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Posted to dev@stormcrawler.apache.org by Markos Volikas <mv...@apache.org> on 2026/01/04 19:03:50 UTC
Re: Improving StormCrawler Logo for Better Scaling and Branding
Hi all,
Thanks again, Richard, for the feedback. I think I have improved the
design. :-)
Please find attached the logos.
I made the following changes:
1. Removed tiny details that were rendered as noise for small sizes.
2. Made the spider symmetric.
3. Made thin parts thicker and decreased the length of very fine
shapes. Made the bounding box as close to a square as possible.
(This is also important for the ASF "Powered by" badge)
4. Used negative space instead of multiple colors (like in the Apache
Parquet logo). This is also nice because it reflects the "Component"
nature of StormCrawler.
IMHO, it looks much cleaner while retaining the top level
characteristics. It also appears to render nicely when resized, although
I wouldn't recommend less than 64px.
I tried multiple alternatives and further simplification rounds, but
then the spider starts looking more like an octopus and the logo loses
anything distinctive.
Regarding the colors, the idea was that the gray variants should work
for both light and dark backgrounds. Having separate versions would be
better, but I'm not sure if GitHub supports rendering the version based
on the theme.
What do you think?
Best,
Markos
On 12/30/25 20:02, Markos Volikas wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Thanks a lot for the feedback!
>
> I had similar thoughts, and I now have some ideas I want to test :-)
>
> Best,
>
> Markos
>
>
> On 12/29/25 16:24, Richard Zowalla wrote:
>> Hi Markos, hi all,
>>
>> Thanks a lot for the update and for explaining the design process;
>> it’s clear a lot of care went into this, and it shows :-)
>>
>> I think you missed to attach the GitHub image (or ASF mailing list
>> did drop the image attachment in which case you would need to upload
>> it some where).
>>
>> One suggestion that might help further improve the logo would be to
>> optimize it a bit more for very small sizes (favicons, headers):
>> slightly thicker legs, fewer tiny details, and keeping the red accent
>> focused mainly on the lightning bolt so it remains the clear focal
>> point. Simplifying the silhouette a little could also help with
>> readability across different backgrounds (that was a + of the first
>> draft). I think shrinking the spider could also help.
>>
>> What we would need is the colored version and a monochrome version.
>>
>> Overall, this is a strong direction already, imho :) - if we get some
>> further input we might be able to do a vote soon.
>>
>> Gruß
>> Richard
>>
>>
>>> Am 28.12.2025 um 17:31 schrieb Markos Volikas <mv...@apache.org>:
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>> I think I managed to improve it.
>>> I have attached the icon itself and the full logo as SVG files. I
>>> have also attached a screenshot that shows how it will be rendered
>>> on top of GitHub's dark background.
>>> For anyone interested, I started with a real spider image that I
>>> simplified and vectorized using LLM tools and Inkscape tracing. I
>>> then assembled the pieces, refined the details, and adjusted the
>>> colors so that it is visible on top of both light and dark
>>> backgrounds. The red color is a dark shade of the ASF Style Guide,
>>> and the font used is the recommended one (Montserrat).
>>> In my honest opinion, it is minimal (no shades, very sharp edges, or
>>> tiny details) while keeping most of the character of the original.
>>> I would be glad to hear your opinions, and I wanted to mention that
>>> it was a really fun process for me, regardless of whether we are
>>> going to choose it in the end :-).
>>> Thanks, and my best wishes for the new year,
>>> Markos
>>> On 12/25/25 18:14, Markos Volikas wrote:
>>>> Happy to hear :-)
>>>>
>>>> I might be able to improve it a bit now that I have some time. The
>>>> colors also need some adjustments to have sufficient contrast on
>>>> both light and dark backgrounds.
>>>>
>>>> Merry Christmas,
>>>>
>>>> Markos
>>>>
>>>> On 12/24/25 13:38, Julien Nioche wrote:
>>>>> Yes, looks good to me
>>>>>
>>>>> Happy Christmas to you all
>>>>>
>>>>> Julien
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, 24 Dec 2025, 11:09 Richard Zowalla, <rz...@apache.org> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I totally forgot about that discussion. Actually, I like the SVG
>>>>>> you have
>>>>>> sent, Markos.
>>>>>> Aside from the "TM" (which we need to follow up on), it looks
>>>>>> fine, imho.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What does the rest think of it?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Gruß
>>>>>> Richard
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 2025/07/17 19:43:19 Markos Volikas wrote:
>>>>>>> Hi there,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I play around with inkscape from time to time and I had
>>>>>>> attempted to
>>>>>>> create a minimal version of the stormcrawler logo :-)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The spider was generated mostly by chatgpt with some tweaks by me
>>>>>>> afterwards, but I was not very satisfied with the result. The
>>>>>>> text part
>>>>>>> follows the apache style and I think looks nice. I share it anyway.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Markos
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 7/17/25 11:26, Julien Nioche wrote:
>>>>>>>> It was someone I found online more than 10 years ago. Here are the
>>>>>> original
>>>>>>>> files he delivered
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://dw3i9sxi97owk.cloudfront.net/uploads/stream/2015/11/452959/25183545/Logo.ai
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://dw3i9sxi97owk.cloudfront.net/uploads/stream/2015/11/452959/25183555/Logo.png
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> and the individual parts
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://dw3i9sxi97owk.cloudfront.net/uploads/stream/2015/11/452959/25183909/Spider.png
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://dw3i9sxi97owk.cloudfront.net/uploads/stream/2015/11/452959/25183917/StormCrawler.png
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Thu, 17 Jul 2025 at 09:01, Sebastian Nagel
>>>>>>>> <wa...@googlemail.com.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> [2] is a formally PDF (created with Adobe Illustrator):
>>>>>>>>> converting it
>>>>>>>>> using
>>>>>>>>> pdf2svg [4] results in a small (40 kiB) SVG.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> > The current tooling doesn’t handle the .ai file well
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Looks like it's because of the canvas.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> > Possibly add “Apache” to our logo
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> We need the font as well. Looks like, [4] was used.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Or is there an "official" ASF font to switch to?
>>>>>>>>> Need to look into [5,6] or ask about it.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> But maybe the main question:
>>>>>>>>> @Julien, do you still have contacts to the creator of the logo?
>>>>>>>>> We should first ask them before anybody "amateurishly"
>>>>>>>>> modifies the
>>>>>> logo.
>>>>>>>>> ~Sebastian
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> [3]
>>>>>>>>> https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man1/pdf2svg.1.html
>>>>>>>>> [4] https://fontm.com/adam-font/
>>>>>>>>> [5] https://www.apache.org/foundation/press/kit/
>>>>>>>>> [6]
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://apache.org/foundation/press/kit/ApacheFoundation_StyleGuide.pdf
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On 7/16/25 13:44, Richard Zowalla wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>>> We uploaded our StormCrawler logo for automatic logo
>>>>>>>>>> generation [1].
>>>>>> The
>>>>>>>>> source file is available here [2] or in our StormCrawler website
>>>>>> repository.
>>>>>>>>>> Does anyone have decent Photoshop skills? I think we should
>>>>>>>>>> consider
>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>> following: *
>>>>>>>>>> Update our logo by creating an SVG version that scales
>>>>>>>>>> properly for
>>>>>>>>> graphics. The current tooling doesn’t handle the .ai file
>>>>>>>>> well, which
>>>>>> makes
>>>>>>>>> the generated “powered by” logo look terrible [1]. *
>>>>>>>>>> Possibly add “Apache” to our logo similar to how it’s done
>>>>>>>>>> with the
>>>>>>>>> Storm logo here [3]; I believe it would improve the overall
>>>>>>>>> look. This
>>>>>>>>> might also be important, if we plan for the Trademark route.
>>>>>>>>>> What do you think?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Gruß
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Richard______________________________________________________________________________
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> References:
>>>>>>>>>> [1] https://www.apache.org/logos/poweredby/stormcrawler.png
>>>>>>>>>> [2]
>>>>>> https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/comdev/project-logos/originals/stormcrawler.ai
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> [3] https://www.apache.org/logos/poweredby/storm.png
>>>>>>>>>>
>>> <sc-new-icon.svg><sc-new-logo.svg>
Re: Improving StormCrawler Logo for Better Scaling and Branding
Posted by Richard Zowalla <rz...@apache.org>.
Hi Markos,
Hi all,
I like it - aligns with other ASF logos, imho.
Any other thoughts / feedback from the rest?
Gruß
Richard
> Am 04.01.2026 um 20:03 schrieb Markos Volikas <mv...@apache.org>:
>
> Hi all,
>
> Thanks again, Richard, for the feedback. I think I have improved the design. :-)
>
> Please find attached the logos.
>
> I made the following changes:
>
> Removed tiny details that were rendered as noise for small sizes.
> Made the spider symmetric.
> Made thin parts thicker and decreased the length of very fine shapes. Made the bounding box as close to a square as possible. (This is also important for the ASF "Powered by" badge)
> Used negative space instead of multiple colors (like in the Apache Parquet logo). This is also nice because it reflects the "Component" nature of StormCrawler.
> IMHO, it looks much cleaner while retaining the top level characteristics. It also appears to render nicely when resized, although I wouldn't recommend less than 64px.
>
> I tried multiple alternatives and further simplification rounds, but then the spider starts looking more like an octopus and the logo loses anything distinctive.
>
> Regarding the colors, the idea was that the gray variants should work for both light and dark backgrounds. Having separate versions would be better, but I'm not sure if GitHub supports rendering the version based on the theme.
>
> What do you think?
>
> Best,
>
> Markos
>
> On 12/30/25 20:02, Markos Volikas wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Thanks a lot for the feedback!
>>
>> I had similar thoughts, and I now have some ideas I want to test :-)
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Markos
>>
>>
>> On 12/29/25 16:24, Richard Zowalla wrote:
>>> Hi Markos, hi all,
>>>
>>> Thanks a lot for the update and for explaining the design process; it’s clear a lot of care went into this, and it shows :-)
>>>
>>> I think you missed to attach the GitHub image (or ASF mailing list did drop the image attachment in which case you would need to upload it some where).
>>>
>>> One suggestion that might help further improve the logo would be to optimize it a bit more for very small sizes (favicons, headers): slightly thicker legs, fewer tiny details, and keeping the red accent focused mainly on the lightning bolt so it remains the clear focal point. Simplifying the silhouette a little could also help with readability across different backgrounds (that was a + of the first draft). I think shrinking the spider could also help.
>>>
>>> What we would need is the colored version and a monochrome version.
>>>
>>> Overall, this is a strong direction already, imho :) - if we get some further input we might be able to do a vote soon.
>>>
>>> Gruß
>>> Richard
>>>
>>>
>>>> Am 28.12.2025 um 17:31 schrieb Markos Volikas <mv...@apache.org> <ma...@apache.org>:
>>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>> I think I managed to improve it.
>>>> I have attached the icon itself and the full logo as SVG files. I have also attached a screenshot that shows how it will be rendered on top of GitHub's dark background.
>>>> For anyone interested, I started with a real spider image that I simplified and vectorized using LLM tools and Inkscape tracing. I then assembled the pieces, refined the details, and adjusted the colors so that it is visible on top of both light and dark backgrounds. The red color is a dark shade of the ASF Style Guide, and the font used is the recommended one (Montserrat).
>>>> In my honest opinion, it is minimal (no shades, very sharp edges, or tiny details) while keeping most of the character of the original.
>>>> I would be glad to hear your opinions, and I wanted to mention that it was a really fun process for me, regardless of whether we are going to choose it in the end :-).
>>>> Thanks, and my best wishes for the new year,
>>>> Markos
>>>> On 12/25/25 18:14, Markos Volikas wrote:
>>>>> Happy to hear :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> I might be able to improve it a bit now that I have some time. The colors also need some adjustments to have sufficient contrast on both light and dark backgrounds.
>>>>>
>>>>> Merry Christmas,
>>>>>
>>>>> Markos
>>>>>
>>>>> On 12/24/25 13:38, Julien Nioche wrote:
>>>>>> Yes, looks good to me
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Happy Christmas to you all
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Julien
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, 24 Dec 2025, 11:09 Richard Zowalla, <rz...@apache.org> <ma...@apache.org> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I totally forgot about that discussion. Actually, I like the SVG you have
>>>>>>> sent, Markos.
>>>>>>> Aside from the "TM" (which we need to follow up on), it looks fine, imho.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> What does the rest think of it?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Gruß
>>>>>>> Richard
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 2025/07/17 19:43:19 Markos Volikas wrote:
>>>>>>>> Hi there,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I play around with inkscape from time to time and I had attempted to
>>>>>>>> create a minimal version of the stormcrawler logo :-)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The spider was generated mostly by chatgpt with some tweaks by me
>>>>>>>> afterwards, but I was not very satisfied with the result. The text part
>>>>>>>> follows the apache style and I think looks nice. I share it anyway.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Markos
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 7/17/25 11:26, Julien Nioche wrote:
>>>>>>>>> It was someone I found online more than 10 years ago. Here are the
>>>>>>> original
>>>>>>>>> files he delivered
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> https://dw3i9sxi97owk.cloudfront.net/uploads/stream/2015/11/452959/25183545/Logo.ai
>>>>>>> https://dw3i9sxi97owk.cloudfront.net/uploads/stream/2015/11/452959/25183555/Logo.png
>>>>>>>>> and the individual parts
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> https://dw3i9sxi97owk.cloudfront.net/uploads/stream/2015/11/452959/25183909/Spider.png
>>>>>>> https://dw3i9sxi97owk.cloudfront.net/uploads/stream/2015/11/452959/25183917/StormCrawler.png
>>>>>>>>> On Thu, 17 Jul 2025 at 09:01, Sebastian Nagel
>>>>>>>>> <wa...@googlemail.com.invalid> <ma...@googlemail.com.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> [2] is a formally PDF (created with Adobe Illustrator): converting it
>>>>>>>>>> using
>>>>>>>>>> pdf2svg [4] results in a small (40 kiB) SVG.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> > The current tooling doesn’t handle the .ai file well
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Looks like it's because of the canvas.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> > Possibly add “Apache” to our logo
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> We need the font as well. Looks like, [4] was used.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Or is there an "official" ASF font to switch to?
>>>>>>>>>> Need to look into [5,6] or ask about it.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> But maybe the main question:
>>>>>>>>>> @Julien, do you still have contacts to the creator of the logo?
>>>>>>>>>> We should first ask them before anybody "amateurishly" modifies the
>>>>>>> logo.
>>>>>>>>>> ~Sebastian
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> [3] https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man1/pdf2svg.1.html
>>>>>>>>>> [4] https://fontm.com/adam-font/
>>>>>>>>>> [5] https://www.apache.org/foundation/press/kit/
>>>>>>>>>> [6]
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> https://apache.org/foundation/press/kit/ApacheFoundation_StyleGuide.pdf
>>>>>>>>>> On 7/16/25 13:44, Richard Zowalla wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>>>> We uploaded our StormCrawler logo for automatic logo generation [1].
>>>>>>> The
>>>>>>>>>> source file is available here [2] or in our StormCrawler website
>>>>>>> repository.
>>>>>>>>>>> Does anyone have decent Photoshop skills? I think we should consider
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> following: *
>>>>>>>>>>> Update our logo by creating an SVG version that scales properly for
>>>>>>>>>> graphics. The current tooling doesn’t handle the .ai file well, which
>>>>>>> makes
>>>>>>>>>> the generated “powered by” logo look terrible [1]. *
>>>>>>>>>>> Possibly add “Apache” to our logo similar to how it’s done with the
>>>>>>>>>> Storm logo here [3]; I believe it would improve the overall look. This
>>>>>>>>>> might also be important, if we plan for the Trademark route.
>>>>>>>>>>> What do you think?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Gruß
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Richard______________________________________________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>>> References:
>>>>>>>>>>> [1] https://www.apache.org/logos/poweredby/stormcrawler.png
>>>>>>>>>>> [2]
>>>>>>> https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/comdev/project-logos/originals/stormcrawler.ai
>>>>>>>>>>> [3] https://www.apache.org/logos/poweredby/storm.png
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>> <sc-new-icon.svg><sc-new-logo.svg>
> <logos.zip>