Archive for the ‘LogoBlog Poll’ Category

  • 20May
    “Ida” Fossil Inspires New Google Logo

    Meet Ida!

    “Ida,” is the little fossil that was recently found in Germany and is considered to be the “missing link.” The fossil is a huge find for those who study human origins. Paleontologist, Jorn Hurum, is responsible for leading the team and analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil. He suggests Ida is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution. His studies show that the Ida fossil bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs.

    Ida, properly known as Darwinius masillae, has a very unique anatomy. The skeleton is mostly like a lemur, but features primate-like characteristics such as grasping hands, opposable thumbs, clawless digits with nails, and short limbs. After the announcement was made about the fossil’s discovery, it seems Google took advantage, using the fossil’s image for today’s Google logo.

    Google has always been great with keeping up with current events and displaying what is going on through their logo art. It’s nice to see that they continue to do so by proudly including Ida in their design.
    -Nora Reed

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    Posted in Logo Design News, Logo Inspiration, LogoBlog Poll | No Comments »
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  • 24March
    Forget March Madness, it’s Time for Logo Madness

    With the start of the 2009 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball tournaments and all the excitement surrounding March Madness, we thought we would conduct our own tournament featuring some the world’s most famous brands and the logos that represent them.
    Each day we will have a head-to-head matchup, where you will vote for the winning logo. Can Fed Ex beat UPS? Is the BBC the Cinderella story of the tournament? Can Yahoo be the next Gonzaga or George Mason and shock the world by defeating the behemoth Google? It is up to you. Welcome to Logo Madness.
    Sit back relax and take a break from your office pool, which you weren’t winning anyway and let’s see who has the best brand and logo. Click on the bracket below and make your picks. Vote below to your right on the poll.

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    Posted in Logo Design Tips, LogoBlog Poll | 11 Comments »
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  • 03March
    Impatient with Change: Redesigning Barack Obama’s Logo

    Economic hardship is not something that is easy for any of us to deal with, but unfortunately, our choices are limited. The global economic crisis is a major reality and is in the collective conscience of America.

    Barack Obama has not had a whole lot of time in his new position as the American President, but he has a long road ahead of him. The American people are looking to him for both hope and leadership to get us out of this mess.

    As I mentioned in my last post, No We Can’t: No Hope For Obama’s Hopefull Logo things have not changed much since his inauguration. Although it has been a short span of time, the American people are notoriously impatient and fickle. Have we already lost hope in his ability to lead? Has the ideals of Hope and Change collapsed like Lehman Brothers and AIG?

    I also threw it out to the logo community to see if anyone could come up with a new logo concept for Mr. Obama that is a bit more pessimistic then the logo we have grown to know. I didn’t get any responses with logo designs, so Logo Blog decided to make its own changes to Barack Obama’s logo. Here at Logo Blog we all wish success for the new president, however here are a few zings on his logo for those who are not so happy with the current administration.

    Let’ s bring a bit of light-hearted humor to a situation that is terribly bleak. Enjoy. I hope you find these humorous and we can all try to laugh in dark time. Hope is still out there and in order for things to get better, we need to have it. Take a look at ours and send us your examples! And Dont forget to vote in our poll!

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    Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Designers, LogoBlog, LogoBlog Poll | 1 Comment »
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  • 04February
    Lights! Camera! Design! A Look at Graphic Design in Film

    It’s Saturday night and one of the greatest things to do to relax and unwind from a tough week is to get in the car and head out to the movies. As one of America’s favorite pastimes, your local theater always has plenty of choices, but have you ever realized how much graphic design is involved in great films? Today’s films have progressed in quality at such an advanced state that we all are having trouble catching up, but most of us don’t realize how much design has to do with the creation of these masterpieces. From promotional art, to editing and special effects, to packaging and DVD covers, graphic design is everywhere in the film studio.When you arrive at the theater, the first thing you do is get in line and buy your ticket. Well, of course on a Saturday, it’s usually crowded and you do have to wait in line, but don’t fret, there is plenty to look at to keep your mind active and entertained. Promotional posters are everywhere and of course, those posters are created by graphic designers. Each poster is usually phenomenally created and they would have to be to compete for your attention. There are so many in a theater lobby that how else would you notice one over the other. If you stare at it long enough and are curious about the story it tells, then the designer has done their job well.


    The Dark Knight (2008)

    This one is a great example. “The Dark Knight,” already had a ton of hype so its poster needed no explanation. We all know the greatness of Superhero Logos, Batman in particular, but it was Heath Legder’s Joker alone was a huge attraction for most audiences and knowing this, Warner Brothers used the character as a promotional tool. The tagline is great and has so much meaning to it and the faded image in the background is quite unsettling. You know who it is, but it’s almost censored so that we have to wait to see the movie to see the Joker’s face. It really sets the mood for the film.

    The Darker Knight
    This poster is the same concept but much less effective. It appears more like something from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” then from “The Dark Knight.” I think it’s the shower door effect that throws it off so much. It says very little about the film and has nothing to do with a shower so in a way, it is quite misleading.

    The Day after Tomorrow (2004)
    The poster for “The Day After Tomorrow” is an excellent example of great graphic design work. I have yet to see the Photoshop tutorial that will teach me how to cover the statue of liberty in snow, but I am sure there is one out there somewhere. The image has a great wind effect and awesome cloud cover in which you just feel cold by simply gazing upon it. The use of blue also has a dark and ominous feel. The designer really set the mood in this image.

    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
    “Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban” is nicely done graphic example. With great set up and great foreshadowing, what more could you ask for? Your three main characters engulf the center, with Harry in front of course, and the added background details include major plot points in the movie, such as Sirius’s character, a hand from a Dementor or the shrunken head from the knight bus. These references are all very strategically placed to work in the entire graphical image to cover the movie as a whole.

    Filmmakers and graphic designers work hand in hand when working on projects. They are both very collaborative efforts in which a team can create a much better result than one creative mind working alone. Designing is a huge part of post-production. Great graphic designers already know computer programs and the background basics of design which helps when it comes to editing and color correcting. Their eye for details can offer some fantastic insight, so not only can a designer work on still art but since the medias are so closely related, designers can have great opportunities in moving art as well. Animation brings out even more opportunities for graphic designers. Animation is not just for kid films. It is used in live action films for special effect purposes, such as dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park,” Spiderman swinging through city streets or a destructive monster in “Cloverfield.” Graphic design is all a part of this detailed process that often just flashes before our eyes on screen. Aside from the films themselves, film studios and production companies all have logos to promote themselves. Of course, graphic designers can credit themselves for these great and well known works of art. Not only do these companies have a still logo but when introduced in the opening credits of a film, they also have an logo to represent their company. As we have seen before, Hollywood studio logos play an important role in corporate identity. Although a lot of us disregard these when in a dark theater, munching on sweet treats, we still do know those logos well and can associate them with these film companies without giving it a second thought.

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    Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Designers, Logo Inspiration, LogoBlog Poll | 6 Comments »
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  • 08August
    Celebrate the Olympic Games and Vote Now!

    With the 2008 Olympic Games here, it is hard not to catch the spirit of international competition. With 302 events in 28 sports, the games offer a vast field of athletes the opportunity to represent their country on a global stage. While often overlooked, selecting the stage itself however is very much like a competition. Just like the athletes who tirelessly train and prepare for the games, cities and their respective countries also put a great deal of preparation into possibly being chosen as a host city.

    Among the mountains of paperwork, media attention, structural capacity, and required support of Olympic committees, cities also need to create a logo. While it seems insignificant, Olympic logos seem to draw so much attention that they can seem to sway the public’s opinion about where the international games should be held. It is currently 2008, and discussion over not the next Olympics Logos, but that of 2016 has already begun.

    There are four final applicants for the summer games of 2016. Chicago, Rio, Tokyo, and Madrid. Each of which has already created an initial logo for their potential Olympic events.

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    Posted in LogoBlog, LogoBlog Poll, Occasion Logos | 1 Comment »
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