Brand NewA Speak Up spin-off: Opinions on corporate and brand identity work. A division of UnderConsideration
Pizza Hunt

Cholie's Logo, Before and After

It is quite likely that you've never heard of Cholie's. I hadn't. It's not a national pizza franchise. Nor regional. It's not a famous local joint that people travel to. It's not even its hometown's most famous pie. Cholie's is a small chain in Chicago, with three locations, aptly named Cholie's, Cholie's #2 and Cholie's #3. Its logo is not even a logo per se, it's whatever the sign painter can muster using the name, and a pizza with a slice coming off. So why in the world would we be reviewing it?

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By Armin on May.11.2008 in Food Link Comments [12]

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In Brief: 666, The Number of the Brand

Branding Satan

Animated-GIF-Master, Von Glitschka, takes on the challenge of designing a logo for the devil:
— "666" has to be in the logo.
— A brand name has to be developed. (Think "Zoloft", "Viagra" or "Crestor.")
— Must use "Red". (Satan owns this color. Sorry "Target" and "Coke.")
— Spend no more than 30 minutes on it. (Have work to do.)
— Approach it like a corporate client.
— No cliches. (Think "Devil Horns" and "Trident.")

So, Von, you would show the devil just two options?
By Armin on May.09.2008 in In Brief Link Comments [24]

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Solar Eclipse of the Heart

The Franklin Logo, Before and After

Guest Editorial by Kosal Sen

The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia is a popular tourist attraction that's within walking distance from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It's a funhouse of exploratory hands-on science. Kids can chase each other inside a giant walk-in human heart, gaze in awe at the IMAX screen, or sit and enjoy the planetarium sky. Though the permanent exhibits are meant for kids on field trips, adults are no less fascinated by the traveling exhibits that take place there, such as The Titanic, Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds, and King Tut. Through the years The Franklin Institute has maintained its well-respected, non-profit reputation by balancing educational material and fun without being too commercial or juvenile.

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By Brand New on May.08.2008 in Culture Link Comments [35]

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In Brief: Car Logos, The Wonder Years

Baby Car Logos

These are simply adorable. Advertising agency Dentsu in Brazil created baby logos for a series of print ads for Minichamps, a line of miniature replica cars.
By Armin on May.08.2008 in In Brief Link Comments [15]

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Ribbons, How Brands Take Shape

MeadWestvaco Logo, Before and After

MeadWestvaco, a global supplier of paper products, packaging and chemicals (and subsequently a resource used by many designers… for the paper, not the chemicals) on March 24th unveiled a new brand that shortens the company moniker to “MWV,” introduces a new ribbon element that is animated in a cheesy Flash presentation on the corporate website (more on this later), and incorporates the presumptuous tagline “How brands take shape.”

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By Ryan Hembree on May.06.2008 in Graphics Industry Link Comments [29]

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Alien Fingers

Yellowbook Logo, Before and After

Welcome to, as I found out this morning, the complicated world of Yellow Pages, Yellow Books and Walking Fingers. Like "Xerox" or "Kleenex", "Yellow Pages" has come to signify the market for those bulky telephone directories that magically appear at your doorstep when you least expect it. Yellow pages have existed since the late 19th century and now comprise a global network of directories published by different phone companies or local entities, and even specialty yellow pages developed for specific neighborhoods and target audiences. The Walking Fingers logo, the "Let Your Fingers Do The Walking" slogan, and Yellow Pages name were first introduced in 1961 by AT&T, and the subsidiary regional operating companies that made up the Bell System, but the logo was never trademarked by AT&T and, actually, AT&T happily allowed others to use the logo — this, of course, was rosy when AT&T was a monopoly and you didn't have Verizon, or SBC bombarding you with yellow bricks.

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By Armin on May.02.2008 in Publishing Link Comments [61]

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Nice Beaver

beaver_main.jpg

White socks. Trolley dodgers. Expos. Metropolitans. Frightening, right? It's one of the many things I love about the game of baseball. Non-threatening mascots. Bears can be scary, but a cub? That's just cute. Oh sure, you can hate a Yankee (just ask anyone down south or from New England), but they don't really make you quake unless you're still living in the 1860's or the one facing Joba Chamberlain's 98-mph fastball. Minor League does it even better, with its vast array of gentle souls. Mud hens and Zephyrs. Express trains and Isotopes. Awesome. So I welcome our feisty but not angry wood chewers from the northwest, The Portland "Lucky" Beavers, back to the club with their updated, old-school and, most importantly, friendlier identity.

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By JonSel on Apr.30.2008 in Sports Link Comments [25]

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In Brief: Logo Tournament

Company Logo Smackdown

With the help of Siegel+Gale's Howard Belk and Sven Seger, Pentagram's Michael Bierut, and LogoLounge.com's Bill Gardner, Fortune magazine has pitted 16 logos in a battle to the death to determine the ultimate logo — when you put Nike against Intel you know the process is flawed, but as a fun exercise, it seems fun enough. Here is a black and white scan, PDF [80Kb]. If anyone has a color scan, please send my way. [Thanks to Ivan Philipov for the PDF and story]

Update: Thanks to our author Ryan Hembree for providing a color version.

By Armin on Apr.30.2008 in In Brief Link Comments [27]

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Two Heads are Better than One

Intuit Logo, Before and After

I can't stand the thought of taxes or administrative tasks — it's not that I'm above it or that I am too creative to be bothered by them, I just get confused easily — but it is with fond memory that I remember Intuit's TurboTax software that allowed me to file my very first 1040EZ form for my 1999 taxes when I originally moved to the U.S., a daunting task made significantly easy, even with that old android dude of a logo sticking its pixelated head out of the side of the box. Earlier this month, Intuit unveiled (internally) a new logo that replaces the android with a more broadly humanized representation of, well, humans.

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By Armin on Apr.29.2008 in Technology Link Comments [38]

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In Brief: If this Logo's a Rockin' don't come a Knockin'

OCG

Apologies for the being late to the party on this one, I was enjoying a warm beach view all week. So, the UK's Office of Government Commerce recently unveiled a new logo designed by FHD that, on a 90-degree rotation, proved to be irresistibly puerile in its evident self-gratifying visual. It's hard to admit it but, yes, it's quite giggle-inducing.
By Armin on Apr.26.2008 in In Brief Link Comments [23]

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