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I read Stack Overflow daily at work, and often use it as a resource; I love it. Today I noticed a new sponsor logo — the kind that appears next to the tags — it looks like capital D with a white rainbow shooting out of it on a dark blue background. It might be a silly question, but can the dark blue be changed to a lighter shade? I find that the contrast, compared to the "lightness" of the rest of the site, really affects readability. Honestly, it's like my eyes cannot focus on anything else. Please don't take this as whining, it's really just an honest request/constructive criticism.

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  • They have had sponsored tags for a long time now. And when they first rolled out people complained. The "Adobe' tag has far more contrast than the new on. However, way more people will notice this new sponsor since it is on the most popular tag.
    – jjnguy
    Jul 9, 2010 at 19:10
  • It's weird because the adobe tag has never bothered me, but you are probably right in that there are a lot more of this new one. I don't mind sponsors having tags (in fact I like it) its just that this is the first one that seemed to take away from the usability of the site so I wanted to speak up and just see if anyone else felt the same.
    – user146551
    Jul 9, 2010 at 19:19
  • What tag/logo is this that you're referring to? Can you provide a link?
    – Ether
    Jul 9, 2010 at 20:47
  • Do you perhaps mean one of these logos? stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/c%23
    – Ether
    Jul 9, 2010 at 21:24
  • @Ether: Yes that is the one Im speaking about
    – user146551
    Jul 9, 2010 at 22:24

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Companies use specific coloration to signify themselves, not general concepts. The "blue" color that a company uses in its logo will always be the same shade, as that locks in what that logo is. So it's not going to be that company's logo if they use a lighter shade of blue. I don't believe Stack Overflow gets to be in charge of what another company's logo is, so I don't think they get to change the color "behind the back" of the sponsor.

Consequently, contrast is entirely the purpose of adverts in order to catch your eyes. Not to say it's good or anything, but I suppose it's doing exactly its job, aye?

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    But Stack Overflow could reject a logo if it is deemed too intrusive (like an animated ad).
    – mmyers
    Jul 9, 2010 at 19:10
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    @mmyers They can reject an entire logo, but I don't think Stack Overflow is allowed to directly modify the logo themselves. It's technically misrepresentation.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Jul 9, 2010 at 19:11
  • I might be wrong, of course - there could be a clause in the agreement with the sponsor which says that Stack Overflow is allowed to modify the logo beyond what is provided by the sponsor. But I sincerely doubt this is the case.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Jul 9, 2010 at 19:20
  • No, I don't expect them to modify the logo. But they could ask the sponsor if the sponsor could come up with a less intrusive version to put on the tags. (I don't expect that to happen either except on a truly egregious case.)
    – mmyers
    Jul 9, 2010 at 19:22
  • @mmyers I see. ♪
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Jul 9, 2010 at 19:25
  • I think they could invert the colors like some of the other sponsors do. If you look at their other image (sstatic.net/so/img/tag-logo-devexpress.png) they have a blue 'D' on a white background. It would make their tag sponsorship icon more like Telerik or Redgate.
    – user146551
    Jul 9, 2010 at 19:29
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    Companies are VERY serious about their logos being presented correctly, so unless the company already established that their logo is allowed to be presented in such a way (many of them have sizeable branding rulebooks) it is unlikely that they would change it.
    – Jesse Dorsey
    Jul 9, 2010 at 20:21

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