I think that a strong opinion is great and isn’t that why blogs exist? Everyone wants to express themselves and no one should be denied their opinion. I thought I would follow up on that blog post and write an opinion of my own. As we all know, the economy is just plain awful right now and we are all suffering in some way, however President Obama inherited this mess along with countless others. It’s hard to ignore the fact that is has been over 35 days since his inauguration and things seem to be getting worse. The stock market dropped again recently, roughly 834.31 points within the last month, resulting in a roller coaster of ups and downs since the year started and even before. No one knows where to make investments and a daunting credit freeze has paralyzed the world economy. Obama’s stimulus plan is another attempt to fix things, but how can it fix anything in the long term when all it is doing is bringing down the value of the dollar by printing more money and driving up the threat of inflation. According to US News and World Report, the plan will ultimately cost 3.3 trillion dollars, only bringing the country further into debt. It’s obvious that changes are being attempted but are they really intelligent or effective changes? So far, the public is still unhappy. According to Fox New polls (I know, I know) Recent polls show that Obama’s approval rating has dropped 5 points in the past 3 weeks. We know that changes are not going to happen overnight, but where is all the hope and optimism the nation felt in the weeks following the election? It seems these concepts have given way to frustration. Are the American people starting to lose hope in our new president?

So after the political update, let’s get back to the point. This is Logo Blog and here we discuss logos, no matter what form or situation they may be involved in. Logos are everywhere and we love them, so let’s take a closer look at the logo surrounding the politics of our country. As Kevin posted before, the Obama logo is an iconic design both among graphic artists and most Obama supporters. It implies a flag-like path leading to hope and happiness and a rising “O” in the dawn of a change filled horizon. Since we are in the early days of the Obama administration and in the heart of a recession, does that path still mean the same thing? Have the people turned their back on this originally hopeful design? I don’t think anyone has yet, but there sure is possibility.

How might a revised version of the Obama logo look to reflect these uncertain times? Designers, let’s see what you think. Has anyone seen a less optimistic version of the Obama logo? Would you be willing to go as far as to create your own? What are your opinions on this topic? Share it with Logo Blog Time to speak up designers! Let’s get a discussion going!

-Kevin

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?

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

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?

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.

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?

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

You know his work even if you don’t shop for brand names. Titles such as “The Man with the Golden Arm” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” also boast his work. His revolutionary designs changed multimedia in America forever. My film interests aside Bass’ logo accomplishments themselves take are more than impressive. Let’s take a look at a couple of them.

Girl Scouts of America (1978)

Bell Telephone (1969)

While several of these logos were created many decades ago, they are still timeless. But unfortunately this is not necessarily true for all of Bass’ designs. Please don’t misunderstand me, I love each of his original designs, but apparently the ad execs and new management didn’t feel the same way.

There is a certain feel in several of Bass’ designs that reflects his era. This is to be expected, but does not seem to go over well with the newer generations. Lets now take a look at some of Bass’ original designs, and their current interpretations.

While the new AT&T logo is clearly cleaner cut and new age, the Quaker Oats logo actually uses a painting from 1957. It seems that many organizations are moving away from the style of Saul Bass’ design, to looks from older or modern artists.

Saul Bass is an influential artist, and the world of American art lost a great contributor with his passing. It appears however that his designs are losing their place in corporate America, and finding their home in the museums.

Im still searching for that next great logo designer. While the designs may not last forever, There will be another logo king of the 21st century. Do you know him/her? Is it you?

While I’m no Allen Greenspan, I know this is bad. I cannot even pretend to understand how all of these events unfolded. But I do a have a theory. A design theory. Even though Merrill Lynch was bought out, at least they were bought. Lehman Brothers on the other hand was not.

In the frame of reference of my expertise, one reason for all this failure stands out. Logos. Take a look at these two logos and the companies they represent.

Please do not get me wrong, I understand the industry, culture, and history of these two companies. Bright, colorful, or light hearted logos wouldn’t fit. As a logo enthusiast, I personally have to give Lehman Brothers an F for effort. I am only jesting of course by implying that boredom leads to bankruptcy. That being said, from a strictly visual perspective, Merrill Lynch is the only company I would pay any money for too.

Think this is a one time coincidence? Take a look at two other firms who have been bought out or gone under…

Bought out by J.P. Morgan

Bailed out by the U.S. Government

Coincidence? I don’t think so. Any other companies you’ve seen that went under possibly because of their snore of a logo? All I know is it seems like there may be something deeper here than it would seem.