emmajane.net

Mark Boulton has been awarded the task of coming up with a new brand for Drupal. Today he asked our community to come up with a word to describe Drupal's core brand values. Mark's list of words to describe Drupal includes things like: Community, Inclusive, Friendly, and Flexible. I'd just listened to the Lullabot recap of the Szeged DrupalCon, and someone with "apple" in their name signed on to my Twitter feed, and it was supper time, and I realized that at this very moment, Drupal, to me, is like hot apple pie. This is the response I left on Mark's site.

I need three words instead of just one. I hope you’ll allow this indulgence. For me Drupal is like hot apple pie. (Instantly people around the world just had thoughts about what that means to them.) For many people the mere mention of hot apple pie brings up thoughts of childhood, community and family. For others it might be memories of the delight of seeing hot apple pie on a dinner menu when away from home. For others it will be bake-off competitions and fund raising events. Hot apple pie with a lattice top, or a solid pie crust covering; served piping hot with vanilla ice cream melting quietly in the corner, or maybe with a splash of cream (or dare I say whipped cream).

Drupal, like hot apple pie, is a community staple. It is versatile. It is made by a farmer and a baker with love--its consumption is evocative of people and places. From field to table, or from core developer to end user, Drupal is about people sharing in a common experience. Drupal’s new wordmark must also be inviting--like the smell of hot apple pie cooling on a window sill--the wordmark must entice you and invite you to share in the Drupal experience.

PS You are welcome to substitute “hot apple pie” for “cherry pie” or whatever pie your family and your community loves best.

That was my response, now it's your turn to help Mark with the new Drupal design. Go put your ideas on his site and help to define the future of what Drupal looks like. 

PPS My allergies to apple are completely irrelevant in to this analogy; although, in theory, if the apple pie is sufficiently cooked it would be safe for me to eat.