Amimated ArkGeocaching.com banners

[LongDogs]

Some simple animated banners are now available. They are on the Link Banners page in the content section.

http://arkgeocaching.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=2

Here's a couple of examples
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGray2ani.gif

http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeocachingCacheFullBanner2.gif

[LadyEngineer]

Those are cool LongDogs. You come up with such neat stuff. I've said it once or twice but THANKS SO MUCH for all your hard work. :D

[Gaddiel]

Very nice. I'll be upgrading the banners on my cache pages soon.

BTW, I noticed that the full banner (non-animated) is not working, at least it's not working for me... :)

[LongDogs]

I've fixed the full banner.

I think I uploaded the animated one over it, then removed the animated one when I figured out I'd named it wrong, without ever realizing it had overwritten the old banner.

Also be aware that the animated ones are up to 10 times bigger than the non-animated ones, and will take up to 10 times longer to download.

[LongDogs]

Here's a couple of versions of the animated cache banner.

http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/CacheBanner_full_ani2.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/CacheBa ... l_ani2.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/CacheBanner_full_ani2.gif)


http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/CacheBanner_full_ani.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/CacheBa ... ll_ani.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/CacheBanner_full_ani.gif)

The second one flashes slower, to be more unobtrusive, while the first flashes the state logo faster to grab attention better.

Both are much smaller than the other animated banners, but of course still much bigger than the static non-animated ones. The fade-out effect I used in the first animated ones is what makes those files so much bigger.

[LongDogs]

Here's the improved version of the small animated button.

It adds our website address:

http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGray3fade.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoB ... y3fade.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGray3fade.gif)

The fade version is pretty small at 17k, just because the image is so small, but here is an even smaller version without the fade, which is only 4k: (The non-animated version is 3k.)

http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGray3ani.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoB ... ay3ani.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGray3ani.gif)

[LongDogs]

I added a couple more new banners to the banner page.
There is an animated member banner, similar to the cache banner, and a new small button with the state divisions intead of the relief map. I also added the approximate file sizes to the page.

The banner page is here:
http://arkgeocaching.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=2

The new banners are:
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGrayDivisionLogo.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoB ... onLogo.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGrayDivisionLogo.gif)

And
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/MemberBanner_full.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/MemberBanner_full.gif

As always, you should set these up to point to:
http://www.ArkGeocaching.org

[GEO]

Great,but what do I have to do to get them on my cache pages.
The code that is like <a> href="???
If i put it in the way written It doesn't work.

Please link the code to us.
I am sure it is simple and am overlooking something.

[Woodwalker9]

Geo, I tried them on my pages and they worked great. I've added the code below. The first one is the small banner with the division map and the last one is the larger one. Hope this will work for you.

Woodwalker9

<center>http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGrayDivisionLogo.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org)</center>


<center>http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/MemberBanner_full.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org)</center>

[LongDogs]

Please link the code to us.

Here is the code to use:
<center>http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGrayDivisionLogo.gif (http://www.ArkGeocaching.org)</center>

Replace the bold italic part according to which logo you want. The rest stays the same. You can remove the <center> and </center> if you don't want it centered.

The code above is for this logo:
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGrayDivisionLogo.gif

I also put the sample code on the content page for the banners, which is here:
http://arkgeocaching.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=2

[GEO]

:arrow: Thankyou for such a fast response.
I like the animated style.

[Gaddiel]

LD, love the new GC-colored animated banner! Are we ok to use these colors? I know they balked at this the last time we asked about it...

[LongDogs]

LD, love the new GC-colored animated banner! Are we ok to use these colors? I know they balked at this the last time we asked about it...

Well, the jury is still out on that... :cry:
I probably released it too soon. :oops:

I have a tenative "it is probably ok", but not the official word from all the right people. :roll: I'm working on it, though.

It isn't the exact same colors, and we have five colors, not four.

[arkansas_stickerdude]

I was told its not the colors they don't like its the little person and the flag with the colors in different shapes they don't like. Also as long as your not useing the logo for for sale its ok to use the little person and the exact colors. The TAG group told me about the deal they went through and they said you can use the exact logo IF your not selling anything with it on it,like shirts, mugs,etc...

LD the GC.com logo has white in it also it is the + between the colors, so GC.com also has 5 colors.

[Gaddiel]

I was told its not the colors they don't like its the little person and the flag with the colors in different shapes they don't like. Also as long as your not useing the logo for for sale its ok to use the little person and the exact colors. The TAG group told me about the deal they went through and they said you can use the exact logo IF your not selling anything with it on it,like shirts, mugs,etc...

That's true. GC has said that it's ok for a "small number" of "personal use" items, as long as you don't sell it or distribute it on a large scale.

However, I can see us in the (hopefully) near future wanting to incorporate our logo on some merchandise. When I sent them some of our designs early on, they rejected the ones where the colors were even similar or where we had used ANY part of the GC logo. (LD may still have those designs around here somewhere...) I kept submitting a slightly altered design until we got to a point where they accepted it. Most of the designs were just an outline of the state of Arkansas with the GC colors in the four corners. When we changed the colors "enough", they were accepted.

Of course, this would only be a problem if we get a logo in circulation and start using it everywhere, then find out we have to change it...

The only way to know for sure is to send the logo design to support@geocaching.com and get an official ok. I wouldn't want to get the group into any kind of legal issue with GC. It's easier just to get it approved first.

[GEO]

I think the number of personal items I was told was 25.
Thats why I ordered 2 sets of the 25 buttons,each just a little different and did not sell them just placed them all over the USA FROM PENSYLVANIA TO NEW MEXICO.
Thanks daisy button.

[LongDogs]

Given the possibility that GC.com might think the colors in the logo are too much like theirs, :roll: here are some other options than can in no way infringe on GC.com 8) :D

http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonDivLogo_msw.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoB ... go_msw.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonDivLogo_msw.gif)
(Colors inspired by the windows logo on the XP Start button, not the GC logo.)

http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonDivLogo_rwb.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoB ... go_rwb.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonDivLogo_rwb.gif)
Red, White, and Blue. What more can I say. Right out of the state flag.

http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonDivLogo_Colorful.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoB ... lorful.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonDivLogo_Colorful.gif)
Just colors I picked that I thought looked good in the map. No association with anyone, anywhere. I should probably lighten the darker colors, though.

And we can always keep using to topo relief map state logo I've been using.
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGray3fade.gif
http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoB ... y3fade.gif (http://ArkGeocaching.org/images/ArkGeoButtonGray3fade.gif)

Opinions?

BTW, the 25 items is if you use their logo as is, without modifications. If you modify it, the number is zero - that is you can't modify it or use it modified in any way. If you don't use their logo at all, the number of items you can make is unlimited. That is why some of us would prefer to avoid using it in our logo, even if we could get permission. Do we really want to have to get someone else's permission to have items made with "our" logo?

[LongDogs]

One thought I had about the divisional logos. If we change up the divisions, the logo will no longer be correct - so do we want to take a wait and see stance on those? Our divisions are certainly not well divided from the perspective of number of caches or number of geocachers.

I'm not suggesting we change our divisions. Just that we need to think carefully before choosing a logo based on something that we might decide to change at some point in the future.

Our logo provides our "branding" and we need to pick one, and stick with it, so that it becomes highly recognizable.

[arkansas_stickerdude]

LD I like the state in the first banner.

[GEO]

I don't think changing the divisions will make that much difference.
At least not to me the animated colorful logo really does not show a real drastic detail as well as the small others.

If that becomes an issue we could choose one from the bigger animated or not logo's with the whole State,for our cache pages.
I like the DIVERSITY myself,which allows for individualism within the group.
I am sure everyone has their favorite already.
I would say to don't fix it,if it ain't broke.
And if we have no issues.