To help kick off the new site, we want a cool new logo. And who better to design our logo then one of our users.

Even if you aren't an artist, you can still help out. Add your design idea as a comment to this article.

Artists, provide links to your designs. If you don't have your own image hosting service, you can use a service like flickr. Just be sure to list the URL in a comment here.

Contest Rules

• The logo must be original work of the submitter.
• The logo may incorporate θφ and/or ThP.
• The logo may incorporate traditional Christian imagery (cross, dove, triquetra, fish, etc.).
• The logo must not incorporate imagery specific to any denomination.
• The logo should be provided in a non-lossy format, preferably PNG. JPEG files are discouraged.
• A favicon version of the logo should also be provided.
• The logo must not exploit or offend anyone's sex, race, religion, morality, culture, nor be salacious or pornographic.

We don’t have any official prizes lined up yet, but isn’t the love and adoration of the community here enough? At the very least, you will get a link to your site at the bottom of this one.

If you would like to contribute to a possible prize pack, send me a PM, an email, or post a comment here.

Comments

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grizzly  - Don't like the logo? Design our new one!   |2008-04-09 04:18:18 Calling all artists: we are now holding a contest to design our new logo. See the official rules above.

wezlo   |2008-04-09 09:22:21 I'd request that θφ definitely be in the logo somehow though...

SasyMomaCat  - yeah -   |2008-04-09 13:41:13 what he said! :)

WebbedFeetOfClay  - Ha!   |2008-04-09 09:29:20 I was already working on one just for larfs, but figured it would be presumptuous to submit it.

wezlo   |2008-04-09 09:50:27 Nope, please do. The tag-line contest will be starting shortly.

Jim  - Prizes   |2008-04-09 11:37:58 If we are planning on having θφ swag, we could include a complimentary Theophiles beer stein as part of the prize pack (though I would hope for a martini glass myself).

wezlo   |2008-04-09 14:11:31 Ohhh, θφ beer stein....nice...

Entity   |2008-04-09 14:18:55 You really only need one of the letters on the side of the stein. Once you tip it to drink from it, it looks like the other.

metallurge   |2008-04-09 14:26:50 I thought of that!!! My very first idea for a logo was to do a stylized θΦ where they both look identical but rotated.

Jim   |2008-04-09 16:23:32 I've been trying to figure out how to stylize that as well. It's a neat idea, but hard to implement. Of course, on the upside, if you can do it right, it will look like a cross in the middle to boot.

metallurge   |2008-04-09 14:30:16 Yeah. Definitely. The X. ones are pretty nice.

metallurge  - In the interest of sharing ideas   |2008-04-09 14:20:27 I have a couple ideas about the logo, and I don't mind if others want to use them in their own designs. Some are more cheesy than others, but there you are. A riff on the TV show the X-files, except Θ-philes or χ-philes (tagline: The Truth is out there) A modification of the existing interlinked Θφ where the Θ becomes more transparent/luminescent/flaming?/orange-yellow. S omehow working the T of Theophiles into something more cross-shaped. Converting the φ into something suggestive of a heart and cross. Finding a way to convert the Θφ and/or the Theophiles.org to depict the Trinity. For example, a dove representing the Spirit in place of the dot on the i. Doing something to pay homage to X. Lastly, some notes on the word Theophile. Of course, we have Luke who writes to Theophilus. Theophile was a name in the ancient Greek world, and I do believe that it predated Christianity. Lastly, if I am not mistaken, theophile implies two distinct things: God-lover and also loved-by-God It is useful to me to think about how to show these attributes artistically.

metallurge  - Re: In the interest of sharing ideas   |2008-04-09 14:22:10 Also, I'd like to express that I think there is really a synergism between the tagline and the logo.

metallurge  - re: In the interest of sharing ideas   |2008-04-09 14:25:11 Oh, one more I forgot to mention. Maybe in combination with the luminescent Θ, have a partially-unrolled scroll behind and below the Θ, so the Θ is illuminating the scroll. On the scroll is written the φ.

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-09 14:30:53 I've mainly been working on the theta and phi interposed on top of each other making a stylized cross (which also functions as a t for Theophiles.org)

Entity   |2008-04-09 14:46:31 Something like this could be interesting. (Triangle for Trinity, phi for philes.) BTW, how is theophiles pronounced?

metallurge   |2008-04-09 14:56:00 Entity wrote: Something like this could be interesting. (Triangle for Trinity, phi for philes.) BTW, how is theophiles pronounced? Mmm. Yes, could work. You could also shave the Θ to make three flat sides, plus the remaining bits of the curve. Or you could use a trefoil with a bar in the center for the Θ. I'm sure the pronunciation depends on how anglicized you want to be.

Entity   |2008-04-09 15:03:48 I saw one site that listed it as tay-o-feel. Just reading it I see thee-o-file. I wasn't sure if one was right.

metallurge   |2008-04-09 15:09:07 Well, the problem comes in the pluralization. With -s on the end, it's necessarily anglicized. So, I'd go with thee-o-files.

metallurge   |2008-04-09 15:02:28 You could also give the Θ a "trinitarian halo" the way that iconographers sometimes do for God-the-father. See, for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:H_Agia_Triad....

JudahGabriel   |2008-04-09 19:10:58 Meh. Please, no halos.

metallurge  - You're serious?   |2008-04-09 19:16:42 I mean, really, you think halos == sun worship?

JRB   |2008-04-10 08:25:05 Wow dude. There are so many factual errors on that page, it's tough to even know where to start the mocking.

Jim   |2008-04-10 14:38:21 I'm so with you on that.

JRB   |2008-04-10 14:48:16 Heh. We agree. This must be one of the signs of the coming apocalypse.

zp  - Something like this could be interesting   |2008-04-09 18:37:45 Looks like a something from a flying saucer....! By the way, Hi !! to all.

Jim   |2008-04-09 22:54:13 Glad you made it.

metallurge  - Hi!   |2008-04-10 18:52:55 Glad you're here...

Entity   |2008-04-09 14:59:27 Another possibility could be based on the Chinese symbol for God. I see both a theta and a phi in the second character.

metallurge   |2008-04-09 15:03:55 Interesting.

Entity   |2008-04-09 15:11:45 Are your comment times reading funny?

metallurge   |2008-04-09 15:16:26 Funny as in wrong? Yes.

emperorbma   |2008-04-09 15:42:38 The symbol means the same concept in Japanese as well, although it has minor stylistic differences. 神 [かみ] - God, gods, mind, soul

laika   |2008-04-10 09:05:25 wow. a theta, a phi and a nail. that's very interesting. you should work some of your imaging magic based on that, E.

metallurge   |2008-04-15 06:02:54 OK, so here is some work I did last night... Metallurge's Proposed Design Elements

metallurge   |2008-04-19 00:34:18 metallurge wrote: OK, so here is some work I did last night... Metallurge's Proposed Design Elements I have updated with another (couple of) potential design elements/ideas. The above link is still valid.

Sarah   |2008-04-22 13:17:00 I like the one with the "Golden Halo"... it's the one above the scroll. But, the 'theo' is a little too tilted & hard to read could you rotate it a teeny bit forward and render the characters 3-d like the others? Then, the "Theophiles.org" should be colorcoded blue & yellow. ... and for a tag: "Theophiles:  Lovers of God Laughing about Life" "Theophiles: World Views from Faith" "Theophiles: Faith Notes On News"

Karolyne  - my vote   |2008-04-20 17:51:26 The Scroll

WebbedFeetOfClay  - Preliminary Attempt   |2008-04-10 13:56:07 So I've come up with a logo, (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/flyingsta...)and a mascot, (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/flyingsta...) both subject to adjustment, and ThaPht, like any good stick figure can adjust easily to suit all occasions.

Entity   |2008-04-10 14:15:31 He could be the Theophiles version of Clippy!

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-10 14:20:05 That crossed my mind, or the AIM guy, or a good excuse for seasonal adjustment. What, I'm just talkin' 'bout ThaPht.

patronpeter  - Stick dude...   |2008-04-10 17:41:12 the mascot is cute...

laika  - re: Preliminary Attempt   |2008-04-12 01:56:46 cool! did you draw that with conventional materials and then scan it? silly me - i've been trying to figure out what i could do with the Gimp or some such complicated approach; it never occurred to me to simply pick up a pen and draw something :-) i wish i understood what was going on with the Greek stuff. does the vertical stroke make a phi when it crosses the Theta?

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-12 02:30:03 yeah, that's hand drawn because computers are still mysterious to me (also why there are a few spots in the white space, realized the scanner needed a bit of a cleaning.) a Theta is horizontal line inside a circle/oval (&Theta ), The Phi is a vertical line through a circle/oval ( &Phi ) and by their powers combined...

wezlo   |2008-04-15 07:51:43 Yah, we'd still have to "gimp" the design, but it's doable.

WebbedFeetOfClay  - clarification   |2008-04-10 14:15:31 thought those would link with some description, but no. On the logo I figured the ring would have the slogan written in it (or IEΣOY&Sigma / ΧPIΣTO&Sigma / Theophiles / Est. 2008) Maybe a IC XC NI KA in the corners of the cross.

metallurge  - re: clarification   |2008-04-10 18:50:49 WebbedFeetOfClay wrote: thought those would link with some description, but no. On the logo I figured the ring would have the slogan written in it (or IEΣOY&Sigma / ΧPIΣTO&Sigma / Theophiles / Est. 2008) Maybe a IC XC NI KA in the corners of the cross. I could be in favor of this, if done well. But it might be too small to show up in a reasonable-sized (like

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-10 18:52:47 like what?

metallurge  - I simply can't say.   |2008-04-10 19:05:22 It keeps stripping my less-thans. I tried & l t ; and it stripped. I tried [less-than-symbol] and it stripped. should have been: I could be in favor of this, if done well. But it might be too small to show up in a reasonable-sized (like lessthan 200 pixel tall) logo.

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-10 19:11:00 i thought of that, I figured we'd either just cut it out of the icon, or deal with not being able to read it.

Entity  - A few designs   |2008-04-11 09:46:49 I posted a few designs on Flickr. (Many thanks to those who provided the ideas behind the designs.)

wezlo   |2008-04-11 10:44:52 Oh, wow, I love the top-row most right - WOW!

Jim   |2008-04-11 11:35:56 Either is quite nice.

Entity   |2008-04-11 11:40:54 If you want see any of them with different colors, let me know. It's not too hard to do.

wezlo   |2008-04-11 14:52:37 Can you try a scheme that doesn't remind me of the American Flag? I realize that those primary colors are great contrast (and match the them) but maybe something with some colors from the liturgical calendar?

Entity   |2008-04-11 15:17:05 Did you just want to see the upper right one or other ones as well? I'll try a few different liturgical colors other than Passion (Red) and Marian (Blue). Or did you want the logo to change for each liturgical season?

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-11 15:49:02 i was toying with that idea. some sort of Google fashion

Entity   |2008-04-11 16:23:26 So, do we go with the majority of the members or Grizzly for Liturgical seasons? After all, most of us are in the Easter season, but Grizzly and some others are still stuck in Lent... I suppose I have two colors there, so I could make one the Protestant/Catholic calendar and one the Orthodox calendar. So, it would be purple and white (or perhaps gold as white is tough on a white background) right now. It still leaves us rather limited as it cycles through purple/purple, purple/white, white/white, white/green (yuck!), green/green, green/purple, purple/purple, purple/green, green/green, and green/purple. Red could be cycled in, but it cycles out so quickly and black is so rarely used. Even so, Grizzly may not be happy with changing the logo constantly.

grizzly   |2008-04-11 18:36:17 If the liturgical calendar is defined (and it is), then a function could be written to toggle the logo to the appropriate file. As the majority of members on this site are not Orthodox, I am willing to use the Catholic/Protestant calendar to determine the colors. If we wanted to be extra creative, we could change the theme colors to match. For bonus points, we could have a user-definable switch to determine whether to use the Orthodox or Catholic/Protestant calendar.

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-11 22:10:00 ha! that'd be amazing.

Entity   |2008-04-11 22:37:48 OK, I'll come with a few samples. I might have the theta (representing God) always be one color (maybe gold or rainbow) and the phi (representing us or the church) change with the liturgical seasons. What do y'all think? Throw some ideas out and I'll try to incorporate them.

grizzly   |2008-04-12 00:05:37 I like having the θ always being gold, which can also represent Light. I'd prefer not having rainbow, as it has other connotations. I showed my wife the logos you posted, and her favorite was the green/purple one. Especially since those are some of her favorite colors.

Entity   |2008-04-14 16:13:12 More liturgical variations can be found at Flickr. I also included some variations for a few other faiths.

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-14 16:47:18 can I just say that the choice to use the terminology "ordinary time" has never sat well with me. (I had created this before, but felt it too specific to post, but just for you....here it is

Entity   |2008-04-14 17:27:50 Cool! It's interesting to see all the different ideas people have come up with.

grizzly   |2008-04-14 18:55:54 I like it. But yes, too specific for the site to use, I think.

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-14 19:17:04 figured as such, just thought a gander might be appreciated.

grizzly   |2008-04-14 19:27:34 it was

grizzly   |2008-04-14 19:05:17 Could you work up a version that integrates it as the T in theophiles.org? Use the purple/green one to start with, but make the rest of the word such that the other colored logos can be "dropped in" without changing the text color. I think the text height should be from the base to the crossbar, but you decide.

wezlo   |2008-04-11 17:04:31 Quote: I'll try a few different liturgical colors other than Passion (Red) and Marian (Blue). Or did you want the logo to change for each liturgical season? Oh that would be cool!

Entity   |2008-04-11 16:58:27 OK, I uploaded a purple & green one to the site. I'm just doing this in powerpoint, so I can email it to anyone who wants to play with colors with it if they want.

wezlo   |2008-04-11 17:04:41 Hmm...

patronpeter   |2008-04-11 17:31:38 i think the green/purple is a pretty combo, good job

laika  - re:   |2008-04-12 01:29:20 nice work, Entity! ever thought about using the Gimp for working with images?

laika  - re:   |2008-04-12 02:34:53 WebbedFeetOfClay wrote: a Theta is horizontal line inside a circle/oval (&Theta ), The Phi is a vertical line through a circle/oval ( &Phi ) and by their powers combined... ahh. i was confused by what further research tells me must be the small phi in the current logo. thanks.

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-12 02:37:03 sorry, that occured to me shortly after I hit send.

laika  - re:   |2008-04-12 15:56:01 WebbedFeetOfClay wrote: yeah, that's hand drawn because computers are still mysterious to me... you've inspired me to pick up the pencil! last night i came up with a logo that incorporates the Fish, the All-Seeing Eye of Providence, Theta and phi in a single neat package. now, to find a scanner or to somehow re-create it with my very limited Gimp skills...

metallurge   |2008-04-12 16:05:05 or a digital camera...

laika  - re:   |2008-04-12 16:09:50 metallurge wrote: or a digital camera... doh!!! that's doable. thank you! what a resource for the untangling of my murky thought-ways you people are. long live Theophiles!

laika  - The ThetaPhish Concept   |2008-04-13 20:47:24 ok, the idea behind the ThetaPhish (or possibly, TheoPhish?) is to get the so-called Jesus Fish, the All-Seeing Eye of Providence (like on the US dollar bill), the Xdot chi (for sentiment's sake), and of course the theta and phi of ThP in one package. obviously it's not phinished, but what do you think of the idea? see, the fish and the theta become an Eye, sorta like the CBS Eye, and the tail of the fish could be a subtle chi. the phi needs to be worked in somehow... anyway, feel free to play with the concept in any way you see fit.

wezlo   |2008-04-13 20:26:14 can we get a phi in there somewhere?

laika   |2008-04-13 20:45:04 yeah, the phi has yet to be worked in, obviously. that's just the barest idea i could come up with on the computer so far, being hampered by my lack of Gimp skills (and those are rusty). if anyone likes the idea, i encourage them to take it and run with it.

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-13 22:58:02 hang on a tic. how was this comment made after the subsequent replies to it?

laika  - re: The ThetaPhish Concept   |2008-04-14 23:07:22 for a crude, but more fully realized version of the ThetaPhish, i offer ThetaPhish II. (ThetaPhish II was drawn on the the tiny screen of a Nokia N800.)

wezlo   |2008-04-15 07:53:01 dunno, reminds me of the eye or sauron!

WebbedFeetOfClay  - there's always the rip-off option   |2008-04-15 00:06:12 downloaded gimp and used this as a reason to toy around. it's coarse because it's not entirely serious.

metallurge  - re: there's always the rip-off option   |2008-04-19 07:33:07 WebbedFeetOfClay wrote: downloaded gimp and used this as a reason to toy around. it's coarse because it's not entirely serious. Here is a little more developed version.

WebbedFeetOfClay  - kewl.   |2008-04-19 20:14:16 (I'm amused also by our variant decisions on which way to rotate)

metallurge  - re: kewl.   |2008-04-19 21:05:16 WebbedFeetOfClay wrote: (I'm amused also by our variant decisions on which way to rotate) I thought it was more cross-like my way. And I really like the shape of the curves of the X, but less so when they dominate like when you force them to be the vertical. I also contemplated rotating the vertical by about 14 degrees, leaving everything else the same. In any case, I took the time to figure out how the original design was done, and I reverse engineered it from scratch.  If we go very far down this particular road, I will spend a little more time to really tweak it.  But this it is good enough to see the concept, which is all I was going for at this point. I will also work up a couple more versions, one which has the curve being vertical. And one which does the rotation like I have in mind.

laika  - re: there's always the rip-off option   |2008-04-15 00:10:57 that's brilliant! it was there all the time, just waiting for a fresh perspective...

laika  - re:   |2008-04-15 08:58:12 wezlo wrote: dunno, reminds me of the eye or sauron! darn! now that you mention it...

wezlo   |2008-04-15 11:25:04 But we could get that ring back from those nasty hobbitses!

emperorbma   |2008-04-16 00:06:15 ... and a finger, like in the Wendy's chili. :P

patronpeter   |2008-04-16 15:30:36 i get the tolkien reff... but what's with the extra meat in your frosty?

emperorbma   |2008-04-16 15:36:12 Frodo lost a finger as Gollum tried to steal the ring and fell into the volcano. Also, there was that case with Wendy's where a lady sued because of a finger in the chili. (It was later proven she planted it)

patronpeter   |2008-04-16 16:06:16 I read the trilogy silly man, I meant the wendy's thing... that's gross... where did she get the finger? must...gooogle...

laika  - re:   |2008-04-15 09:02:31 metallurge wrote: Metallurge's Proposed Design Elements nice. i like the one on the bottom left with the Theta kinda halo-like above the phi.

laika  - First Blood   |2008-04-15 23:55:06 i suppose i can claim the first blood of the logo contest, having stabbed myself with a linoleum knife while working on ThetaPhish III. ah, well, it's just a flesh wound...

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-16 00:22:48 you're making a linoleum print...that's hardcore.

WebbedFeetOfClay  - another cockamamie excuse for a logo   |2008-04-16 00:21:59 i like playing with gimp to learn its mysterious ways. so there

emperorbma   |2008-04-16 01:05:35 Yes, friend. Free/libre is good...

laika  - re:   |2008-04-16 21:34:38 WebbedFeetOfClay wrote: you're making a linoleum print...that's hardcore. just a small one. it'll be one last installment of the ThetaPhish idea. a gold image printed on a red field, it will be. i hope to be done with it in time to photograph it before sundown tomorrow.

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-16 22:36:22 i don't trust myself enough to do linoleum. my sister, who's ten times as attentive as i am, nearly cut off her thumb.

laika  - re: another cockamamie excuse for a logo   |2008-04-16 21:36:28 WebbedFeetOfClay wrote: i like playing with gimp to learn its mysterious ways. so there the Gimp is fun, yes?

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-16 22:36:32 rather

wezlo   |2008-04-17 10:30:33 The GIMP is my friend. The interface SUCKS but the GIMP is my friend.

jester  - That word does not mean what you think it means   |2008-04-17 14:23:15 I have to ask, beacuase I'm having "Bring out the gimp" Pulp Fiction flashbacks now and I'm almost sure that's not what you're talking about

wezlo   |2008-04-17 14:49:46 The GIMP

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-17 15:47:56 it is a somewhat unfortunate name choice for the software.

emperorbma   |2008-04-17 15:50:52 Better than GNU/IMP. :P

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-17 22:04:58 no...no, I'd much prefer Gnu Imp to Gimp.

patronpeter  - royale with cheese...   |2008-04-17 15:51:33 dude, that movie jaded me.. it was on again a few nights ago...

laika  - More Gimpery: Eye of Wezlo   |2008-04-19 21:21:46 ok, wezlo gave me an idea when he slandered my ThetaPhish, so here is The All-Seeing Eye of Wezlo, a la Theophiles. (i should point out that all i did was layer that gold theta over a pre-existing image of the Eye of Sauron - i didn't mean to imply that i created the whole image.)

patronpeter   |2008-04-17 22:24:46 very scary

grizzly   |2008-04-17 22:33:33 cool, so when we have avatars available, that will be his. :)

wezlo   |2008-04-18 09:21:35 It's missing the klingon ridges...

laika  - re: More Gimpery: Eye of Wezlo   |2008-04-17 22:32:55 forgot to mention that i just discovered that MidnightCommander has FTP capabilities. who knew?

emperorbma   |2008-04-17 22:38:28 So does Konqueror, I'm not surprised... UNIX based stuff is just superior to Exploder.

holmegm  - re:   |2008-04-19 20:19:21 emperorbma wrote: So does Konqueror, I'm not surprised... UNIX based stuff is just superior to Exploder. To be fair, I think you can just put an ftp: path in Windows Explorer and it will work too.

emperorbma   |2008-04-19 20:28:57 Yes, but it doesn't work for SFTP or any of the other neato protocols.

laika  - re:   |2008-04-17 22:43:17 emperorbma wrote: So does Konqueror, I'm not surprised... UNIX based stuff is just superior to Exploder. really? how would one go about it with Konqueror?

emperorbma   |2008-04-17 22:58:00 Type into the address bar at the top of Konqueror: ftp://site or ftp://user@site It should work unless you lack the right plugins.

laika  - re:   |2008-04-17 23:31:11 emperorbma wrote: Type into the address bar at the top of Konqueror: ftp://site or ftp://user@site It should work unless you lack the right plugins. ah! i was leaving out the forward slashes when i tried it. ftp://user:pass@site gets me right in. thanks, emperor!

emperorbma   |2008-04-17 23:35:51 no probs :P

laika  - re: re: there's always the rip-off option   |2008-04-19 21:05:33 metallurge wrote: Here is a little more developed version. nice!

laika  - ThetaPhish III (the final)   |2008-04-27 21:10:32 ok, the final version of the ThetaPhish idea is a linoleum blockprint using gold-colored ink on a red field. kinda rough and simple, but i had fun making it :-)

Entity   |2008-04-27 22:48:26 Now that Orthodox Lent is over, it's time for the voting!

laika  - Theophiles in the wild   |2008-09-05 18:35:59 a pregnant man wearing some sort of prototype Theophiles T-shirt was captured on a low-res image earlier today. the man stated that the logo was designed by Entity and that the serigraphy was handled by laika. closer inspection revealed a faint gray X reminiscent of the old Christdot chi inside the black O in THEOPHILES. the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that he hope no copyright protections had been violated in the production of the T-shirt, and went on to add that "Theophiles was a swell place for news and discussion of religion in America."

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