Official Bitcoin Unicode Character?

[ryepdx]

Thanks for the feedback! I came up with two other ideas too. Here they are, along with another rendering of the first one I posted:


These are crude renderings, but they should prove a good basis for any typographers who may come along later. I derived the two new ideas from the symbol for the yen, the currency of Satoshi's ostensible homeland.

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[ryepdx]

Okay, I just finished reading all 10 pages of this discussion. It seems to me we are divided into two camps:

1. Those who want a symbol we can start using right away.
2. Those who want a unique symbol that we won't really be able to use online until we manage to get a character into the unicode set (which could be a few years considering it took the Thai government about a year of lobbying to get their country's currency symbol into that set, a task easier than the one we would face as a mere confederacy of nerds.)

I think we ought to decide which approach would be better for us as a community.

There is, of course, a middle path: we could create a custom symbol and then host it as an image somewhere for the whole community to use as if it were a character.

If we decide path 1 is best, then my votes are for β, Ƀ, or Ⓑ (in order of preference.)
If we decide path 2 or the middle path is best, well, you've seen my suggestions.

What are your thoughts?

[TiagoTiago]

Custom fonts can be used in web pages without the users having to install them on their machine, as long as they got an up-to-date webbrowser.

[ryepdx]

Custom fonts can be used in web pages without the users having to install them on their machine, as long as they got an up-to-date webbrowser.

Hmm... not a bad idea. Less compatible than the image idea and a bit harder to implement, but it would at least make for cleaner HTML.

Then, of course, there is the first path mentioned.

[epii]

Here's yet another idea.  It's very abstract, but kinda captures the "techiness" and the whole "bit" concept of Bitcoin, scales well, and of course is already in Unicode: ◑
U+25D1 CIRCLE WITH RIGHT HALF BLACK

(Also, kind of like a C and a B.)

I was inspired by this icon on britcoin.co.uk:

[fetokun]

Dont believe it is in use by another currency and is already in the charset

x2

I really like Ƀ too. ฿ would be my first choice, but since it's already used as a currency symbol for me it's completely off the table.

It also gives a certain sense of a currency and I really prefer capital letters. I don't know, but I think uppercases give the impression of a more valued currency.

1Ƀ2
Ƀ100
Ƀ1.5
19.99Ƀ

All of these look good to me

[woah]

Hello !

How about this : http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/4756/btc1.png

I like Ⓑ a lot, but I thought it could be great to add the "currency-like" bars. It makes it closer to the logo, too.

[fetokun]

Hello !

How about this :

I like Ⓑ a lot, but I thought it could be great to add the "currency-like" bars. It makes it closer to the logo, too.

I think a circled ฿ would be perfect. Maybe we could adopt the circled B for now while we wait for the new circled ฿ to be inserted into the Unicode standard.

[ryepdx]

I think a circled ฿ would be perfect. Maybe we could adopt the circled B for now while we wait for the new circled ฿ to be inserted into the Unicode standard.

Meh. I personally don't even want to incorporate the baht symbol. I feel like it would cause confusion, even circled.

Hello !

How about this :

I like Ⓑ a lot, but I thought it could be great to add the "currency-like" bars. It makes it closer to the logo, too.

I like it. The only downsides are that it could be hard to recognize or even write at small sizes due to the level of detail. Plus it seems like it would take a while to write even at normal sizes compared to other currency symbols.

[Vandroiy]

I was persuaded after reading a little in here that ⓑ is a good option.

• It is better readable than the capital version.
• It stands for "bit" rather than "byte", being the correct letter terminology-wise.
• It is not frequently used for other purposes.
• It represents the expression "bitcoin" by having the symbol for bit surrounded by a circle, making it look like a coin.
• It is already present in Unicode.

If 1 ⓑ keeps current value or higher, symbols for the smaller fractions may be required. mⓑ, µⓑ etc. may be an option, but are not single symbols. Not that I would care much, I'd be fine with that.

[S3052]

I was persuaded after reading a little in here that ⓑ is a good option.

• It is better readable than the capital version.
• It stands for "bit" rather than "byte", being the correct letter terminology-wise.
• It is not frequently used for other purposes.
• It represents the expression "bitcoin" by having the symbol for bit surrounded by a circle, making it look like a coin.
• It is already present in Unicode.

If 1 ⓑ keeps current value or higher, symbols for the smaller fractions may be required. mⓑ, µⓑ etc. may be an option, but are not single symbols. Not that I would care much, I'd be fine with that.

Makes 100% sense to me. +1

[epii]

I've made a few proposals on this thread myself, but after some thought my favourite options are this symbol and Ƀ.  Both symbols are elegant, simple, and currency-like, and would be easy to render and read at any size that ordinary text could be rendered.

[WakiMiko]

I'd like to see the B with parallel lines at the top and bottom (though not going through the B), that is in a lot of logos already, get added to the Unicode character set. It looks nice and is easily recognisable as a symbol representing money while still being different enough from the Baht symbol ฿.

http://hammeroftruth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/bitcoin-logo.jpg

[TiagoTiago]

Would the "serifs" and the top bulge being smaller than the bottom one be official parts of the symbol or are you suggesting any capital B with the little horns and feet woud be acceptable?

[ryepdx]

Would the "serifs" and the top bulge being smaller than the bottom one be official parts of the symbol or are you suggesting any capital B with the little horns and feet woud be acceptable?

Do what you like. We're only a sort of confederacy at best and there's nobody here that can force anyone else into anything. The only official documentation we have is the wiki, and most of it (excluding the Bitcoin protocol itself) is the result of collective decision making. As far as I'm concerned, requiring the symbol to look exactly like the logo would be silly. The rule would get ignored as soon as the symbol began to get incorporated into other typefaces, I imagine. But whatever catches on is what will persist and thus become "official."

I'm just hoping it's not that misappropriated "baht" symbol that gets popularized.

[epii]

I've made a few proposals on this thread myself, but after some thought my favourite options are this symbol and Ƀ.  Both symbols are elegant, simple, and currency-like, and would be easy to render and read at any size that ordinary text could be rendered.

I'd like to see the B with parallel lines at the top and bottom (though not going through the B), that is in a lot of logos already, get added to the Unicode character set. It looks nice and is easily recognisable as a symbol representing money while still being different enough from the Baht symbol ฿.

Oh, and this option too, of course.   

[rooofl]

You guys are talking about a detail in the whole (and messy) Bitcoin graphic identity. This detail must be chosen by following a real design process, I don't mean by a single designer, but certainly not on a forum post.
In my opinion, Bitcoin has a real identity problem and it must be solved quickly by professionals.

[Fiyasko]

I was persuaded after reading a little in here that ⓑ is a good option.

• It is better readable than the capital version.
• It stands for "bit" rather than "byte", being the correct letter terminology-wise.
• It is not frequently used for other purposes.
• It represents the expression "bitcoin" by having the symbol for bit surrounded by a circle, making it look like a coin.
• It is already present in Unicode.

If 1 ⓑ keeps current value or higher, symbols for the smaller fractions may be required. mⓑ, µⓑ etc. may be an option, but are not single symbols. Not that I would care much, I'd be fine with that.

Yes across the board. But what is the Alt+command to create the ⓑ? i am currently using alt+0223 to do a ß

You guys are talking about a detail in the whole (and messy) Bitcoin graphic identity. This detail must be chosen by following a real design process, I don't mean by a single designer, but certainly not on a forum post.
In my opinion, Bitcoin has a real identity problem and it must be solved quickly by professionals.

Identity problem, Yes, needed to be solved by "professionals" No thanks, im sure that anyone(s) with Photoshop could create a very decent graphic design that the forums could collectivly agree upon via poll to be the best candidate, and Voila ß identity "crysis" solved

[ryepdx]

You guys are talking about a detail in the whole (and messy) Bitcoin graphic identity. This detail must be chosen by following a real design process, I don't mean by a single designer, but certainly not on a forum post.
In my opinion, Bitcoin has a real identity problem and it must be solved quickly by professionals.

Bitcoin is not an organization. Bitcoin is a technology. Saying Bitcoin has a real identity problem is akin to saying the Internet has a real identity problem.

[Fiyasko]

You guys are talking about a detail in the whole (and messy) Bitcoin graphic identity. This detail must be chosen by following a real design process, I don't mean by a single designer, but certainly not on a forum post.
In my opinion, Bitcoin has a real identity problem and it must be solved quickly by professionals.

Bitcoin is not an organization. Bitcoin is a technology. Saying Bitcoin has a real identity problem is akin to saying the Internet has a real identity problem.

You have been delt a falcon punch.