Just a quick note to get back into the blogging groove (been somewhat preoccupied microblogging on Facebook and to an extent Twitter).
The next version of Thunderbird has the project name Lanikai which made me super happy because it’s one of my favorite beaches of all time. Some photos.
Lanikai beach is on the East side of Oahu, in Lanikai and near Kailua (which is where the Obamas like to stay when they visit Hawaii). You can walk up to Kailua beach for more action where there’s windsurfing, kite surfing, and kayak rentals. What’s interesting is that they’re not crowded at all, probably because the towns of Kailua and Lanikai are a bit far from Honolulu and they’re small sleepy towns, more local than tourist area.
The water is very clear, warm, and it’s a very swimmable beach. The sand is white to light tan and soft. The beaches are easy to access, and stores are near enough for some coffee, snow cones, or sun block.
I like to think that part of the reason we’re going with Lanikai and beach themes is that it’s aligned to how we’re thinking about the Thunderbird email client. We want to make Thunderbird run so efficiently that people spend more time on the beach than in their email. Sounds good to me.
A couple more links for Thunderbird 3.1/Lanikai:
We just released Thunderbird 3 Release Candidate 2. Check out the post at SpreadThunderbird for details.
Note: this is a draft icon rendering for the Thunderbird 3 icon.
Keep the feedback coming in, they’ve been extremely helpful and we’re doing our best to incorporate your suggestions.
Please click on the image to see the large file. In this version we have the different sizes. The majority of people will view Thunderbird on a daily basis with the smaller sized icons. The larger icons will be displayed more on the web site, posters, and other promotional items like t-shirts.
Changes in this version:
- Uppermost right wing feathers are rounded to match the other side.
- Second row of feathers on the left wing slightly pointed.
Based on feedback, we’re choosing the white envelope with no seal.
Background Information
Please provide feedback via the comments section through these blog posts.
Note: this is a draft icon rendering for the Thunderbird 3 icon, subsequent iterations will be posted as soon as they’re available.
Keep the feedback coming in, they’ve been extremely helpful and we’re doing our best to incorporate your suggestions.
Iteration 6. 20090729
Changes in this version:
- A third row of small feathers. Small feathers are less defined, less bright. No seal. Slightly whiter envelope.
Iteration 5. 20090729
Changes in this version:
- Fewer feathers. No seal. Slightly whiter envelope.
Iteration 4. 20090729
Changes in this version:
- Logo with seal and example of small version of logo w/ seal.
- Lots of feathers.
Background Information
Please provide feedback via the comments section through these blog posts.
Note: this is a draft icon rendering for the Thunderbird 3 icon, subsequent iterations will be posted as soon as they’re available.
Iteration 3. 20090715
The icon is being rendered by Anthony Piraino at the Iconfactory.
Changes in this iteration:
- removed seal from previous iterations;
- added detail to the envelope;
- feathers shaped to be slightly more accurate
Current Icon
Background Information
Please provide feedback via the comments section through these blog posts.
Note: this is a draft icon rendering for the Thunderbird 3 icon, subsequent iterations will be posted as soon as they’re available.
Iteration 2. 20090708
The icon is being rendered by Anthony Piraino at the Iconfactory.
Changes in this iteration:
- rounder/smoother shape for the circle;
- modified the seal/”@” but this detail will be removed in the next iteration;
- warmed up the envelope color, corrected the “v” shape on the envelope;
- added more detail to the feathers;
- updated bottom shadow
Current Icon
Background Information
Please provide feedback via the comments section through these blog posts.
Note: this is a draft icon rendering for the Thunderbird 3 icon, subsequent iterations will be posted as soon as they’re available.
Iteration 1. 20090706
The icon is being rendered by Anthony Piraino at the Iconfactory.
Current Icon
Background Information
Please provide feedback via the comments section through these blog posts.
But what about Thunderbird icon? Will it be updated too? Please! 
Short answer, yes. You didn’t even need to say “pretty please”.
We’re beginning the work to update the Thunderbird icon. We really like how the Firefox icon turned out, and we’ll be working with the folks at Icon Factory so we can be consistent.
I’ve been impressed with how Alex Faaborg has led the charge with the Firefox Icon refresh, his vision, and his ability to communicate and work with everybody. We’re working with Alex as well, he’s got a great eye, and we’re lucky.
The Process
As I understand, it’s going to be fast and furious in terms of the design and feedback loop the next couple weeks. I’ll be posting a final creative brief before we get started, and happy to take feedback on it now. I’ll be posting the iterations and calling for feedback as soon as I get them.
It would be great if all feedback can be done as comments to these blog posts as opposed to direct emails to me.
The new design at www.mozillamessaging.com
First, go ahead and download Thunderbird 3 Beta 2 and check it out.
The Redesign
We started the redesign process last year with the following goals:
- Make it easy for users to download Thunderbird
- Make it easy for users to learn about Thunderbird and Mozilla Messaging
- Provide Mozilla Messaging with it’s own visual identity while maintaining the “mozilla” feel
We worked with Steven at silverorange and the team at The Royal Order — absolutely great fun to work with them.
We hope users and contributors will have a sense of familiarity with the site and also enjoy some of the imagery and illustrations. One of my favorites is the “totem pole”. Totem poles can be found in Vancouver (where we have an office) and we wanted to see a different design treatment for Thunderbird. I think it worked out well (the rocket ship and the cruise boat are fun too).
What’s Next
We have localization, more content to add, and we’re always looking to make improvements to make it easier for users to download Thunderbird. We’ll be gearing the site for the final Thunderbird 3 release so we have lots more coming.
