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Oga - Ontario Geocaching Association


The Blue Quasar

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I have no comment at this time.

 

I just simply cannot commit to a thought process due to high frustration levels with the recent content of the forums and at the risk of saying something I might regret.

 

I would be lying if I said I haven't started this post at least 8 times now and had to erase the things I said because of their content.

 

But... The purpose of the OGA is a good one, and I am still going to move forward with the building of the OGA for those people that are interested.

 

We are still very much in the developement phase, and we will not be forced to move in directions that we do not want to be.

 

Many people are investing much of their time, and they are doing this for the cachers of Ontario. They don't need to. They want to. They want to do something to make things better. And they have not asked for one single thing including a thank you of anyone.

 

I applaud those that are working with me to get this organization, be it only an on-line community, together. And I am proud to know them even if it is just by email messages.

 

So to all those that are actively supplying positive content to better the OGA, those that have brought good ideas forward, those that are excited to be a part of it all.....

 

I THANK YOU.

 

Guess I do have a comment afterall.

 

:D The Blue Quasar

 

Now: Let's get back to the building, coffee break is over.

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I have received a reply from the legal department at Geocaching.com

 

In the initial email that I sent I requested two things.

 

1)... Permission to create .loc files for the OGA site that would redirect back to geocaching.com.

 

2)... Permission to incorporate the Geocaching icon within the OGA symbol

 

Question 1 was answered with the following

 

{from email - I have forwarded your request to the Groundspeak Team for evaluation regarding the use of loc files. Based upon your description of the use, your mission statement and the nature of your request, I do not think that it will be a problem but must confirm this with the others from Groundspeak prior to providing authorization}

 

Question 2 was answered with the following

 

{from email - Unfortunately, your use of the Groundspeak Geocaching logo violates the terms of use since it is a modification of the logo. If the logo is to be used on a webpage, it must be untouched and unmodified. Specifically, placing it beneath any portion of your logo would constitute modification.}

 

So currently the main .loc idea looks good but still needs to be approved. That is good news for us. But sadly the OGA LOGO needs to have the Geocaching LOGO removed. I will request this update from TrimblesTrek and Keith Watson.

 

Any further use of the previously posted OGA LOGO will not be supported by OGA and if cachers use that LOGO they do so of their own volition or accord.

 

:rolleyes: The Blue Quasar

Edited by The Blue Quasar
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We all agreed that we should contact geocaching.com before posting any content that may infringe upon trademarks of Groundspeak. This was done to protect us from the hassle of legal matters.

 

To me, it does not matter what other cache groups have done. We will respect the wishes of the legal department and this is important because it shows that we are following proper procedures and this will reflect upon us when other issues arise.

 

While I do prefer the OGA LOGO with the Geocaching LOGO inside it, my preferrence is irrelevent.

 

If we cannot abide by the rules set out by Groundspeak and/or Geocaching.com then landowners will expect that will not abide by their terms either.

 

Instead, let's see what can be inserted in place of the previous logo to enhance our OGA LOGO.

 

Any suggestions? A Maple Leaf, A GPS, The crest of Ontario?

 

:rolleyes: The Blue Quasar

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... a Tim Horton's cup and donut? :P But seriously folks... if you choose a GPS then do you choose a Magellan or Garmin or other? How about transforming the GC logo into a topo map ? Kinda gets the idea across? I imagine you don't want something that distracts from the other part of the logo.

 

Maple Leaf or beaver seems to generic Canuck. Narrow it down to an Ontario item.. hmmm... back to Tim's. Trillium?

 

Just some random thoughts.

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How about a set of compass points in lieu of the gc.com logo? The concept of our existence wthin Canada/Ontario is already covered by the outline of the province of Ontario. So what we need to represent graphically is something to do with location or locating. Maybe a compass ring with the trillium or maple leaf insde the compass ring if people want to further emphasize our canadian connection.

 

My .02 worth.

 

Happy Caching!

 

Logger

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I think the LOGO looks best without a trillium or maple leaf.

 

They both look out of place to me, and the LOGO certainly shows that we are from Ontario well enough.

 

The nice thing about the gc.com logo was that it was subtly inserted into the background. Showed support without being 'in-your-face'.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like trilliums and maple leaves, but perhaps a trillium could be used elsewhere in the OGA site. Like for the CITO initiative.

 

My vote is to have the OGA LOGO as is, without any extra content. I'm glad to see that people actually care what it looks like and are also willing to invest some time into it's design.

 

:D The Blue Quasar

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I think the LOGO looks best without a trillium or maple leaf.

 

They both look out of place to me, and the LOGO certainly shows that we are from Ontario well enough.

 

The nice thing about the gc.com logo was that it was subtly inserted into the background.  Showed support without being 'in-your-face'.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like trilliums and maple leaves, but perhaps a trillium could be used elsewhere in the OGA site.  Like for the CITO initiative.

 

My vote is to have the OGA LOGO as is, without any extra content.  I'm glad to see that people actually care what it looks like and are also willing to invest some time into it's design.

 

:D  The Blue Quasar

I have to agree with BQ, I like the plain logo myself. I am interested to see the next submission of TT also.

 

Good job, I only dream to wish I had such talent with grapics.

 

HFC

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Well I'll stick in my 2 cents in here as well...I like all the concepts presented but ultimately I think they detract from the original logo.

 

Too busy....

 

I'll possibly take that bach when TT posts the more discrete versions with the maple leaf etc..

 

So another vote for the original logo no trilliums or mapple leafs.

 

Bear

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For those that were waiting for the updated OGA logo...

 

First of all, I wasn't pleased with any of the maple leaf designs... didn't seem really appropriate for an Ontario group. So I didn't upload any of them.

 

The final Trillium logo is presented here in two formats... The first, with the trillium design quite prominent. The second, with the trillium design at a 10% transparency value...almost like a watermark.

 

OGA_Logo_Rev2a_300x300 53121_900.jpg

 

OGA_Logo_Rev2b_300x300 53121_1000.jpg

 

-TT-

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I know that I'm not in Ontario yet... but my wife is... and yes she's a cacher.... I like the first image better.... It's enouge to actually see what it is.... and It does not take away from the logo...

 

My 18.7 cents.... the rest went to taxes.....sorry

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We would say keep the Trillium out. We both think that the outline of the province of Ontario is enough. Why not keep the compass rose the same angle Cachengrab and Hard Oiler had theirs following the provinces natural angle. Opposed to TrimblesTrek that is straight up and down. Why not put an old school North and South and the appropriate points? That way it looks like a real treasure hunt.

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I rather like the hint of Trillium in the second one - helps to break up the Great White North. As for the direction of the compass rose either way looks good to me although the latest version does point straight to my hometown rather than TO so I've got no objection to that :blink: .

 

My vote is that we leave it to TT to make the call but let's do it soon - I need to replace that old SOGA logo on my caching cards.

 

How about a deadline of 9 pm Wednesday for any input and announcing the decision at the Wednesday night chat?

 

TT - thanks for the work - I know how tough it is to get committees to agree on designs - and virtual committees are even worse.

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The logos look great TT!

 

I'm not overly fond of the trillium but of the two I prefer the subdued trillium. The up front one makes it hard to read the name. Also the yellow on white will never reproduce on printed paper (grayscale) for letterhead.

 

I would still love to see what the red maple leaf would look like. I think some red in the picture might be a nice touch. Most people outside of Canada (or inside of Canada for that matter) wont know what the trillium represents. While the red maple leaf is pretty well universally known.

 

You have the outline of the province in there to represent Ontario, the trillium is sort of overkill.

 

I was told once by a person who trekked across Europe, that they were told to put a red maple leaf or canadian flag on their backpacks and they would be treated better. (And less likely to be held-up or shot.)

 

The compass rose does look out of place pointing out the true north direction, and I think it stood out more when it was darker. At first glance I thought it was a recycling symbol, so the idea of putting an "N" at the top of the rose might clarify its purpose.

 

Just my two cents...

 

Happy Caching!

 

Logger

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I'll vote for sample number 1. I like the Trillium being a little more prominent and since it is white there is no colour clashing. I'm fine with playing around with the compass rose.

 

One point we should take into account while doing this exercise is which one lends itself best to silk-screening. (do they still do that?) Obviously there will be a call for T-shirts, hats, patches, etc. and we'll want the best reproduction possible.

 

Cheers, Olar

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Looking back at some of the older versions of the logo, I liked the original positioning/angle of the compass as it seemed to fit in nicely with the map of Ontario. But instead of being flat like the older versions, make it 3D like the latest version.

 

As for the Trillium, I do like the idea of including it...but only if we can make it look right. Ie, in the first version it seems too overpowering and a users attention is immediately drawn to it, hence taking away from other aspects of the logo, and the 2nd version the trillium is a little too faint...what if we change the transparency to something in the middle...or perhaps 20% or 30% (I little more prominent than the 2nd version). Or put that same trillium (at 20% or 30% transparency) inside of the compass (which means the trillium may have to be made a little smaller). Besides the trillium, I wonder what other Ontario symbols there are...Ontario bird? Ontario animal? CN Tower (nah!)?

 

What I am really surprised is that Groundspeak won't let us use their geocaching logo as we had in the older version, as that was really nice. I know what their "rules" say about using the logo and not changing it, but I wish they would make an exception, afterall it is just promoting their web site more, so they have nothing to lose.

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Ontario != Toronto

 

(Ontario not equal to Toronto)

 

I agree, that is why I put a "nah!" as in "no" after that. I was going to add parliment building, but that was after I posted the message, and again that wouldn't be something to represent all of Ontario either.

 

Another thought I had afterwards is that maybe we just add our own stick figure or whatever, similar (but also different) than the geocaching logo.

 

Now to be totally creative and different...how about a round logo split into 3 pies with a person in one pie, a gps in another pie and a map of ontario or a trillium in the 3rd pie...and make this transparent and place it in the location of where the geocaching logo formerly was. Ok enough thoughts from me, I really should be concentrating on work now.

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Based on some of the suggestions I've made some revisions...

 

Moved the compass rose to the centre and placed the trillium inside

 

OGA_Logo_Rev3a_300x300.jpg 53121_1100.jpg

 

Same image, no trillium

 

OGA_Logo_Rev3b_300x300.jpg 53121_1200.jpg

 

If you want to see some more revisions in "real time", I'd be happy to entertain ideas during the chat tomorrow night.

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Even though I live in Quebec now, I still prefer the first image with the larger trilium in the upper left hand corner. I have always been partial to the "trilium". As soon as I see one or see an image of one, the word "Ontario" immediately pops up into my head. I am sick of seeing flags....U.S. flag, Confederate flag, Quebec flag, Canadian flag, Red Cross flag, Blue Cross flag. I would prefer a more tangible or familiar "compass" image on the logo and the word "Ontario" be a bit more visible and on the upper part of the logo too.

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The 2 new versions are super! Both are great but I would lean to the one with the trillium in the compass.

 

I still like the angled compass of the old older logo (see Hard Oiler's example above), although the newer positioning of the compass looks much better now. So I guess it would be too much work just to have us see the difference between the compass as you have it now, and with the compass angled like you had in your original logo a couple months ago? (with trillium in center). Also, until someone mentioned it, I never thought of that compass thingy as a compass, so to me it didn't really matter where it pointed (well it did point in the direction of northern Ontario).

 

And for my last request is, how about a beaver nibbling on the O of Ontario...

 

...just kidding about my last request :blink:

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