[[identity]]

The CentOS Project Identity

===========================

The CentOS Project identity is based on a monolithic visual structure.

In a monolithic visual structure, the organization has one unique name

(<<centos-brand>>) and one unique visual style (<<centos-themes>>) in

all its visual manifestations, internal and external stakeholders use

to feel a strong sensation of uniformity, orientation, and

identification with the organization. No matter if they are visiting

web sites, using the distribution, or acting on social events, the one

unique name and one unique visual style connects them all to say: Hey!

we are all part of The CentOS Project.

== The CentOS Mission

The CentOS Project exists to produce The CentOS Distribution, an

Enterprise-class Linux Distribution derived from sources freely

provided to the public by a prominent North American Enterprise Linux

vendor.  The CentOS Distribution conforms fully with the upstream

vendors redistribution policy and aims to be 100% binary compatible.

(The CentOS Distribution mainly changes packages to remove upstream

vendor branding and artwork.).

The CentOS Distribution is developed by a small but growing team of

core developers.  In turn the core developers are supported by an

active user community including system administrators, network

administrators, enterprise users, managers, core Linux contributors

and Linux enthusiasts from around the world.

The CentOS Distribution has numerous advantages including: an active

and growing user community, quickly rebuilt, tested, and QA'ed errata

packages, an extensive mirror network, developers who are contactable

and responsive of a reliable Enterprise-class Linux Distribution,

multiple free support avenues including a

http://wiki.centos.org/[Wiki],

http://www.centos.org/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=8[IRC Chat],

http://lists.centos.org/[Email Lists],

http://www.centos.org/modules/newbb/[Forums], and a dynamic

http://www.centos.org/modules/smartfaq/[FAQ].

[[centos-visual-manifestations]]

== The CentOS Visual Manifestations

The CentOS Artwork SIG has identified the following visual

manifestations for The CentOS Project organization:

* The CentOS Distribution -- to control the operating system appearance.

* The CentOS Web environment -- to control the web applications appearance.

* The CentOS Showroom -- to control the appearance of goods produced

  by industrial means.

=== The CentOS Distribution

This visual manifestation communicates its existence through software

packages.  There are packages that make a remarkable use of images,

packages that make a moderate use of images, and packages that don't

use images at all.  This visual manifestation is focused on rebuilding

the packages that make use of images affecting the visual style of of

the final product. Special attention is dedicated to change packages

holding upstream branding information (e.g., _redhat-logos_ and

_redhat-artwork_).

- The operating system itself (communicates the essence of The CentOS

  Project existence.).

- The release schema (lifetime) and all the stuff related (e.g.,

  release notes, documentation, erratas, etc.).

=== The CentOS Web Environment

This visual manifestation communicates its existence through web

applications.  These web applications are free software and come from

different providers which distribute their work with predefined visual

styles.  Frequently, these predefined visual styles have no visual

relation among themselves and introduce some visual contradictions

when they all are put together.  Removing these visual contradictions

is object of work for this visual manifestation.

- The CentOS Chat.

- The CentOS Mailing Lists.

- The CentOS Forums.

- The CentOS Wiki.

- Special Interest Groups (SIGs).

- Social Events, Interviews, Conferences, etc.

- The extensive network of mirrors available for downloading ISO files

  as well as RPMs and SRPMs used to build them up in different

  architectures.

=== The CentOS Showroom

This visual manifestation communicates its existence through

production of industrial goods carrying The CentOS Brand.  These

branded goods are directed to be distributed on social events and/or

shops. They provide a way of promotion and commercialization that may

help to reduce The CentOS Project expenses (e.g., electrical power,

hosting, servers, full-time-developers, etc.). Some of the goods

produced here include the following:

- Advertisements (e.g., posters, flyers, stickers, paper bags, stands,

  ...).

- Office Stuff (e.g., pens, folders, cups for coffee,  ...)

- Clothes (e.g., shirts, pullovers, sweaters, caps, ...).

- Installation media (e.g., pen-drives, CDs and DVDs with labels and

  sleeves included).

[[centos-brand]]

== The CentOS Brand

The CentOS Brand is the main graphical identification of The CentOS

Project.  The CentOS Artwork SIG uses The CentOS Brand to connect all

the visual manifestations The CentOS Project is made of (see

<<centos-visual-manifestations>>) and, this way, it provides visual

recognition among similar projects available on the Internet.

The CentOS Brand is composed of a graphical component known as The

CentOS Symbol and a typographical component known as The CentOS Type.

When The CentOS Symbol and The CentOS Type are combined, they create

what we know as The CentOS Logo.  All the components that make The

CentOS Brand can be used together or separately, considering that, in

hierarchy order, The CentOS Logo is rather preferred than The CentOS

Symbol, as well as The CentOS Symbol is rather preferred than The

CentOS Type alone.

The CentOS Brand must be exactly the same every time it is printed

out, no matter what the impression medium is.  A route to reproduce

The CentOS Brand this way must be used in order to avoid reproduction

mistakes of any kind when final images are branded with it. To prevent

such mistakes, The CentOS Artwork SIG creates SVGZ files only for The

CentOS Symbol and The CentOS Type components. Then, using automation

scripts, final images in different sizes, colors and formats are

produced for them.  In this environment, if changes are introduced to

The CentOS Symbol and The CentOS Type, they will be propagated to all

images holding them, the next time they all are rendered. Since the

whole rendition process is fully automated, the fact of propagating

brand information through a variable number of images is fairly simple

and exact.

=== The CentOS Symbol

The CentOS Symbol is the graphical part of The CentOS Logo. The CentOS

Artwork SIG uses The CentOS Symbol to ``brand'' images produced by The

CentOS Project and provide visual connection between them so they can

be monolithically recognized as part of The CentOS Project.  The

CentOS Symbol must be exactly the same every time it is printed out.

To grant this uniqueness, The CentOS Artwork SIG designs The CentOS

Symbol in SVGZ format and uses automation scripts to produce final

images from on it. Final images produced from automation scripts vary

in format, color and size but The CentOS Symbol proportion is strictly

retained in all of them.

==== Construction

1. ...

==== Usage Restrictions

In order to apply The CentOS Symbol to other images correctly, the

following usage restrictions must be complied:

1. ...

==== Color Restrictions

In order to apply The CentOS Symbol to other images correctly, the

following color restrictions must be complied:

1. ...

==== Acceptable Variations

Printing too many different colors on specific sorts of media may

result very expensive sometimes, so the following acceptable

variations for The CentOS Symbol are also available:

1. ...

=== The CentOS Type

The CentOS Type is the typographical part of The CentOS Logo.  The

CentOS Type is used to ``brand'' images produce by The CentOS Project

and provide visual connection between images so they can be

monolithically recognized as part of The CentOS Project.  The CentOS

Type alone provides less recognition than The CentOS Logo and The

CentOS Symbol. Frequently, The CentOS Type is used to advert the major

release of CentOS Distribution on the first images shown as part of

distribution installation process.  The CentOS Symbol and any release

information printed out with it must have exactly the same proportions

every time they are printed out.  To grant this uniqueness, The CentOS

Artwork SIG designs The CentOS Type in SVGZ format and uses automation

scripts to produce final images from on it. Final images produced from

automation scripts vary in format, color and size but The CentOS Type

proportion is strictly retained in all of them.

image:corporate-fonts.png[corporate-fonts.png]

==== Construction

1. ...

==== Usage Restrictions

In order to apply The CentOS Type to other images correctly, the

following usage restrictions must be complied:

1. ...

==== Color Restrictions

In order to apply The CentOS Symbol to other images correctly, the

following color restrictions must be complied:

1. ...

==== Acceptable Variations

Printing too many different colors on specific sorts of media may

result very expensive sometimes, so the following acceptable

variations for The CentOS Type are also available:

1. ...

=== The CentOS Logo

The CentOS Logo is the combination of The CentOS Symbol and The CentOS

Type. The CentOS Artwork SIG uses The CentOS Logo to ``brand'' images

produced by The CentOS Project and provide visual connection between

them so they can be monolithically recognized as part of The CentOS

Project.  The CentOS Logo must be exactly the same every time it is

printed out. To grant this uniqueness, The CentOS Artwork SIG doesn't

create The CentOS Logo in SVGZ format, instead it combines final

images produced from The CentOS Symbol and The CentOS Type using

automation scripts.  Because final images related to both The CentOS

Symbol and The CentOS Type do share common proportions, it is possible

for automation scripts to combine them in a great number of ways to

produce a great number of final images for The CentOS Logos and with

high levels of exactitude.

==== Construction

image:corporate-logo-howto.png[corporate-logo-howto.png]

==== Usage Restrictions

In order to apply The CentOS Logo to other images correctly, the

following usage restrictions must be complied:

1. ...

==== Color Restrictions

In order to apply The CentOS Logo to other images correctly, the

following color restrictions must be complied:

1. ...

==== Acceptable Variations

Printing too many different colors on specific sorts of media may

result very expensive sometimes, so the following acceptable

variations for The CentOS Logo are also available:

1. ...

== The CentOS Palette

In addition to colors used in The CentOS Symbol (9ccd2aff, 932279ff,

262577ff, efa724ff) and The CentOS Default Background Color

(204c8dff), The CentOS Artwork SIG uses the following colors in their

corporate graphic designs:

image:../corporate-colors.png[corporate-colors.png]

Artistic motifs have not any limitation in the number of colors used.

If you are a graphic designer creating artistic motifs for The CentOS

Project, feel free to take your creativeness at its limit by creating

color-full artistic motifs. For final bootup images which require a

reduced number of colors, create palette of colors for them with the

appropriate number of colors and let the *render* module of

*centos-art.sh* script to do the rest.

[[centos-themes]]

== The CentOS Themes

The CentOS themes organize visual styles for all the visual

manifestation The CentOS Project is made of. In order to automate the

process of rendering images based on customizable patterns, themes

have been divided into ``design models'' and ``artistic motifs.''

image:identity-themes.png[identity-themes.png]

[[centos-themes-models]]

=== Design Models

Design models are compressed SVG files created with Inkscape. They

describe the image files used to implement the CentOS project visual

manifestations.  For example, in the specific case of CentOS

distribution, each final image you want to re-brand has a design model

associated used to set the final image dimensions, whether or not it

has round borders, and what background to use on it.  Design models

are created once and rarely modified through time. They are only

modified if the visual manifestation they refer to changes or needs to

be tuned up.

Localization of design models is also possible. It takes place in the

same directory of design models, through PO files which are

manipulated by automation scripts. The localization of design models

allows production of final images for different locales.  For example,

if you decide to use slide images in CentOS installer, you need to

create one design model for each slide image you want to produce in

English language.  Then, using *locale* module of *centos-art.sh*

script, you create PO files for each design model you have.  PO files

are created using the current language information of your terminal

(e.g., see value of +LANG+ variable).  Then, you use the *locale*

module again to edit the PO files and provide string translations from

English to your preferred language.  Once translations are on the PO

files, you use the *render* module of *centos-art.sh* script to

produce final images for your locale, based on the artistic motif you

initiate rendition for and the related design models set in the

rendition configuration file.

[[centos-themes-motifs]]

=== Artistic Motifs

Artistic motifs are PNG images holding the background information of

each design model available.  One important characteristic of artistic

motifs is preserving one unique visual style for all the PNG images

they are made of.  Artistic motifs aren't limited in number. It is

possible to have several artistic motifs and produce final images for

all of them using one single set of design models. Artistic motifs

give plenty of room for graphic designers' creativeness.  As

convention, artistic motifs are conceived without any specific brand

information on them. The brand information is set later using

automation scripts and final branding images, when final images are

produced.

== The CentOS Behavior

The CentOS Behavior is focused on the effective social interaction of

each member involved in the organization (e.g., core developers,

community members, etc.).  It is related to ethics and politics used

inside and outside the community. It is related to the sense of

direction chosen by the community and the way the community projects

itself to achieve it.

The CentOS Behavior is based on a meritocracy (the more you do the

more you are allowed to do).

== The CentOS Visual Structure

The CentOS Project has a monolithic visual structure. In it, The

CentOS Project expresses its visual identity through one unique name

and one unique visual style through all the visual manifestations it

is made of.

In order for The CentOS Project to express its identity according a

monolithic visual structure, it is required to consider all the visual

manifestations The CentOS Project is made of, not just one of them.

For example, if one different visual style is implemented for each

major release of The CentOS Distribution, which one of those different

visual styles would be used to cover the remaining visual

manifestations The CentOS Project is made of (e.g., The CentOS Web and

goods from The CentOS Showroom)?

Having one unique visual style in all visual manifestations for

eternity would give the idea of a visually out-of-dated project. So,

there is no problem on creating new visual styles for one of the

visual manifestations from time to time, in order to refresh the way

it looks and feels; the problem itself is in not propagating the new

visual style created, onto all other visual manifestations The CentOS

Project is made of, in a way that The CentOS Project does be

recognized in the new look and feel, no matter what visual

manifestation be in front of us.  Such lack of uniformity is what

introduces the visual contradiction The CentOS Artwork SIG is

precisely trying to solve by mean of identifying, organizing and

automating artwork production inside The CentOS Artwork Repository

(<<repository>>).

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