now, i can't really say that i'd be unbiased : ) he, he, he ... but this (even in its early stage) looks a helluva lot better than the filing cabinet. don't get me wrong here, the cabinet's nicely done and it's perfectly fine - imho it's just not the proper analogy for an app with the name and the functionality of "font card" : )

**constructive criticism below**
who would put a (font) card inside a filing cabinet? cards go into a rolodex : )

**logical reasoning for rolodex analogy below**
they go into a rolodex, where you have a good overview of your "card" collection and can actually organize and find them quickly - now isn't that as close as it gets to the purpose of the app? : ) : )

**creative suggestion below**
i'd love to whip up a quick comp of this for you guys, but i'm beond swamped with work right now - so i'll try to put my idea in words : )

1. if possible, find an image of an older model rolodex (with nicer handles on the side)
2. the metal frame "needs" to be stainless steel - so, in photoshop, select the black tubular metal frame and invert it - with a few addtl. adjustments, that might already do the "stainless steel" trick
3. import the bitmap into flash (freehand might work as well, flash's just my personal preference) and convert it to line art, keeping the colors. should give it a nice "near photo-realistic illustrative look"
4. i'd give the front "font card" a nice and subtle gradient similar to the miniature rectangle surrounding the "A"
5. unless the app connects to the internet, i'd drop the "@" from the icon
6. make the "A" as large as the card permits without cramping it
7. finally, desaturate the blue tabs by at least 20-30% so the blue "A" stands out nicely : )

: )

uuuuuh ... more brainfarts ... the lower card could/should have a light grey version of the unsanity logo on it ... it's all about branding folks **grin**

eff:

thanks for the ideas. How about we release 1.0 with that file cabinet icon and then you'll have less work and be able to do what you described? ;)))) I am afraid half of the creative suggestion steps are out of my skills reach. ;D

-slava

How about this: a feathered pen hovering over a scrap of paper with the [A]@ subimage? After all, this is how fonts first originated, from the way people wrote like calligraphy and such, and then the press, etc.

or how about a bunch of monkeys with, uhm, fonts, uh, in a filing cabinet playing with a rolodex and a scrap of paper? that way, everyone should be pleased. oh, and include ice cream, too. everyone likes ice cream. seriously though, I like this one better than the last one.

ok, i confess - i'm a hopeless pixel-pushing geek 8 ) i couldn't let it go and whipped up a quick comp in ps ... any place i can send/upload it to?

cheers : )

eff: slava at our company dot com (email), SlavaKarpenko (AIM) =) edit: or if slava is offline, brianwwils (AIM)

And thanks ;)

Quite honestly, I threw away my Rolodex's in the early 90's, with relish, after they had sat idle starting from the mid-eighties. I do keep legal cabinets for legal documents and hope for the day when I can toss those as well. Not to to criticize the great artwork, but how many of the younger generation associate with the Rolodex? Hell, I can't even get my son to throw out the trash!

I like the ice cream idea, but this one gets second place.