Thread: html5 logo launched

The W3C has launched a new logo for html5, with a family of technology icons to identify what the W3C are terming "classifications" of html5.

This seems to have caused uproar in areas of the web development community, with tweets and blog posts popping up all over:

Adactio: Journal - Badge of shame
Bruce Lawson’s personal site : On the HTML5 logo
Does HTML5 need a logo? :: Aaron Russell

Twitter / Jeffrey Zeldman
Twitter / Andy Clarke
Twitter / Jeremy Keith
Twitter / Jonathan McGaha

What are your thoughts? Does it matter at all?

You can view the new logo over here: W3C HTML5 Logo along with the t-shirts, stickers and associated classification marks

lol it looks like something from the transformers. I like it though, its kinda cool.

*looks more into it*

Jeremy Keith makes an interesting if incorrect assessment of the logo.

The logo is a general-purpose visual identity for a broad set of open web technologies, including HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and others.

Originally Posted by W3C

Jeremy says that the logo is used to represent a number of technologies. Judging by the quote above this would be correct. This reads as the logo represent's everything under the sun. Looking at the stupidly named Badge Builder 5000 W3C HTML5 Logo however the '5' logo is merely an umbrella in which you can specify other apparently meaningless icons to show off what you use on a webpage.

One thing I do disagree with though is that CSS3 has been grouped with these icons. I agree with Bruce Lawson who appears to have a fit or maybe some sort of brake down when making this point.

Does HTML5 need a logo? No it doesn't! HOWEVER some people love putting hideous 'Valid' badges on websites which completely f**ks up the design and makes them look like an idiot and a novice. At least with this logo these moron's can hack on something mildly aesthetic.

Will I be using it? Maybe on my portfolio... should I ever make another one. That aside no I will not. A random logo which means nothing to anyone apart from developers does nothing to enhance the browsing experience. If anything it just makes visitors think 'wtf is that?' and if people are asking this question on your website you are likely a moron and almost certainly doing it wrong.

Back to the point at hand though... I do like the logo and I think I might get a t-shirt.

Edit: Just seen the t-shirt... will wait till someone make's one less geeky.

Edit: Just seen the t-shirt... will wait till someone make's one less geeky.

Originally Posted by Jason

Read the books, seen the podcasts, ...but I'll leave the t-shirt alone ta muchly.

Reminded me of the tron computer/Moses from South Park: http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=sou...w=1680&bih=905

Jeremy Keith makes an interesting if incorrect assessment of the logo.

Originally Posted by Jason

Its not Jeremy making this assumption. This is what the w3c state in the FAQ about the logo

The logo is a general-purpose visual identity for a broad set of open web technologies, including HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and others. In addition to the HTML5 logo there are icons for eight high level technology classes enabled by the HTML5 family of technologies. The icons can be used to highlight more specific abilities, such as offline, graphics, or connectivity.

Originally Posted by w3c

To me that reads that you can you use the "super5" logo to identify *all* that is html5 (including html, css, svg, woff, etc) or you can also use this in conjunction with the icons to further identify which "technology classes" you are using.

One thing I do disagree with though is that CSS3 has been grouped with these icons

Originally Posted by Jason

I think that is what most people are upset about, including Jeremy.

Its not Jeremy making this assumption. This is what the w3c state in the FAQ about the logo

Originally Posted by WelshStew

I am aware of this, I have edited my post to make my meaning more clear.

To me that reads that you can you use the "super5" logo to identify *all* that is html5 (including html, css, svg, woff, etc) or you can also use this in conjunction with the icons to further identify which "technology classes" you are using.

Yes, this is the one confusing part. The quote which you referred to explicitly says the logo can be used for a number of technologies including HTML.

However, as I said above the Badge Builder provides additional icons for each of these technologies... this seems to go against the W3C FAQ page and give each technology an icon to identify it.

These icons make sense to me, one badge to rule them all doesn't and CSS being given a mini icon like a more obscure technology such as woff makes little sense to me as well.

lol it looks like something from the transformers.

Originally Posted by Jason

That's exactly what I thought, or some 80's super hero badge!

A little pointless, but they seem to be making a big thing of it, so I'll leave it to them to have fun with it!

It's a marketing exercise. All the support, or uproar, this generates goes another step towards what they want - people associating these techs under one banner.

Still, it's better than, eh, I dunno - web3.0

I'm with Stu on this one - let them have fun. As for some of these 'complaints' - is it really that important?

I'm with Stu on this one - let them have fun. As for some of these 'complaints' - is it really that important?

Originally Posted by Frinkky

It depends what they mean. If they mean, look at this logo, it expresses all of the great things you can do with HTML5 then it doesn't matter.

If they are trying to say... look CSS3 IS HTML5 then someone needs a slap. The web is confusing enough for non-techies as it is... adding more terms which contradict existing terms will just cause more confusion.

I'd suggest that as css3 has its own sub-logo then they aren't attempting to say css3 is html5 - but that's my interpretation. Although I was being glib by saying they could've called it web3.0 as an umbrella term, I think their intention is to portray html5 as the hub where all these other techs converge. It could easily be misconstrued however...

Nothing wrong with the logo, but the lumping of everything else under the HTML5 name is just plain wrong and highly misleading.

Since the majority of people who even care about the W3C are developers, it's a bit condescending to be trying to tell them that CSS3 is part of HTML5.