#SpaceHost now has its own official presence on the Fediverse.

If you are interested in #SpaceHost and #SpaceHostBTS — follow @spacehost

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20/

That is the story of how the #SpaceHost logo was created.

https://spacehost.one/

#SpaceHostBTS

18/

Those 3 favorites then turned into this.

The final design for our pixel alien.

But not the final color, or how it would be presented.

So we had something very close to the final #SpaceHost logo. But there was still a bit more work to do.

#SpaceHostBTS

17/

We went through this iterative process with Chet a number of times — until we got down to these 3 favorites —

As potential #SpaceHost logos.

These 3 —

#SpaceHostBTS #SpaceHost

16/

Chet started creating a lot of different designs similar to the favorite rough sketches.

He showed us a lot! (More than I can attach to this post.)

He wanted to get a sense of what we did and didn't like.

(I also showed these to others outside our group. To try to get a more representative sentiment.)

#SpaceHostBTS #SpaceHost

15/

Chet also explored a lot of other ideas. A lot!

But here is the thing we eventually noticed —

We got mixed results with most of the ideas — some people liked them, some people didn't.

Except for 2 ideas. With 2 of the ideas, most the people we showed them to seem to like them.

You can probably already guess which 2 those were.

So Chet started focusing on these more. Let's look at what came next —

#SpaceHostBTS #SpaceHost

14/

Chet even explored some stuff that sort of looked like an astronaut — sort of.

#SpaceHostBTS #SpaceHost

13/

Chet explored more realistic cartoonie looking astronauts.

(Ignore the text. It is just meant to be placeholder text.)

(Also, again remember this isn't a logo yet. Just a sketch to explore another idea.)

#SpaceHostBTS #SpaceHost

12/

At this point, Chet had a sense that we liked pixelized art.

So he tried some 3D'ish pixelized astronauts.

(Again, remember, these aren't logos yet. Just sketches to explore different ideas.)

#SpaceHostBTS #SpaceHost

11/

The next set of very rough sketches will look familiar.

You can probably see in them the idea that led to the final #SpaceHost logo.

We hadn't finalized anything yet. And Chet was still exploring.

Let's look at some of that exploration.

#SpaceHostBTS

10/

The first wave of very early rough sketches Chet showed us were on a green alien theme.

We didn't end up going with them for the #SpaceHost logo, but there were some people who liked them.

(Again, remember these are very rough sketches. And not logos. He is showing us these so he can figure out what we like.)

But, look what came next —

#SpaceHostBTS

9/

The #SpaceHost name comes from:

• "space" → drive space
• "host" → hosting

But "space" also has another meaning:

• "space" → outer-space

That outer-space theme is what we asked Chet (remember him) to explore.

https://mastodon.social/@reiver/109826257852268283

And explore he did.

I am going to show you some very early rough sketches.

These are not logos. But at this point, he is trying to figure out what types of ideas we like.

Take a look —

#SpaceHostBTS

8/

So, at this point —

• we noticed certain wants & problems (we saw on the Fediverse),
• we came up with a way of addressing & solving these,
• and we decided we are going to do this now.

But we hadn't come up with a name for it yet.

Obviously, you have hindsight, and know we ended up calling it #SpaceHost . But at that time, we hadn't come up with that name yet.

Long-story short, we called it #SpaceHost .

And at this point, this is where the logo work actually started —

#SpaceHostBTS

7/

#SpaceHost is designed from the start to help financially support —

• the people who create Fediverse software,

• the people who run Fediverse software instances,

• etc.

More on that later, in other threads. But for now, back to the story about the #SpaceHost logo —

#SpaceHostBTS

6/

Something that is very important for us is this —

We want the Fediverse to continue to exist, we want it to grow, and we want it to stay decentralized.

For that to happen —

• the people creating Fediverse software need to be financially supported,

• the people who run Fediverse community instances need to be financially supported,

• etc.

I.e., the Fediverse needs to be economically viable for regular people

So, we designed #SpaceHost according to these values —

#SpaceHostBTS

5/

Once @atomicpoet & I noticed these wants & problems — we came up with an idea of how to address & solve them —

Fully managed hosting for all of the Fediverse.

And not just Mastodon — but as many Fediverse software that are ready to be used — Pixelfed, Calckey, Lemmy, Gitea, Forgejo, Castopod, and many more.

...

But, there was also something very important to both of us —

#SpaceHost #SpaceHostBTS

4/

How did the #SpaceHost logo get created‽

Well, in a situation where you are creating something like #SpaceHost you don't start with the logo. You start with the noticing.

What became #SpaceHost is the result of @atomicpoet and I noticing a number of things.

Such as —

• many people want to create their own Fediverse community instance, but
• installing the various Fediverse software can be very difficult for many, and
• maintaining it can be even more difficult,
• etc etc.

#SpaceHostBTS

3/

If you are curious, @atomicpoet and I have been friends for about 12 years now — since 2011.

@atomicpoet and I know each other because we created Hootsuite together —
what was at one time the most popular Twitter app. But later we (often me) added support for Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, YouTube, etc.

Fast-forward more than a decade, and now @atomicpoet and I are working together again — but now we are working on #GreatApe , #SpaceHost , and more.

#SpaceHostBTS

2/

First let me give credit where credit is due.

The person who created the #SpaceHost logo is — Chet Earl Woodside.

(He is a bit shy, so I won't tag him on here 🙂)

Creating logos isn't actually what he does for a living. Well, not anymore.

But we have been friends since he was in elementary school. Our parents used to live near each other when both of us were a lot younger. So he helped out.

Chet also created the #GreatApe logo.

https://mastodon.social/@reiver/109280772735288142

#SpaceHostBTS

.

2/

First let me give credit where credit is due.

The person who created the #SpaceHost logo is — Chet Earl Woodside.

(He is a bit shy, so I won't tag him on here 🙂)

Creating logos isn't actually what he does for a living. Well, not anymore.

But we have been friends since he was in elementary school. Our parents used to live near each other. So he helped out.

Chet also created the #GreatAge logo.

https://mastodon.social/@reiver/109280772735288142

#SpaceHostBTS

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