I think we really have to keep an eye on the branding around other historical GIS projects, because it’s such a crowded field. Fortunately, Open History Map has a garish logo that few will confuse with anything we come up with. It doesn’t even resemble a mantle clock, as I had come to assume.
Since I wrote this, OldMapsOnline.org relaunched with a new logo, which ties together abstract geometric elements that could be interpreted as a compass or clockface and globe. This summer, OMO’s slick launch event at Stanford practically berated the audience with an animated version that has the fleur-de-lis spinning around the globe, like the dial of a compass or hand of a clock.
There’s already real confusion about OMO being an open source project – it isn’t. And I don’t know how well people can distinguish that site’s focus on indexing old maps with our focus on creating new old maps. I wouldn’t completely rule out a logo that uses similar iconography like a stopwatch or compass, but it does add to the challenge of standing out.
With respect to the “insertion point” concept, I just mocked up a Doric column because it was easy to draw, but columns were a staple of many cultures in antiquity. For instance, we could make its capital more floral, like an Egyptian column, or do a whole series of logos with different column styles in the same motif. But really, anything architectural could go between the two arrows and it would still have more or less the same symbolism.
I went for a minimalistic design for the OHM business cards I’ve started handing out. It seems to work well, but a logo would be a nice addition.