[Serious] Calling Graphic Artists: New Banner in Support of BLM/Police and Justice Reform

[Shell B]

Hello, everyone. I haven't been very active, but life has been crazy. I hope you are all well and safe during this shitty fucking year.

After some discussion, the staff has decided to put up a new (hopefully temporary if things go well) banner that will somehow incorporate iconography from the recent protests/Black Lives Matter. As always, we will protect free speech, even if we don't like it, so people can express whatever sentiments they have (within the rules) in the forum. However, we feel that support of this movement in its many facets reflects the values of the forum as and entity as it was intended. In a world where our black members might feel unsafe or like second-class citizens, we want them to feel embraced here, like they can be who they are without ever being singled out by authority for the color of their skin. It's not as good as safety in real life, but I don't feel like it's enough for us to just say/do nothing. We may not all be friends, but not a single fucking one of us is better or worse for the color of our skin or the country of our birth. That's where AF stands.

So, we're looking to the art-minded members of our community to come up with a new banner to reflect this support. You can include textual or visual nods to the movement, but please use the name of the forum in your design prominently for obvious reasons. Feel free to work together, and we strongly encourage any black members of our community to either create or offer their input. Clearly, the message is yours to send. If you plan to make one, just post your intention in here. I'm not sure how we'll go about choosing one or if you all would be willing to collaborate to make one. The choice is yours. We'll just see how it goes. If no one gets into it, we can just add something ourselves to the existing banner.

This thread is for sharing, discussion, working on banner art only. Any discussion of this proclamation or the movement will be removed from this thread. Please feel free to discuss it elsewhere on the forum.

Be well,

AF Staff

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Moderator Notice
PSA: After some staff discussion, it has been determined that this thread is out of control, per the forum’s guidelines regarding [Serious] threads.

To that end, EVERY SINGLE POST in the thread, except the first one, has been permanently deleted. Some of you were thoughtful enough to make valid, sensible contributions to this topic, and we thank you for that. However, there were so many that were completely off the rails that the thread would have had no continuity if we removed those and kept only the good ones.

Going forward, the ONLY posts in this thread will be serious suggestions regarding what form the banner/logo/symbol should take. Posts discussing anything else will be removed and the authors of those posts will be banned from further participation in this thread. The decisions on removal/banning will be done summarily by whichever member of staff happens to catch it.

If you wish to discuss the movement itself or why AF is considering a banner or the value of such a banner or the motives behind it, you are free to start another thread to do so.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Boru

[Rev. Rye]

Okay, since I was one of the few who actually tried to help keep the discussion on track (I may not have always succeeded, but at least I tried), here's the gist of my contribution. I looked at BLM's "Social Media Graphics" page. I know that this is not meant to be specifically related to BLM, but I liked the simple, elegant look of the graphics they've added, and I think it's effective. Shell liked the protest photos in the background, I was personally struck by the simplicity of the Cornerstone font with the very simple accents.

What I'd personally propose (but can't do myself since I can't do anything with images beyond adding filters and/or using Imageflip meme generator): A photo of protesters doing their thing (preferably an extra-wide one so it works as a banner), possibly in black and white, with the name "Atheist Forums" in a suitable font, and perhaps the "Atheist Whirl" between the two words. Maybe have some message making clear that we sympathise with these protesters.

A banner may be minimal effort in this struggle, but at least it's something.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Okay, since I was one of the few who actually tried to help keep the discussion on track (I may not have always succeeded, but at least I tried), here's the gist of my contribution. I looked at BLM's "Social Media Graphics" page. I know that this is not meant to be specifically related to BLM, but I liked the simple, elegant look of the graphics they've added, and I think it's effective. Shell liked the protest photos in the background, I was personally struck by the simplicity of the Cornerstone font with the very simple accents.

What I'd personally propose (but can't do myself since I can't do anything with images beyond adding filters and/or using Imageflip meme generator): A photo of protesters doing their thing (preferably an extra-wide one so it works as a banner), possibly in black and white, with the name "Atheist Forums" in a suitable font, and perhaps the "Atheist Whirl" between the two words. Maybe have some message making clear that we sympathise with these protesters.

A banner may be minimal effort in this struggle, but at least it's something.

Based on that, I'm changing my endorsement of the kente design idea.  I think an image of the protests is much more apropos and sends a much clearer endorsement.

Boru

[Abaddon_ire]

I freely admit that I have no answers.

I am equipped to the hilt with every graphic program and I am certain that quite a few other members are also. So for now we can park the technical aspects of how to do it. That expertise is available gratis from a bucket of members.

But it is also useless until a theme is chosen. And that is where I am stuck.

I like the kente idea. It makes a point subtly without being "in-your-face".

But OTOH we seem to have passed the barrier of subtlety. So maybe that is not enough. Maybe it is time to be "in-your-face"?

On top of that, one must consider the site, it's owners and stated purpose. And any consequences that may occur depending on the content of the banner.

I really have no answer for this. My instinct is to go subtle. But for decades, "subtle" has never worked.

[Rev. Rye]

Given that the Recent use of kente cloth by the democrats in Emancipation Hall was met with a lot of controversy, particularly by the black people they were trying to show solidarity with, I really don’t think that is a good idea for a solidarity banner. Especially With the context in which it was originally brought up in this discussion in mind.

[Shell B]

I still believe a raised fist between atheist and forums would do well. I also like a black-and-white protest photo as a background to replace what we currently have. Either of those would be good for me.

[Rev. Rye]

I still believe a raised fist between atheist and forums would do well. I also like a black-and-white protest photo as a background to replace what we currently have. Either of those would be good for me.

Same here.

[Shell B]

We would have to change the colors of the existing logo to work against a black-and-white photo, though. I think red would be nice.

[Aoi Magi]

Anyone here has the source vectors of the logo?