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?

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.

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.

In response to many of the emails that I’ve been receiving lately, I think it may be appropriate to introduce myself a little more thoroughly than I originally had in my first post. I would like to start by thanking all of you who have shown interest in more than just my articles, and I appreciate all of the interesting logo conversation.

Well, for starters, I am currently studying at the graduate level, pursuing a degree in business with aspirations of being entrepreneur. As such, I have found that Logo Blog is the perfect avenue for not only remaining involved in business branding, marketing, and design, but also the exposure to countless organizations.

As a person who is interested in both design and the design business, Logo Blog allows for me to discuss not only what logo design companies are doing to make them successful, but also hear many of the negative issues that the public have with them. Through my conversations with you, and the insightful comments you leave, I know that my understanding of design, logos, and ultimately branding will be all the more developed. This of course is something I am extremely grateful for.

In addition to just discussing the issues that people have with logos and the companies that endorse them, Logo Blog also receives a lot of input about logo design companies themselves. The top ten-logo design companies section combines a large number of reviews, both good and bad for logo design companies. This unbiased account of logo companies is one of my biggest influences when concerning the direction that I may choose to follow in my own endeavors.

That being said, those of you who will be, or have used any of our top sites, please submit your reviews. In a further attempt, to present fair reviews, we will now require additional evidence (positive or negative) of your experience with any of the listed logo companies.

It’s important that Logo Blog maintain the most up to date and detailed reviews of the sites we focus on. If you can, it really helps for you to supply specific examples of how your projects turned out. This helps us more accurately evaluate the sites, as well as understand why you were or weren’t satisfied. Nothing too major, but it is important that Logo Blog produces, quality reviews to all of its readers.

Thank you again for all of your interest in myself and Logo Blog. Whether it’s a famous logo, or not so famous logo, I will be here to cover the trends and the industry. Hopefully I’ve shed a little more light on the blog for you logo fans out there.

-Kevin

It appears that Apple just cannot be stopped, nor ripped off. The popular manufacturer behind the Mac, iPhone, and iPod has recently concluded litigation against a small Chinese computer company. Apparently the logo of New Apple Concept Digital Technology was too similar to that of the American Giant. In a settlement that granted Apple $58,000, the Chinese company was found in violation of trademarking laws.

The Apple logo has been a part of American technology for many, many years. And over those years it has seen many faces. With the coming of the iMac and Macbooks, Apple experimented with several different colors and shading, but always retained the same basic shape and feel. All of this sprouted from the logo that started it all. The “rainbow” like apple was a logo of a different time. I am torn however. My past tells me to embrace the simple and classic design principles that flow through the original design, but my obsession with clean, sleek, and futuristic design I lean towards the new.

If only Apple could throw a metallic rainbow into their new logo. This is one of the few instances where I really cannot decide which logo I like better. I cannot blame that small Chinese computer manufacturer for attempting to copy the Apple logo, it is a timeless classic.