Designing a logo for BlockPay...

[kenCode]

and the final BlockPay logo:
 

[abit]

Ken: I think there was some trouble with the name "blockpay".. Mainly domain name issues.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=844510.0
[20141103]比特币跨境支付平台BlockPay正式更名为GemPay - Bitcointalk.org

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=797945.0
[20140926]BlockPay.com域名大战，徐义吉致币丰港CEO王东的公开信


And the word "block" sounds not so good as a verb: "make the movement or flow in (a passage, pipe, road, etc.) difficult or impossible."

//update:
GemPay will stop operating at the end of this month..

Any reasons why GemPay stops operating? I use their wallet for test reasons and to follow chats on Telegram. Are they out of money?

It seems the mobile app GemWallet stopped operating, but I'm not sure about the payment gateway nor the reason. Just Googled.

[Chris4210]

Ken: I think there was some trouble with the name "blockpay".. Mainly domain name issues.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=844510.0
[20141103]比特币跨境支付平台BlockPay正式更名为GemPay - Bitcointalk.org

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=797945.0
[20140926]BlockPay.com域名大战，徐义吉致币丰港CEO王东的公开信


And the word "block" sounds not so good as a verb: "make the movement or flow in (a passage, pipe, road, etc.) difficult or impossible."

//update:
GemPay will stop operating at the end of this month..

Any reasons why GemPay stops operating? I use their wallet for test reasons and to follow chats on Telegram. Are they out of money?

[kenCode]

nice. we will keep the green (int'l color of money) though.
i like the rounded corners, good idea, we will make the edit. thank you!

[bitsharesbrazil]

pretty smooth the second one

[Geneko]

If I may suggest slight corrections, the original logo is on the left and suggested on the right.

The edges should look more smooth, like adding some fillet to sharp edges.
And color should be more natural.

[okidoki]

P.S. I thought you need only ideas. I am not a professional designer and I don't expect any compensation for my work. I would only like to see your project succeed.

The first one is the best in my eyes...

[abit]

Ken: I think there was some trouble with the name "blockpay".. Mainly domain name issues.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=844510.0
[20141103]比特币跨境支付平台BlockPay正式更名为GemPay - Bitcointalk.org

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=797945.0
[20140926]BlockPay.com域名大战，徐义吉致币丰港CEO王东的公开信


And the word "block" sounds not so good as a verb: "make the movement or flow in (a passage, pipe, road, etc.) difficult or impossible."

//update:
GemPay will stop operating at the end of this month..

[okidoki]

I do not like the chosen logo at all... it means nothing for me... there were really great other logos, like BlockPOS with smartcoin logos... these looked great... But the chosen logo? Does not explain anything...

[Geneko]

Here are my final updates:

[Geneko]

I have been working on one more. Now I hear you have changed name and already decided on logo.
I have finished it and updated name and in case you need some more



GOOD Luck!!

[kenCode]

It's better that we get it changed now too before the marketing really gets rolling. I have steemit posts mention the old name, and chris and rodrigo has just got a domain and social sites created (but no followers yet), so now is the best time to get this done.
 
I think this will be the best decision, thank you for the heads up guys.
 
BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay BlockPay
(i have to erase the old word from my memory uugh)

[lil_jay890]

ok @tbone you got it, the product is now BlockPay
 
BlockPay "S" (the standalone app) and BlockPay for Odoo will have to be edited in those apps in the next couple days which pushes their release back just a bit, but after discussing this with chris and rodrigo, they agree that we should not use POS in the name.
 
Giropay, worldpay, chasepay, paypal, vpay (visa) - a lot of the major networks all use the word pay in their name too, so if we are going to compete with those guys then we might as well have a name that is similar.
 
We got our logo decided upon a couple hours ago too, I hope you like it:

For Press releases (CC BY-SA 4.0): https://ipfs.pics/ipfs/QmNZQeZoAoqVb2cYGfzNApw4WJTuuoQ3VRiQvAGEWb4hKY

Great work Ken and tbone.

I like blockplay much much better than POS.  Thank u for taking the communities input.

[kenCode]

ok @tbone you got it, the product is now BlockPay
 
BlockPay "S" (the standalone app) and BlockPay for Odoo will have to be edited in those apps in the next couple days which pushes their release back just a bit, but after discussing this with chris and rodrigo, they agree that we should not use POS in the name.
 
Giropay, worldpay, chasepay, paypal, vpay (visa) - a lot of the major networks all use the word pay in their name too, so if we are going to compete with those guys then we might as well have a name that is similar.
 
We got our logo decided upon a couple hours ago too, I hope you like it:

For Press releases (CC BY-SA 4.0): https://ipfs.pics/ipfs/QmNZQeZoAoqVb2cYGfzNApw4WJTuuoQ3VRiQvAGEWb4hKY

[kenCode]

Actually I like BlockPay, but doesn't that have a word/servicemark already?
Or BlocPay? (without the k)
 
The word itself will be advertised globally, so this has to be an international reserved word for us.
 
https://twitter.com/blockpay
https://www.facebook.com/blockpay/

[tbone]

By the way, it's nice to think that the graphical component of the logo could stand on its own.  And that could be an ultimate goal.  But that takes years of brand building.  Look at UnionPay.  That is now one of the largest payment networks in the world, yet even they are not at the point where they can omit their name and use just the graphical part of the logo.  Also, notice that they use the word "Pay" NOT "POS".  There is a reason for that.

https://www.google.com/search?q=unionpay&biw=1280&bih=639&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAscryjMbNAhUJ1CYKHa50CkEQ_AUICCgD

Anyway, here are some color variations on the BlocPay concept (click on the external link for best viewing).  I'm liking the blue version more and more.   

https://i.imgsafe.org/000607d6cb.jpg

[tbone]

Well, I can't say I agree on the POS acronym, I never would have thought of using those words for POS. If a logo is done right though, you really don't even need words to describe it. Let the logo be the brand.
 
Anyway, not sure if that is an American thing, or it's just that there are a lot of acronyms for every little thing now.. hell I just learned what tldr meant just a couple of months ago. cli about 6 months ago. lulz about a year ago. We had terms quite a bit different in my hayday like sysop, sysadmin, 9600, haha, dos prompt, quackintosh, and screw you hippie.

@kenCode, I'm taking the time to provide this feedback because I own like 10% of OPENPOS and a boatload of BTS.  I care about the success of this project, and you're about to do something that will undermine a lot of the awesome work you've been doing.  Please don't do that.

POS as an acronym  for "point of sale" is retail industry jargon.  The general public is NOT familiar with it.  Instead, the general public associates other things with POS.  "Piece of shit" is at the top of the list and is nothing new.  Also, the cryptro world thinks of POS as an acronym for "Proof of Stake".  So you're just causing further confusion on that front, and basically missing the mark all around.

You don't have a lot of chances to get this right.  So for pete's sake, please don't put your head in the sand and make the mistake of using POS for anything consumer facing.  If you do, you will end up wondering why it gets no traction (or a lot less than it should). 
   
For something consumer facing, why not come up with a name that uses the word "pay"?  It's short and concise, and can't be mistaken for anything else under the sun.  Check out some of the designs below.  A couple of them use "Bloc" instead of "Block" since BlocPay is more unique than BlockPay and has more domains available.  Please, I hope you head in a direction like this. 

P.S. Even spelled out, the term "point of sale" doesn't mean much to (and won't resonate with) the general public, and doesn't look particularly good on a logo.  Again, the word "pay" is the way to go for something consumer facing.

[kenCode]

Well, I can't say I agree on the POS acronym, I never would have thought of using those words for POS. If a logo is done right though, you really don't even need words to describe it. Let the logo be the brand.
 
Anyway, not sure if that is an American thing, or it's just that there are a lot of acronyms for every little thing now.. hell I just learned what tldr meant just a couple of months ago. cli about 6 months ago. lulz about a year ago. We had terms quite a bit different in my hayday like sysop, sysadmin, 9600, haha, dos prompt, quackintosh, and screw you hippie.

[tbone]

Take a look at these examples:
http://50north.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/payment-icons.jpg

 
and these:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Geldautomaat.jpg
 
The network and payment processor logos are very minimalist. 
Cirrus, Star, Giropay, vPay, DirectDebit, EC, and so on...

@kenCode, so this IS  meant to be consumer facing?  I thought you already spent a bunch of time and effort on the bitcoin and smartcoins accepted here graphics for consumer-facing display.  Can't you modify those?  I would have to agree with @lil_jay890 (probably for the first time ever) that POS is really bad for anything consumer facing.  POS as an acronym for "point of sale" is not something many people are familiar with.  If anything, @lil_jay890 is right, most people associate that with piece of sh!t, or depending on context in internet slang it increasingly may mean "Parent Over Shoulder" "positive", or "possible".  I sincerely hope you change direction on this. 

[lil_jay890]

Everytime I see POS, I immediately think "piece of shit".

I didn't even like the name OPENPOS, but didn't think it was a big deal since it wasn't consumer facing.

Ken, is there any way you could remove POS from the logo?

You want Ken to make a major change from opinion in a sample size of one?

Just because I'm the only one who says something about it doesn't mean I'm the only one thinking it.

Plus I'm one of the largest shareholders, so it is in my best interest to bring up things that I think could be improved.

[kenCode]

Take a look at these examples:
http://50north.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/payment-icons.jpg

 
and these:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Geldautomaat.jpg
 
The network and payment processor logos are very minimalist. 
Cirrus, Star, Giropay, vPay, DirectDebit, EC, and so on...

[tbone]

Here's another version.  Actually, this is better since the "POS" looks more like an acronym due to not having "Block' in all caps.  Anyway, obviously this was adapted from the designs done by @Geneko.  I think it's smart to say "Powered by the blockchain", otherwise the point of the word "block" will be missed on most people.  Also, I think it's fitting to have icons for multiple currencies.  And it's great that the graphene mesh pays homage to the specific underlying technology.  Great ideas, @Geneko!

P.S.  Make sure you click on the image, otherwise the dimensions are a bit skewed.

[tbone]

Howe about something like this?

[kenCode]

@crypto4ever you have a great point there.
we will be building nfc into a future version of the smartcoins wallet too, and blockpos supports nfc and qr codes both. so the wireless symbol (use 3 lines instead of 4) combined with a chain somehow might be a great way to go. then we just write the word BlockPOS next to that logo, or under it and i think we might have something cool and relative to what the product is about.

[tbone]

Everytime I see POS, I immediately think "piece of shit".

I didn't even like the name OPENPOS, but didn't think it was a big deal since it wasn't consumer facing.

Ken, is there any way you could remove POS from the logo?

You would have a good point if this was aimed at consumers.  But isn't this aimed at merchants?  If that's the case, then POS is fine.

[bitsharesbrazil]

i loved the minimalist like mastercard logo from yao...n loved n3 from geneko........but its just opinion of a forum member here...but you guys delivered a pretty nice logo.

[Geneko]

Hey Ken

I am a fan of minimalism too but this is not a question of liking's. This should be the point of effective design.
Please check some more with additional details about block-chain, crypto currency, graphene, as you have requested.
I don't like them as much as previous designs, but please check anyway.



P.S. I thought you need only ideas. I am not a professional designer and I don't expect any compensation for my work. I would only like to see your project succeed.

[Yao]

[Yao]

[crypto4ever]

I like this idea... But to be honest the blockchain is something that means something to developers and the science behind how it works. Consumers don't care.  I think I'm contradicting myself with my submissions, but they were purposely done to get others to "do bettter".

Consumers know they use their phone, and that's what is important.

Showing a standard Wifi Symbol, with the word "blockpos" over it, might be enough.  The wifi signal is quite well known and popular, and means it is electronic and goes through the air.

(Even if technically we're scanning codes with a camera, or using NFC. The logo can be technically wrong, as long as it
shows the consumer that you can do a phone payment)

...and since phones keep changing designs, I don't know if you would want a picture of a cell phone.  That's why I suggest
a wifi signal as part of the logo. That's pretty standard these days.

Even look at this logo from Mastercard:



Or even these:

[kenCode]

I'm a BIG fan of minimalism

[Yao]

cool, how about a completely different design, something that just screams blockchain-based point of sale systems..
sorry, i am so bad at design and explaining this

How about these:

[onceuponatime]

Everytime I see POS, I immediately think "piece of shit".

I didn't even like the name OPENPOS, but didn't think it was a big deal since it wasn't consumer facing.

Ken, is there any way you could remove POS from the logo?

You want Ken to make a major change from opinion in a sample size of one?

[lil_jay890]

Everytime I see POS, I immediately think "piece of shit".

I didn't even like the name OPENPOS, but didn't think it was a big deal since it wasn't consumer facing.

Ken, is there any way you could remove POS from the logo?

[bitsharesbrazil]

A lot of talented people here 

[kenCode]

....and one more

Wow! So simple, now we're talkin'
The POS must be in all caps as you have done, just like that: BlockPOS
 
It doesn't say anything about accepting cryptocurrency payments though, maybe de-emphasize the word BlockPOS a bit so that there is more room for the chain or block or image showing crypto payments in some way?

[Geneko]

....and one more

[Geneko]

Here are some more of it...

[Geneko]

Hey Ken,

I rely like your work. Please check my idea.

[kenCode]

cool, how about a completely different design, something that just screams blockchain-based point of sale systems..
sorry, i am so bad at design and explaining this

[Yao]

nice @Yao
those are a little bit "busy" for my taste, but the block is definitely on the right path.
can we go even more minimalist with it?
 
thanx guys!

[kenCode]

nice @Yao
those are a little bit "busy" for my taste, but the block is definitely on the right path.
can we go even more minimalist with it?
 
thanx guys!

[ebit]

 

[Yao]

Hi, kenCode.
kenCode，你好！

Thanks for your contribution that has been made for the BitShares Community, I designed a LOGO for BlockPOS. Hope to provide you with an idea.
感谢你一直以来为比特股社区做出的贡献，我为 BlockPOS 设计了一个 LOGO，希望能给你提供一个思路。

[kenCode]

Block POS is the name of the product, right?  Do you really want make a logo for a product?  Wouldn't it make more sense to make a logo for an company/entity?  I would love to see you come up with an entity name with the word "Pay" or "Payments".  Something like Smartcoin Payments.  So that's the entity.  Then you could have products like Smartcoin POS, Smartcoin Wallet, etc.  Or something along those lines.  Just throwing it out there.

Well, yes and no. I would like people to think of it more as a network, where when you see the BlockPOS logo, you know you will be able to spend your crypto there, whatever that may be. BitShares Munich has a logo, but I want to push our product out there above anything else.
 
Just fyi, I thought of the qr code thing too, but our wallets and such will be supporting nfc very soon, so I decided to stay away from incorporating the qr into the logo.
 
I thought maybe some blocks, or something that represents the word BlockPOS, or blockchain, or point of sale, something that a merchant or customer could both identify with. Take a look at these examples:
http://50north.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/payment-icons.jpg

[ebit]

[crypto4ever]

Come on people, help me stop posting this trash.    Get out your image editor and try something.



At least this might energize his logo developer with ideas..

[ebit]

 

[tbone]

Block POS is the name of the product, right?  Do you really want make a logo for a product?  Wouldn't it make more sense to make a logo for an company/entity?  I would love to see you come up with an entity name with the word "Pay" or "Payments".  Something like Smartcoin Payments.  So that's the entity.  Then you could have products like Smartcoin POS, Smartcoin Wallet, etc.  Or something along those lines.  Just throwing it out there. 

[crypto4ever]

I'm a terrible graphic designer, but I feel this might encourage someone who can do better, to do better.

[kenCode]

BlockPOS (the graphene blockchain-based Point Of Sale system) needs a logo.
When you visit a grocery store, retail chain, gas station, restaurant or other business, you are likely to see a visa or mastercard logo at the front door and cash register. At an ATM machine you might see Cirrus, Star, Giropay, EC or other network logo.
BlockPOS needs a logo too.
 
BlockPOS is an app/module that allows any merchant to accept any cryptocurrency at zero cost. It's another path to profits for them. Even vending machines and kiosks are going to be integrating with BlockPOS very soon (our marketing for BlockPOS really kicks off next week).
 
Here are some posts about our BlockPOS app and pre-integrated solutions:
https://steemit.com/@kenCode
 
I can't pay you, but I can certainly put up a very nice steemit post about your work and give you all of the steem dollars that we can take out from that post on July 4th. I can also mention you or your company name in the app credits, with a link too if you like.
 
This is kind of a rush, as I wanted to launch BlockPOS "S" and BlockPOS for Odoo this week but our current logo designer is running out of ideas IMO, and I think it would be smart if I looked at some fresh alternatives.
 
If you have some skills, please post the images here and I can at least get the winning design a couple thousand Bitshares for now until the app is launched (next week I hope!). Please and Thank you!