Archive for January, 2009

  • 30January
    That’s the Spirit!:Logo Design From First Class to Coach

    It seems that Spirit Airlines just can’t keep their name out of the paper. There are currently two issues with this small airline’s branding strategies. Spirit has added a Bud Light logo to the aprons of their flight attendants. While I happen to enjoy the design of the Bud Light logo, apparently the flight attendants aren’t in the same boat.

    Let’s take a look at the logo in question.

    I understand that it is no Polo horse, Lacoste alligator, or Nautica sailboat, but it’s not so bad. I’m not ashamed to admit that I own a couple of Bud Light t-shirts myself. However I can understand how the flight attendants would feel as though they shouldn’t be forced to work two jobs, their own, and advertising. I am not too sure how happy I would be either if I were forced to wear the Spirit logo alone. In my opinion they never should have changed it. At least the old logo had a little bit of texture and originality.

    Old Logo

    New Logo

    While I would love to see as many logos as possible there are some issues with where logos are and are not appropriate. I don’t usually picture logos being worn by people, but there are certain social implications that may inhibit a logo’s effectiveness. Sure when you’re sitting in coach you might just think to have a Bud Light, but will the morale and level of service from your airline carriers decline? Is it worth it?

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    Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Design News | No Comments »
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  • 22January
    Ya Gotta Beleive In Boring Logo Design

    It’s hard enough to create a logo for a popular sports team or venue, let alone when it is located in New York City. This is a lesson that the designers behind the new Citi Field inaugural season logo are learning now. There have been countless insults dished out online by everyone from on air personalities to average fans alike. It would seem, that the branding solution that the Mets have chosen for this important season hadn’t predicted the high standards of design that the public holds.

    Below is the 2009 Inaugural Patch for their new stadium.

    Sure it’s clean and not overly flashy, but we have grown accustomed to certain basic elements in a design for this purpose. For instance, if you showed this logo to an unknowing bystander, what would their response be? First, it is very difficult to determine what the logo is for. It really could represent any sport, for any gender, in any city. The only thing we truly know is that in 2009, there is a first season being played for some team, somewhere.

    Other teams have taken alternative routes. The Yankees for example:

    Now here is the curve ball. The Mets weren’t so different not too long ago. Take a look back just to last year.

    The Shea Stadium commemorative logo is similar to the Yankees. You know exactly what is going on. I am a fan of the observer having to do a little thinking, but the new logo seems more like a puzzle than a logo.

    Either way, we’re in for a great season of baseball. While the uniforms, patches, and color schemes make little difference in the score, I hope these players perform better for the Mets than their logo did. Thanks to a federal bailout, it looks like we all have a stake in Citi Field.

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    Posted in Logo Design Tips, Logo Designers, Logo Inspiration | 2 Comments »
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  • 16January
    LogoBlog: New Changes for a New Year

    Here at LogoBlog, things are changing for 2009. You will notice that on the left hand of the screen, the design firms and company reviews have been removed. I did this after much deliberation about how to accurately verify all the reviews LogoBlog receives everyday and how to best serve LogoBlog’s mission

    Due to the anonymous nature of the internet, online review sites, and lack of time and resources, I cannot always be 100% sure about the accuracy each reviewer and review.

    From dissatisfied customers and competing logo companies, to people who have a grudge to bear, it is a difficult task to moderate and verify the accuracy of each claim made here at LogoBlog.

    Since one of the main points of LogoBlog’s mission is to provide fair and independent reviews it would be unacceptable not to give every review the time and attention to detail in deserves. LogoBlog will get there someday, but that day is not today.I thought it best, to just remove the reviews and scores, and concentrate on other portions of the site.

    So, while the scores, and reviews may be gone, we are not going anywhere. LogoBlog will continue to exist as a resource for logo news, logo design tips, and logo design resources.

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    Posted in Logo Design News, LogoBlog, Occasion Logos | 2 Comments »
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  • 14January
    Yes We Can Steal The Pepsi Logo: Is Obama Guilty of Logo Design Theft?

    As some of you may have noticed, I have worked very hard to not bore you by repeating article topics. However, while rereading some of your comments I noticed something quite interesting. I’m not sure if everyone will see it or not, but I cant help but draw a connection between the new Pepsi logo, and the Obama logo which became so famous.

    First lets take a look at the Pepsi logo. With a new CEO and branding image, Pepsi has certainly shaken things up. Watch out for the fizz. There has undoubtedly been a lot of change around Pepsi.

    Speaking of change, Obama’s logo which was released after the Pepsi logo appears to be very similar. Is it possible that our president-elect is guilty of logo theft? Not exactly the best example to be setting in the beginning of your presidency. Here are the logos side by side.

    YES WE CAN see similarities. Clearly the shape of logo is the same, but also take a closer look at the color scheme. It may help if I flip the image around.

    As you can see the two logos are very close to reversed images. The circles are almost identically broken up into three similar color divisions. Now I don’t know for sure, but I would say either Obama loves Pepsi more than the average citizen, or he was trying to secure the Pepsi drinker vote. Maybe McCain would have had more luck if he had based his logo off of the Coca Cola logo.

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    Posted in Logo Design Tips, Logo Theft | 38 Comments »
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  • 01January
    Looking for Logos: Logo Design Hide and Seek

    How often do you look really closely at your favorite team’s uniform? Probably never, the game is too fast to really notice anything but the colors and number. How closely do you think you would look at your team’s uniform if a trip for 4 to the Stanley Cup rested on your keen observation? Pretty closely if you’re a hockey fan I would assume.

    Reebok and the NHL are bringing a new type of attention to logos. They can never have enough! In a competition to be held at the NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, fans both watching TV and in attendance will have the opportunity to win Stanley Cup tickets. There will be one athlete on the ice without the Reebok logo on his jersey. If fans can identify that player and text the answer into a designated number, they will be entered into a drawing.

    I have never heard of a competition so directly affiliated with paying such close attention to logos and their branding implications. While subtle, most professional and collegiate jersey include these little logo sponsorships. Nike’s logo is king at this practice but it is gaining more and more amongst other companies. Usually located on the left breast, the logos often go unnoticed. Here are some more examples:

    Depending on the publicity brought to Reebok through this contest, I wouldn’t be surprised if other companies, teams, and sporting venues realized the extra marketing potential that can be yielded by logos. Gone are the days where you have to hope your target customer spots your logo somewhere. Now, they can benefit from searching for your logo? You’re happy, your customer is happy, your logo is probably happy, can it get any better?

    Nothing tops a good old fashioned logo search.

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    Posted in Logo Design News, Logo Design Tips, Logo Inspiration | No Comments »
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