Opinion BY Armin

Tahoe South is Where It’s At

Located smack in the middle of the border between California and Nevada states, Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular vacation and fun-having destinations in the U.S. with a mix of nature-y stuff like skiing, hiking, boating, and more as well as, thanks to its Nevada location, plenty of gambling. Lake Tahoe has two main cities, Tahoe City to the North on the California side and South Lake Tahoe on the South still in California but a stone’s throw away from Nevada, making it more attractive to the work-hard-play-hard crowd. In charge of the South side is the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority who are intent of making their side the side to be in. Changing the destination name from Lake Tahoe South Shore to simply Tahoe South, they have introduced a new identity designed by San Francisco, CA-based Duncan/Channon.

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Opinion BY Armin

Winged Tiger on the Loose

Established in 1920 in the UK, where their first vehicles were “milk floats” deployed by dairies for deliveries in London, Smith Electric Vehicles is one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of zero-emission commercial electric vehicles, specializing in trucks for corporate fleets to companies like PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, Coca-Cola, and Staples. Smith was launched in the US in 2008 and in 2011 the American corporation purchased the UK parent company and in order to establish a consistent global brand, Smith introduced a new identity in November, designed by San Francisco, CA-based Strohl.

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Opinion BY Armin

Dr. Quaker and Mr. Quaker

Established as the first trademark for a breakfast cereal in 1877, Quaker Oats has been providing cereal to America and parts of the world for more than 135 years. That’s a lot of cereal, people. Now owned by Pepsico, Quaker offers a broad range of products, from cereal to granola bars to oatmeal to tight little bundles of rice crackers — more than 40 different sub-brands in total. And this expansion is starting to show some confusion. Without any press releases or information, Quaker has introduced two new logos in the past two years, both operating in parallel while the original logo remains in play across non-updated products, and has just started messing with a bunch of its most popular cereals.

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Opinion BY Armin

Brandiose is Grandiose

Established in 2000 as Plan B Branding by life-long friends Jason Klein and Casey White, Brandiose, as the new company has been named, is a branding firm focused on designing official logos and uniforms for Minor League Baseball teams with awesome names like the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Having been called to the Majors, they also revitalized the Cincinnati Reds logos and uniforms. With the new name comes a new identity with lettering by Ken Barber.

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Opinion BY Armin

Rescuing the American Red Cross

Established in 1881, the American Red Cross is one of the most well-known emergency response organizations in the world aiding victims of natural disasters and other emergencies. It counts with more than half a million volunteers and 35,000 employees across 700 national chapters. Recently, a new logo and design standards designed by Turner Duckworth have been quietly implemented. The Brand Standards manual can be seen here [PDF] and covers more than is represented in this post, in case you are interested.

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Opinion BY Armin

New Theatre on Rotation

Established in 1932, the New Theatre is a proudly independent theater in Sydney, Australia. “We’re not slick, we’re not refined and we don’t conform,” is only one of many statements it makes, “We believe in artistic and social expression, not just escapism. When we take the stage, we’re for real.” Or “We’re driven by passion, not money.” You get the point. This past January, New Theatre introduced a new visual and verbal identity created by the Sydney office of Interbrand.

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Guest Opinion by Richard Baird Posted BY Armin

Dulux Colors the World

Dulux, owned by Dutch multinational conglomerate AkzoNobel is an international brand of paint with a history dating back to 1931 which, during its lifetime, has been sold by Dupont and former British chemical company ICI. Initially aimed at wholesalers and decorators the brand moved into the retail market during the 1950s and delivered a significant (and memorable) advertising impact with the introduction of the “Dulux dog” as part of a 1960s advertising campaign which continues to be used today. Following a decision to resolve the international variations of Dulux into one premium paint brand, October 2010 saw the initial launch of a new global visual identity system created by London-based Design Bridge across Canada, China, India, South East Asia, the Pacific and the Netherlands with other regions to follow.

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Announcement BY Armin

Brand New Awards, Early-Bird Pricing Last Day

Quick reminder: Prices go up tomorrow, Saturday, for the Brand New Awards.

Opinion BY Armin

Toolin’ & Machinin’

Established in 1943, the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) aims to “help members of the U.S. precision custom manufacturing industry achieve profitable growth and business success in a global economy through advocacy, advice, education, networking, information, programs and services.” Citing a misunderstanding of American manufacturing as being in trouble, NTMA wants to make sure everyone understands that is not the case and that this community is thriving. With 50 chapters across the U.S., NTMA counts with nearly 2,000 members — “members” are counted as businesses not individuals — covering industries “from aerospace to electronics to nuclear power.” The new identity was designed by Atlanta, GA-based Matchstic.

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Opinion BY Armin

The Little Airship That Could

Established in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1983 and originally known as The Rainbow Society, the newly renamed The Dream Factory is “a charitable organization dedicated to fulfilling the once-in-a-lifetime dreams of Manitoba children suffering from life threatening illnesses.” Focusing its efforts on children from Manitoba, The Dream Factory has helped over 530 children in the past 19 years — Make-A-Wish Foundation, the biggest organization in this category, has helped 212,000 kids since 1980, just as a point of reference. This past November, The Rainbow Society changed its name to The Dream Factory and introduced a new identity designed by Winnipeg-based Cocoon Branding.

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