A logo for HTML5 unveiled by the W3C

HTML5 has already been conflated with possibly every web technology that is still in development, and is nowadays used as an umbrella term for HTML, JavaScript, CSS3 etc. It seems that this conflation confusion is now officially endorsed by the W3C themselves.

The W3C have unveiled a logo for HTML5, which they define as “a general-purpose visual identity for a broad set of open web technologies, including HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and others.” Makes sense to use a buzzword to popularize open technologies.

In addition to a logo for HTML5 itself, specific classes of features and technologies are also given logos of their own. The logos are clean, but not always clear, visual representations of the technology they represent. Here are the classes, the technologies they cover and their corresponding logos:

• Semantics
  HTML5 itself
  

• Offline and Storage
  App Cache, Local Storage, Indexed DB, and the File APIs
  

• Device Access
  The device element
  

• Connectivity
  WebSockets, Server-Sent Events
  

• Multimedia
  Audio and Video
  

• 3D, Graphics, & Effects
  SVG, Canvas, WebGL, and CSS3 3D features
  

• Performance & Integration
  Web Workers and XMLHttpRequest 2
  

• CSS3
  CSS3, WOFF etc
  

The idea is that one can build a badge based on the class of features used on their site to tout their usage of open standards. Here is an example of a badge for a website that uses HTML5 semantics, CSS3, multimedia, and connectivity:

Some people are obviously upset by the move since the W3C is one people look up to to clarify the current confusion of standards rather then giving said confusion a visual identity. While this identity crisis is certainly not a good thing, fortunately, this logo has not yet been declared as “official” by the W3C, leaving it up to the community to embrace it before declaring it official.