diff --git a/docs/luau-mascot.md b/docs/luau-mascot.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f7a2aa0 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/luau-mascot.md @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +# An official mascot for Luau + +## Summary + +Luau's branding is currently entirely based around a rotated square logo in a particular shade of blue. +This works well for professional presentation on the website and so forth, but there is a gap for +elements of the brand identity that are more personable and easier for people to identify with. Toward +that end, this RFC proposes Luau adopt an official mascot for the language. + +## Motivation + +The primary motivation is that Luau's current branding consists entirely of a logo, which is relatively +cold and harder for people to identify with. In the Rust community, there's been a lot of success with +[Ferris the crab](https://www.rustacean.net/) as a language mascot, leading to a variety of merchandise +and fanart from the language community. Ferris serves as an icon that Rust users are much happier to +identify with and portray than just the language's logo on its own, especially in less formal settings. +We'd like to be able to provide a mascot that can serve a similar role for Luau! + +## Design + +This RFC proposes that Luau adopt the Hawaiian monk seal as a mascot. There's a few reasons for this +choice. First, we want to have a brand and identity that is more distinct from Lua itself, and +therefore we want to choose a mascot that is _not_ based on the "moon" theme that is central to +Lua's brand identity. Second, Luau's name itself draws from Hawaiian culture since it is named after +a traditional Hawaiaan feast. The Hawaiian monk seal is the state mammal of Hawaii, and one of only +two mammals endemic to the islands. Third, the Hawaiian monk seal is an endangered species and we +can, at a minimum, use the choice of mascot to direct energy towards conservation efforts for this +adorable creature. + +For a concrete mascot design, I commissioned [Alex Mullins (@AlexMarieFina)](https://github.com/AlexMarieFina) +to produce a cartoon-style drawing of a Hawaiian monk seal in Luau's brand blue color. +This mascot is Hina the Seal. + +![Hina the Seal](../mascot.png) + +We propose naming her Hina, after the Hawaiian goddess of the moon. The word moon itself in Hawaiian +(_mahina_) is derived from this name, and it pays a small homage to Luau's "moon" roots in Lua +while staying within the existing theme and not being too heavy-handed. + +## Drawbacks + +We may prefer to remain "neutral" and avoid expanding the scope of Luau's branding to leave room for +more organic adoption of a mascot within the community. + +## Alternatives + +In early discussions leading up to my commission, the two most serious suggestions for alternative +animals were rabbits (owing to the eastern cultural tradition of "moon rabbits") and a beluga +(thanks to the pun, "beluauga"). We could get some alternative art proposals for either mascot, but +an obvious downside to the beluga, in particular, is that we would have a blue whale mascot which +conflicts with a certain [already well-known blue whale mascot](https://docker.com). + +Additionally, there was some discussion about naming options. The main thrusts for name suggestions +were broadly in three categories: names starting with L (referencing Lua), names starting with S +(for alliteration with Seal), and names with alignment around the moon and Hawaiian and Polynesian +culture. Notable suggestions from these groups included Luna and Lucy, Sera and Selene, +and Mahina and Hina. This proposal chose `Hina` on the basis of its thematic fit, brevity (single +syllable), and distinctiveness (e.g. Luna is very close to Lune and Luau, Selene is already the name +of a community tool, etc.). diff --git a/mascot.png b/mascot.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b6c1b9c Binary files /dev/null and b/mascot.png differ