🌟New logo design for Django Commons

[viscofuse]

Hello everyone! My name is Kirby and I joined the dc community to design a new logo. I'm excited to get going on this project!

Please answer the questions below to help me get a better feel for how to make the new logo reflect the community goals, themes, and principles. Any input is helpful.

1. Is there meaning behind the current logo? What does the current logo mean to you?
2. Which themes do you see in django-commons that you would like to be reflected in its logo?
3. Do you currently have a design or iconography in mind?

Is there any other information you think I should have before sketching some ideas? 💭 Let me know in the comments!

Glad to be here!

[akshayvinchurkar]

@viscofuse if you upload the current logo that would be helpful, I did find something but not sure it's a correct logo

[viscofuse]

Hi @akshayvinchurkar, you can find the current logo on the github overview page, or here. I'm not sure if there are variations or alternates.

[bckohan]

@viscofuse Thanks for taking this on!

1. The current logo evokes "grassroots" for me. I'm not sure if this metaphor extends to other cultures - but it's mostly used in America to refer to efforts owned and led by people at the bottom of a hierarchy. Most commonly seen in politics. I get the extension of this metaphor to django-commons, but I suspect it might not travel far beyond english speaking liberal democracies.
2. I think the two most important themes for me are "community" and "collaboration"
3. I do not! But if possible, it might be nice for it to evoke Django as well in some way.

[tim-schilling]

It was definitely created to represent the commons area of land for animals to pasture as a callback to the historical meaning of the commons. I personally think that the definition of shared natural resources is relevant to OSS and worth trying to evoke visually.

[ryancheley]

@viscofuse @akshayvinchurkar thank you for chiming in on this issue. One of the things we (the admins) want to be is transparent and respectful of your time. None of the admins are designers and we’re wondering what the standard practice is for picking a logo / designer.

Is it typical for us to ask several designers to submit a couple of designs and then pick one, or do we pick a designer and then ask for a few logo ideas that we then pick from.

Either way we believe that there will be many opportunities for design needs across Django Commons. We just really want to make sure that we’re adhering to designer expectations. The admins are all very excited about this, we just want to make sure we do it in a way that is well understood by both sides.

If you can respond back on this discussion with typical experiences / expectations we’ll work on helping to provide the best information we can as a team. Thank you again for volunteering!

@django-commons/admins if I’ve missed anything please be sure to chime in.

[viscofuse]

@ryancheley Great questions, here. I propose that we focus on the logo first, since that is what the original request lays out. I am also excited to work on this project. I had only heard of django in name before taking on this project, and I think more orgs should have goals like django commons'.

Typically, you should work with just one designer who will work through a few iterations until you get a logo you are happy with. Of course, you can ask multiple designers for designs, but the time and effort that goes into the research and artistic design of a logo is not minimal, so I just ask that you let anyone working on the same project know beforehand.

This is what I propose as far as process:
I can put together a few questions to guide you on what to be thinking about for your logo, after which I'll do maybe 3-5 rough sketches that convey different directions we could take. I'd send them to you (admins or whoever) for feedback, iterate on one or two based on what you decide, and send a more polished version to you. We can continue iterating as needed. All of this is flexible - if you don't like any of my rough drafts, I'll take your feedback and make some more sketches (or you could tell me to get lost 🏃‍♀️).

I expect this process to take a few iterations until we land on something everyone is happy with. From there, I will build out the logo's visual identity (variable styles and use cases) and provide the vectorized images.

Hope this makes sense and aligns with what you all were thinking.

[mzemlickis]

@viscofuse Hey! I'm a designer eager to contribute. I suggest we start by gathering drafts from multiple designers and then hold a community vote to move this forward together.

[viscofuse]

@mzemlickis Hi there, I'd be happy to work alongside you on the logo if that is the direction the admins would like to take. However, as @ryancheley mentioned in his post above, there may be many opportunities across django-commons for design work. It may be in everyone's best interest if we divide and conquer rather than both of us spending time on one logo. Is that something you are open to?

@django-commons/admins

[mzemlickis]

Yes, I can handle the UI part as well if needed, not a problem. :))

[tim-schilling]

Yup, yup. There are plenty of opportunities. I know the debug toolbar is something we've been wanting to revisit in terms of UI and accessibility, but haven't made time for. cc: @django-commons/django-debug-toolbar

If someone wants to take a peek there and start proposing incremental ideas, I'm pretty confident the team would be open to it.

[viscofuse]

@mzemlickis Which one would you like to take on? Logo or toolbar? Either way, I think we should bounce ideas off of each other as we iterate.

[johnatanmoran]

Hello everyone!

Before moving forward with the first sketches for the new Django Commons logo, I wanted to briefly introduce myself and express my gratitude for the warm welcome. My name is johnatanmoran, and I’m genuinely excited to help contribute to the project's visual growth. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the values, history, and vision of Django Commons through your contributions.

Thank you in advance for any time, ideas, and feedback you can share during this initial phase. Your experience and perspectives will be key in creating a logo that truly embodies the collaborative and open spirit of the project.

If any team member or @admins would like to help by answering a few questions to guide the design proposal, your collaboration would be greatly appreciated. I’ll wait this week for your responses; if I don’t hear back, I will begin my process based on the research and insights I’ve already gathered. The first drafts will be ready for collective review by mid-October.

Thank you again for your trust and for making this a great collaborative space!

Here are the questions:

---

Current or Previous Logo

1. Rate the current logo
   On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means “I hate it” and 10 means “I love it.”
2. What do you like most about the current logo?
3. What do you like least about the current logo?

The New Logo

4. What do you want as a member?
   Please describe what you want from the logo, also describe what you DON’T want.
5. How would you describe the django-commons to a non-member?
   Describe the Django Commons community as thoroughly as possible.
6. How do you want/expect the logo to look?
   What kind of design do you have in mind?
   If possible, share references (images of brands or logos you like or that you think fit the future brand).
7. Why?
   Describe the reasons why you want the logo to look the way you outlined above.
8. What do you want to convey to anyone who sees the logo?
   What feelings, values, or ideas do you want the logo to evoke?
9. History
   Please provide any relevant background about the community.
10. Context
    What media or platforms will the logo be used on?
    (For example: website, GitHub, social media, documentation, presentations, etc.)
11. Finally, three adjectives
    Describe the community/project using only three adjectives.

[tim-schilling]

Hi @johnatanmoran, please hold off on this. We're in the process with someone else already.

[johnatanmoran]

Hi @tim-schilling,

Thank you for letting me know—no problem at all.

If there’s any way I can help the team or support the process, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m happy to assist in any capacity, whether that’s collaborating on assets, providing feedback, or even organizing the design process in a repository-like environment for better documentation and collaboration. Would love to contribute however I can.

Wishing you a smooth workflow, and I’m here if you need me!

[Violette-Allotey]

Hello everyone, 👋

I’m Violette Allotey, and I’m excited to join this amazing community! My background is in finance and creative design, and I’m also building educational projects for children that combine storytelling, design, and STEM learning.

I’m passionate about using design to make technology feel more welcoming and intuitive. In Django Commons, I look forward to contributing to design-related initiatives—whether through UI/UX improvements, visual storytelling, or creating engaging resources that make Django more accessible to beginners and creative learners.

I’m thrilled to learn, collaborate, and contribute to open-source in a meaningful way. Looking forward to connecting with you all and being part of the journey!