Identity decision record
Candidate 2 — Held Time is approved
The Product Owner has approved Held Time as the canonical Bobby Calendar identity. It is now used across every public surface. Open Slot and Open Hour are kept below as rejected historical directions so the reasoning behind the decision stays on the record.
Downloads for Held Time are canonical production vectors. Downloads under the rejected candidates are kept for archive purposes only and must not be used.
Candidate 1
Open Slot
A solid aperture with free time cut straight out of it.
Primary lockup
Compact and micro
Shown at 32, 24 and 16 px. The micro form drops detail so the silhouette survives.
Monochrome
On white
On red
On black
On busy surface
Why this could be Bobby Calendar
The symbol reads as a filled block of time with two open slots knocked out — the exact moment a booking page shows you what is available. It is a container mark, so it survives as an app icon, an avatar and a favicon without any redrawing.
Personality: Direct, product-forward, operational.
Strengths and risks
- Strongest presence at 16 px
- Native app-icon shape
- Instantly legible as availability
- Rounded-square marks are a crowded category
- Needs the wordmark to say 'calendar'
Clear space
Minimum clear space on all sides equals one quarter of the symbol height (shown as the dashed boundary). Nothing enters it — no text, rules, badges or image edges.
Minimum size
- Symbol, screen: 16 px using the micro form.
- Symbol, print: 6 mm.
- Full lockup, screen: 120 px wide.
- Full lockup, print: 28 mm wide.
- Below full-lockup minimums, switch to the compact lockup, then to the symbol alone.
Candidate 2
Held Time
Open moments as dots, one continuous band as the booking that holds them.
Primary lockup
Compact and micro
Shown at 32, 24 and 16 px. The micro form drops detail so the silhouette survives.
Monochrome
On white
On red
On black
On busy surface
Why this could be Bobby Calendar
The grid of dots abstracts a week without drawing a calendar page, and the red band is the booked block crossing it. It is the most typographically flexible mark and works as a horizontal rule, a divider and a loading state throughout the interface.
Personality: Systematic, calm, infrastructural.
Strengths and risks
- Genuinely distinctive silhouette
- Extends into a whole UI language
- Excellent on dark surfaces
- Micro form must drop the dots
- Reads abstract before it reads calendar
Clear space
Minimum clear space on all sides equals one quarter of the symbol height (shown as the dashed boundary). Nothing enters it — no text, rules, badges or image edges.
Minimum size
- Symbol, screen: 16 px using the micro form.
- Symbol, print: 6 mm.
- Full lockup, screen: 120 px wide.
- Full lockup, print: 28 mm wide.
- Below full-lockup minimums, switch to the compact lockup, then to the symbol alone.
Candidate 3
Open Hour
A ring left deliberately open, with a mark pointing into the gap.
Primary lockup
Compact and micro
Shown at 32, 24 and 16 px. The micro form drops detail so the silhouette survives.
Monochrome
On white
On red
On black
On busy surface
Why this could be Bobby Calendar
A time reference abstracted far enough to stay ownable: not a clock face, no hands, no numerals. The gap is the point — there is always an opening, and the assistant points you at it. Best of the three as a single monochrome stamp on documents and invoices.
Personality: Warm, confident, assistive.
Strengths and risks
- Most human and approachable
- Beautiful in one colour
- Strong motion and loading behaviour
- Thin ring needs the micro weight override
- Closest of the three to clock convention
Clear space
Minimum clear space on all sides equals one quarter of the symbol height (shown as the dashed boundary). Nothing enters it — no text, rules, badges or image edges.
Minimum size
- Symbol, screen: 16 px using the micro form.
- Symbol, print: 6 mm.
- Full lockup, screen: 120 px wide.
- Full lockup, print: 28 mm wide.
- Below full-lockup minimums, switch to the compact lockup, then to the symbol alone.
Side by side
| Criterion | 1. Open Slot | 2. Held Time | 3. Open Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idea | A solid aperture with free time cut straight out of it. | Open moments as dots, one continuous band as the booking that holds them. | A ring left deliberately open, with a mark pointing into the gap. |
| Personality | Direct, product-forward, operational. | Systematic, calm, infrastructural. | Warm, confident, assistive. |
| 16 px survival | Strongest | Good with dots dropped | Good with micro weight |
| App icon fit | Native container shape | Needs a red plate | Needs a plate or ink field |
| Monochrome stamp | Solid and heavy | Clean and rhythmic | Best of the three |
| Category distinctiveness | Moderate — crowded shape | High | Moderate to high |
| UI extensibility | Buttons and avatars | Dividers, loaders, data marks | Motion and status marks |
Decision — recorded
Candidate 2, Held Time, is approved as the canonical Bobby Calendar identity. It won on category distinctiveness and because it extends into a whole interface language of held bands and open moments. Its one weakness — a micro form that could collapse into a generic dash — is resolved by a dedicated 16 px construction: a red plate with a white held band and a single open moment above and below it. Open Slot and Open Hour are closed and must not be used on any surface.
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