Favorite icon

[Argos]

BAUT forum does not have a 'favicon' [favorite icon*]. It uses the default vBulletin´s instead. I thought it would be cool to design one, so I did it, in hopes of helping improving the site a little bit. It could be made into a contest.

Bellow my two shots in 32 x 32 px size [the final size should be 16 x 16 px - I´ve already got them in .ico format case needed]. One of them is just an arrangement of the four letters. The other one crops the iconic 'Moon boxer' from the site header.

(*) A favorite icon is displayed on the side of the address bar in certain browsers, and it is displayed by the name of the site you bookmark.

[ToSeek]

I like the boxer idea, but I think it's going to take Fraser's intervention to get it in place as a favicon.

[Argos]

Yeah. The default favicon must be overridden in the main vBulletin directory, normally via FTP.

Here´s how it scales to 16 x 16 px, which is always a challenge. Let me know of your interest in implementing it, so I can hand you the .ico format version via email.

[hhEb09'1]

Great idea. I'd favor a bit bigger gloves, with just a hint of faceplate:

[Argos]

Originally Posted by hhEb09'1

Great idea. I'd favor a bit bigger gloves, with just a hint of faceplate:

Yeah, you may be right. I´ll take another shot at it, with bigger gloves.

[Argos]

Ok, I´ve worked on Grapes´ idea [not sure if the final result is better than his rendition]. I also propose reducing the whole idea to the boxing glove [the very idea of fighting].

[ToSeek]

I don't like the boxing glove idea because it loses any association with astronomy, but the first one is good.

If you wanted to get really clever, you could put a reflection of the Universe Today rocket in the visor.

[pghnative]

I prefer the ones with at least some of the visor. That keeps the astronomy / space theme at the forefront. The boxing glove on its own seems more fitting for a sports website.

ETA: I've been ToSeeked!

[Argos]

@ ToSeek, pghnative, yeah, the boxing glove alone radicalizes the idea. Not the best solution. We´re exploring possibilities.

If you wanted to get really clever, you could put a reflection of the Universe Today rocket in the visor.

Yeah, I´ll give it a try, but, again, conveying something meaningful, identifiable in such a small area is a challenge.

Hey, come on fellow BAUTers. Lets participate.

[NEOWatcher]

Originally Posted by Argos

Yeah, I´ll give it a try, but, again, conveying something meaningful, identifiable in such a small area is a challenge.

How about just a simple image of the moon?
It wouldn't restrict the idea to just spaceflight or something similar. It opens up the idea to observing space as a whole while keeping a connection to spaceflight (Apollo specifically).

Think "moon illusion" which is a prominent topic within BA.

[Argos]

Originally Posted by NEOWatcher

How about just a simple image of the moon?
It wouldn't restrict the idea to just spaceflight or something similar. It opens up the idea to observing space as a whole while keeping a connection to spaceflight (Apollo specifically).

Think "moon illusion" which is a prominent topic within BA.

Here you go.

1) Depicts the Moon as seen from orbit
2) Alludes to the 'Moon illusion'
3) Idem.
4) Plain image of the full Moon.

[hhEb09'1]

And here they are 16x16, I sorta like the blue one, the third one. Actually, I'd like the yellow one, but it strikes me as less moon-like (tho that's not necessarily a bad thing).

[Argos]

The yellow one looks better in 16x16, although the blue one is more in line with the general colors of the board. There still room for sharpening the images a little bit more.

[Argos]

And you can always use the rocket...

[ToSeek]

Originally Posted by Argos

@ ToSeek, pghnative, yeah, the boxing glove alone radicalizes the idea. Not the best solution. We´re exploring possibilities.



Yeah, I´ll give it a try, but, again, conveying something meaningful, identifiable in such a small area is a challenge.

I was thinking that even as I wrote it.

[ToSeek]

Originally Posted by Argos

And you can always use the rocket...

The rocket might be better at actual favicon size - the astronaut is almost too busy to be recognizable.

[hhEb09'1]

The rocket is not much better. Here it is 16x16 (if you click on it). I still favor the blue moon (heh).

[Argos]

One thing about favicons is that once you get accustomed to them they seem much bigger than they really are. The 16x16 rocket looks good enough to me.

By the way, here´s a link to a online favicon generator. It takes jpg, bmp, png, and converts them into .ico format. It works pretty fine.

http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/

[hhEb09'1]

I like the blue moon for two reasons--it looks better than the boxer or the rocket, and it doesn't favor UT or BA. OK, third reason, I like "blue moon" too because of the incredible backstory involving Sky and Telescope's mistake and the decades-long development of folk astronomy tales and its resolution--it certainly seems to fit the BAUT mission.

ETA: From the Sky and Telescope website:

A mistake in a 1946 issue of Sky & Telescope changed pop culture and the English language in unexpected ways.

Well, that's the blurb that pops up on google, anyway.

"Even if the calendrical meaning is new," said Federer, "I don't see any harm in it. It's something fun to talk about, and it helps attract people to astronomy."

EETA: The website earthsky.org (which includes Deborah Byrd, who propagated the "wrong" blue moon) takes a bit more defensive position:

But as the folklorist Phillip Hiscock wrote in his comprehensive article Folklore of the Blue Moon: Old folklore it is not, but real folklore it is.

The article by Hiscock was written before the "mystery" was solved, although it appears he did come close. He wrote the article in 1993, and he has appended a note that it was solved in a 1999 S&T article.

[Argos]

I´m with you. It would be cool.