A couple weeks from now we’ll be looking at the next President of the United States of America. After all of the debates, slander, and billions of dollars in campaign contributions, we will finally see who will be the next leader of the free world. Mounting tensions have made many Americans uncertain if either candidate is the best fit for these trying times in history.

Both candidates are of course products of America’s two party system, either Republican or Democrat. American voters, really only have two choices when trying to pick a viable party. However lets not forget that plenty of third parties are formed all the time, and often offer voters a better ideological fit and challenge the political scene from time to time.

Below are some of the third parties that never seem to get the chance to really compete. Design wise though, I say they might just have the big dogs covered. Keep in mind that I am not endorsing these parties, simply commenting on their branding decisions. I like to keep my personal politics personal.

American Party Logo

Libertarian Party Logo

Communist Party USA

Green Party USA

Socialist Party USA Logo

Each one of these logos brings a unique feel to political logos. If you will notice none of them are cliché or bland. This embodies the spirit behind these political groups. If only this uniqueness could be applied to a party that has a legitimate shot at producing a president. It’s a true shame that the two political top dogs are so boring and mundane. I for one am of the opinion that although the Communist Party may have lost the cold war, the clearly have won the war of cool political design.

Here they are, the endless snore that is Democrat/Republican branding (conveniently positioned head to head.)

Sure when you see these logos you think America. Sure they’re clean cut and to the point. But man are they boring. I know that this is a serious insult in the logo design community, but I’m willing to even go so far as to draw similarities to clip-art.

I want something new, fresh, and different out of these two parties. Come on guys, you can be as bureaucratic as you want all day long, do you have to keep it up in your image too?

If the electoral college were to vote strictly based on design, which party do you think should produce the next president?

The Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) announced Wednesday that it will change its new logo which was widely criticized for not depicting Mount Ararat in what is currently eastern Turkey.

The FFA’s previous logo, which contained Mount Ararat was quickly abandoned before last month’s match in Yerevan, between Armenia’s and Turkey’s national soccer teams that was watched by the presidents of the two states.

The move prompted strong criticism from domestic political groups, notably the pro-government Armenian Revolutionary Federation which suggested that it was designed to placate Turkey.

The original logo which depicted Mount Ararat, which is located in Turkey, but faces Armenia is considered by many to be the resting place of Noah’s Ark, and a symbol of national pride for the primarily Christian Armenia. Turkey, claims both ownership of the Mountain and reaps the benefits of the tourism and national pride of being the home to the Ark.

The historically strained relationship between the two nations has been further exacerbated by the current logo crisis. Due to outrage, the logo has been shown the door, and a contest will be announced soon to design its replacement.

Take a look at both logos and let me know your thoughts. Which is the superior logo? Is Armenia overreacting to the situation? Or was a vital emblem of a nation removed for political concerns?

Old Logo:

Armenia football logo

New Logo:

As many of you saw on the presidential debate last night, there are some clear difference between the candidates. Economics, foreign policy, and energy aside, there are new battles differentiating the presidential hopefuls, their marketing strategies.

Here is the original Obama logo. I have never touched on the design itself, but I have to admit I like it. Red, white and blue, a little cliché, but I can understand why. The design is incredibly simple but maintains a certain appealing feel. With the movement formed stripes and multiple shading gradients, the overall image gives off a dynamic feel.

Even though the design is great, anything you endorse can and will be used against you in the world of politics. With such as simple design containing such a large amount of white space, Obama has left himself open to many anti-Obama enthusiasts. These amateur creatives who have taken this opportunity to insult the presidential hopeful.

The “O” shape of the logo offers an open space in the middle of the design that provides for images to be inserted. This was embraced by http://www.logobama.com which offers the public the ability to customize the candidate’s brand. While the intentions of this website may have been to raise awareness and capital for Obama, they have led to some “interesting” designs.

While I don’t necessarily agree with the views of the following Obama logos, I do support amateur designers expressing themselves. Kudos to logobama.com for offering the logo community such a fun and useful tool. Looks like the Joe Six Packs have demonstrated their cleverness again, with these designs. I guess they have the same amount of design experience, as Obama and Palin have foreign policy experience.

In this age of mash ups, memes, and remixes and viral marketing we have come a far way the simple lapel pin. Anyone and everyone can alter a candidates image. What effect does this have ultimately on design and politics. Now with this technology, amateurs have the ability to turn one candidates marketing into their own. Take the McCain logo below for example.

In addition to the Obama circular logo, there have been several other renditions. Of anti-Obama logos and slogans. Here are a couple more controversial examples, including Rosie the Riveter adding her two cents.

Now if only the average voter spent the same time reading about the issues, as they do remixing and mashing up logos, there might be a better informed electorate. Do you think substance is sacrificed for novelty? Would we be better off without all of these transparent attempts to make a Presidential election “fun” “interesting” and more palatable to the youth vote?

Has it really been ten years already? Can you think back to the days before all of life’s answers were only a couple of keys and a click away from your fingertips? Google has revolutionized how we locate, spread, and view information.

I cant even remember the last day that went by when I didn’t use Google even once. The one company in America who probably needs the least pats on the back gets another one again this year. The big one “o”, Google has reached double digits and not just in stock pricing.

Google’s revolutionary success has come with their interesting company culture. With rumors of game rooms, and play breaks, most in the public have often wondered what exactly goes on behind those doors.

What we do know however is what Google shows us every day on their homepage. Each birthday, holiday, and sometimes seemingly random day, Google revises its logo for the day. Most recently, another birthday celebration.

Here are some of the older birthday logos.

I am a huge fan of Google logos, but its early years didn’t do it for me. It could have been that Google was young and inexperienced in birthdays, but it seems as they approached their preteen years, they truly matured. My two favorite logos, the ninth and tenth birthdays.

On Google’s ninth birthday they released the logo above. While color is no surprise to this logo, the creativity of incorporating the g, 9, and piñata all in one design is a treat to look at. If you watch the progression from year to year, 2007 was definitely their coming out party.

Here it is, the new Google logo. Happy birthday, you deserve it. Unlike their first birthday logo, this cake is accompanied by a party. By adding hats, bows, and an exclamation point, Google really put the pop in this birthday celebration.

What doesn’t get better with time with Google? Can’t wait to see what they come up with next year. I can only hope they don’t start to resent their birthdays as much as I do my own.

Which logo is your favorite? Do you know any other interesting birthday celebration logos? Share Them

With yesterdays unveiling of the new Indian Postal Service logo, there is much talk about the symbolism involved in government agencies and their branding choices. I would like to take a look at some of the global logos that you may see daily and not take the time to really examine. Considering current events, how about we first look at the Indian Postal Service.

A Raja, India’s Minister of Communications and IT has recently announced plans for a revamped postal service public. With changes in regards to service, technology, design, and structure, the India Post is implementing drastic changes. These changes can be clearly seen in the new logo design.

As an important part of any organization’s image, the new logo reflects the ideals in which the India Post aims to follow.

Take a look at the new logo, what do you see? First thing that comes to mind for me, an envelope. Whoa, surprising right? I like it. I believe that logos which depict the companies’ purpose in their design are on the right track. I also like how the design incorporates a more abstract approach to a courier service.

The three golden lines could also simultaneously represent a bird in flight. Furthering the idea of increased service, technology, and improvement, this soaring bird seems to fit. Either way, this new logo is leaps and bounds better than the older, rigid design.

Similar symbolism can be found in several other national postal services.

The United States Postal Service(United States) has changed quite a bit over the years. Starting in 1782 the US Postal Service was branded by the Roman god Mercury. This eventually changed into the image of a running pony(pony express) as seen below:

It wasn’t until 1970 that this image of an eagle was used.

Finally in the 1990’s the eagle of the 70’s lost its body, and the eagle head that is used today was the new face of the United States Postal Service. This recent logo incorporates many of the same themes as the new India Post logo. Both are rectangular shaped like an envelope. Both incorporate a bird in flight. Finally both give off the feeling of movement, which we all hope is exactly what our mail is doing.

There is also another interesting postal service who’s logo has undergone some changes for different reasons.

Royal Mail (Great Britain) is one of the more fascinating logos we find in the postage sector. The logo, rich in history, includes the Crown of Scotland first worn by King James the V in 1540. While there is no bird or envelope like the above examples, the essence of a “Royal” Mail alludes to only the highest of level of service. As with many pieces of British culture this logo is strongly intertwined with the history of its nobility.

This of course explains the shock when in 2002 Royal Mail spent over 2 million pounds in an effort to change the name and logo to Consignia.

This logo change was made in an attempt to complement the increasing international aims of Royal Mail, but was an unfortunate failure. This offered another prime example of the dangers of focusing solely on capitol in branding, and forfeiting meaningful design.

Here are some other Honorable Mentions for national post logo designs:

Canada Post

La Poste (France)

Like any industry, international postage demands a high quality logo. As seen in the above examples, this quality can either come from accurate symbolism, or a rich historical perspective. Personally, I’ll take symbolism any day. Which logo is your favorite, and more importatnly is there any room for an exciting Postal Service