The story of the Slonik elephant, PostgreSQL logo

Hi, Habr!

I always thought that a logo for a product could be invented, if not a couple of trifles, then it was a matter of a little time. However, using PostgreSQL as an example, this is completely wrong. I bring to your attention a translation of the article by Patricia Dybki, the community manager of Vertabelo’s company, The Story of the Slonik Elephant, PostgreSQL Logo .
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Logos are important. What better way to remind people of a product than an attractive, memorable symbol? With this in mind, today we will answer the question: “Why did PostgreSQL choose an elephant for its logo?”

Each product or company has its own logo - that which identifies and embodies the essence of their brand. Over time, he practically becomes a brand: can you imagine McDonald's without his golden arches? What if the Coca-Cola logo was suddenly drawn in a purple block-print?

Logos evoke emotions that give consumers a strong sense of connection and loyalty. It is remembered by associating an image with a specific product. In this article, we’ll go back to the nineties and learn how Postgres became associated with the Slonik elephant.

The elephant joins the zoo logo

Let's look at a couple of the most popular of those logos. As you can see, the choice of an animal for technology is not something special:

	Linux has a penguin named Tux.
	MySQL has a dolphin Sakila.
	PostgreSQL has an elephant known as Slonik.

Let's look at the reasons why Postgres chose an elephant, and how their logo has evolved over the years.

PostgreSQL logo evolution

12/30/1996 The original PostgreSQL logo

The evolutionary process leading to the Postgre elephant was rather long. One of the earliest Postgres logos was a crumbling wall through which PostgreSQL made its way. The illustration below was taken from the official Postgres site and dates back to 1996.



Archive: 12/30/1996 from the earliest available version of the site postgresql.org , Source

04/03/1997 The appearance of an elephant

By the beginning of 1997, there were big changes in PostgreSQL. January began with a name change: the original name Postgre95 was replaced by PostgreSQL. At this point, the official discussions of the logo began; in the end, they led to the appearance of an elephant, but other ideas were proposed, as shown in the 1997 report:

Date: 1997-04-03 20:36:33

Some other ideas:

- sword (derived from dragon book cover - Postgres as a tool)
- a bowl of soup with letters of the alphabet in which POSTGRESQL is written
- revolver / killer (Grosse Pt - Postgres anagram and abbreviation of the name of the new film by John Cusack)

but if you want an animal based logo, how about an elephant? In the end, as the name of Agatha Christie says, elephants can remember ...

David Ian

Archive: 04/03/1997 The idea of ​​the Elephant
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This is a dragon book cover.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compilers:_Principles,_Techniques,_and_Tools

In many cultures, elephants do have an excellent memory. (In the book of Agatha Christie “Elephants may remember” this is used as a recurring theme.) The logo of an elephant can be interpreted differently, but the most common is that elephants, as databases, are excellent keepers of information.

This idea gained popularity, but not everyone agreed with it. The following quote, taken from the discussion in the pgsql-hackers mail group in 1997, demonstrates a different understanding of the idea of ​​an elephant:

>> But if you want an animal based logo, how about an elephant?

>> After all, as the name of Agatha Christie says, elephants can remember ...

I'm afraid the elephant will give people the wrong idea. They will think

Postgres is a large, slow, bulky database.

Leo

Archive: 04/07/1997
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12.12.1997 Logotype Cheetah?

Despite the fact that the elephant was already chosen for the logo, at the end of 1997 a cheetah and the inscription “Empowered PostgreSQL” were used. The version is shown below. Also used Postgres brick wall graphics since 1996.


Archive: 12/12/1997 Cheetah
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1998 - 1999 Elephant breaking through a wall

After the logo with a cheetah, another version was presented: an elephant pierces a brick wall. Unfortunately, I could not get this picture, but I looked at the following remarks:

A little off topic, I still remember how the logo was an elephant, breaking through a brick wall ... And before that it was the word "PostgreSQL", breaking through a brick wall. Unfortunately, in 1998 and 1999 there was a time when we were not archived on the WayBack Machine *;

Lamar owen
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* The Wayback Machine - Archive web service. The content of web pages is fixed from time to time with the help of a bot or when the site visitor manually specifies the address of the page to be fixed. Thus, you can see how this or that page looked before, even if it no longer exists.

June 1998 Other Postgres logo ideas

In June 1998, further discussion of the pgsql-hackers postal group was full of various logo proposals, such as:

Lioness or tigress ..

2) Let the lioness rest on top. Her back is at the top of the "Po". The weight of its front legs is on “re”, and its front paws rise to “S”. Its tail is twisted around the letter “P”, passing under the “Post” part. He begins to knock down at the end, between "s" and "t". She looked up and guarded and turned halfway between looking forward (to the right) and towards us. The expression on her face is powerful and smug.

3) At the top left, that is, above its croup, in smaller letters, there is the text “Powered by.”

4) I think it would be better if the lioness were in motion. This would allow a better print of the logo on a black and white printer.

If people prefer a tigress, you can do the same. But she will not look like something especially in this position. Keep in mind, I'm not sure how you distinguish a tigress from a tiger.

David Friend, 04/03/1997
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Alligator...

Someone came up with an alligator as our totem ... but no one turned out to be able to come up with a * strong * image to use it :( I kind of like the elephant or the turtle ... they are a little slower, but very reliable ...

Mark G. Fournier 3.06.1998
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Cheetah, gazelle, eagle ...

Alligators look good, and, of course, they are very strong. If we have to make an animal, I think that as the original logo it would be right to do something FAST - a cheetah, a gazelle, well, or a logo with an eagle. He will always be successful in this country :)

Steve Log June 4, 1998
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Dog...

1) If you really want an animal, then why not the DOG? man's best friend ;-)

Or not...

... but I do not think that the animal is a good image for PostgreSQL.

José Soares da Silva 06.06.1998
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Bridge...

I think PostgreSQL is a database system (is a DataBASE system). Therefore, I think, the logo should be like some kind of BASE. For example, a bridge is a large and powerful bridge filled with pieces of data. Or trucks filled with data.

Oleg Broitmann 06.06.1998
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And, again, the elephant ...

> Fri, July 24, 1998, Hermit Hacker writes:
>> We really were never able to come up with a nice image.
>> "mascot" ... the last thing I heard, we looked at the alligator, and some
>> sketches were made, but the final image is not defined ...
>

> But then maybe the alligator looks too much like
> Netscape Mozilla dinosaur (or whatever
> :-), do not you think?

Hey, I prefer the elephant. Big, strong, reliable and he never forgets anything ...

Dan Delane 23.06.1998
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10/13/1999 Elephant inside a diamond

In October 1999, the idea of ​​a cheetah on the Postgres logo was finally abandoned. The elephant inside the diamond has become the official logo.


Archive: 02/29/2000 The Elephant
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02.2.2.2000 “PostgreSQL Search” with an Elephant in a Diamond

In February 2000, the elephant and the diamond were combined with the words "Search PostgreSQL".


Archive: 02/29/2000 The Elephant
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01.28.2003 Current logo

In 2003, a stylized blue elephant was introduced.


Archive: 01/28/2003 Elephant
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According to the discussion held in September 2013, the previous logo was considered less than attractive (if not more!). Shortly after the launch of PostgreSQL Inc a blue elephant was developed:

Our first logo was designed by Jan, an elephant in a diamond. Although the idea was good, it didn’t look very good, so when Mark and Greg launched PostgreSQL Inc., they hired a real designer who created the blue elephant that we have now. This design was then brought into the community.

Josh Berkus, PostgreSQL member, 09/20/2013
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08/23/2006 A touch of history

After the debut of the Blue Elephant logo, the relational database history resources began to show PostgreSQL with a new logo along with the date of the original elephant logo.


Archive: August 23, 2006 The Elephant
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How did the Postgres elephant get its name?

Just by looking at the current logo, any programmer will immediately think “Postgres”. However, not everyone knows that the elephant has a name: Slonik, which is derived from the Russian word "elephant". Unfortunately, the date and circumstances of choosing this particular name are unknown. This probably started with the Postgres Slony-I project. Slony-I is an asynchronous master-slave replication system. Here is what Jan Vick recalls about this:

By the way, that image on the site had “slonik” as the file name or alternative text for the image (“alt”), I don’t remember exactly. Then I wondered what it means

I don't remember exactly, but isn't that a Russian name for an elephant?

Slon = elephant
Slony = elephants
Slonik = Dumbo

In my replication system, one node is slon (hence the name of the executable module of the replication mechanism). The group or cluster is called Slony, and the scripting aid used to “query” various actions is called slonik :)

Jan Vic, July 10, 2004
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Indeed, the name comes from the Russian word "elephants" (slony), which means "elephants". From this Postgres project we get the following terminology:

Slony is a plural word meaning that a cluster consists of several databases.

Slon is a singular word; Each replication node is controlled by a program called “slon”, which is combined into the aforementioned “cluster of elephants”.

Slonik is a word meaning "little elephant" and, therefore, the name of the program used to configure the cluster.

Alternative Postgres Logo - Turtle

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In some areas, Postgres is presented a little differently. For example, the Japanese PostgreSQL user group (JPUG) - a very active international group - created its own logo instead of an elephant.

They chose a turtle. Back in the 1970s, the tortoise was used as an INGRES talisman and was left for Postgres. According to the Berkeley Database Group :

The turtle was adopted as a talisman by the INGRES group in the 70s, because "it is slow, but always gets where it is needed." And it was saved as a mascot for POSTGRES for sentimental reasons.

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Why does JPUG use the Postgres tortoise? Some have suggested that the blue elephant had inappropriate similarities to the symbol used by a local terrorist group associated with the 1995 sarin attack in Tokyo.

As with other products, the Postgres logo has been carefully selected for many years of discussion. And in the end took the final form: an elephant named Slonik.

Such stories are quite common. If you know the history of other technical logos, please share them in the comments below.