From 6d32a00e70c9a353c8fa99b4053a69eff3f71875 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Monique Teillaud Date: Wed, 15 May 2024 17:35:41 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] restore 2013 April fool's joke - crossing fingers about the syntax --- _posts/2013-04-01-newlogo.md | 145 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 145 insertions(+) create mode 100644 _posts/2013-04-01-newlogo.md diff --git a/_posts/2013-04-01-newlogo.md b/_posts/2013-04-01-newlogo.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..9765559e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2013-04-01-newlogo.md @@ -0,0 +1,145 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: "About the New CGAL Logo" +description: "Problem and solution." +category: "news" +tags: [] +--- +{% include JB/setup %} + + + + +

+April 1st, 2013 +

+ +

+Changing a logo is a big decision, source of controversies +and only in the long run we will see if we made a good choice. +

+ +

+As the CGAL Project is an Open Source project, we like transparency +and that's why we decided to present you how it came to the new +logo, and what alternatives we explored. At the end you will see +that the choice we made was simply natural. +

+ +

+As an Open Source project we also would appreciate to get user feeback, +as the only people who count for us are you, the users. +

+ +

The Problem with the Old Logo

+ +

+The old CGAL logo used letters constructed with compass and rulers, +as described in the book written by +David Lance Goines: +A Constructed Roman Alphabet: a Geometric Analysis +of the Greek and Roman Capitals and of the Arabic Numerals. +David R. Gordine, Boston, 1982. +

+ +

+« +Construct first a square ABCD, and bisect AC at E, BD at F, AB at G, and CD +at H. Draw the straight lines EF and GH, thereby establishing a point I at +their intersection. From the center I, describe a circle JIK on EF, the diameter +of which is one-ninth the distance AB. Using that same radius, describe +a circle LJI, thereby establishing a point N on the perimeter of the +circle I. ....... » +

+ + + +

+Although CGAL developers +liked these constructions a lot, the CGAL Editorial Board had to make a drastic change. An +opinion poll performed among decision makers in the computer graphics industry during Siggraph 2012 showed +that the CGAL project started to be perceived as old fashioned. +

+ +

Idea

+

+Several desperate brain storming sessions later, the breakthrough idea came by coincidence, +when we met Madeleine Ouette, the cover designer at O'Reilly, in order to choose the +animal for the upcoming CGAL book. For Madeleine a +seagull +was the most natural choice as the word is a +homophone +for CGAL, and we were lucky that it was not already taken. +

+ +

+A quick word on the book: It is about CGAL 5.0 which will be released in September 2013. +The change of the major release number is due to the fact, that we fully exploit the +features of C++11, that is lamdas, the auto type, variadic templates, decltype, etc. +This will lead to some compilers no longer being supported, and some CGAL users having to +revise their C++ language skills (hence the book), but it leads to a phenomenal clarity +and elegance of the CGAL APIs. We simply had to do it. +

+ + + + +

A Drawing is Not a Logo

+ +

+Having the seagull on the CGAL book, and the fact that this bird is elegant and dynamic, +led to the decision to come up with a "seagull" logo. We were tempted to simply take the +drawing of the O'Reilly CGAL book, but this was impossible because O'Reilly considers +these drawings as part of their brand. The next idea was to find a cool picture of +a seagull flying through a stormy sky. +

+ + + +

+Luckily we contacted an expert in logos and brand development. +

+ +

+«A logo is an abstraction» explained Mark Höwe, Chief Creative of +the web agency Haatchi&Haatchi, and he illustrated what he meant +with the images on the right. + + + +«CGAL is not a zoo, right!» Mark said, and he continued +«Was CGAL an application like Picasa, inkscape, or gimp, a painting would +have been a serious option.» +

+ +

+Here we are in 3D. + + + +We see quad meshes flying rapidly over a terrain model. +Additionally, we see the mesh at two levels of detail. +«In a world of devices ranging from smartphones, over tablets, +to workstations with huge screens, multi resolution algorithms are key!» +according to Mark, and he added «As Samsung Maps and Huawei Maps also enter +the market of GIS for the masses, a logo with a terrain model, makes +absolute sense for a geometry library like CGAL.» +

+ +

+If CGAL was only 2D algorithms this tangram would have worked too. +«The fact that it is composed of basic shapes which can be recombined +in an unlimited number of ways captures the essence of CGAL.» Mark said. +

+ + + +

+The outline is easy to recognize, but because it can be seen on many +windows to avoid real birds hitting the window, it is almost impossible +to establish a new connotation between the shape and the geometry +library. +

+ + +