment logo. Would that be allowed? IE, something similar to Pacific?

Best thing to do is to e-mail Art about what ideas you were thinking of. When designing the 405th Pacific logo we contacted Adam, let him know of our intentions, and asked if it was okay to make it look like the 405th logo.

I'm sure when it comes time to put down guidelines for starting a regiment in your area, we'll establish guidelines for utilizing logo elements.

 

[Art Andrews]

And before i go ahead with what ive planned, so is it safe to say that the new 405th logo can be used as an emblem on my armour piece? Just so i wont accidentally offend anyone.

Absolutely! Go for it!

 

[everandoak]

Saw some requests for desktop images and thought I'd share this here:

 

[RobotChicken]

Saw some requests for desktop images and thought I'd share this here:

View attachment 1179

lol - The logo is over the cod armor.....

 

[everandoak]

lol - The logo is over the cod armor.....

Where is your... cod? :lol

 

[RobotChicken]

Okay, I guess it's more over his abdomen in the wallpaper. I think the logo would also look good at the upper-left where there's a large "dark" area with not much happening.

 

[Art Andrews]

Saw some requests for desktop images and thought I'd share this here:

View attachment 1179

And... I have a new background!

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

Art, I have a couple of questions regarding the use of this logo WITH (but not IN COMBINATION) logos for other groups/companies, etc?

For example,

I have had a proposal accepted by a local university to fund some of the tech equipment for my build. Part of the proposal will allow them to place their logo on the armour for their marketing purposes. If I follow the spacing policy of the logo use guidelines, and keep the logos as separate entities (ie. quite far apart), can I display BOTH logos on my armour?

And does the answer change if the logo I attempt to use is not for a university, but for a company that is paying me to use the suit for marketing purposes? (Not that this is a scenario that is presently occurring, but why not ask while the question seems relevant?)

I guess the suit could become a patchwork of logos and such, like nascars, and does that create a problem if the 405th logo is included in that mix with the others?