DCR Logo Performance Update
Sharper eyes may have noticed that over the past 2 months new and adjusted version of DCR logo has been put to use. The logo has been adjusted with the intent to get it up to its maximum performance for use on digital screens and to give it the most optimal construction making its use and function future proof.
The original Decred logo was authored by San Der and Tanel August Lind from design studio EETER.co on July 2016. After a year of observing its use throughout both screen and print matter we’ve mapped out and addressed a number of details. At first glance these changes may be hard to notice, so I will elaborate how many small changes add up to greater effect.
The updated version has been redrawn for better alignment on pixel grid. Diagonal tilts have been set to 315° and 135°. Having tested all of the close range angle values, these proved to be the absolute best for diagonal rendering. The symbols height now consists of five initial grid pieces. This allows for a very sharp and clear symbol rendering when used with appropriate values. Meaning that in smaller sizes height (in px) must be dividable without decimal place e.g 25, 50, 100… px.
Similar updates have also been applied to the Politeia logo and its ambigram. Pi symbol differs in construction of being on a 6 piece grid, meaning the height must be dividable by 30, 60, 120… px.
The distance between two ambigram pieces has been reduced approximately 8% to achieve a firmer appearance. Ends of curvatures have been slightly trimmed for improved rendering on smaller sizes and general balancing of the circular forms.
Lock-up of the wordmark and symbol have also been slightly fine tuned. More specifically positive and negative versions received an overhaul bringing a stronger correspondence of optical similarity to the negative version.
In addition, we created two new vertical lockups of the logo. These were left out from the initial release due to less than ideal enclosure conditions of the symbol and the wordmark. However the narrower symbol allowed for production of vertical lockups that were more balanced. These are constructed on a carefully considered grid, taking into account Fibonacci ratio; anti-aliasing and optical balancing.
Should the logo be used in context where a square proportion is more fitting, the default option is the large vertical version. In case square ratio is required at very small sizes, the alternative small vertical lockup can be used whereas the proportion of the Decred wordmark is considerably larger assuring its legibility.
Other considerable updates involve consistency of color scheme and phasing out Inconsolata in favor of Source Code Pro. We’ve removed a number of odd grey values that have been registered in different instances and cleared out similar duplicate practices. Also, the CMYK values have received an overhaul, allowing for better performance to visual communications in printed matter. This new CMYK scheme essentially focuses on levels of blue as a key color. Providing a simpler schematic help to improve the various print related design outputs and as the project matures, allows for Decred to be recognized more clearly and confidently through a single tonality.
Updated assets, guidelines and documentations are accessible at the github/dcrdesign repository and decred.org/brand. The repo can be used for requests, feedback and questions (posted as issues) around Decred design.
