jorio
Renaming the project
(Everything in here is completely subjective, and meant in the kindest way! I am just daydreaming out loud. 💙)
I wonder how you feel about renaming the project to something shorter and more memorable. I have to admit that, as much as I love GitFourchette, I think the name is a bit clumsy. Maybe it feels sad for such an excellent Git client to live in the shadow of Fork, name-wise.
I feel a bit similar about the plain "GF" logo. I like the playfulness of GitKraken's name/logo, or GitHub's octocat, etc — I think a fun visual identity is worth having.
If I were tasked with rebranding the project, I might clip the name down to Gitte or even to the middle few letters, Urch (imagine a sea urchin logo!). I feel like the ideal name for any piece of software is somewhere between 2 and 7 letters.
I also really like the prehistoric, "fun", retro theme of your personal website and icon. 🦕 I think GitFourchette deserves to have some of this fun identity. For example, maybe Stego, with a little stegosaur as the logo? 🙂
The project is still young, so I would say now's the right time for a change like this. I can try to make some logo mockups if you're on board with any of these suggestions.
Don't worry - I'm reading this as you caring for the project! I do realize the name is a bit unwieldy, so I'm taking this as constructive criticism.
(Some backstory...) The name started as sort of an in-joke at a previous workplace. I actually sold them on switching to Fork, and my coworkers would refer to it as "fourchette" which is just French for "fork" - I know you know, just adding context for anyone else joining the discussion. So naturally, when I started working on GitFourchette, I went with that name as a tribute. GitFourchette's UI eventually grew into its own identity, but by the time I felt ready to make the first public release, I had gotten so used to the name after 4 years of keeping the project under wraps that I just... stuck with it.
I'm not opposed to considering a change. My biggest reservation is that the Flatpak would probably have to be resubmitted to Flathub, and I'd have to figure out a gentle way to get people to move to the new package. The current user base may not be that significant, but I wonder if it's worth confusing early users that have already found a home in GitFourchette?
About your suggestions:
- "Stego", as a wordmark, resonates the most with me. It's a fun name! It doesn't particularly evoke nimbleness, but that hasn't stopped a distant reptile relative from becoming famous ;)
- "Gitte" might be a little too close to Gitea - I suppose some people might sound out "git-tee" for both?
- I wonder if the "Git" bit should be kept to make it obvious that you're getting a git UI, e.g. if you're scanning an application listing.
tl;dr - I don't know if changing the name is worth risking a "reset" of the tiny momentum the project has had so far, but I'm open to spitballing name ideas.
Thank you for being so open to this, it's nice to hear the history of the name. It's too bad it does seem a bit hard to change the name on Flathub without deprecating the old Flatpak entirely.
I like "Stego" too. I had the idea that a stegosaur can be stylized into looking like a git graph:
It's a charming concept! Very creative to use a git graph as the plates on its back :)
I'm still undecided about taking the leap and all the logistics that a name change would entail, so I'll let the idea simmer for a while longer.
I confess, coming from an English speaking background, I found GitFourchette a little tough at first; I have pronounced it "Git-for-'shay", which according to Google Translate is not quite right. FWIW, to my uncultured ears Google Translate sounds like it's saying "Git For Sh*t", which is probably going to become an in-joke at some point to English speakers (even though it's the best git client out there).
I like the stegosaurus logo; I think it's clever and aesthetically pleasing. I think that Git has to remain, so StegoGit or GitStego.
I don't feel very strongly about the branding one way or the other; what I feel strongly about is every time I do some work with GitFourchette I am reminded how much I like it and wish I could use it on Windoze.
I also think StegoGit is a strong name. It’s catchy and the ‘goGit’ sound is memorable and sticks well. Regarding the logo drafts above, they feel a bit too liquid/watery to me. Maybe a direction that’s using slightly more bold / solid colors would fit better?
I think the name is great. It perfectly captures the inspiration of GitFork, has a fun backstory, and captures that je ne sais quoi.
I would keep the "Git" part in the name as it is how I have found the project
