Truth (plus lies) » logos

Brian Thill dissects the imagery of the candidates

Jefff — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:45:15 +0000

Some excellent reading as Brian Thill takes apart the imagery of the presidential candidates:

In Rick Perry’s oddly dull offering, the color scheme of its central icon is particularly objectionable, the blue bleeding into red, the red into blue, creating a purplish, muddled mess. But here as elsewhere we are dealing with a situation where the images are hamstrung, they have no choice, it seems, but to dabble only in variations in reds and blues. To do otherwise might court disaster in color-blind America. So Perry’s image feels it must embrace those separate shades but has no idea what to do with them. We recognize in Perry’s iconography the pharmaceutical sheen of a throat lozenge, as if Perry held out the hope for us of serving as a blue Pfizer pill against the impotence of secular, post-industrial America.

I myself have been watching these identities pop up with great interest, as the quality of graphic design in a campaign does seem to have some power of prediction in elections. And Rick Perry’s motifs are pretty terrible.

Via The Dish.

Michele Bachmann confirms that toothpaste is the design theme of the 2012 GOP primary

Jefff — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:17:46 +0000

Like Mitt before her, Michele Bachmann has adopted the AquaFresh look for her campaign logo.

Current TV has a new animated logo

Jefff — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:45:25 +0000

The TV network Current has re-tooled its image and retired its old pixelated logo in favor of this waving flag. The writer at Brand New thinks its a huge improvement and that the pixelated letters look really dated. I see his point, though an informal poll of the room I’m in shows resistance to the change. One comment: “That looks self-righteous.”

Well, it is the Keith Olbermann network now.

It’s a dick in a logo

Jefff — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:55:33 +0000

What do you need to store?

From Logo Design Love.

Mitt Romney’s campaign will be minty fresh

Jefff — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:21:57 +0000

Thank you, Daily Intel! I couldn’t put my finger on what Mitt Romney’s new logo reminded me of:

Peru’s new brand

Jefff — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:39:23 +0000

Peru has rebranded. I think the new look is really nice. Simple and evocative. And though I’ve never been to Peru, it feels like what I think of when I think of Peru. The sketchy lines have a native American feel to them, and the way they trace out mountains is excellent.

According to Wikipedia, the red color, as shown on Peru’s flag, symbolizes the blood shed in the fight for independence. Which now puts odd images of mountains of blood in my head.

Iran thinks the London 2012 Olympics logo spells out “Zion”

Jefff — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:24:08 +0000

Iran sees a pro-Israel conspiracy in the logo for London’s 2012 Olympic games. The logo is made of jagged shapes that resemble the numerals for 2012.

But Mohammad Aliabadi, head of the National Olympic Committee in the Islamic republic, insisted the logo was a sign of “racism”.
In a letter to International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, he wrote: “Unfortunately, we all are witnessing that the upcoming Olympics … faces a serious challenge, definitely spawned out of some people’s racist spirit.
“The use of the word Zion by the designer of Olympics logo ….in the emblem of the Olympic Games 2012 is a very revolting act.”

Via Logo Design Love.

Original Gap logo

Jefff — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:12:20 +0000

Tom Scocca is not impressed with the new Gap logo, but he wasn’t impressed with the old one either. Both are generic stabs at timelessness, as opposed to the original Gap logo from 1969, which was quite attached to its time:

Gap’s new logo is terrible

Jefff — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:58:12 +0000

The Gap has rebranded to a completely bland new logo. It barely looks professional. In the context of their website, it somehow looks even worse. What the hell, Gap? Why throw away a perfectly good, perfectly distinctive logo?

From Down with Design.

Taco Bell’s current logo is inspired by Demolition Man

Jefff — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:56:08 +0000

Taco Bell got some huge product placement in the Stallone movie Demolition Man as the only remaining fast food restaurant. The movie featured a futuristic Taco Bell logo with a purple-dominated color scheme.

After the movie, Taco Bell changed their color scheme to match the movie and updated their logo as well.

Via Neatorama.