For something neutral and scalable, having a side perspective could perhaps work better ? Like this one for instance, with very few lines yet looks good.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRMINEP...
I'm not against it as long as we don't erase Tux from older projects.
https://i.ibb.co/srBgHt0/7db42060b910d2a81ae18b0fd807947a.jp...
It fails to evoke "penguin".
I wouldn't have recognized it as a penguin without context, and I doubt others would without priming.
E.g. think of some "coose your OS" widget with entries:
- (Apple with bite) MacOS
- (Colored flag) Windows
- (This icon) LinuxI'm not one of the best graphic artists but I'll give it a shot. First the default version feels vaguely ominous. To me it feels like someone robbing a bank or the logo on stormtroopers murdering civilians, this is obviously horrible. I think this is due to the sharp angles and the eyes without an attached mouth.
The other options improve the scary problem but add complexity that moves it away from the simple universal recognizable logo we are trying to make. On that note the default version is still too complex. Maybe you could move to more of a silhouette, though I think that would fail in recognizably.
Perhaps part of the problem is a penguin is just not so omnipresent in our lives as windows and apples are. Redhat does achieve this with a very simple instantly recognizable logo, I think that could work. Ubuntu also does well with it's logo thought it has gone full abstract, it's distinct and works well.
If you want to see more google image search for "logos"
Or swimming fins maybe since they're enormous.
Many attempts at this from many people: https://www.svgrepo.com/vectors/linux/
Icons that strongly resemble things from real life are, quite often, problematic at representation, especially in smaller sizes. They take more time to understand and decode, they're prone to confusion.
But anti-skeuomorphic icons also have a problem of their own: they become so abstract that quite often we don't know what they represent. They become cold and soulless, like corporation logos. An example: I look at this new icon and what I see is Darth Vader with an open big mouth.
It is like comparing IKEA furniture and Bauhaus or Scandinavian design against Art-Noveau or Antonio Gaudí's architecture. The first are (as Nietzsche would say) apolinean, elegant, subdued and functional. The second are dionisiac, fun, a feast for the senses.
A penguin icon is not a skeumorphism because it being a penguin doesn't tell us anything about how to use the icon.
If the icon were a rendering of a physical push-button, then it would be skeumorphic, because the button image would suggest to us that we can click it.
Unless you're trying to make the argument that penguins deserve boops on their beaks.
Case in point: the Wikipedia page on skeuomorphism refers to objects outside of the domain of GUI language. It also covers physical objects referencing other physical objects (e.g.: skeuomorphic pottery, wood architecture imitating stone, plastic objects imitating metal, etc.)
It's easy to see why, it is an instant classic, very cute, and works in different situations and at different scales. Larry Ewing who drew the picture, a sysadmin and not a professional illustrator, still has a web page up describing it: https://isc.tamu.edu/~lewing/linux/
Before that there were many logos but the platypus one was probably the most used. Walnut Creek, who put out CDROMs with shareware and freeware, used to publish the popular Linux distributions too and they needed something for their covers and used it.
Slackware kept using it for a long time. I believe the idea was that Linux, too, looks like it was put together by disparate parts. Web pages back in 1996 was mostly textual and pictures were used sparingly so the use case was mostly books and CDROM covers. There is a certain cuteness to it and it did look good on T-shirts.
(More old Linux logos here: <https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/logos/!INDEX.html>)
This is my favorite from it. :-D https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/logos/weblogos/itworks.gif
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_concentration_camp_badge
"Political prisoner", in fact.
It's just a logo that's built around single triangle. It's like saying ACDC band promotes nazi ideology because it has a lightning symbol and gothic looking letters in their logo
It's clear these Linux logos weren't done by professionals and by some examples not even with serious usage intent
Compare above to:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Logo_suggestions?useskin=vec...
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/International_logo_contest/F...
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/International_logo_contest/O...
https://www.without-systemd.org/wiki/index_php/Category_Logo...
https://pkgbuild.com/%7Ejelle/logo-contest/
Let me be harsh and say: some people know how to design and some shouldn't touch graphic programs
Kinda wish that one had won, foxes are cooler looking and more marketable.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSLU2
There was quite an active group of hackers bringing Linux to the platform. This was their utterly heartwarming and adorable logo:
https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale8x/sites/socallinuxexpo....
And whoever is behind this site, also has idea for "Universal Bitcoin Logo Alternative": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5451084
https://seeklogo.com/vector-logo/492036/linux-tux
But the OG Tux remains undefeated I'm afraid
It’s all good though. Most of the “Linux logos” don’t look very good to be honest.
1: http://numpad0.com/imgs/2025-09-28%20002632.png
e: I think by far the biggest problem is completely circular eyes. Just replacing it with ovals solve minimum half of the problem. Then the head can be enlarged for better feeling of attachment. The beak can be sharper too. But those are less problematic than the eyes. Even just removing them altogether helps.
Free to use as you please.
... shows the bloat from the head.
