Design a logo for PyGMT

[weiji14]

Description of the desired feature

Discussion for a PyGMT logo has been brought up a few times already in meetings and the forum post at https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/design-for-pygmt-logo/1346. I think it's time for the PyGMT project to have a proper logo in place by the end of the year (for v0.5.0), ideally before the AGU 2021 conference (#1395) in December so we can give out stickers 😁

Logo Design Requirements

As pointed out by Leo at https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/design-for-pygmt-logo/1346/2, the logo should ideally:

1. Be roughly 1:1 proportion (to make it easier to use)
2. Must be recognizable/understandable at large and small sizes (no small fonts, thin lines, small details)
3. Ideally should work on light and dark backgrounds
4. No use of non-open art work/images

Are you willing to help implement and maintain this feature? Yes, this will be a fun and not very code-heavy project for the ESWN workshop running from 17-19 Aug

[seisman]

As proposed in #2579 (comment), I'm merging issue #2579 into this issue so that we can have a central issue to discuss the logo.

#2579 (comment) from @juanis2112

Hi everyone,

I'm Juanita, a contributor for PyOpenSci, and I'm excited to reach out to you regarding the creation of an official logo for PyGMT. Recently, I discovered that PyGMT doesn't have a designated logo, and after speaking with @weiji14, I learned that this is something the community desires. Hence, I volunteered to help with this initiative!

While there have been some informal discussions in the past, we haven't reached an official decision regarding the logo. Therefore, I believe it would be beneficial to utilize this GitHub issue as a platform to gather opinions and ultimately arrive at a final decision. To kickstart the process, I have compiled a few logo design proposals based on the previous discussion held here: https://forum.generic-mapping-tools.org/t/design-for-pygmt-logo/1346/7

I invite all members of the community to participate in this discussion by sharing their thoughts and feedback on the proposed logo designs. Feel free to express your opinions, suggest modifications, or even submit alternative logo ideas.

1. Original design proposed by @weiji14:
   

2. Same design but more legible and using Python Colors:

3. Inverting text and needle colors:

4. Similar design but overlapping PyGMT text with the logo and using the GMT colors.

4.1 Trying to make the P, G, M, T more visible in the logo (This one I implemented it in Inkscape based on @weiji14's idea about modifying number 4.

It seems that we are going towards having the original storyline with the map and needle but including the PyGMT letters in the logo and using the 3 colors, blue and yellow for python and red for GMT. I will like to hear opinions about this last logo and possible directions we can move forward to. I'm not an expert in Inkscape but I'm happy to help implement some possible ideas.

#2579 (comment) from @leouieda

Hi @juanis2112 thanks for pushing this forward! I like the last one but I'd suggest a few tweaks to make it more legible on smaller sizes:

1. Remove the dark gray outline from the snake and central needle. The contrast for the color is enough to stand out without the outline.
2. Remove or greatly simplify/smooth the continents. They have too much detail which makes the logo a bit messy.