robertdown wrote on Friday, September 23, 2016:
There is still the issue of finalizing our logo. The current color scheme was used just so we had something to ship with the new site, but I think the green/blue/purple colors pose several problems.
First, the green and purple colors give the logo a look commonly found in the 1990s. These colors are not commonly used in today’s logos (as that was 20 years ago). The give the appearance of a mis-dated logo.
Second, while initially I liked the idea of 3 colors on the circle I’ve come to find it very difficult to find a triad of colors that work well together and in the context of our logo.
Third, I think these particular colors are too dark for our application. I think they bring down the overall feel of the logo, something we should be lightening up.
I have found a niche hobby over the last several years in design, logos, and typography. I am by no means a professional graphic artist but I do like to think I keep an eye on how logos and styles designed and where design trends are moving.
I have attached a new color scheme (same logo). Let me provide some rationales for why I made the choices I did.
First, the color blue is a fairly neutral color used in a lot of technology-based companies. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Dell, IBM – and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Blue is a safe color and often creates a sense of trust and stability (There’s a reason why banks often have blue logos, think Chase, Citibank, SunTrust, Bank of America). The particular shade of blue I use is a bit on the lighter side, with the hopes of maintaining the trust and reliability while also allow users to feel a bit more “open.”
Second, the color red. Color psychology purists will say that red evokes anger, passion, lust, but when coupled with the blue I think they work nicely together. Consider how many flags in the world utilize the blue and red color combination (I’m not even going to attempt to list them)
I think the red color is easily assimilated into the health arena and humanitarian aid (Think the Red Cross). I can’t quite pinpoint why I associate red with healthcare but I definitely do.
Third, the “open” text is now a dark shade of grey. I chose this as it provides a nice, neutral color to offset the 2 colors we are already using.
Overall I feel this logo is simpler and I think that is important. OpenEMR has been in the process of simplifying a lot of its user interface (with much success in my opinion), we’ve launched a new, modern and simple website, and even behind the scenes we have moved to a more streamlined (and simple) method of tracking issues (through GitHub). Simplicity is “in” right now, but more importantly it allows us to focus on the content and maintain the user’s attention.
The point I am trying to make here is that these colors weren’t just thrown onto the logo because I like them. They were meticulously chosen with very specific meaning behind each decision. Below is a link to a PDF displaying the color scheme I am proposing. I’ve also shown an inverted logo as it is important to have the ability to define our logo on a dark background, granted the logo is even simpler on a dark background. I have also shown a “block” logo, a second type of mark that we will utilize where we need a square logo.
I want to emphasize a couple of things. The logo itself is already set, we are not looking for feedback on that. The question at hand is specifically regarding the colors.
We will be finalizing the logo early next week, so if you have an opinion, please share over the weekend.
See this PDF: https://www.dropbox.com/s/o34kteld1ubvn3l/Logo%20Blue-Red.pdf?dl=0
