behind mtv's new global identity
Here's a behind the scenes look at some of the design work for the new MTV global identity.
It's really cool to see the storyboards and sketches, and how they've come together to create something that's super wide creatively, but connected philosophically. From iboy.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:23 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
business cards for the new economy
Ogilvy has taken what Moo created and made it better. Smaller business cards that grab attention and feel unique.
Isn't that mostly what it's about now, anyway? From @gariphic
Labels: adindustry, design, identity, marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:12 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
alone during the holidays? bring cardboard.
Here's a cute story about a girlfriend who misses her boyfriend, and decides to replace him with a cardboard version. (Turns out her cardboard boyfriend is actually part of snowboard brand Neff's identity - a total win for them.)
Labels: action sports, creativeinspiration, identity
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
need a new logo? borrow it.
You've seen people steal logos, or not invest enough and get lame logos, but have you ever seen a brand borrow a logo?
The Chief Financial Officer of the City of Lubbock, Texas wrote to the Shire of Toodyay, an area in Western Australia, to see if they could get permission to re-purpose the Toodyay logo for their own city. The Shire of Toodyay said yes.
Proof that it never, ever hurts to ask. Thanks, Casey!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:19 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
chicken woman laughs at the colonel
Sadly, there's pretty much no such thing as copyright protection for a US brand in China. And so the Chinese chicken woman openly mocks the old Colonel, and sells her fried chicken under the name of “Ji'a'po”.
China's State Administration for Industry & Commerce in China told KFC that Ji'a'po isn't infringing on the chain's intellectual property. As the Retail Design Diva reports, this is just a typical day in China. Yikes.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:08 AM
0 comments
Thursday, August 06, 2009
if tandy sounds like candy, why go with "the shack"?
Radio Shack is rebranding as "the Shack."
I just hope the re-branding comes with retail facades that make the stores look like "shacks." They could take the Hollister storefronts, and beat them up a little. That would be cool.
UPDATE:
Tom Parrette sends us a great post about what a short name says about a brand.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
change versus consistency
This is a fun comparison of the Pepsi and Coke marks. Not entirely accurate, but pretty funny when put side by side.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
6 comments
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
business cards: over.
One of the kabillion things that we observed while on the PlaidNation tour this year is an interesting trend in trading contact information: business cards are over.
We paid visits to over 20 companies, brands and people in ten cities across the U.S. We met with start ups, individuals and Fortune 500's. We handed out about 3 business cards.
What people want instead: your Twitter handle. Your email. Nothing else matters. If you have my Twitter handle, you can get anything you need.
Most of the time you'll hand out business cards in situations where etiquette or tradition dictate that it's necessary. Like when you sit at a conference table, with a team of people that you haven't met before. It's like we're all programmed that "now is the time we exchange business cards." But really - all they need is your email address. Do they really need a piece of cardboard?
We discovered this because tour meetings eliminated traditional meeting culture. And once the culture of a meeting is eliminated, people fall back on actual needs instead of habits. Only a couple of people that we met "needed" business cards. Everyone else traded Twitter names.
Try it at your next meeting. Ask for a Twitter name or an email instead of a card, and enter it into your smart-device of choice. And eliminate the cardboard that gets tossed, lost or mangled the moment you leave.
Labels: identity, social media, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:54 AM
12 comments
Friday, June 26, 2009
get your twitter on
Turn any word that you want into a cute little Twitteresque logo. (Birdie not included.) From Chris Pirillo
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
0 comments
the story of a logo
Matchstic produced a gorgeous video about their exploration of a new logo for The Tabernacle. What a beautiful look into the process of identity design and an outstanding demonstration of the talent over at Matchstic. Pure awesomeness.
Labels: branding, creativeinspiration, design, identity, smallagency
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM
0 comments
Monday, June 22, 2009
syfy brings free wyfy to nyc
Broadcasting and Cable has a nice overview of the new brand launch for SyFy, The SciFi channel makeover.
The majority of their efforts will center in NYC, (SyFy City?) and include year-long free WyFy at Union Square and Times Square, an interactive Imagination Park at Rockefeller Center and a presenting sponsorship of the Museum of Modern Art's Tim Burton retrospective in November.
They had me at free wyfy. From Steve Lettieri.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
0 comments
Thursday, June 18, 2009
a business card that works
How many times have you returned to your office the morning after an awesome party and dumped out business cards, attempting to remember who all of these people are?
Ji Lee has created the ultimate solution. His card features a quick rating and info section, so that you can quickly jot down your interest and never forget that he's the dude you wanted to hook up with. Or do business with. Or never see in your life again. Awesome.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:18 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
your business card is tasty.
If you're a meat salesman, or a neighborhood postal employee, or someone who just loves meat - then you should have your business cards printed on beef jerky.
If you're every trapped in the mountains with nothing but your business cards, you'll never go hungry. 100% delicious. From Urban Outfitters.
Labels: creativeinspiration, identity, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:50 AM
1 comments
Friday, May 08, 2009
put those old biz cards to good use
If you get laid off this week, make sure to get those business cards when you're asked to clean out the desk. All of the cool people are now recycling their cards.
Just cross out the irrelevant stuff and tell your story. Then upload it to Cards of Change, a project created by...you guessed it...recently laid off ad industry employees. 100% awesome.
Labels: adindustry, identity
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:01 AM
0 comments
Monday, May 04, 2009
when good logos get messy
Speaking of plane graphics...
Logo Design Love has put together a fantastic collage featuring all of the Virgin brands.
While the hand-written Virgin mark remains intact with each subsidiary, what they've added to it varies wildly. And when put together, feels pretty messy and inconsistent.
Yet Virgin doesn't come across as a sloppy, disheveled brand. As Logo Design Love says, "your logo is not your brand."
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:20 AM
0 comments
Friday, April 17, 2009
preserving the history of the skyline
Seeing the twin towers represented in logo treatments can pull a variety of emotions.
Artist Ji Lee has begun collecting logos with the Twin Towers skyline, and started the World Trade Center Logo Preservation Project, an open project to photograph and preserve the Twin Towers in the New York skyline logos.
From LogoDesignLove. <3
Labels: identity, newyork, photography
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:37 AM
0 comments
Friday, April 10, 2009
your business card is crap
Yes, this guy kisses himself in the mirror every morning, and then takes a picture. And he wrote the book on "A type" personalities. And, no, you probably don't want to hang with him - but oh boy, his advice on business cards is pretty good.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:20 AM
4 comments
Monday, March 30, 2009
betty crocker: faces of evil?
Advertising Is Good For You points to a post showing the story behind ten famous food logos.
It fun to see the history of the Morton Salt girl or Betty Crocker. I never realized how scary and uninspiring Mrs. Crocker was. With the exception of the 1965 Betty, I might hesitate accepting a cupcake from the others. Especially 1986 Betty. Pretty sure she's just a robot sent here from the future, to kill us.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:49 AM
0 comments
Friday, March 27, 2009
your logo makes me barf
An entire blog devoted to eye bleeding logo goodness. Why read anything else? From Creattica.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:35 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
the first status update on a business card
This is a super hot idea for a business card. Kim Bost has created a card that instantly connects, makes a statement, and is flexible for the way she's feeling or the person she's meeting.
Awesome idea that you wish you thought of.
Labels: creativeinspiration, design, facebook, identity, social media, trends, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:16 AM
3 comments
Thursday, February 19, 2009
sometimes you get what you pay for
If you've ever looked at your design firm and said "What???? For a logo??? I could get a logo designed on the internet for $50!!" well then you'll love this little logo design experiment.
Jim Walls, a creative director at 160over90, has published the details of his adventures with 50DollarLogo.com. $50 should have delivered six logo designs, unlimited revisions and a 1 - 3 day turnaround. It's been a year, and he's still going. Funny. From LogoDesignLove.
Labels: design, identity, smallagency
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM
5 comments
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
pepsi's gravitational pull
This is either a brilliant viral marketing stunt or an OMG I can't believe that insider look at the background behind the new Pepsi logo.
A PDF floating around the internets titled "Breathtaking" details the theory and background behind the design of the new Pepsi logo. The document ties the logo to design theory as far back as 3000BC, and compares the logo's curves to the gravitational pull of the sun.
Perhaps it's a lesson of what's required to charge a client $2 million for a logo redesign. I tend to believe it's a joke - having a lot of fun with all of the bloggers and design geeks who have had a lot to say about the design of the new Pepsi logo.
Either way, it's internetastic.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:29 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
how to brag about your google results
Put it front and center on your business card. This is a cool card for a printer in Texas. Would be an amazing card for an SEO vendor.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:46 AM
1 comments
Monday, February 02, 2009
alternatives to the superbowl logo
Now that it's all over, do you remember what the SuperBowl logo looked like? The NY Times explores some alternatives to Superbowl logo design. From John Nack.
Labels: branding, design, identity, sports marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:08 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
all of the u.s. logos in one place
What the United States of logos looks like. And Joe Rib has an excellent point: Connecticut is the lamest of them all. Perhaps the tagline should read: We blend in. Or we could send them back to England where ugly logos are in style.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:44 AM
3 comments
Monday, January 05, 2009
your savings in vegas
What if investing in stocks was a little bit like going to Vegas? Oh....wait a minute....Well, Stereo Hell has taken that full tilt, and re-branded some popular financial services companies as Las Vegas entities. Yeah, baby!
Found on Urban Outfitters.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 15, 2008
obama logos that didn't make it
We've posted before about the background of the Obama logo. Ever wonder what the other options were? Here's a look at the logos that didn't make the cut. Thanks, Eliza!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM
0 comments
Monday, November 24, 2008
behind that famous O
Ok, even the Obama fans are tired of Obama news. But here's a nice piece on the team that created the most famous "O" in history. A great look back on a now iconic identity design, and how they put the "oh" into "O". Thanks, Eliza!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:12 AM
0 comments
Friday, October 31, 2008
want cool business cards? forget your design firm.
This is the the second best business card in the business. (Brian Shaler keeps the number one spot for best card ever.)
Joe Rib created his new cards with Wordle. And in a glance, you know everything you need to know about Joe.
Here's the thing: Anyone can have fancy designerish business cards. Because even the boring people now hire designers to create their cards. And quite frankly, they all blend in. And a business card isn't about blending in.
What's really cool? Both Brian and Joe's cards didn't require a design firm or ad agency. Yet they say more about the individual than any uber designed card could ever do.
Labels: design, identity, social media, trends, web2.0
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:02 AM
4 comments
Friday, October 17, 2008
ultimate brand love
Account Executive on the Popeye's account? Fast food chains tagging their best work? Words cannot express.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:10 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
hooray for design
Brandon writes an excellent post on Make Design, Not War on how important design is for brands during this economic crisis. That is, if there still is an economic crisis (didn't they turn that thing off yesterday?)
Donuts have absolutely nothing at all to do with this post, but I thought you deserved a yummy image to kick start your morning. Enjoy. From FoundryDesign, via Twitter
Labels: branding, design, identity, package design
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:27 AM
0 comments
Monday, September 22, 2008
entrepreneurs: start your brand here
One of the most difficult things for a startup (other than getting cash) is building a brand identity. Coming up with a good name, a strong identity and finding a url that's available.
Greg Verdino points to a pretty cool tool that makes it a lot easier. IncSpring is a site that sells brands. Pre-created, pre-designed, and some even come with the url ready to go. At reasonable rates, too - most are a couple of thousand dollars - which is less than many design firms would charge for the same quality work. That's affordable for a small business.
Even better - the public can vote on their favorite brands. So you can get a sense of what's good before you commit. I like HotCocktail. That would be a sweet name for an agency, an apparel company, or of course a bar. Or an identity. You should just rename yourself HotCocktail right now, and insist that all of your friends refer to you as such.
Labels: branding, design, identity, smallagency, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM
3 comments
Monday, September 15, 2008
some logo redesigns that work
Logo Design Love features ten successful logo redesigns. My fave is the BusinessWeek identity. There are quite a few that didn't make the list - but regardless, it's a good lesson in what works for brand identity, and how things change.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
stones logo finally sells for what it's worth
John Pasche sketched what would become the legendary Rolling Stones logo while in art school, back in 1970. That sketch just sold at auction for around £50,000. That's like 600 kabillion U.S. dollars. Yet still about half what the logo would cost for Paula Scher to design today.
Time to start a filing system for all of those napkins, sketchbooks and notepad doodles. You should save everything, and never throw away anything, ever again.
Labels: identity, illustration, music
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
0 comments
Monday, August 25, 2008
new stop and shop identity is tasty
Stop and Shop got an identity face lift. It's cute. It's friendly. And it's fruity delicious. So much of an improvement over that stupid stop sign beast. It seems like the grocery industry is waking up to this whole branding thing, and starting to pay attention.
This would seem like a great post to include Piggly Wiggly, only because I enjoy saying their name outloud. But the Piggly Wiggly has nothing to do with this. Carry on.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:19 AM
1 comments
Friday, August 22, 2008
what works for fortune 500: blue
ToddAnd points to a collection of Fortune 500 logos. What do they all have in common? Blue.
Something we've seen over the years, at our agency:
+ Blue is the only color that most people don't hate.
+ People don't get emotional over blue.
+ Blue makes people comfortable.
+ Blue is the committee buster. It won't get dumped, if it has to be approved by multitudes of management teams.
Which may explain the prominence of the glorious comfort color in the collection above. What can blue do for you?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM
4 comments
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
walmart: new identity optimized for target shooting
Walmart has launched their new identity. The new logo sports what looks just a little bit like a gun sight. Perhaps it's good for Target shooting. See it in all it's blue and orange splendor at Walmart.com. Huge improvement over the blue and white hyphenated beast.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:08 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
how big oil does logos
Check out Raymond Loewy's original sketches for the Exxon logo.
Think your client or department is slow at approving things? This was sketched in 1966, but the new logo wasn't implemented until 1972. Probably because their internet was really slow back then.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM
2 comments
Monday, June 16, 2008
be someone special today
Agency Admcom has officially declared a year of creativity. To celebrate, they've rolled out the Year of Creativity site, where they invite you to become someone else.
Shed your old, boring identity and remake yourself. With a kabillion choices in customizable business cards. Found on Greg Verdino.com.
Labels: adindustry, creativeinspiration, identity
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM
0 comments
Monday, May 12, 2008
what do people think of...
Want to see what people think of brand logos, in a web2.0-licious way? Check out
brand tags. Enter your immediate thoughts as you're presented with the logo. Then, view the results in a wonderful tag cloud.
Here's what people think of Burger King. This will make for some great slides in a future presentation.
Labels: branding, identity, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:01 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
your logo needs to cost more than your lunch.
I always say that half of our job is education. And I love sharing, teaching and exploring with clients. After all - they don't have time for things like Twitter, Second Life or the latest branding trends.
But there's one thing that always gets under my skin. People's perception of logo value. I've been in countless situations, where an otherwise reasonable business person expects that a logo can be developed for $175. (As recent as last week!)
It's not their fault. They don't understand the time (or the life experience) that's devoted to the process of creating a new brand identity. They get it when it comes to sales collateral. Campaigns. Websites. Videos. But logos seem so simple and small, how difficult could they be?
Of course, we know better. So nothing but big smiles when I discovered this excellent post on why your logo should cost more than your lunch...
posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:35 AM
5 comments
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
putting hearts together one at a time
Really cool business card design for a couples therapist. From mmcgreevy, via Twitter.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:03 AM
0 comments
Monday, April 07, 2008
some awesome bimbos at the bodega
The bodega on the corner by our agency is filled with Bimbo products. And they always make us snicker. Brand Identity Guru points to this, and a couple of other funny and unfortunate product naming blunders, and wonders why they even exist.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM
0 comments
Thursday, April 03, 2008
be just like obama
With the new Logobama automated Obama logo maker, anyone can have a winning presidential-candidate-style identity. Just upload your photo, and click your mouse. Presto. You've been Logobama'd! Stylish suits and bowling skills may cost extra. Found first on ToddAnd.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:22 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
new twitter logo!
The sun wouldn't come up if we didn't have at least one post about Twitter each day...so here it is: Twitter changed their logo. In case you were wondering.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
2 comments
Thursday, March 13, 2008
the single best business card at sxsw. maybe ever.
I've got pockets and pockets full of business cards. At a conference like SXSW, there are a lot of cards attempting to be great. Many try so hard to be "creative" that they just end up blending in. Or look like an invite to a party.
But Brian Shaler is different. Brian Shaler has reinvented. His card is pictured above. You're probably thinking that the back of the card has all of his contact information, laid out in a clever way. It doesn't. Just his name, backwards.
At a party, I was talking to Brian, and someone came up to complain. "C'mon Brian - I need a real card. I need a card with your email address, or something."
Brian's response?
"You have everything you need to contact me, on that card. If you can't find me by using that card, then we really don't need to communicate." (Or something to that effect, probably said more eloquently.)
Genius. Absolute, pure internet genius. And he's right. I'm not even going to link to him. If you want to get in touch with Brian, you have his business card, above.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
20 comments
Monday, March 03, 2008
your logo doesn't need a lawnmower in it.
Just because you mow lawns, doesn't mean that you need a lawnmower in your logo. What if your company grows into a landscape design business? Or a green beautification business?
Seems obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many business people believe that their logo needs to tell the world what their business does. (It doesn't.)
So I smiled big time at the post by Attitude Design, Titled What your logo doesn't say about your business. Right on.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
0 comments
Thursday, February 21, 2008
best band logos ever
American Copywriter points to a list of the 25 best band logos, from Spinner Magazine. This was fun to click through. It's hard to choose a favorite - so I'll go with my heart. RIP, Joey.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:26 AM
2 comments
Friday, February 08, 2008
the history of tech logos
Here's a fun history lesson for Friday.
Neatorama has compiled a really cool archive of tech logos, showing their evolution and detailing interesting facts about their history.
Like, did you know that Canon was originally called Kwanon, named after the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy? Amaze your friends with factoids about logos they probably never thought twice about! Be the life of the logo party!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
0 comments
Thursday, February 07, 2008
how a business card becomes a tool
When business cards can become toys, they transcend into objects that people desire. And keep on their desks. And show to their friends. And become a part of a conversation. That's when business cards become tools.
Check out this animated business card, using the simplest 'technology' possible to create a very cool effect.
Thanks Rob!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:33 AM
2 comments
Friday, January 18, 2008
really cool biz cards
Check out this sweet Flickr set of cool business cards. Thanks Leigh!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:47 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
what a beautiful place to crap
Paula Scher just designed the most beautious graphics on the most wonderful pay toilet ever seen by human eyes. It's located in Madison Square Park, in NYC. Hell, if it's got wifi, I might just set up and work from there next week.
They should just rename Madison Square Park to Paula Scher Park. This toilet is across the street from her Pentagram office. The park is also the home to the world famous Shake Shack, which sports a Paula Scher identity. And, she designed the identity for the park, too.
That's it. From this day forward, I'm referring to it as Paula Scher Park.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:02 AM
0 comments
