bit-team
Use distinctive application icon/logo for Back In Time (icon proposals)
Hello, I'm AZorin from the Zorin OS project. I believe that Back In Time is a brilliant program although it seems to be missing an independent icon. I have created one which I have attached to this message. Some credit goes to the Oxygen Icon theme. I hope you will like this icon and decide to choose it for your program. Best regards, AZorin
Imported from Launchpad using lp2gh.
- date created: 2010-04-23T18:23:49Z
- owner: azorin
- assignee: azorin
- the launchpad url was https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/569139
(by danleweb) Hi AZorin, thanks for your interest in the project. I like the idea of having a special icon for BIT but I'm not so crazy about the one attached. I would like one that suggest "going back in time" or "pause time".
Thanks, Dan
(by azorin) Would something like a clock with a rewind icon work or would you like something more flashy?
(by danleweb) Hi,
Sorry for the late answer but I was on vacation. I do prefer something like a clock with a backward flash. Something like the attached image or even better.
Best regards, Dan
(by mastropino) I think that we need a custom icon for the Notification Area!
I'm not really excited about the previous proposals. I'd like to have something like a glowing Flux Capacitor
Until you choose, as a result the worthy program will remain without icon ;)
I think because of the nerd-factor of the "flux capacitor" it wouldn't be hard to find someone how would provide an icon for this. ;)
Some examples we could build on or we could contact.
I would suggest trieing to contact people on this plattform: http://www.iconarchive.com/ Maybe we find a nice icon or a person who would be willing to produce one for BIT. And it is a nice website to get inspired by different design styles.
I like it, too. Only the arrow looks a bit wired. Maybe we could rotate it so the arrow head is on 7 o'clock and has enough space to be a full arrow head. Start of the circle would be on 4 o'clock. Could you send me the svg please?
This was just a raw draft. Base icon was the Moka icon for Deja-Dup: https://github.com/snwh/moka-icon-theme/blob/master/src/D/deja-dup.svg
The flux-compensator is a bad hack. Maybe someone with more Inkscape skills can create a better version.
The Material Design Icon theme has a simple, but perfectly fitting icon for BackInTime:
Available here: https://github.com/google/material-design-icons/blob/master/action/svg/design/ic_restore_48px.svg
Last comment is more than a year old... Still no decision on an icon for this great program?
Just for information to all subscribers. We have a discussion on bit-dev mailing list about Back In Time having it's own icon.
We would be glad if someone with graphic design experience would join the discussion.
Germar offered me a contact to a designer he was working with some years ago. But I couldn't reestablish the contact because the mail address did not work and the real name is unkown.
About "flux-capacitor": There are some icon themes offering such an icon. But I wasn't able to get contact to the artists. I don't feel well with just downloading such an icon even if the licences is "free". This is to anonym for opinion.
So I was asking in the Inkscape community about a designer contact and also about alternative design ideas. The thread is here. There we have an idea and a draft using an hour glass with a back-circled arrow around it.
Saw your logo request at Inkscape.org
Drew a Flux capacitor for you. Let me know what you think
Thanks a lot for all your ideas and your drafts.
We will take this into account. We need to discuss this in the team and make some decisions. This will take some time because all team members do their work in the project voluntary and not on a regular basis.
Kind
Christian
@buhtz THX for bringing up this issue again, using our own app icon is the only way to be sure to finally fix our "missing app icon" issues.
I saw all the excellent icon proposals and love the fancy idea of the flux capacitor as logo.
Still I would like unleash the creative power of the icon designers to propose any kind metaphor that
- easily recognizable to "back in time" or "backup"
- does not require background knowledge (e.g. having seen a film)
- is understandable in may cultures of the world
- may not have another meaning in another culture (e. g. the icons proposed by @meetdilip are really beautiful and esp. the minimalistic use of drawing elements brings a modern style IMHO but the three lines could be confuse with the letter "Y" which may have another meaning somewhere or at least people may wonder how "back in time" is related to the letter "Y")
Edit: One specific requirement is to also support an icon size of 22 x 22 pixels since we are using the app icon also as system-tray icon (so there is not much space for a 3D/perspective view in the icon I guess): https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qsystemtrayicon.html#icon-prop
Furthermore I think the icons should finally (after choosing one) adhere to guidelines of major Linux desktops like Gnome and KDE, see e.g. these guidelines:
- https://developer.gnome.org/hig/guidelines/app-icons.html
- https://develop.kde.org/hig/style/icons/
Hi, feel free to share ideas you have in mind. There was a specific request for Flux Capacitor at Inkscape Forum. I am glad you liked that concept.
Created a neutral concept. Let me know what you think
Furthermore I think the icons should finally (after choosing one) adhere to guidelines of major Linux desktops like Gnome and KDE, see e.g. these guidelines:
- https://developer.gnome.org/hig/guidelines/app-icons.html
- https://develop.kde.org/hig/style/icons/
Never noticed such guidelines. Great that everything has a guideline. ❤️
I have another (purely technical) requirement:
One specific requirement is to also support an icon size of 22 x 22 pixels since we are using the app icon also as system-tray icon: https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qsystemtrayicon.html#icon-prop
So I guess there is not much space for a 3D/perspective view in the app icon to make it still recognizable with this small size (remember: according so icon guidelines there should be a one pixel border around the icon that is kept free so the effective size for a recognizable icon is only 20x20 px - good old home computer resolution ;-)
I personally find it quite intuitive to see a clock/watch in the icon (analog or digital) and indicate somehow that there is a timeline (blurred, fading or similar) to the past or perhaps markers to different points in time...
I forgot to mention my thread in the Inkscape forum. Here two other ideas from there.
"Time3 by Razr"
"BIT 1b by Tyler Durden"
I like this one
I love this simple and clear design and would just give up the idea of a flux capacitor in favour of a clock.
How about putting the bottom-left circle (indicates "back") into the middle of the icon (same size) and render the three lines (that form a "Y") currently into the big and little hand of clock. The idea of a clock could then be indicated a little bit by e.g. adding some hour ticks (similar to this icon: 
)
Alternative: The "back" circle at the bottom right could stay there and make the rest look more like clock (like described above). I am only afraid that the bottom-right circle takes to much (border) space for the whole icon being recognizable even with 22x22 pixels (required for the system-tray icon)...