Another PulpFiction Icon
Posted December 13th, 2003 @ 07:56pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Another PulpFiction icon, another rejection. I'm beginning to feel bad for our icon designer, but he's a big boy, and he can take it. I'm not sure what's up with this one. It seems to combine the worst elements of previous icons. I blame myself: I apparently wasn't very clear. Instead, I've given the icon guy a few more ideas. Here's the email I sent him (with a few choice bits removed).*
Our opinions were fairly mixed. I don't understand why we have an orange wedged into a clear coffee cup. That was, according to the feedback on my blog, one of the more confusing things about the previous design, and now I think it's been made even more unclear by a clear coffee cup (those are rare) and a weird looking shadow that resembles a hole more than a shadow.
1. Based on your idea, we came up with this: an orange with a fat straw sticking out of it (so you can see it at smaller sizes) sitting on top of a pile of newspaper (all arranged at an angle, and maybe the comics section for a bit more color). Basically, the same as now but without the weird clear coffee cup.
2. Another entirely new idea is this: a newsstand thing. Like the one here. Make it orange-ish or in some way include some branding and you're done. Maybe.
3. Finally, another idea. Have a look at this, and if you can sketch a magazine at an angle (just like Preview's icon, with two photos stacked) that'd be great! You could put FSS-related stuff on there.
"Pulp Fiction" is a bunch of cheesy old magazines and comic books printed on cheap, pulp paper. You could get crazy with this and have "Attack of the 50' MailDrop on Bookletville!" or stuff like that.
We liked #3 the most in our brainstorming, followed by #1 and then #2 (mostly because we hadn't seen anything like #2).
So, given the few clues I've given you here (cough, ahem, comic, cough ahem), feel free to continue guessing wildly at what this product might be. After all, you may not have ever been close, fools! 🙂
* By this I don't mean swear words, I mean things that might give y'all too much of a clue as to what this app does.
Donate Life
Posted 13 Dec 2003 at 9:26pm #
An app that downloads comic strips?
Posted 13 Dec 2003 at 9:42pm #
I'd rather everyone comment on the icon rather than try to guess what the app is or does.
Posted 13 Dec 2003 at 9:52pm #
usenet reader!
Posted 13 Dec 2003 at 9:54pm #
idea #3 sounds good.
i think the designer's idea with the coffee cup was the "newspaper and coffee" idea of what people do in the morning.
people also have orange juice in the morning, so a clear cup would work, just not one with a handle. the "juice" in the glass also looks kinda silly..
Posted 13 Dec 2003 at 10:27pm #
Agreed that the juice in the glass looks silly. I actually first thought it was a piece of pineapple sitting in the bottom of the cup and had to read the snippet about the shadow looking like a hole before I realized it was a shadow. Without knowing what kind of app it's for (an RSS aggregator?), I'd have to say I like the idea for #1 the best. #2 would only work if it could be as simple as possible - I mean, it's just an icon. Something you want people to identify readily at a glance, not be able to read the fine print on it.
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 1:17am #
All of this secrecy makes me think that the app will be really cool, and somehow related to news or press or media of sorts. I think Icon #1 is cool, followed by #3 and then #2.
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 1:23am #
Maybe you're just setting yourself up for disappointment. 🙂
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 1:30am #
The world needs a good RSS reader for a reasonable price. Here's to hoping 🙂
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 2:15am #
I'm hoping for a 'blog editor that works with MovableType. #1 option would be quite nice for this type of app.
My second guess would be an RSS aggregator. #2 option would be my preference for this type of app.
Just my $.02
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 2:44am #
It better not be RSS reader -- that's such an example of a "me too" application, especially where NNW is so elite.
It'd be like making an IRC client, almost.
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 9:14am #
I've yet to find a usable Mac-like cheap IRC client... I've settled to xchat in XFree now, but that's far from being "Mac-like"...
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 12:21pm #
Are you kidding? There are about a hundred =]
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 12:53pm #
Well, NWW isn't all that good and considering it's $40 I feel it's not worth the price.
Try FeedDemon on Windows and then tell me that NWW is all "l33t".
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 6:07pm #
I agree with andy, there aren't any really good mac IRC clients. None of them are really "Mac like". I'd love to see one, but I'd think that's not what this is.
Posted 14 Dec 2003 at 7:44pm #
I think you should try something a little more aggressive. Like, I dunno-- The Gimp from Pulp Fiction holding a newspaper and drinking O.J. with a straw. Yeah, that'd be, uh-- cool? Disturbing? Take your pick!
Either way, I won't make a (public) speculation of what your PulpFiction is but I eagerly await its release.
Posted 04 Feb 2004 at 10:37pm #
PulpFiction has seen more than its fair share of icons. The coffee/orange juice thing wasn't working for us, so we switched gears and moved to another idea: actual pulp fiction. Pulp fiction is a bunch of old comic strips printed...
Posted 01 Mar 2004 at 8:39pm #
Pulp Fiction Icons
Application and Toolbar Icon for Freshly Squeezed Software This is definitely the longest icon project I've been in. The long length on designing application icon was mainly my fault because of the difficulty in coming up with a good...