Proposal: Change the Growth Category Icon

[Josh]

How about combining a ship and military insignia?

As menioned previously, maybe instead of using a ship one might even use a bird:

Tried that. It's in the thumbnails.

The growth icon looks like a shield to me... and the bars under do look like military rank chevrons. Maybe try fewer bars?

Does growth *really* need to evoke an up arrow..? Yes, many things grow "up", but this isn't an absolutely essential image for the concept...

The ship icon looks like a rocket or missile more so than a ship, to me.

I was afraid it looked like a missile.

Up isn't important to me, but if it were to branch, that might be a useful depiction. I think it should look like something that (preferably) is already being used in growth, like a crop or a DNA strand. A leaf is nice but...

edit:
here are the scans.





I hate my scanner.

[pd]

I let Geoff change your title to "art machine" because that's what you are! I like the chick, great pose

Those are the ship icons I like. I've marked those that I like especially.


Anything that has wings is good IMO, whether it's as abstract as in the first one or the airforce references or the almost bird like icon.

For growth I think those have potential:


Both convey a upward motion(that is not essential, but nice to have) . The first one is especially nice because its using organic shapes and lines. Is it supposed to be a corncob or a bud? Both would work well.

[Tortanick]

I'd drop that eagle one, its very American while to the best of my knowledge the others are neutral to all nationalities (and species)

[pd]

So non Americans don't recognize that as a bird?

Cleaning up the simple ones:


edit:
Adding the head and changing the star

[Geoff the Medio]

Those look like good imperial symbols, or transformer faceplates, but don't really suggest ships to me...

Have you considered just using an anchor?

[pd]

Yes I have. But the water reference would make it look funny I think. A steering wheel might work better, but It didn't came out very well for me.

[Geoff the Medio]

IMO a stylized (military) ship would be better than a more abstract icon that's not at clear naval or ship-related symbol. One of pd's picks of Josh's concepts looked semi decent... I assume one of you can tweak those line angles so it looks good, as in Josh's, and not weirdly bad, as in mine.

[Josh]

I'm toying with the idea of Hybridizing a military insignia with some kind of ship, but for the style we need I've found that anymore than 2 different things going on is a bad idea. So you can't have a wing, and a ship, and a star, and decorations, etc. BUT, I know NASA awards badges and they have ships on them. (Sorry, no examples.)

Anyways a new shot at the growth category.


O snap. I just had an idea. I'll probably edit this post later. Stay tuned.

[Geoff the Medio]

Without the edits, this one looks good to me.

[pd]

Lol, yes I like it too. Gaar, those guys could surely be our plant alien race

IMO a stylized (military) ship would be better than a more abstract icon that's not at clear naval or ship-related symbol. One of pd's picks of Josh's concepts looked semi decent... I assume one of you can tweak those line angles so it looks good, as in Josh's, and not weirdly bad, as in mine.

I'm not sure if I still like it...

edit:

[pd]

I just stumbled across those:



Check out the entire page.

[Geoff the Medio]

I'm not sure if I still like it...

What if it's just a single ship icon, not a group of three, and it's slightly embellished with forward-pointing wing attachments, and has a pointier nose? Something more like the silhouette of a Mark II...

[Josh]

Do we have a consensus on the growth icon? One of the big things the icon has to fulfill is being attractive enough to harmonize with other compositions and other icons. (Like the orbital techs for example) It should be distinct, B&W silhouette, shouldn't have more than two things going on, needs to take up plenty of space in a 128 x 128 box, and will probably be defined by the positive spaces rather than the negative spaces.

[pd]

Do we have a consensus on the growth icon?

Yes, I think we have. If desired the icon can be re-used in certain tech icons, but personally I don't think it's necessary. The growth icon is more abstract, than just representing food. It's a bud or blossom at the same time, in the process of flowering out/unfolding. That's a nice metaphor for a growing colony I think.

[Josh]

I think we've gotten past the point where we can afford to not use it in that way. Between autolabs, orbital factories, and industrial farming and many others, the category icons just fit them, and they are all still very abstract. Whatever is chosen, whether it's a triangle or blossoming flower, it should be at least that good. The only way I can see to do that is to nail it down to a single penultimate idea, a single notion that encompasses every aspect without being so bizarre as to say nothing at all, and I think one of these is it, or is very close.

It just makes sense to use a crop. I don't know where a leaf or a flower would go.

But the corn cob/flower blossom is what you want right? It just needs to go a little further in one direction or the other. A flower here, a heart there, smiley face in the middle and it will be all done