Promotional Materials

[frenchiveruti]

Yeeep, the first one, loved it

 

[Flannery]

I meant that I would like to keep that three-button banner in use here: http://www.indiedb.com/games/hearts-of-oak
But other than there, I think just the regular single-link one would be better.

Uh? I didn't change anything since last you posted?

Nvm I got a little confused with seeing french's signature and the comments

 

[Pieter Boelen]

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Edit: Skip to next post for new versions....

Spoiler

I think we are pretty unanimous that we should be using this one as our large banner:

Here is an alternate version with small icons instead of the larger buttons:

This one could be made smaller if desired; the sea below doesn't really add that much, does it?

And a smaller one for general use:

I do quite like that white effect; plus the coloured one isn't very readable here due to the background

Also, see attached ZIP with the PSD files. It is easy to swap between the variations by hiding/unhiding the various layers that I left in.

Thoughts, anyone?

Perhaps somebody can come up with something even better, eh?

 

[SuperChango]

Just one thought, the PA! logo is bigger than the HoO logo, which seems ok if we are trying to promote the community but is the other way around isn't it ?
By the way, i've been fiddling with an idea.. i'll see if i can post something to build from..

 

[Pieter Boelen]

New and improved versions. See attached for PSDs.

Large with Text:

Same as before. I think we are pretty unanimous on this one.

Large with Buttons:

The more I see those old buttons, the less I like them; they obstruct quite a lot of the image.

Medium with Icons:

The version with buttons above doesn't even have the PA! and IndieDB site links.
And the one with text has no special links at all, because they don't fit.

Small and Simple:

I do quite like that white effect; plus the coloured one isn't very readable here due to the background.

Just one thought, the PA! logo is bigger than the HoO logo, which seems ok if we are trying to promote the community but is the other way around isn't it ?

Aren't we trying to promote both? Anyway, it is just a logical consequence of the HoO Logo being square and the PA! Logo being wider.
If you see the opening post, originally I had the PA! Logo much smaller, but that made it hard to read.

By the way, i've been fiddling with an idea.. i'll see if i can post something to build from..

I'd definitely be curious to see what you come up with!

 

[SuperChango]

Sorry, didn't do my homework and didn't knew the banner was supposed to promote both
Btw, love the icons on the "medium with icons" version.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Sorry, didn't do my homework and didn't knew the banner was supposed to promote both

Well, we're trying to draw people to join the community.

Btw, love the icons on the "medium with icons" version.

The Twitter and Facebook ones came from the Hearts of Oak website that @Captain Murphy did. The others were me trying to make buttons in the same style.
With only moderate success, since the overlays on those buttons don't actually look like they're made of wood.
And I'm not sold on that tiny PA! Logo. Looks fuzzy and not quite right.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Everyone: Any thoughts on the latest ones I posted here?
When I come back from holiday next weekend, I'll try to whip up the final ones and cut them up in tiny little pieces to make the buttons work.

 

[Dukely]

I like the last two that have the HoO logo in white. It makes the whole image easier to see.

 

[Armada]

Everyone: Any thoughts on the latest ones I posted here?
When I come back from holiday next weekend, I'll try to whip up the final ones and cut them up in tiny little pieces to make the buttons work.

They look good, but I think the small buttons could do with some improvement.

I'd suggest using this one for IndieDB:

And one of these for YouTube:

The small PA! logo probably needs remaking in its lighter colours to make it easier to see.

Of course, using the above means we won't have a standard format for each button like the Facebook/Twitter ones, unless we edit them further.
I have to say I think the FB/Twitter logos would look better if they weren't stylised to look like wood, since we're using a more 'flat' design motif for HoO in general.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Then we would get something like this.

Wood Icons:

Flat Icons:

Better?

 

[Armada]

It certainly looks more vibrant like that.

I'd suggest using more up-to-date logos for Facebook and Twitter, though. See here and here respectively.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Like this, you mean?

Flatter Icons:

Original Flat Icons (same as above, just posted for easier comparison):

It becomes flatter and flatter. Not sure I like it.
Also, does such an explosion of colour not distract from the Hearts of Oak stuff?

 

[Armada]

Say what you like about flat design, but it makes sense to use the most recent logos, doesn't it?

I get your point about the colour. Perhaps you could apply a greyscale effect to all the icons, but with a hint of brown or something?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Say what you like about flat design, but it makes sense to use the most recent logos, doesn't it?

Does make sense. But they're not all that different, are they? Just a bit more fancy.

I get your point about the colour. Perhaps you could apply a greyscale effect to all the icons, but with a hint of brown or something?

Like this, you mean?

 

[Armada]

Does make sense. But they're not all that different, are they? Just a bit more fancy.

Well the companies changed the logos for a reason, didn't they? We shouldn't even be asking whether to use the new or old logos.

Like this, you mean?

More like this:

It's probably a bit dark and unsaturated, but you get the idea of replacing all the colours with shades of brown.
Essentially it's just a flat (and easier) alternative to the original idea of applying a wood-grain texture to them.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Would somebody else be willing to put the finishing touches on this to ensure it actually looks as good as we want it to?
Otherwise we'll still end up with a bit of an amateur's work here!

See attached for the PSD files including all stuff I've got.
We're mainly discussing "HoO Banner Medium.psd" here.

More like this:
View attachment 16424
It's probably a bit dark and unsaturated, but you get the idea of replacing all the colours with shades of brown.
Essentially it's just a flat (and easier) alternative to the original idea of applying a wood-grain texture to them.

I don't think I know how to do that. All I can do is play around a bit with the "Blending Options" in Photoshop, but I am no expert at all.

 

[Armada]

I'll look into it tomorrow if nobody else does in the meantime. I have a slightly different idea that might end up looking a lot better than my last suggestion.

 

[Armada]

So, here's what I had in mind:

All icons represented in white with the same backgrounds, the colour of which is now easy to change.
I also included the HoO wheel icon to use as a link to the official site.

How does it look? Any different colour suggestions?