In that long “What can we do to make Julia grow fast” thread, @John_Hearnssuggests that what Julia really needs is a cuddly animal. (I’m not sure I totally agree with him but it’s an interesting idea to pursue…
The trouble is that, like good names, so many of the good ideas have already been used. The software/animal trope that O’Reilly books popularized used any old random animal they had a print of lying around:
Suitable animals like the cheetah have been grabbed (the Cheetah templating engine for Python…).
So finding a distinctive and less-commonly used animal mascot might be difficult. However, we could investigate some mythological creatures:
I could imagine an imaginary beast like the Julyax being quite cute if an artist got to work on it. I’m not an artist, but I think this little beast might have some promise - I added a few Julia colors:
FWIW I feel like the three dots are already great and very recognizable. They look modern and friendly but still feel professional. Having some avatar just adds a certain kind of silliness. I don’t get the appeal.
I’ll definitely tip my hat to @cormullion for faking a wikipedia page with a medieval drawing of his proposed mascot. This is the kind of creativity and determination the julia community needs. I also think the mascot is cute.
The Julyax is cute. And she has claws. The reasons for an animal mascot are to draw people to stands at meetings; to make stickers as @cormullion has done superbly; to provide material for T-shirts and cuddly toys.
I agree that the three dots Julia logo is superb - it is clean and modern, and has been adapted for use by the Julia specialist groups. I still think there is room for cuddly animal. With claws.
@favba A Pegasus is a good idea. I was in Arnhem in the Netherlands at the beginning of September, and I should say that most of the world’s airborne forces probably have Pegasus as a mascot already. While I don’t think there will be any barfights between paratroopers and Julia fans…
Good point. We can absolutely have a logo, and a patronus for the Julia community. I think both should coexist depending on the context and the audience.
Or how about Orthetrum julia, the Julia Skimmer, a central African dragonfly? It’s colorful, fast, agile, and its face is evocative of the three dots logo…
I feel that a unicorns and pegasuses (plural?) are a bit too generic. I’d advocate something weird like an HP Lovecraft creature or something. It would be great to have something as weird and unique as the octocat.
I also thought the dragonfly and cat-dragon-thing were pretty good suggestions.
