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