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Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: vic20owner on June 25, 2007, 03:29:05 PM

Title: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: vic20owner on June 25, 2007, 03:29:05 PM
One thing about the Amiga I wish WOULD die is that stupid checkered ball.  Come on guys, this is the lamest logo ever.  

Sure it was cool in the early 90s when 3d was the new thing, but today it's almost embarrassing to see an Amiga logo with that stupid ball in it.. seems you can't find a single Amiga backdrop or logo without that ridiculous ball.

I'm am thankful that the AROS guys had enough sense to come up with something new.  While I think an animal for a logo is sort of dated also (playing on the Linux penguin) it's better than a plain old checker boarded ball.

I feel sick everytime I look at it.  It's like looking back at photos of myself in the 80s in a fluorescent shirt with fat boy laces on my checkered vans.

I can't believe one little bouncing ball demo became the entire marketing directive for the whole product line.  How sad!  This is the sort of marketing that let C= sink in the first place and we are carrying on the tradition!

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: keropi on June 25, 2007, 03:35:58 PM
the ball rox, u cannot deny facts.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Chain on June 25, 2007, 03:38:30 PM
vote for v, ball is just sick ball
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Matt_H on June 25, 2007, 03:59:48 PM
Quote
I can't believe one little bouncing ball demo became the entire marketing directive for the whole product line. How sad! This is the sort of marketing that let C= sink in the first place and we are carrying on the tradition!

On the contrary, Commodore wanted nothing to do with the Boing Ball. The Checkmark and the color swatches were their marketing icons. It was the post-Escom Amiga Technologies / Amiga International that used the Boing Ball, a pattern that has persisted through to today.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Oli_hd on June 25, 2007, 04:11:32 PM
Watch the gateway video and say the ball aint cool. :)

That said Im more of a fan of the Amiga logo with the diamond over the i.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: HellCoder on June 25, 2007, 04:15:47 PM
A logo shouldn't change. A new logo, no matter how cool, will never reach the same 'stuff' the old logo brings with it.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: dbrads on June 25, 2007, 04:25:11 PM
I have just downloaded the Amiga/Boing ball animated mouse pointers for windoze, brill....

Long live the Boing Ball!

Keep the Faith.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Brian on June 25, 2007, 04:25:40 PM
The volume of boingball's in the Amiga community would indicate you're in the minority... so is also the remark that you don't feel well about the 80's cause I'm sure many, Many, MANY Amigans absolutley strive to feel just a few of the lovley nostalgic Amiga vibes of the mid 80's and early 90's.


:banana: BOING FOR PRESIDENT :banana:
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: itix on June 25, 2007, 04:27:37 PM
I could not agree more. The checkmark is more lively and you can paint
it in many styles. When you paint a ball from different angles it
always looks the same ;-)

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: on June 25, 2007, 04:40:05 PM
I can't say as I agree with you, considering people still love the Chicken Lips Commodore logo, but there's a poll on the front page, just for you...  :)

Wayne
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Ancalimon on June 25, 2007, 04:49:19 PM
a ball represents a gay in Turkish languages.  :crazy:

I"d rather see the old checkmark back.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: on June 25, 2007, 04:59:20 PM
Quote

FaLLeNOnE wrote:
a ball represents a gay in Turkish languages.  :crazy:

How gay....  :)

Wayne
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: vic20owner on June 25, 2007, 05:15:05 PM
Ok, but to me, a TWO COLOR animated ball doesn't do a machine with a 16.8M color palette any justice.  It could have been done on a C64.  As a quick demo, without OS, showing that the hardware works, it's fine... but as a logo it sucks!





Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: James on June 25, 2007, 05:16:08 PM
So far on the poll, people seem to prefer the plain old AMIGA that was engraved on our beloved A500.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: on June 25, 2007, 05:25:25 PM
Quote

James wrote:
So far on the poll, people seem to prefer the plain old AMIGA that was engraved on our beloved A500.
As do I, but it's far less easy to defend on a trademark level.

Wayne
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: vic20owner on June 25, 2007, 05:27:35 PM




Quote

Matt_H wrote:
On the contrary, Commodore wanted nothing to do with the Boing Ball. The Checkmark and the color swatches were their marketing icons. It was the post-Escom Amiga Technologies / Amiga International that used the Boing Ball, a pattern that has persisted through to today.


Which is why I can't take Amiga,Inc's website seriously.    It looks like a 1999 startup company.






Title: neener nah
Post by: weirdami on June 25, 2007, 05:40:26 PM
Quote
Come on guys, this is the lamest logo ever.


Oh yeah, well... you're ugly. :-P
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: jkirk on June 25, 2007, 05:56:58 PM
i would like to see a hybrid design

something along these lines
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y52/jrkirkley/amiga.gif)
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: amigadave on June 25, 2007, 06:01:31 PM
Quote

jkirk wrote:
i would like to see a hybrid design

something along these lines
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y52/jrkirkley/amiga.gif)


Not bad, but I think it would look better if the Boing Ball were reduced and used to dot the letter "i" instead of covering part of the letter "g".

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: orange on June 25, 2007, 06:11:52 PM
checkmark all the way.. IMHO
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: vic20owner on June 25, 2007, 06:51:11 PM


Seven Logo Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Summary

If you can successfully avoid these common logo blunders and you are well on your way to a great logo:

1) The Clipart Logo
Most clipart images are widely distributed. Anyone who is familiar with the software providing the clipart will very likely recognize your ‘borrowed’ logo. This is a poor way to build credibility for your business.

2) The Special Effects Logo
Strip away all of the special effects to get at the heart of your design. Special filters such as glows, drop shadows, and bevels are great for creating graphics and manipulating photos, but they can be very distracting when applied to a logo. A great logo should be able to stand its ground in black and white, without any effects.

4) The Banner Logo
A logo is not a web banner advertisement. You are doing yourself more harm than good by forcing your logo into a banner shape, especially if the content is crammed to fit the entire rectangle. Our eyes are trained to avoid these shapes, not read them.

5) The Integrated Logo
Professional logo designers occasionally integrate graphic elements directly into the text to create one unified logo. This process is risky. Executed poorly, your logo can easily look ‘tacky’. (i.e. using the letter ‘O’ in the company name to create a globe, eye, magnifying glass, etc.)

6) The Text-Only Logo
A text-only logo severely restricts the ability to express your company’s uniqueness and memorability. Larger, more established businesses can pull off text-only logos with exorbitant marketing budgets. If you just can’t resist a text-only logo, consider a strong, unique typeface – preferably custom made.

7) The Monogram
Monograms (company initials) are very difficult to use effectively. It will take a long time to build credibility with a monogram logo. Similarly, logos consisting of several overlapping letters generally do not work well. They may be fun to construct, but the end result says very little about your company.

8) The Complex Logo
Detailed illustrations, photos, and complex layouts make poor logos. Each additional detail is an extra detail that your (potential) customer has to remember. A simple, unique logo with solid shades and minimal lines will have greater impact and memorability.

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Doppie1200 on June 25, 2007, 07:03:07 PM
I'm with the checkmark. No boing balls on my amiga!
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: hardlink on June 25, 2007, 07:51:53 PM
Quote

vic20owner wrote:
One thing about the Amiga I wish WOULD die is that stupid checkered ball.  Come on guys, this is the lamest logo ever.  


Obviously you were never at any of the most recent big fun Amiga shows in the U.S., back when there were big fun ones here. You can Boing a lot more than balls - shoes and BlimpCams come to mind :)

The checkmark never really went away, and around the time of those shows there were some official drive bay cover plates made with the A500 style Amiga logo.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: McVenco on June 25, 2007, 09:08:53 PM
I'd go for either the checkmark or the classic C= Amiga letters. I somewhat liked the Amiga logo with the red square on the letter i as well, but the boingball? Yuck!
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: cpfuture on June 25, 2007, 09:57:13 PM
Quote

McVenco wrote:
I'd go for either the checkmark or the classic C= Amiga letters. I somewhat liked the Amiga logo with the red square on the letter i as well, but the boingball? Yuck!


Second that!

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: guru-666 on June 25, 2007, 11:17:52 PM
bong balls retarded. The classic C= and AMIGA was the best... I also like the check mark that was on the 1000.  who the heck decided to use the boing ball anyway?
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: odin on June 25, 2007, 11:26:38 PM
Quote
bong balls retarded
(http://www.bolinat.com/unique/products/sml/3873.jpg) ?

But indeed, death to the Boing-ball.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: meega on June 25, 2007, 11:40:06 PM
The best use for the boing ball was BoingThrows (imo).
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Ancalimon on June 26, 2007, 12:08:15 AM
Quote

Wayne wrote:
Quote

FaLLeNOnE wrote:
a ball represents a gay in Turkish languages.  :crazy:

How gay....  :)

Wayne


Well. What I think is when choosing a logo for a brand they have to extra careful to make the logo not collide with a concept or anything that may be a specific thing in a culture.

For example they would not be able to sell a meat product with a logo of a pig here. Or maybe the boingball may seem a little bit gay to some people in Turkey. Or maybe the cow of the gateway could offend someone in India :) You have to be very careful when you want to sell your product globaly.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Speelgoedmannetje on June 26, 2007, 12:23:05 AM
Definately AMIGA
rrrrrrr Just that sweet memory when the cool guys had such a machine, a machine with back then to me mysterious and unlimited possibilities game-wise...
Checker flag is O.K. but small, not as outstanding as the AMIGA logo. And a combination isn't a good idea either, too much is too much of nothing.

Oh and yes, I kinda agree with the thread starter, the boing ball is boring as hell.

(yet I wouldn't mind having an Amiga 1000 with that logo)
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: WOWZER on June 26, 2007, 02:43:21 AM
My original A1000 had the boing ball logo on the keyboard and machine. I wish I still had that one.
I am all for the ball!!
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Matt_H on June 26, 2007, 03:15:23 AM
Quote
You have to be very careful when you want to sell your product globaly.

Oh yes you do! (http://www.i18nguy.com/translations.html) :-)
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: amigadave on June 26, 2007, 03:53:03 AM
Come up with a better logo and I will agree with the original poster, but until then, I will continue to use and admire the Amiga Boing Ball.  It looks good to me, I don't know what the big fuss is all about.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Leifern on June 26, 2007, 05:07:32 AM
I would like a C=A.. The Commodore Amiga! YEAH!! That's what it'll always be to me? ESCOM? Gateway? Amiga inc.? Never heard of'em! ;-)
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: countzero on June 26, 2007, 05:26:06 AM
Quote

Matt_H wrote:
Oh yes you do! (http://www.i18nguy.com/translations.html) :-)


Aha ! great link ! :) I especially like "Touch Woody - The Internet Pecker."  :lol:
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: mikrucio on June 26, 2007, 06:03:46 AM
the boing ball IS THE BEST!!
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: kolla on June 26, 2007, 06:08:29 AM
Is there a list somewhere of things not to use as logo in Turkey? I bet it's long :crazy:

Almost amazing that they allow Asterix there, with all that pig eating going on....
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: TNovosel on June 26, 2007, 06:40:32 AM
Yeah,the boing ball is the best!!
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: countzero on June 26, 2007, 07:29:21 AM
Quote

kolla wrote:

Almost amazing that they allow Asterix there, with all that pig eating going on....


well, it's not like eating pig is illegal in Turkey. It's perfectly possible to go out and buy pork (though you have to find the shops which sell imported food) and eat.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: daniel on June 26, 2007, 12:08:25 PM
The amiga ball beats the heck out of the microsoft symbol.
The ball is the way of the future.
Quote

vic20owner wrote:
One thing about the Amiga I wish WOULD die is that stupid checkered ball.  Come on guys, this is the lamest logo ever.  

Sure it was cool in the early 90s when 3d was the new thing, but today it's almost embarrassing to see an Amiga logo with that stupid ball in it.. seems you can't find a single Amiga backdrop or logo without that ridiculous ball.

I'm am thankful that the AROS guys had enough sense to come up with something new.  While I think an animal for a logo is sort of dated also (playing on the Linux penguin) it's better than a plain old checker boarded ball.

I feel sick everytime I look at it.  It's like looking back at photos of myself in the 80s in a fluorescent shirt with fat boy laces on my checkered vans.

I can't believe one little bouncing ball demo became the entire marketing directive for the whole product line.  How sad!  This is the sort of marketing that let C= sink in the first place and we are carrying on the tradition!

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Legerdemain on June 26, 2007, 03:09:52 PM
While I'm having nothing in general against The check, I think it is a tad too complex to be remembered by the masses. Also, in black & white the gradient really won't be done justice, but instead just look like an uninspired black & white gradient that really holds nothing of value in relation to what the gradient, while in full colour, really aims at.

The Boing Ball is much simpler... and the shape is as basic as it can get. The checkered pattern gives a simple uniqeness that makes it stand out in comparation to other circular logos. And, also, it doesn't lose relevance when presented in black and white.

I'm all for the Boing Ball. As a trademark I think it is extremely efficient, and also I find it simple and 'clean' to the extent that it feels like it hasn't aged a single day since it was introduced. But, most importantly... the Boing Ball holds some really symbolic value, that everyone that knows their Amiga history well can relate to. It was with that demo shown for some selected people at that specific show that the Amiga era began.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: amigadave on June 26, 2007, 05:40:14 PM
Quote

Legerdemain wrote:
While I'm having nothing in general against the checker mark, I think it is a tad too complex to be remembered by the masses. Also, in black & white the gradient really won't be done justice, but instead just look like an uninspired black & white gradient that really holds nothing of value in relation to what the gradient, while in full colour, really aims at.

The boing ball is much simpler... and the shape is as basic as it can get. The checkered pattern gives a simple uniqeness that makes it stand out in comparation to other circular logos. And, also, it doesn't lose relevance when presented in black and white.

I'm all for the boingball. As a trademark I think it is extremely efficient, and also I find it simple and 'clean' to the extent that it feels like it hasn't aged a single day since it was introduced. But, most importantly... the boing-ball holds some really symbolic value, that everyone that knows their Amiga history well can reality to. It was with that demo shown for some selected people at that specific show that the Amiga era began.


Well said and right on the money!  Not being a graphic artist, or advertising kind of guy, I was not able to explain it so completely and without a single wasted word.  

You nailed it exactly!   ;-)
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: leirbag28 on June 26, 2007, 06:25:53 PM
 I also agree with Legerdemain.  The Boingball is best and most recognizable.  Using the checkermark would be the equivalent of APPLE using the rainbow apple as its logo today! UGLY! and soooo 1980's...........................

.......I am also not a fan of combining these logos.....it looks messy and confusing. I do like the Amiga Logo with the red square above the I but I also admired the AMIGA words that were on the A500 box that looked futuristic in style..................but anyway I think there is a misunderstanding here by some people as to what the BoingBall is.................you have seen many versions....many that look ugly.....................The A1000 BoingBall is a perfect example of ugly! its not even perfectly round and is literally only 2 colors..........................todays 3Dimensional looking BoingBall is 16 millions colors and not 2 colors as some people here think. It looks professional. Even the Amiga Inc website has got the wrong boingball on their site...which is quite weird and quite ugly.................this is a mistake for them to do this.


Here is the One and ONLY correct BoingBall:
http://home.olemiss.edu/~badwf/boingball.gif
(the same ones on the os3.5 and 3.9 CD's)

Wrong BoingBalls:
http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/b1000big.jpg

http://www.exotica.org.uk/images/titles/letters/BoingAnim.gif



On a side note...................cool looking A500:
http://www.amiga-hardware.com/download_photos/a500_boing_big.jpg


Cool Amiga Show and well presented:
http://www.amiga-news.de/archiv/121199messe1.html

Amiga A500 Box logo I used to like:
http://www.anythingamiga.com/amiga3.jpg
(this logo can be used on a LEGACY Gold edition Amiga)


P.S.  if the Checkmark were ver to be used..........it would be best it it was used as the Logo For the Workbench OS in the same way the WIndows logo is used. DELL has its own logo, and Windows running on it has its own logo.  I think calling it AmigaOS is stupid and limits its use to Amigas only. If Workbench were ever to become popular, no one wants an OS called AMigaOS on their Mac.

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: meega on June 26, 2007, 06:41:38 PM
Quote

leirbag28 wrote:

Cool Amiga Show and well presented:
-link-


But not well-linked.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: billt on June 26, 2007, 06:42:44 PM
I like the ball.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: leirbag28 on June 26, 2007, 06:45:26 PM
@meega

Thanks...............link now "well Linked" :-)

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: meega on June 26, 2007, 06:57:58 PM
@leirbag28

Tidy set of links you have there.

As I have already mentioned BoingThrows, I've gone for a look in Aminet and here (http://aminet.net/search?query=boingthrows) it is if anyone is interested.


(Spoiler removed. ;-) )
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: amigakid on June 27, 2007, 02:39:44 AM
The Boing ball Rocks guys.  I must say though I am very particular to the Check mark I have on my A1000.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: deBrun on June 27, 2007, 03:17:52 AM
 

Quote

vic20owner wrote:
One thing about the Amiga I wish WOULD die is that stupid checkered ball.  Come on guys, this is the lamest logo ever.  

Boing Ball stays--> you go.  Too easy.
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Retromania on June 27, 2007, 12:44:33 PM
I'm for the Boing Ball - it has heritage!

Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Retromania on June 27, 2007, 12:45:52 PM
But I also like the Amiga "Tick".  I wanted one of those back in the 80's (with an A1000 stuck to it! :-))
Title: Re: Please, kill the amiga ball
Post by: Brunty on June 27, 2007, 01:50:59 PM
Lots of good points above.

Personally I like this one -

(http://www.sciroccouk.co.uk/temp/amigalogo.jpg)

I like the boing ball, but it's a symbol and won't mean much to anyone outside the community, therefore I think the word "Amiga" needs to be present.

I also agree that in this day and age that the "OS" should be dropped as there isn't really any hardware that can be called an Amiga being produced.

/2p

Brunty