CIA Bakery Café

I'll have the finished installed signage photos up next!

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HMK

Rebranding BP

A few years ago, BP rebranded themselves as 'beyond petroleum'. And yet BP is pursuing 'unconventional oil' - the Canadian tar sands and deepwater drilling, despite the massive environmental damage that's being caused by their business.

That's why GreenPeace wants you to rebrand them. Your brief is to create a logo for BP which shows that the company is not 'beyond petroleum' - they're up to their necks in tar sands and deepwater drilling.

More Info: GreenPeace UK.

That's Right,

HMK

New York Public Library Logo Evolution

Marc Blaustein, art director for the library system, confirmed to the New York Times that the old logo, with white lines on a circular black background, “had a hard time maintaining its detail as it shrank.”


The strong lines on a vector format mean the new logo can be scaled to a range of sizes, especially prescient in the internet age, when as many people are likely to see the logo on a digital screen as they are in print.


That's Right,

HMK

Grande gracias to the smart folks at FlavorWire.

Apples To Apples To Apples

Apple has launched a legal challenge to the new Woolworths logo, claiming that it too closely resembles its own corporate icon.

I'm not sure Apple really has a case with this one. I mean, it's a piece of fruit, right?

Read all about it: Apple demands Woolworths drops new logo.

And speaking of Apples...



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HMK

Steelmark to Steelers

History & Origin of the Pittsburgh Steelers Logo

The six time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers have not always been the Steelers. Originally founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates by Arthur (Art) Joseph Rooney on July 8, 1933, the Steelers changed their name in 1940 in an attempt to generate some fan support and involvement. Fans were encouraged to send their suggestions to the team; several nominated the winning name Steelers to reflect the city's primary source of employment, winning season tickets for their suggestion.

The colors were originally chosen to promote the attributes for steel: yellow lightens your work; orange brightens your leisure; and blue widens your world. The logo's color concept was later amended to represent the three materials used to produce steel: yellow for coal; orange for iron ore; and blue for steel scrap.

Check out the full article by Albrecht Powell: History & Origin of the Pittsburgh Steelers Logo.

And did you know that those three diamonds enclosed within the circle are technically know as hypocycloids - diamonds with inward-curving edges? Now you do!

Great game last night!

That's Right,

Gracias to the Michael Bierut over at Design Observer.

HMK

MassArt Redesign

My Alma Matter, MassArt, the 135-year-old institution in Boston has the proud distinction of being both the first and only independent public college of art in the United States, and the first art school to grant a degree.

Working with brand consultancy Minelli, Inc., MassArt, engaged in an eighteen-month-long planning and assessment process that resulted in a strategic marketing plan that aimed to raise the institution's profile, and one of the key elements to achieve this would be its identity. MassArt assembled a committee of faculty, staff, students, foundation directors, and trustees to oversee the project, who selected Moth Design — which features four MassArt alumni — out of seven design firms that responded to requests for proposal. With a new institution name, Massachusetts College of Art and Design (formally established in October of 2007), and a clear sense of renewal, MassArt established objectives for the new identity:

To present MassArt consistently and with confidence.

To represent a level of skill, quality, and creativity appropriate for a leading college of art and design.

To establish a visual signature that is distinct and recognizable as Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

To retain the significant brand equity in "MassArt" while firmly establishing the college's new formal name.

To reflect the energy and spirit of the individuals that comprise MassArt's diverse community.

This is actually the 4th logo for MassArt since my days back in the late 80's. Nice job!

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to the smart folks at: Under Consideration.

Government Branding: Doh!

The UK Office of Government Commerce is:

Responsible for improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement

Now, let's see, how would you improve value for money? I know! An expensive branding exercise. That'll do it.

So FHD, the prestigious London branding agency, has been brought in to devise, among other things, a new logo. And here, courtesy of The Register, it is:



When it was presented to OGC staff it didn't take long for them to look at the new brand logo (emblazoned on mouse mats and so forth) from all angles:


Apparently they are pressing ahead with it anyway. A spokesman for the OGC said (I kid you not) this: We concluded that the effect was generic to the particular combination of the letters 'OGC' - and is not inappropriate to an organisation that's looking to have a firm grip on government spend.

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HMK

Big thanks to Daniel Finkelstein at: The UK Times.

Rebranding: Xerox

At a town hall meeting and live webcast on January 7th, CEO Anne Mulcahy and president Ursula Burns of Xerox unveiled it's radical changes to it's logo and branding to Xerox’s 57,000 global employees.

I like the lowercase logo but the ball is not working for me.

Developed with Interbrand, it looks like it's from the same bag of marbles as the .Mac, Sony Ericsson and new AT&T mark...

Get the full press release and more over at Xerox

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HMK


Thanks again Freddy!

NFL Logo Revamp

The National Football League is launching a makeover of its red, white and blue "NFL Shield" logo that adorns everything from player jerseys to fan T-shirts and hats.

The league is creating a leaner, meaner version of the iconic logo that will debut at the NFL draft in April, 2008. The revamped shield will be slightly taller and thinner, with a new football, fewer stars and darker colors, says Lisa Baird, the NFL's senior vice president of marketing. The redesign marks the first changes to the shield since 1980.

At the NFL's annual meeting this spring, commissioner Roger Goodell talked about the NFL Shield as the "envy of the sports world." The league has been careful to make an "evolutionary, not a radical change," says Baird.

Whhew. That's actually pretty sweet, Thank God! And exactly what it needed, an evolutionary update.

More over at USAToday.

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HMK

San Antonio Spurs Logo History

Here's the original San Antonio Spurs logo when they were playing at the San Antonio Convention Center Arena from 1977 thru 1989.

And thank the Lord of Texas we're no longer using this logo, which was adopted by the Spurs during the amazing David Robinson era when they played at the Alamodome.

In a lame effort to inject more color into the team's classic black-and-silver uniform scheme they came up with this multicolored turd. Which quite possibly may have very well influenced the controversially lame and equally sucky 2012 Olympics Logo.

Fortunately, the not-so-masculine extra Miami Vice colors were not incorporated into their uniforms, which, to this day, remain our classic, first class, lean and mean, no nonsense and soon to be four time NBA Championship black and silver.



Our current logo was introduced nationally at the start of the 2003 season. And I've got to say, this is a logo any Spurs fan can wear proudly without having to worry about that garishly nasty, clashing pink and teal.

Go find your favorite team and lot's more sports logo history over at Chris Creamer's wicked cool 2012 Sports Logo site.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals start at 8pm tonight!

Go Spurs!

That's Right,

HMK