ShopSavvy Logo Evolution
(note: ShopSavvy iPhone users can ignore this post)
When we submitted our application to Google’s Android Developer Challenge it was called GoCart. Our logo was the blue ‘cart’-like icon seen below. After we won the challenge T-Mobile asked us to change our name to something more ‘shopping’ oriented, they suggested ShopSavvy and we adopted the new name. However, we didn’t have time to change our icon before the official launch and stuck with the blue cart icon.
Soon afterward Google released their ‘icon design guidelines‘ for Android and after a STRONG recommendation from from Deutsche Telekom that we needed to change the blue cart into something that looked like a barcode. Evidently ‘ShopSavvy’ doesn’t translate into German so we decided to comply with Google’s icon design guidelines AND Deutsche Telekom’s request to include a barcode in the icon. The resulting icon was a 3D panel with a simulated barcode on it. The new icon was VERY unpopular as evidenced by scores of angry market comments, emails and blog posts. I blogged about it here.
When we were ready to launch the iPhone version of ShopSavvy we got lots of negative feedback about our logo. Everyone thought we needed something more compelling. More than 4 different designers worked on the project, but we never found anything compelling. We still didn’t have an icon by November 2nd – on November 3rd we were debuting ShopSavvy for the iPhone at the PayPal Innovate conference and HAD to have an icon for the demo. On the plane to San Francisco Rylan create a very simple tilted sticker with an edge peeled up. It began to grow on us and we decided that we would go with it for the demo. To launch ShopSavvy for Black Friday we had to go ahead and submit the app to Apple with the sticker icon. What do you think?
Our plan is to use the sticker icon on BOTH iPhone and Android (as well as WinMo and RIM). This means a third icon change on Android. The sticker doesn’t meet the Android design guidelines, but it would seem Motorola decided to abandon them for the Droid and Eris as well. Did you notice? I think it would be nice if we could have the same icon on all platforms and I think the sticker is the way to go. We want your feedback before we change. What do you think? Here are the icons side-by-side:
Make the change! The new logo is the best one yet.
I like the sticker version better than the plain barcode. The vanilla barcode looks too much like the icon for barcode scanner.
I think it’s funny that you were pushed towards having a name more do to with shopping and an icon that doesn’t really say much about shopping.
I like the sticker icon the best, but it sure doesn’t tell me anything about how ShopSavvy is going to save me money or is shopping related. Barcodes to me represent more Shipping than they do Shopping.
Tough spot to be in that’s for sure! No easy solution
I never had a problem with the first barcode one (I find it classier than the original blue one) but since it seems that most of the developers don’t follow Google’s icon guidelines anyway, I can certainly live with the sticker look.
Lots of people seem to ignore the Android icon guidelines, especially the odd perspective requirement. That always seemed a bit strange and unmotivated.
Personally, I like your plain barcode one best.
I like the new icon.
It was really nice how Google changed all their own icons for Android 2.0 to flat icons, but has yet to update their design guidelines.
I have to say I like the new design, but wiith all of my other iPhone icons on the springboard flat, shopsavvy’s just looks weird. It forces me to scp into my iPhone and override the icon — regardless of how nice it may look –and replace it with one of my own design, just so everything is consistent.
The Android guidelines are changing – just nothing official yet. They’re dragging their damn heels though!
http://bit.ly/6KMztV