Archive for November, 2008

  • 25November
    New York to Iconic Logo: Drop Dead

    You’ve seen it on t-shirts, bumper stickers, billboards, and basically all over the world. The city that never sleeps has owned one of the world’s most recognizable logo design for years. However, many have always believed that the I Love NY logo always represented just the small corner of NY that is New York City. No more. New York has just paid over 17 million dollars to change that.

    The redesigned I Love NY logo is pictured below:

    See the 17 million dollar change? Aw come on you know you do. A little grass here, maybe some wild life in there too?

    While I was just joking, you can clearly see the difference when placed so close to each other. In an attempt to reach out to the rest of New York State rather than just its one famed city(Albany) the logo redesign has added some more rural aspects. Even though there are plenty of squirrels and butterflies in NY City during the summer, I applaud the effort.

    Here are a couple impostors who we might be seeing some squirrels and butterflies on soon. Probably not for 17 million dollars though.

    And the even more curious:

    Even Belfast got in on the action What are your thoughts about New York altering the
    I Love New York logo, and other cities ripping it off?

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    Posted in Logo Design News, Logo Design Tips, Logo Designers | 5 Comments »
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  • 20November
    X-TREME LOGOS! Copyright Laws are a Total Bummer.

    For all you surf bums and X-treme fans out there it appears there is some more controversy surrounding the X-Games. No, this drama isn’t who can do the most back flips, or even which athlete has the newest reality TV show. Instead this drama is of the most exciting sort, logo drama.

    It appears that there is an issue mounting between the logo of two popular x-treme sport moguls. Quicksilver, one of the world’s most recognizable surfing and skateboarding companies is concerned with the likeness of the X-Games logo to their own Gen X graphic. From what I can gather Quicksilver had the “X” in question first.

    Lets take a look…

    Well, they both have an X. I’m not necessarily sure exactly how similar they are however. Clearly the X-games logo incorporates some more dynamic features than Quicksilver’s. With the globe, red lining, and inner X, I personally don’t see all too much similarity.

    The only real similarity I spot is the blocky boring outer edges of the X. I am not a lawyer however, and I don’t technically know all the rules. From a logo enthusiast’s point of view however, I see a big difference.

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    Posted in Logo Design Tips, Logo Theft | 5 Comments »
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  • 18November
    NASCAR Truck Series Spins Out Changes Sponsor for 2009

    As some of you need for speeders out there may know the NASCAR Truck Series is apparently switching sponsors to Camping World in 2009. You may know the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as a staple of the racing world, but its course has run out. Now you may be expecting me to draw some conclusion between this switch and logo design. Well, touché, you caught me.

    In their defense I have no extensive knowledge of why exactly Craftsman will no longer sponsor the series, and I’m sure it has to do with far more complicated economic reasoning than I could ever comprehend. But in my little design, it’s because of a snore of an outdated logo. Take a look at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series logo below. I have also included the Craftsman logo below it.

    I’m honestly not sure how this logo has remained afloat as long as it has. I use Craftsman tools, and they have quite the impressive line of wrenches, drills, and bolts, but design isn’t exactly included in their tool box. As you know I always root for the more creative of the two companies, so I have to give my official endorsement of Camping World becoming the new official sponsor.

    Now look at these logos. Camping World’s logo is miles ahead of Craftsman. Simple, clean, colorful, and smooth. The color scheme alone completely changes the feel of the NASCAR Truck Series logo and adds a more dynamic feel. Even just the italicized look of the old circular logo makes me feel faster. My only wish, is that some of the graphic in Camping World’s logo was involved. I know Camping World will have more advertising than they can dream of with all of the races and TV coverage, but it can never hurt to have your brand image on all of it too. Overall however, I see progress.

    If you take a look at the Sprint Cup Series logo you’ll see what I mean. It may be difficult because of the additional text in Camping World, but I want to see those mountains. I think the graphic in Sprint’s logo makes the image more exciting and memorable.

    Same with the Nationwide Series. Come on NASCAR, let Camping World get their logo onto their series logo.

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    Posted in Logo Design News, Logo Design Tips | 1 Comment »
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  • 12November
    The BCS, Can the Logos Be Worse Than the System?

    With an interesting week in college football, the BCS polls have dramatically shifted. Penn State losing to un ranked Iowa caused a big shift in the top 5. With teams like Alabama, Texas Tech, Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, leading the country, the competition for the rest of the season should prove to be quite the fireworks show. After all of the regular season games, conference championships, and unfathomable point calculating algorithms, a national champion will find themselves king of the Orange Bowl.

    Like most college football fans, I have little idea of how the participants in the bowl games are decided. Since even Obama called for change of the system, it must be flawed. But, thankfully, there are logos to save us. To be honest, who cares which team wins it all, as long as the patch logo on their jersey isn’t an abomination.

    Here’s the logo that started it all, the beacon symbol of all that is not a college playoff. To be completely honest, I’m not a fan. I understand that this symbol is not supposed to have any affiliation to any team, so some boring contrast of colors can be expected. I cannot help but draw a connection however to the BCS bowl regulars that are Ohio State. The only unique portion of the entire logo is the image of the actual championship trophy in the top center. Other than that, I see clip art.

    Maybe officially the worst bowl logo of all comes straight from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Especially after my previous praise of the AT&T logo, it pains me that they would put their image on such a troubled design. I see little to no substance in this brand and can’t help but notice the word art focal point.

    Now here’s a logo that I really just cannot make my mind up about. I love the design above Tostitos. It reminds me of a mix between pop art and tissue paper. I think it gives off a really cool effect. The Tostitos logo I can let go because 1.The chips are delicious, and 2. Because they pay for the contest, they may as well reap the benefits of the advertising.

    I am a huge proponent of bringing inanimate objects to life, so right off the bat the FedEx Orange bowl has an edge. To me however it seems that the oranges in the design don’t match the FedEx logo. It may be picky but if you’re willing to make the colors that close, you might as well match them. Overall however, the logo is clean, simple, and fun, what college football should be.

    There she is. When I think college football championships, I think the Rose Bowl. Played in Pasadena, the Rose Bowl has always been a staple of college football. A game with so much history and prestige deserves a matching logo. They’ve got one. Maybe it’s the symbolism of the rose itself, or the confidence to not require a sponsor presence or even spell out the name of the bowl, but the Rose Bowl logo has something the rest don’t. If it were up to logo itself the Rose Bowl patch would be worn by every collegiate football champion. The rest of the bowls fail to compare.

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    Posted in Logo Design News, Logo Design Tips | 1 Comment »
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  • 05November
    The Youth Vote: Did Logos Bring The Kids to the Polls?

    The campaigns are over. Barak Obama is the President-Elect. It has been a wild ride and wasn’t officially over until Virginia was called and Senator John McCain officially conceded. This election saw an incredible outpouring of young voter support. I know I personally waited in the poll lines for quite some time. Let’s take a look at some of the images and logos that led the voters out to the polls this November.

    Rock the Vote has been a common theme in elections since 1990. By hosting concert events Rock the Vote works hard to bring the youth of America to the polls through music. These concerts and events stress the importance of political activism. Their logo is downright awesome. Well one of them. The above image is complex and busy, but for some reason I just love it. I like the intricate designs mixed with the old fashioned microphone and sound symbolism.

    The second logo is not quite as interesting. Sure the check mark looks like a V and also represents selecting a candidate but…snore… excuse me. Nothing at all is interesting about this logo. No matter how hard I try I can’t stop reading it as Rock The OTE.

    The controversial Vote or Die, as best remember from P.Diddy’s involvement in the 2004 election, also has a simple to the point logo. I think it may even be more boring than the second Rock the Vote design. Don’t get me wrong, I want the youth to vote, but I don’t get why they’re drawn to the polls with logos like these.

    Vote or Die

    Vote or Die

    Now here is a logo that would motivate me to go to the polls. While the graphic is small, you can see the clear difference between this creative image and the previous text dominated attempts at creativity. This logo actually identifies with the cutting edge, creative age group that it is attempting.

    I don’t understand how organizations focused solely on targeting youth voters for the presidential election could possibly use such boring brands. They must be doing something else right, because the youth vote in this election helped make American history. Congrats to all, however you did it. Way to vote U.S.A. Just for fun, found a pretty cool poll voting graphic for this momentous event.

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    Posted in Logo Design Tips | 1 Comment »
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