I made an adjustment to bitcoin symbol so that it represents a # combined with a B:
The graphics can be downloaded from this thread if anyone wants to use it: http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=25102.0

Another point is that for unicode to accept a new character, it has to be shown that it is in wide use.

Is that a B shape with two slashes intersecting the top arc only? It looks well.

I am talking about both really as one follows the other but more-so the abstract symbol and its specifications: That the symbol for bitcoin should be interpreted as being a # sign combined with a B, so that the symbol only has two vertical lines, something exactly like you say 'a 3 with || rather than a B with ||'. Indeed the bitcoin symbol we most often see could call itself a stylised version of my exact proposal but I feel it gives the impression that it is more a 'B' with two added vertical lines for a total of three vertical lines.

No worries, let me know if you use it anywhere so I can check it out in the wild!


You can implement the symbol anyway you like. If you have any ideas, let me know.

added downloads to vector formats and PNG in top post. Will add some more soon.

It would be royalty free if people want to use it of course. Let me get back to my main work station and I will upload some different image formats including the original vectors so people can easily play around with the gradients themselves and have the coin shine whichever way they prefer. I'll do some myself too and answer the other questions later. What I was really just interested to hear for now was what people thought of the design.

I've read all the threads and documents about the symbol. I can't post anywhere but this forum for the time being on account of my newfishness.

I completely agree with you here. Commandeering the baht symol is lazy and as bitcoin desires to be used globally, I think being able to differentiate it from the baht is important. I'm not totally against using the baht symbol in place of a bitcoin symbol unofficially until unicode accepts a dedicated bitcoin symbol and this is becoming common, but I would prefer if people for now only delineated bitcoins using the currency code ( ISO 4217)  'BTC'. From the list of proposed unicode characters I also don't mind 'there does not exist' and one other I found 'does not contain as member' but I do think bitcoin needs its own symbol.

I don't hate it. It is the most obvious choice and popular consensus seems to have dictated that something resembling a 'B' with currency slashes be the symbol. I do like some of the other proposals but none of them gained traction. If I created or worked on one of the other symbols, I doubt it would gain any traction either. I also like my solution to the problems the current symbols have.

If you look closely at that symbol, you will notice that the character B, having one vertical stroke already, gets introduced to two more vertical slashes. While this work visually, using the typeface used as two of three vertical lines in the character share half a space, but if you attempt to write this symbol with a pen manually, you will notice that the space is cramped and it takes time to write, two slashes will become one slash, and soon everyone is writing it as the baht. Other typefaces will run into difficulty trying to interpret it and displaying it on a small scale. With my slight adjustment, and specs, it is clear that only two vertical strokes are to be used like the baht but it still has its own independant identity.



I don't think it needs to emphasized any more than it is already apparent. It acts as a good story as to why character looks the way it does and what idea it grew from. A lot of people don't notice the arrow in the Fedex logo as obvious as it is. My vertical lines are set at a diagonal like most # signs but I'm not against them being styled as true verticals as some typefaces might dictate that they need to be.

Ha ha!

Any bitcoin symbol is more than just a symbol, it's a logo. Just like people have 'paypal or visa accepted here' banners on their websites that are easily identifiable, bitcoin needs a symbol that identifies itself.  

Like it or loath it, backed by popular usage, a 'B' with either one or two slashes has become symbol and logo for bitcoin. Other good suggestions were made, but nothing else took off. There are some problems though with using a B with one slash as the bitcoin symbol because it is already used by the Thai baht. The problem with using a B with two slashes is that the symbol becomes cramped, time consuming to write and will be difficult to create in some typefaces.

My proposed solution to the problem is to keep the B with two slashes, yet specify that one of these slashes is also the definite vertical baseline of the character. The symbol has a total of two vertical lines, not three like the most common symbol being used and not one like the Thai baht. It's a small adjustment, but one I think makes sense. I also explain in the pdf that the symbol carries some added meaning as it was created by combining '#', a character often associated with code along with the character B.

Needless to say, I disagree that discussing the symbol for bitcoin is akin to wanking off.

I'd put this in one of the threads discussing the design of the bitcoin symbol but as I am limited to this forum I'll post it here. I was thinking and reading a lot about the design of the bitcoin symbol and came up with a proposed solution. Have a read and see what you think:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48235/BITCOINSYMBOLADJUSTMENTPROPOSAL.pdf



Downloads:
EPS: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48235/BITCOINSYMBOLVECTORS.eps
SVG: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48235/BITCOINSYMBOLVECTORS.svg
PNG: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48235/BITCOINSYMBOLPNGS.png

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If you don't want to read the PDF, here's the tl;dr:

Problems with the currently used bitcoin symbols include: One is the Thai baht and the other is a B with two extra vertical slashes (for a total of 3) which can look cramped if written manually and interpreted in other typefaces. It also takes time to write.

Problems with designing any new symbol: Can't look remarkably different to the ones being used now.

My proposed solution: Combine the # sign with a B to give the symbol meaning and simplicity.

I think it should be a single noun like any other: bitcoin, similar to dollar, euro etc. That said, it's a bit more than a virtual commodity or currency and a little more like a brand, like paypal or visa so in that capacity I think it should use a capital B.