The central part shows a pair of green parentheses (functions), surrounding two red bowls at top symbolizing the inputs, then processed in the middle in a few steps symbolized by the blue chevrons, and another red bowl at bottom symbolizing the output.
It is designed to be fully language-neutral and suitable for BiDi rendering (no need to change any letter or mirror it).
It uses the 3 main Wikimedia logo colors, but is suitable for use "as is" onlight or dark barkground, and remains identifiable if rendered at small sizes.
Derived from the Wikimedia Logo and kept consistent to the brand guidelines
Starting from the lambda symbol, the mathematical references include the original blue circle cut to resemble two parentheses, and the red circle is a nod to w:Dot_(diacritic)#Overdot
Could be represented directly with Unicode combination characters (λ)
It was observed in the comments a potential similarity with this logo c:File:Half-Life Lambda popr..png, although it was unknown to the author
It should be fairly obvious that the design is based on a fusion of two letters "W" (for wiki) and "λ" (for functions).
The logo is also a carefully organized composition of four triangular arrows. Arrow is used in the design as the building block because it is commonly used to represent functions under various circumstances, such as arrow notation for mathematical functions, and arrow functions in different programming languages.
Because of its simplicity, it works well at different sizes and can be easily adapted for different applications (the "powered by" button is an example application).
Shapes in the logo are based on the design grid to create geometric harmony.
The zig zag shape references three different manifestations of functions:
electronic circuits (as the symbol for a resistor); mathematical functions (as a line graph); Wikifunctions itself (as a W).
Like Wikidata's logo, the shape is composed of red, green and blue parallel lines. But instead of being straight, the lines are interwoven like threads in a loom (maybe a Jacquard loom 😊), just as Wikifunctions will interweave raw data from Wikidata to create a rich tapestry of output.
As a small bonus, this interweaving gives the W a crossed center, like in Wikipedia's wordmark.
The punchcard is simplified so it works at all scales (though we could perhaps simplify the favicon).
It also resembles other technology interfaces.
The dot pattern holds a special secret: the W and the number 13 reflecting that Wikifunctions is the 13th Wikimedia project. (Binary 01010111 and 1101 - the favicon could maybe just include 13 in binary dots)
It is a geometric abstraction of the Wikipedia logo, intentionally incomplete.
The shape is in the process of forming, with the possibility of being used in animations (like “loading” patterns) to extend the visual system.
Inspiration: I once took a course for GLSL and learned that to form a circle, the computer draws many triangles, because that is the most efficient. The more triangles - the more perfect the circle. I think there is something very poetic about that. Just like how we want many contributions to our project(s) to make the world better.
The lines illustrate lines of code/instructions or reference areas.
The “vertical” style holds two secrets: the shapes form an abstracted “face” and and the lines imply the three ascending strokes of a “W”.
I like the simplicity, yet it tells a story - building something for humans/humanity from diverse elements/atoms.
It works well in different scales. The logo would be inverted on a dark background. You can preview different use cases for the logo in this Google Slide deck – e.g. merchandise, favicon in the browser, presentation, how it looks animated. (I chose this format, so any could copy the slides and try out their logo for these use cases).
The inspiration for this logo is the commonly used function call notation of the parentheses (denoted in blue).
The red hub and spokes inside the parentheses symbolizes the function parameter which graphically represents WF (wiki functions) blended together, and also denotes the complex nature of what a function may do, as well as it looks like a dancing, joyful human figure.
The inner side of the left and right parentheses forms part of the circle. The vertical green "parentheses" completes the circle and symbolically denotes a recursive call.
Both sets of parentheses highlights the circle which denotes the globe, that unites all of humanity on this planet.
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