I’m not sure I think all of these are great redesigns, but many of them are, and they’re all interesting to look at. Nice list! Visit site »
Although it feels a bit biased against Obama, I enjoyed this short piece comparing Obama to Apple, as they both are “challenger brands” which seek to impart a message of change, rebellion, and newness. Visit site »
Awesome. Via Bullshit, the funniest blog on the web. Visit site »
As if the name wasn’t bad enough, check out the logo. Awful. Thank God Seattle retained the rights to the Sonics brand so they can apply it when they get a team back in Jet City. Visit site »
McCain’s campaign apparently has a new logo (although I’ve not seen it in use anywhere; johnmccain.com doesn’t use it). It’s worse than the old one by a long shot. Despite the campaign reportedly wanting to shed McCain of his military, Iraq-war-loving image, the logo conjures images of GIJOE and NASCAR, and uses harsh colors that appear aggressive and militant. For a mark, the logo choose a five-pointed star — the same star used by the United States Army.
Also, it’s ugly. Visit site »
My good buddy Boltron has a great little piece in the latest ALA about writing a style guide for interface design. Style guides are commonly used for more overarching brand guidelines, but much less commonly address interface design for digital products — which is a shame, because they’re really very appropriate for many organizations, especially larger ones who have several different teams doing this kind of work (like, oh, I dunno…the company Jina works for). Visit site »
Read the whole (very short) piece. The quote at the end is priceless. Visit site »
Xerox redesigns itself. The wordmark is beautiful. Those X’s are stunning. The icon, on the other hand — some kind of three-dimensional marble with an X on it, is flatly ridiculous. I wish more clients would be satisfied with just rolling with a nice, solid wordmark. Visit site »
Helen at DesignInterviews.com talks to my pal Lea about various aspects of web design, as well as creating a personal brand (something Lea knows a thing or two about, as evidenced by her FOWD NYC presentation). Visit site »
It’s basically and aqua button with a hole in it. And a tail.
Weird. Visit site »
So the web design community is all up in a huff over this company, LogoMaid, who has crafted logos that look a lot like those from Apple, GodBit, and SimpleBits. My take? People should relax.
Yes, these guys are rip-off artists. Yes, it’s pathetic and lame. Yes, I would probably be irritated if they stole my work, too. But, if you stop and think about this logically instead of reacting so emotionally, you have to ask yourself: how does this hurt Apple? How does it hurt GodBit? How does it hurt Dan Cederholm? Answer: it doesn’t.
The kind of thing can only hurt two groups of people. The first is LogoMaid themselves, who clearly are going to have their business ruined over this. But who cares? They brought it upon themselves. The second is companies or people who have purchased LogoMaid’s work. These people were manipulated and conned into paying for something that could get them sued. They have good reason to be very angry, as LogoMaid — at the very least — has cost them money, and at the worst could cost them a lawsuit from Apple.
But Dan, GodBit, and Apple are not hurt by this. Not one bit. So while it’s perfectly understandable that they would be irritated, I’d suggest they shake it off and relax a bit. You’re not really going to let a third-rate rip-off artist get you down, are you? Visit site »
A very cool reference to the history of the marks for some of the world’s most iconic brands. Visit site »
A nice overview of ligature styles and other techniques for connecting letters for use in logotype/marks. Visit site »
Kids are at least 100% more brand-consious than they were a few years ago. There’s never been a better time to give a damn about your brand image. Visit site »
I guess we know what the “A” stands for. The designer of this logo is either blind, or my hero, depending on whether or not he did this on purpose. Visit site »
Guy moderated a panel of young people in the Valley and the results are fascinating. Among the topics broached: advertising, Apple, iPods, MySpace, Facebook, The OC, and more. There’s a video of the panel, as well (which I’ve not yet watched, but definitely intend to). Visit site »
“…contemporary designers are spending more time creating products that reflect the design language of the brand than are perpetuating beauty.” It’s an interesting point, and probably true, but I’m not altogether sure it’s a bad thing. Visit site »
