New Logo

[jimdahl]

A little off topic, but did anyone notice that the poll they have asking which opponent will be the Sioux's toughest has the Sioux playing Omaha away. That would make a big difference in my vote, but since they play them at home and South Dakota away, I picked South Dakota.

Thanks. Will fix ASAP. I got that wrong because I messed up the home-away logic here. Will fix both ASAP.

[dagies]

First off, Jim, thank you for all the work on this site for our enjoyment. It's the best site out there, and it just got better. Thank you very much.

Since you seem open to feedback on the logo, I will give you my unvarnished opinion. I was going to just email it to you but you seem to not mind the public comments...

For me, the logo is right on the edge of being very good, but fell over on the not so good side. It looks soft or feminine to me. What I'd prefer to see is a little more steely determination in the eyes, and a set mouth (just a line properly set would do) to emphasize that. I could find this logo to be very acceptable with a few tweaks. Right now it will have to grow on me.

Thanks again for everything.

[mksioux]

The logo is nice, but a little on the femine side. The shade of green is too dark. It seems darker than it was before. Forest green is not the color of Sioux sports.

[Hammersmith]

Everytime time I see it, I have this sudden urge to play Warcraft III.

Maybe that's just me.

"Elves! To battle!"

[mikejm]

Nice work Jim.

I'm still catching a few remnants of the "old" green hue on some buttons and in the google ads at the top of the page.

[kfah1]

Jim, I really appreciate everything you do for Fighting Sioux fans and our fix for all things Sioux!

The new format looks great! I like the new logo but agree with some of the tweak comments Dagies made regarding the logo (eyes, mouth, soft). Also, earlier I noticed a few links (photos and merchandise) still had the "old style" Sioux Sports.com look but I'm sure you'll be getting to those in due time.

LOOKS GREAT!

[jimdahl]

The logo is nice, but a little on the femine side. The shade of green is too dark. It seems darker than it was before. Forest green is not the color of Sioux sports.

I've struggled with that for years. The actual kelly green is a horrible color to design a web site around, to the point that guys like this eschew it almost entirely, while guys like this also use many other shades. This color has actually the exact same amount of green as the old one, but it appears a bit darker because it also has a little blue and red (whereas the old one was only green).

The other thing I had a lot of trouble with in the design phase was how different it looked on each computer. Some lighter variants looked ridiculous on my high end LCDs but good on my laptop, whereas this appears a bit dark on my laptop, but pretty good on my LCD.

The new format looks great! I like the new logo but agree with some of the tweak comments Dagies made regarding the logo (eyes, mouth, soft). Also, earlier I noticed a few links (photos and merchandise) still had the "old style" Sioux Sports.com look but I'm sure you'll be getting to those in due time.L

LOOKS GREAT!

Yes, only the front few pages and those mechanically generated (e.g. forum, blog, wiki) have the new style. Pages that are built from data (e.g. schedules and so forth) will be converted over soon, the rest very slowly.

[jimdahl]

Since you seem open to feedback on the logo, I will give you my unvarnished opinion. I was going to just email it to you but you seem to not mind the public comments...

For me, the logo is right on the edge of being very good, but fell over on the not so good side. It looks soft or feminine to me. What I'd prefer to see is a little more steely determination in the eyes, and a set mouth (just a line properly set would do) to emphasize that. I could find this logo to be very acceptable with a few tweaks. Right now it will have to grow on me.

Don't mind public comments at all.

Not aimed specifically at you, it's somewhat fascinating to me what different people see in the logo. For example, no amount of staring turns the hair/feathers into flowers for me, and I don't get the femininity/soft vibe either (though I wouldn't be at all opposed to ambiguity, as there certainly are female Sioux athletes). In fact, I've felt like it looked like a crisp, strong warrior, but that a weakness was indeterminate origin (Greek, Mayan as opposed to Indian?) For something completely different, Mrs. SiouxSports.com can't get over what she sees as crazy green earrings. I guess that's the charm of an abstract image.

[dagies]

Everytime time I see it, I have this sudden urge to play Warcraft III.

Maybe that's just me.

"Elves! To battle!"

Yes, my Lord.

[dagies]

Don't mind public comments at all.

Not aimed specifically at you, it's somewhat fascinating to me what different people see in the logo. For example, no amount of staring turns the hair/feathers into flowers for me, and I don't get the femininity/soft vibe either (though I wouldn't be at all opposed to ambiguity, as there certainly are female Sioux athletes). In fact, I've felt like it looked like a crisp, strong warrior, but that a weakness was indeterminate origin (Greek, Mayan as opposed to Indian?) For something completely different, Mrs. SiouxSports.com can't get over what she sees as crazy green earrings. I guess that's the charm of an abstract image.

How's this for fascinating? I can't even explain why the drawing appears this way to me, but when I look at the logo, the eye appears to be looking up and to the right, as if the character was pondering something. I would probably restate my earlier observation, however. It looks more soft, than feminine, IMO.

I do agree with you about how interesting it is that different people can see the same thing but have quite different perceptions.

I like the font used for the SiouxSports.com. That's pretty smart.

[DamStrait]

Nice job, Jim - I think the site and the new logo are great.

[Sioux-per Villain]

that new logo isn't hostile and abusive enough for me...

[jimdahl]

And also like in the forums that Men's and Women's basketball have their own forums. Thanks, Jim!!

I should say a little something about this.

Obviously the message board underwent huge cosmetic changes. While doing that, I managed to get the row for each forum down to 2/3 the previous height, making the forum front page much more compact, allowing me to add a couple more without pushing others further down the page.

Though the topic of this thread, and what's most immediately visible to people, are the cosmetic changes, the biggest changes to the rest of the site are actually on the back end. The front page is running on a whole new set of code that's much more sport-agnostic, dramatically increasing the possibility of promoting the basketballs to the same level as football on SiouxSports.com sports in coming years.

[Chief Illiniwek Supporter]

I like the new logo, for whatever that's worth.

I don't see as much "gender neutrality" as other posters do; but I did notice that the new logo looks "younger" and therefore closer to the typical college athlete and student.

I also looked at the other logos proposed by users-you guys have a great deal of commitment and talent here!

(BTW, in looking at the logo right now, I think one reason I see "male" is what I would consider a strong, jutting chin. Nobody has looked for an Adam's Apple yet??)

[AZSIOUX]

nice work on the changes jim, i like the siouxsports with the arrow coming through much better than the new logo, not digging it yet that was displayed in that thread that showed different logos. whatever, is what it is, great site, great fans.

[Siouxpremacy]

One word for the new logo ................. GAY!!! The rest of the changes are nice. The logo looks like a little girl, I don't understand why they chose to go that route. Maybe Sioux Sports is trying to attract the 12 yo female hockey fans out there.

[jimdahl]

One word for the new logo ................. GAY!!!

Ok. I guess I won't put you down for a hat

The logo looks like a little girl, I don't understand why they chose to go that route. Maybe Sioux Sports is trying to attract the 12 yo female hockey fans out there.

It's actually explained reasonably well here. The short answer is that we went that route because we don't think it looks like a little girl. However, I'm certainly not saying you're wrong -- if you read the thread, a couple people have also noted that they perceive some feminine, or gender ambiguous, qualities.

It still fascinates me that not a one of the dozens of people I've spoken with about it live have seen femininity in it; to the contrary, when pressed, most point out the strong chin and sharp features as certain proof its a man. I wonder if there's some age, regional, or other bias to it?

[Siouxpremacy]

Ok. I guess I won't put you down for a hat

It's actually explained reasonably well here. The short answer is that we went that route because we don't think it looks like a little girl. However, I'm certainly not saying you're wrong -- if you read the thread, a couple people have also noted that they perceive some feminine, or gender ambiguous, qualities.

It still fascinates me that not a one of the dozens of people I've spoken with about it live have seen femininity in it; to the contrary, when pressed, most point out the strong chin and sharp features as certain proof its a man. I wonder if there's some age, regional, or other bias to it?

Jim,not sure about the age or regional bias but you may have something there. I am 37 years old and have lived in ND almost all my life. Also a UND grad. Please don't take my comments personally, I really like Siouxsports.com and know you have spent a lot of time and effort making it a great place for Sioux fans. I just don't like the new logo and wanted to express my opinion. Yeah, I'll have to pass on the hat. My daughter may want one though.

[Hammersmith]

Yes, my Lord.

I don't want to go there.

Stop touching me.

I'll stop now.

I do like the logo and the changes.

[kvinbe]

To me, the logo looks like a man with shoulder-length hair (perhaps hockey hair or a mullet) and a big feminine bow at the top of his head. He also seems to be fond of ribbons (those green swooshes extending from his hair). It's odd and a bit unsettling. Maybe it's an attempt to appeal to the cross-dressing contingent or that old character from SNL named Pat whom you couldn't tell was a man or a woman. I'm afraid the goofer fans are going to have a field day with this one. Other than the logo, the changes are welcome and appreciated. Sorry about the brutal honesty. I love this site, but I think it's time to go back to the drawing board on the logo.

[LeftyZL]

Off topic from the logo change, but relavant to the site change. Or maybe I just never noticed til now. I go to my message screen and in the bottom left corner under options, there is a link to purchase paid subscriptions. I click on it, but can't do anything on the next screen. What's the link supposed to get you?

[jimdahl]

Off topic from the logo change, but relavant to the site change. Or maybe I just never noticed til now. I go to my message screen and in the bottom left corner under options, there is a link to purchase paid subscriptions. I click on it, but can't do anything on the next screen. What's the link supposed to get you?

I'm pleased to discuss something other than the new site design. Very pleased. A feature of the software is that it can track payments for subscription-based forums. This site is free and doesn't have any premium subscription-only features, which is why no options are available there.

[dagies]

I wonder if there's some age, regional, or other bias to it?

43 years old. Male, Born in MN. Lived in Sodak and MN (plus school at UND) all my life.

FWIW.

[jimdahl]

43 years old. Male, Born in MN. Lived in Sodak and MN (plus school at UND) all my life.

FWIW.

Alright, alright, I was just idly speculating -- didn't mean to call for an official census of the "logo is feminine" crowd.

[Smoggy]

I personally like the logo, however, my roommate happened by the computer and asked what was with the "gay" logo.

Maybe certain people just view the world with different glasses.