The Flat Earth Society

The Flat Earth Society => Suggestions & Concerns => Topic started by: holgal on July 31, 2017, 11:45:47 AM

Title: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: holgal on July 31, 2017, 11:45:47 AM
Hi TFES Members!

A short introduction - I'm a Graphic Designer based in the U.K. and as part of my final year University project, I conceptualised a rebrand of The Flat Earth Society. After developing an interest in all things Flat Earth, I managed to obtain alot of archive material which was then used to create the 'Flat Earther's Handbook'. From there, I expanded on the project and created a new logo, real world map, membership cards, promotional prints, concept lecture posters, patches etc. 

You can view the project in full here - http://www.holgal.com/flat-earth-society/ (http://www.holgal.com/flat-earth-society/)

Through working on the project, I realised the massive potential that a rebrand could offer TFES to really utilise it's history and material and create a consistent visual language that members can call it's own, which will in turn appeal to potential Flat Earthers too.

I'm really excited to share this with you, and although this started as a personal project for me, I'd relish the opportunity to make it a reality and apply it to the Society itself. I welcome any feedback, suggestions, comments etc and would be great to know if people are keen to see it incorporated in some shape or form.

Thanks!
Title: Re: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: Particle Person on July 31, 2017, 09:32:25 PM
I love the style.
Title: Re: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: xasop on July 31, 2017, 10:53:14 PM
I don't have a strong opinion either way, mainly because my eye for design is comparable to that of a sea slug. I'm happy to go with whatever everyone else wants.

(But also welcome!)
Title: Re: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: Screamer on July 31, 2017, 11:27:16 PM
I really like this and currently there is no pack. Realistically this society is unlikely to organize one based on the fact discussions have gone on for years and still no packs or membership.

So the questions are


To that end, this one-post-wonder has put in the effort and done all the work. There is nothing to stop them selling on a third party affiliate site anyway as TFES has an opensource/MIT style policy on content. They could equally go to .org with the same proposal although Daniel can't smear his groinal fluids all over them before sending out and so would likely baulk at it as spraying his scent on such things is his hobby.

So why not let them? And if this likely broke student makes a few bucks (pounds sterling by the looks of it), and that buys a few beers in the student union, who does that hurt? As long as the orders are fulfilled and money isn't embezzled to fund Jeremy Corbyn's rise to power, why not? The only issue is what happens if this individual doesn't deliver and what do TFES do about it? Alternatively it could be done on blind faith, the author sends out packs and it is funded via Patreon as those who want packs donate to the author. That puts all the risk on the author and relies on those wanting packs not being shitty about it. But there are options and big brains here. Someone can figure out a solution if they really wanted to.
Title: Re: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: Blanko on July 31, 2017, 11:49:03 PM
I would gladly incorporate this into merch, but I don't think we're in need for a full rebrand. And, even if we were, you'd have to provide actual design guidelines - all I'm really seeing here are designs for the respective items, not a fully fledged visual language.
Title: Re: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: Pete Svarrior on August 01, 2017, 12:09:09 AM
Hey holgal, welcome to the forum!

We talked briefly on Twitter, so you already mostly know my opinion. But, to put it out there in public (and to render it more complete now that I'm just speaking for myself rather than "the society" as a whole):

I think your designs have great potential, and I'd really like to see them at least partially integrated into our stuff. The easiest way that comes to mind is merchandise - our Cafepress store is already relatively well-established, and it would take relatively little work to convert some of your work into t-shirts, or launch some neat poster designs for people to enjoy.

A membership pack is also an option that's been discussed for a long time (which is about the only thing Screamer said that wasn't completely incorrect), but with the amount of interest we attract and the limited resources we have, we'd have to find a way to make it as close to self-sustaining as possible. Cafepress merch works great because we only need to tweak it occasionally, but otherwise it just runs itself. The way Daniel's society used to* do merch and membership packs was very high-maintenance - he'd get a local print shop to produce the merchandise, then he'd pick it up and pack/send it off by himself. Right now, I don't believe anyone would be able to spare the time to meet demand, so we'd have to find a way to do it automatically (which would likely force strict constraints upon what we can and can't produce)

The elephant in the room, however, is that you're suggesting a full rebrand of the society. Pushing aside the change-averse part of my personality for a moment, I think we'd need to see more mockups before we could meaningfully talk about a rebrand. The posters/brochures/etc. are impressive, and they give a good idea of the general style you're going for, but they're all focused around print. Do you have any ideas for how to reshape our online presence, or would this be something to look into? Unlike Blanko, I wouldn't say we need a fully-fledged guidelines document just yet, but it is important to note that currently most of our activity is online, not printed.

* - their store has been "coming soon" for a few years now, approximately as long as Daniel's absence
Title: Re: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: Screamer on August 01, 2017, 04:46:24 PM
A membership pack is also an option that's been discussed for a long time (which is about the only thing Screamer said that wasn't completely incorrect),

I really like this {correct} and currently there is no pack {correct}. Realistically this society is unlikely to organize one {correct} based on the fact discussions have gone on for years {correct} and still no packs or membership. {correct}

So the questions are

  • Does the society want to finally do membership packs?
  • Is TFES going to realistically produce anything better?
  • There are material costs and this is a non-profit organisation so who funds?
  • Do these materials harm the society in any way?
  • If people are willing to pay the price, does it matter what is charged and who profits?

To that end, this one-post-wonder has put in the effort and done all the work {correct}. There is nothing to stop them selling on a third party affiliate site anyway {correct} as TFES has an opensource/MIT style policy on content {correct}. They could equally go to .org with the same proposal {correct} although Daniel can't smear his groinal fluids all over them before sending out and so would likely baulk at it as spraying his scent on such things is his hobby {correct}.

So why not let them? And if this likely broke student makes a few bucks (pounds sterling by the looks of it), and that buys a few beers in the student union, who does that hurt? As long as the orders are fulfilled and money isn't embezzled to fund Jeremy Corbyn's rise to power, why not? The only issue is what happens if this individual doesn't deliver {correct} and what do TFES do about it? Alternatively it could be done on blind faith, the author sends out packs and it is funded via Patreon as those who want packs donate to the author. That puts all the risk on the author {correct} and relies on those wanting packs not being shitty about it. But there are options {correct} and big brains here {I might be wrong about this particular fact}. Someone can figure out a solution if they really wanted to {correct}.


Tell me, what was mostly wrong? These all seem like obvious statements of fact. Anything with a question mark is a question, and therefore can't be an incorrect fact.
Title: Re: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: xasop on August 01, 2017, 06:37:16 PM
Guys, can we please keep the bickering out of S&C? This is not the purpose of the thread.
Title: Re: Proposed Rebrand and Membership Pack for TFES
Post by: Tom Bishop on August 01, 2017, 07:44:42 PM
I don't really agree with the theories that the earth is a coin, or that it has only one pole, or that there is a massive outer larger ice wall (that illustration is supposed to depict darkness in ENAG, not an outer wall), so I will withhold judgement on this.