Eric, one minor nitpick with your thought experiment. In my experience, if you are wearing a lanyard with a badge or id on it, people assume you are official in some way, no matter how poorly you are dressed. Doesn't change anything you said, but just something I've noticed.
Hi. Like Eric, my first impression gave concerns from the same ally. Though, to me it seems there simply isn’t a set design direction even made at this stage. In a sense it's better to be this robust and honest skeleton, instead of a cheap fake badge & uniform; until a true form can be reached. The visual communication plays an important role, but if you look at identity in a bigger picture it’s the philosophy, actions and perspective that matter the most. A meaningful design direction and on-boarding for new users is something needed to grow but it needs to be something defining and helping to communicate the right values and experiences. Good design has the potential to communicate differentiation, prove value, and resonate with a desired audience but I don’t belive a right way is to copy other cryptos trends or to take some soft and obvious approach where the winds currently blow from. Spec work and crowdsourcing is ultimately disgracing for the design industry and the value of work produced. It simply doesn't have the principles, insight or responsibility needed to shape the right values. http://www.nospec.com
I certainly agree that the surface stuff: design, colors, shapes, or even... err Badges... "We don't need no stinking badges!" isn't necessarily an indication of TRUE value or legitimacy. My point has more to do with using as many tools as possible to help things move along more smoothly and minimize the friction. If the goal is to attract mainly people who will take the time to dig through the clutter and erroneous articles from armchair crypto currency experts to get to the Git repository and read through the wiki, then it seems Decred won't have to work as hard for those eyeballs as they are the inquisitive ones already. Personally, I would like to have not only a great framework, plan and project, aiming to make the Bitcoin experiment even better... BUT ALSO have something that regular, non-tech folks see as "Ooooo... That seems awesome!" and tell their friends about it. Consider Bitcoin has more exposure than any cryptocurrency by FAR and has only BARELY started making it into mainstream consciousness.
NLP? As in Neuro-linguistic Programming? I wasn't using any techniques like that in my posts consciously. I do like some of its concepts. Especially the recognition that all humans are "pre-programmed" and "programmable" with a nervous system that is a stimulus/response system. Humans react very much like the classic Pavlov experiments with dogs. I believe we all do. All the time. Of course, sales and marketing professionals have been using these techniques for a VERY long time to help sell whatever thing or idea they are selling at the time. They do it because it works.
I am pleased to have an experienced entrepreneur like you in this project. I was also pleased to read your comments about the project, I think a rebranding is unthinkable, but you never know! About NLP , I believe that by now has become a pillar of marketing and see it applied in this project gives me hope. see you around!
Eric, very nice analogy of comparing both the TRUSTWORTHY looking person and the person dressed in a HOODIE. In my case, I would probably bet on both, not for fear of losing or being taken, but rather fear of missing out as I did with Bitcoin. Either way u slice it...Decred is not just another form of crypto-currency, but rather a positive step towards a cryptic future. (who wants to carry around paper bills and metal coins till the end of days?) Off topic...Think Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars...if u will and beyond. I don't see anyone from those Verses carrying around a trifold wallet or a purse. So the name Decred in my opion has a positive conotation. And so, I continue to educate and investigate with regard to this.....Revolution of Finance. Thanks for reading.