SAFE Network Brand ID Competition

[chrisfostertv]

@neo

My 2 cents is that if we make safenetwork branding simply safecoin then like bitcoin the public will only ever know it for money. And the network itself will be viewed as a money making system and not S.A.F.E.

That could well be the result, but if it fosters adoption and the greater good is being achieved in the background then it’s the best outcome for the Project and the world. A spoonful of sugar makes the good medicine go down

The network is doing some warm and cuddly stuff and it’s invigorating to think of it’s achievements, with Safecoin as a focus there’s definitely a bling factor…but in reality if you want bums on seats at developer conferences and you want to grab consumer attention it mostly comes down to money. The desire to earn it and to spend it…that’s where our money system has us focused and a desire, I suggest we unashamedly tap into in order to make things better.

We have to look at ourselves in the mirror, I would suggest most of us here are on the idealist side when thinking of our new network and we’ve have had plenty of time to appreciate how this thing works. With marketing, it’s cold call, a 30 second pitch to explain ourselves.

Fun…I want fun, money and free stuff

[chrisfostertv]

@bluebird

However, I thought one reason for this exercise was to resolve confusion between different concepts, and easy and suggestive naming that has some coherence, thereby making it more memorable, would surely be a step in that direction.

Yes and what I’m proposing is a 180 degree change in focus, away from ‘network + apps’ towards ‘coin + apps’ and piggy backing on what Bitcoin has achieved i.e known as currency, rather than a new network.

I know in reality it’s 2 completely different protocols, but there are parallels with what their initial goals were.

Bitcoin was definitely about freedom, freedom from the current monetary system…with side effects of freedom itself. Safe is more direct in it’s approach to reaching freedom and throws in privacy for good measure.

But there is no mainstream rallying call for freedom surrounding Bitcoin in the media…it’s been more about Bitcoin as a payment mechanism…a digital currency. If they had focused their message on the public blockchain, immutable data etc I’m sure they would not have reached current exposure levels.

Safe is no different in that you have a payment rail for digital currency and if that rail is humming with activity then you have a strong vibrant network underneath. So what do you market, the network, the payment rail, both?

At the moment it’s both and I don’t understand why we should not bring the two together, structured data masquerading as safecoin + the ‘network’

Safecoin Network
Bitcoin Network

Same Dev audience, but a ‘coin’ that does way more than digital currency when incorporated into apps.

[neo]

@chrisfostertv

That could well be the result, but if it fosters adoption and the greater good is being achieved

Not really because it then becomes a money market commodity and like bitcoin the general public shows little interest in it. Only one group of people show interest. We want everyone.

[Warren]

But there has always been this idea at least in the my own mind that the coin/payment system could build out the physical network in terms of nodes (especially mesh) and build out the network’s mind share. One way to resolve this question, even if it means resources spent, is a quality network logo or brand conception and then see which of the two presents an empirically compelling vision.

I’d like to see “Secure Access For Everyone” rendered in a logo format, but how do you that? Maybe the diagrammatic logic of the network itself can take a fractalic form and that can be made into a logo. At some resolution that might be quite pretty. Is it a crystalline snow flake or a jelly fish like form or something else? What does its math look like in geometric form? Or maybe its what the layout will look like in geospatial space at launch? Or what it will look like in geospatial space on an idealized soft radio mesh of meshes composed of primarily end user owned and controlled mesh phone nodes?

[chrisfostertv]

@neo

We want everyone.

Step 1 - Get passionate Devs who need to make a living.

Got me thinking about the 3 different groups that are rewarded with safecoin: Core | Apps | Farmers

They are quite distinctive functions and mindsets, unified by the payment mechanism.

So your drumming up support, would you split these out into different sessions across a conference day?

I think you probably would, the subject matter is too vast.

Safecoin Session - How to earn a living on the Safecoin Network

Core Session - Your talking RUST, CRUST and all those other acronyms

Apps Session - Your talking API’s, Bindings, Structured Data, Current Projects like Decorum etc

Farming Session - Your talking Rigs, Bandwidth, Vaults, Docker etc

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Safenetwork feels like a conservative term you would use at the Core Network level…a general term that does not carry enough weight to warrant a branding of it’s own.

Moving up the stack towards the consumer, with Apps, Farming and the coin itself…it’s begging for more sizzle and buzz…to me that’s were branding should sit.

At some stage I will wager that Safecoin will get it’s own brand anyhow, probably instigated by those upper layer guys.

So it still needs discussing where the IP sits at present for ‘Safecoin’, the logo, DNS etc…is that with the foundation and are there restrictions around it’s use? @nicklambert

[dyamanaka]

Here’s my opinion/suggestion for what it’s worth.

• There should only be one symbol per entity/business/ecosystem.

• We already have a symbol… made for Safecoin. IMO, we should have branded the SAFE Network, the origin of all things SAFE, and then stamped it onto Safecoin.

• If you want a new brand, then you need to rebrand Safecoin as well. Why? Because Safecoin “comes” from the SAFE Network. It is literally a product of the SAFE Network.

If the SAFE Network is a tree, then Safecoin is the fruit, Apps are the branches, and Content are the leaves. They’re all in the same family, even though they’re distinct with their own traits and special attributes.

I understand there are many aspects of the whole picture. But in consumer psychology, it doesn’t matter. The reality is, creators don’t get to choose “how” anyone remembers the product/service… beyond marketing.

The wonderful thing about a symbol (not the names) is that it (can and will) be used for many different meanings, encompassing all aspects relevant to the adopters (Devs, Consumers, Marketing, Finance). The purpose is to link the whole family together so people can “know” on the most fundamental level where it came from… the origin.

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I say we use one symbol and stamp it on all things SAFE. Fortunately, I have already done so to show you guys how easy it can be done. Just to be clear, I am suggesting we use the Safecoin logo for the SAFE Network.

- YouTube

[Luke]

@MrAnderson

Then I spend 5-50 minutes (depending on the audience) on how the network runs…they all fall asleep. Sometimes I’ll get how is that any different from TOR, IPFS, I2P, SIA, STORXJ, etc. I always start this way because I know “it” isn’t about the coin…

I had/have the same issue. These days I always start my explanation with something like “it’s the new private internet” and go from there to talk about how every film will be available to stream without blocking (something 99% of people can relate to), anonymous cash (how this is different to btc), propaganda resistant (great firewall), no more copyright enforcement and all of that great stuff

For sure though I think the whole SAFE network needs to be boiled down to a very, very simple statement which acts as a launchpad/hook for discussion of the next 10 or 20 paradigm shifting realities this will ultimately bring.

[chrisfostertv]

@dyamanaka

I say we use one symbol and stamp it on all things SAFE

I agree…we have our Symbol …write whatever you want alongside

[nicklambert]

@Artiscience

Currently to me the most interesting question is how “the community” takes a decision. Who is part of the community, who isn´t? How could we possibly prevent vote manipulaton?

Forum voting only counting votes from accounts hat are at least 3 months old?

@chrisfostertv

So it still needs discussing where the IP sits at present for ‘Safecoin’, the logo, DNS etc…is that with the foundation and are there restrictions around it’s use?

So safecoin logo designer has signed over rights to MaidSafe and we have made that available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license so basically anyone can use it for anything. I have trademarked the word ‘safecoin’ in the UK to MaidSafe with the intention to use the Madrid System to file in a number of jurisdictions ww. This protocol saves me needing to file individual applications within each jurisdiction. I am just waiting for an existing European mark to expire before I proceed. As with the patents these have been filled purely so that the company and the community have freedom to operate.

Regards this thread in general, I think there have been a lot of really good points raised. I’m personally not adverse to @dyamanaka’s suggestion as it does utilise artwork that the community agreed upon while still providing a separate identity.

With a view to moving things forward I think we should conduct a poll, does the SAFE Network require it’s own brand identity, a simple yes or no.

[Artiscience]

@nicklambert

Forum voting only counting votes from accounts hat are at least 3 months old?

Recently a forum member claimed to use several accounts. This is of course not covered by the forum guidelines, but I suppose there are more cases. I wouldn´t host a competition with bounty under that condition.

[happybeing]

Seems like we’re covering on (correct me if not @chrisfostertv):

• One brand/symbol that conveys the essence of all that is both the underlying SAFE technology, and what is built with it, of which Safecoin will no doubt be a very high profile killer app.

I don’t want to preempt that “essence”, but think we have a pretty good prototype/seed/summary in “SAFE”.

So we could choose to reuse the Safecoin logo for everything, making it the symbol for this overarching “SAFE” brand.

We could create a new logo for the overall brand, but then we will need to decide whether to dump the one we have or live with the consequences of two logos which might be confusing.

How’s that for a possible consensus everyone?

[chrisfostertv]

@nicklambert

With a view to moving things forward I think we should conduct a poll, does the SAFE Network require it’s own brand identity, a simple yes or no

Unfortunately the polling system in this forum leads to confirmation bias as you can view the cumulative vote…unless it has not been set up correctly on previous occasions.

Lets be crystal clear what this ‘brand identity’ is. In the OP it seemed to indicate something as simple as a logo.

If it is simply a logo, we should inform everyone what assets we already have in the way of the Safecoin logo and then ask if we need another one for the network.

Could we please embed what we have from that previous competition. They were going to be put in a Github location, not sure if that happened?

[chrisfostertv]

@happybeing

So we could choose to reuse the Safecoin logo for everything, making it the symbol for this overarching “SAFE” brand.

Thats what I’ve asked Nick about…lets get all the assets on the table and have a look.

Personally I think the S looks perfectly fine to support the message alongside, especially if we have the font available as displayed in this image…not sure where it came from. It’s simple and consistent.

Edit: yes I agree, we have the seed in SAFE and the S to back that up.

[BIGbtc]

The coin is not the network and the network is not the coin. For branding purposes it would be a marketing nightmare to see 1 logo that represents many very distinct things. e…g. enterprise/business who want to fly that logo will need to spend additional resources differentiating between the coin and the network. “Did you see the SAFE LOGO on that website? Do they they sell safecoins? … No, they dont sell coins they build apps, or sell farming equipment for a network. Wow! Farmers have networks? Yeah, the cows have laptops and sell their milk for safecoins”

The LOGO is the face of SAFE, the NETWORK is the DNA of SAFE and the COIN is the AIR that SAFE breathes.

IMO this logo can be massaged to work with all facets but needs to be versioned (layout, color, texture, etc) for each separate component. NETWORK being the dominant component, COIN next, APP’s next, and so on

[BIGbtc]

@happybeing

We could create a new logo for the overall brand, but then we will need to decide whether to dump the one we have or live with the consequences of two logos which might be confusing.

The S logo works well? Could this be massaged to fit each different component?

[chrisfostertv]

@BIGbtc

but needs to be versioned (layout, color, texture, etc) for each separate component.

Keep the exact structure, but utilize colour, texture, shade that best represents the 3 reward streams of the network?

Core | Builder | Farmer

So we end up with three distinctive S symbols…

[bluebird]

@nicklambert

With a view to moving things forward I think we should conduct a poll, does the SAFE Network require it’s own brand identity, a simple yes or no

No, it just needs clear identifiers, so people don’t get confused.

This thread is mainly a huge amount of bovine manure.

[nicklambert]

@chrisfostertv

Unfortunately the polling system in this forum leads to confirmation bias as you can view the cumulative vote…unless it has not been set up correctly on previous occasions.

Not sure what you mean here, can you please elaborate Chris?

The OP was suggesting a brand ID, not a logo and it seems to me from this thread that there is a decent split of opinion about whether we need one or not which is also being mixed in with people suggesting what the ID should be. It seems to me that we need to establish does the community want one or not before debating what it should look like, it will be difficult to make progress otherwise.

[BIGbtc]

Zactly… agree completely… But add SIZE and position (layout) of the S symbols relative to the compnent they are used with.

ideas/examples:

1. SAFENET - The S symbol would be LARGE and to the left of SAFENET
2. SAFECOIN - The S symbol could replace the S in safecoin and be the same size as the font, different texture, etc.

etc, etc,

[BIGbtc]

@nicklambert Does the SAFE Network require its own brand identity? YES -

"Maidsafe can leave nothing to chance and needs to pull out all the stops and create that everlasting image of confidence, durability and success so that the blood, sweat, anguish and tears from all involved are properly represented. "

Nick is there a POLL setup somewhere ?