A Clawed, Orange Crustacean is Worth a Thousand Words

Remember the mid- to late-1990s? When everyone and their mother came up with a .com and an idea of delivering the wackiest products or services through the magic of the Internet and the funding of bottomless venture capitalists? For example, you know, lobsters. Lobsters. By Internet. Delivered by FedEx. Makes perfect sense. Started in 1995 by Providence, Rhode Island entrepreneur Andrew Rock, Lobster.com has been delivering fresh lobsters — only the freshest and Maine Certified — for more than a decade. Being early adopters, means that they got a fantastic URL and they recently put that to good use with an identity redesign by fellow Providence business, Nail.

In a bold move, the logo doesn’t spell out the word “Lobster,” and instead it simply shows you one, an immediately identifiable lobster that works as a very charming rebus and turns a URL that could look like one of those generic catch-all web sites full of ads into a kind of leader URL. Nail hired illustrator Steven Noble to create the custom woodcut illustration of a Maine lobster and then added a slightly distressed, serif “.com” creating an amusing fusion of vintage illustration and contemporary technology. I don’t normally think of the Internet as a place where I would get my lobsters, not that I buy lobster ever, but now I know where to get some shipped right to my house after I’m done posting to Brand New.

Chris’s comment is:

I really like it but it doesn’t work as well on their website…

On Dec.14.2009 at 10:42 AM

Dennis Van Staalduinen’s comment is:

Powerful visual pun / metaphor / mnemonic device. I love it.

It reminds me of retail signs from the pre-literate era where if you were selling a shoe, you’d show a shoe.

Or my experience in Korea, where many restaurant signs show you a picture of the type of meat they specialize in. You learn pretty quickly to steer toward cartoon chickens and cows (mmm bulgogi!), and avoid the cute cartoon dogs…

On Dec.14.2009 at 10:51 AM

ryan K’s comment is:

It just makes me think of Red Lobster. So if I just saw that by itself I would assume it was for the restaurant, redlobster.com

On Dec.14.2009 at 10:52 AM

Mojo’s comment is:

Looks like crawfish.com to me, but i’m from Louisiana though…

On Dec.14.2009 at 10:53 AM

Lee’s comment is:

Nice idea, but the vertical orientation of the lobster doesn’t work for me next to the “.com” as it makes a weird asymmetrical lockup. I think this would have been stronger if the lobster had been placed horizontally next to the text.

Maybe I’ll just save that idea for crawfish.com

On Dec.14.2009 at 10:56 AM

Harper’s comment is:

They really hit it out of the park on this one. It’s nice to see a company that’s willing to be ballsy with their logo. So often that’s right where everyone else veers towards safe.

On Dec.14.2009 at 10:59 AM

Dustin’s comment is:

I’m with ryan K—my mind goes straight to Red Lobster. They just have too much brand equity for Lobster.com to pull this. Although I think it’s a beautiful piece of branding, they best watch where they start stamping this on the net. I’m sure Red Lobster’s internet marketing team just took the day off for a champagne brunch.

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:01 AM

Joseph’s comment is:

I agree with Lee. I like the concept, but the vertical orientation is weird for me. Definitely not the worst I’ve seen, though.

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:03 AM

bjornyeo’s comment is:

great identity! but agreed with Chris.. application on the website seems half-hearted and not inline with this dry obvious humour.

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:09 AM

angela’s comment is:

Not design related, but I had to share…

When I read “entrepreneur Andrew Rock, Lobster.com,” all I saw was Rock Lobster. Now the B-52s will be stuck in my head.

;)

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:11 AM

steveD’s comment is:

but it wasn’t a rock… it was a rock—lobster!

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:18 AM

Alex’s comment is:

One man’s lobster is another man’s omar. Or a crawfish. Or a langust.

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:20 AM

Evan MacDonald’s comment is:

“Boom.”

That’s what I got from it. Very bold.

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:22 AM

Violet’s comment is:

I think it would have been better if they laid the lobster down horizontally rather than have these weird shapes… It’d work MUCH better on a website too if it were done that way.

I like the direction they took though…

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:23 AM

NatalieB’s comment is:

Love it. This has a charming drawing style and looks nothing like Red Lobster’s logo except for the fact that they both have a lobster. I like the vertical orientation, it looks very regal.

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:29 AM

Randy Hill’s comment is:

I’m really not wild about this logo treatment. I like engraved art illustrations, but I don’t like it here so much. Looks like it could get muddy looking pretty easily. I also don’t like the .com placement. Just plain uncomfortable looking layout to me.

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:34 AM

Nate B’s comment is:

I wish they had left it on white for the website, but I feel the illustration is fitting. Kudos to Mr.Rock.

On Dec.14.2009 at 11:44 AM

Kevin N.’s comment is:

I like the logo, but do agree about the vertical orientation. The website had to be designed around the logo shape.

I could see some really cool marketing tie-ins here. Think of this logo on big honking lobster bib!!?!!?

The color of lobster on their website is so warm and nice. It’s not everyday we get to use that nice of a color.

K

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:07 PM

Ray’s comment is:

This makes me EXTREMELY happy.

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:15 PM

Kevin Tucker’s comment is:

I also immediately thought of Red Lobster. So much so, that my first assumption was that it was related somehow. But that’s just because I frequently drive by a Red Lobster restaurant, so that’s my immediate association to the image, with very little other Lobster imagery existing in Nashville :)

Also, I agree with the others who dislike the vertical orientation. It seems like it would be much more effective horizontally, because it would imitate the position of the word “Lobster” next to “.com”. As it is vertically, it almost seems like it’s meant to be a letter itself, as if the website is actually “Y.com”, though that would only make sense if Lobster starting with a Y…

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:15 PM

Andrea’s comment is:

At first, I also agreed that the orientation of the lobster should be horizonal, until I remembered that Red Lobster’s lobster is horizontal. Vertical is a better choice because of that.

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:22 PM

Chris’s comment is:

Saw the redesigned Lobsters.com logo and noticed how similar it was to the hand painted Mercy Corps logo posting below it.

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:24 PM

Robert’s comment is:

I love this. I agree with other that it gets a bet lost on the website but the great website design makes up for it I guess. Good stuff!

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:25 PM

Sergie’s comment is:

cool logo, but their website stinks. how the frontpage slideshow cycles through with the default white background hurts my eyes.

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:39 PM

PK_Kernan’s comment is:

My highest praise goes to this client. They had courage to go with a bold execution of their logo, and the sophistication to use it subtly on their website. The world could use many more like them.

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:44 PM

Spencer Cross’s comment is:

Personally I love it, but if you’re from the south I have a feeling this probably reads “Crawfish.com” to you.

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:50 PM

Dan’s comment is:

*standing ovation*

Pitch f-ing perfect. Anyone that thinks this is Red Lobster is being disingenuously snarky. Bravo.

On Dec.14.2009 at 12:57 PM

Efren’s comment is:

I liked it. Very bold, and minimalist should I say? Also, a nice improvement over the “before” one.

On Dec.14.2009 at 01:04 PM

Joseph’s comment is:

Perhaps it’s not the vertical orientation that bothers me. I think it’s just the placement of “.com”. It just feels awkward. After reading some comments, I think that a vertical orientation was probably a better choice for this due simply to the fact that Red Lobster utilizes a horizontal lobster in their logo. If Lobster.com had done something similar, they would have been accused of copying RL.

Orientation aside, I LOVE the illustration of the lobster. It works perfectly.

On Dec.14.2009 at 01:04 PM

Minder’s comment is:

Personally, I think the logo looks even better on their (very nicely designed) website.

On Dec.14.2009 at 01:41 PM

San Antonio Employment Lawyers’s comment is:

That’s a great design, I think that it becomes immediately iconic.

On Dec.14.2009 at 02:23 PM

sharon’s comment is:

It is absolutely horrible - what a f****** lame logo. Guys for fuck sake - this is not a logo/brand but an illustration. How in hell can you you like this lame amateur shit.

Jesus f****** Christ, what is wrong with the you americans. Why do you all have so
bad taste. AAAARRGGH MY EYES

On Dec.14.2009 at 03:30 PM

Rich Peniche, LD’s comment is:

Sorry but I don’t like. I feel that it is out of proportion even thou I think that the identity system works well on the website.

Also, heres a link where something similar was made in my city.
http://twitpic.com/tj5r1

On Dec.14.2009 at 03:35 PM

rynot’s comment is:

i get an immediate red lobster read, due mainly ti the illustration style. the concept is nice enough, the execution just doesn’t hold up it’s end of the bargain.

On Dec.14.2009 at 03:51 PM

Nic’s comment is:

It’s a great logo but I wish it would have a bit more room to breathe on the website. Plus the brownbag background doesnt help.

For those finding the placement of the .com awkward; I kind of agree but could it be to create some kind of “L” shape? maybe not… it’s the only rationale I can come up with…

The illustration is really nice, that Steven Noble guy got some serious skills.

On Dec.14.2009 at 05:03 PM

Brent Morris’s comment is:

Thank you Sharon for your amateur blog post.

I lean toward the yay’s. What a simple solution for a simple idea/website.

On Dec.14.2009 at 05:20 PM

Mark Watson’s comment is:

They really took a page from the Bob Gill playbook for this one. I like that style of things, but I understand people being horrified by it.

On Dec.14.2009 at 05:24 PM

JC’s comment is:

How can you be from Louisiana and think that’s a crawfish??? Wrong claws. Shame on you.

Great logo.

On Dec.14.2009 at 05:24 PM

Frankybonz’s comment is:

I like it, it’s clever. However, turning the lobster sideways (tail to claws) would have been a wiser move. Sure The vertical will fit on bibs, and I can see it for business card fronts (with personal info on the back, but I think horizontal would be more applicable.

On Dec.14.2009 at 05:36 PM

Pablo Uru’s comment is:

I had designed a pictogram of a lobster, and add the .com in a typography sansserif. though the conncepto of graphs did with style “old encyclopedia”, is a new trend. sorry for my horrible english.

On Dec.14.2009 at 05:41 PM

pablo’s comment is:

On Dec.14.2009 at 08:13 PM

Caspian’s comment is:

I like it the logo. I’m a sucker for woodcuts. Great to see a pre-web (rather than any 2.0ness) feeling. BTW in NZ we call them Crayfish. But I doubt I’d be trusting FedEx to get one of those beasties over here before it is too late, so perhaps it doesn’t matter what we call them. As for the web, yup. More effort needed to integrate the feeling and application to the site.

On Dec.14.2009 at 08:33 PM

henry’s comment is:

Wow quite refreshing logo from what we are saying today. Love the bold move of using such a simple image to represent the company and how it comes together in a slightly retro yet contemporary feel.

On Dec.14.2009 at 09:00 PM

nintendo dsi r4’s comment is:

The lobster logos are awesome. I like the horizontal one thats more attractive than the others.

On Dec.15.2009 at 12:54 AM

Erwin’s comment is:

Yes Sharon’s comment was quite amateurish, but she was absolutely right. I don’t understand all the praise around here… The logo is freaking awful…

It’s not even a logo to begin with. It’s simply an illustration and nothing more… This isn’t refreshing, this has 19th century encyclopedia written all over it… Imagine seeing this logo on the streets, and imagine you hadn’t read this post and you wouldn’t have known the logo was made by major design studio X…

You would think some teenager took a woodcut illustration off of google and put .com next to it in an amateur font type, one of those eroded types you can find thousands of in any fontarchive… Putting the lobster vertically in such an unappealing composition with the wordmark is just awkward…

From the crawfish posters I understand that this logo is already too confusing… How about people who speak a different language? Even if this company doesn’t operate outside of US borders, there are probably still a lot of non-english speakers (who own restaurants?) that won’t type “lobster” or “crawfish” in front of the “dot com” when they go searching for the website…

To me, it’s just too confusing, everything about it. We’re not talking Rand’s IBM here… And why would you make a logo in woodcut style if you already know the one big lobster logo of America (Red Lobster) has the exact same feel…?

Unbelievable… I wouldn’t call it refreshing or anything… It might be daring, but in an extremely disappointing way…

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:32 AM

soully’s comment is:

“This isn’t refreshing, this has 19th century encyclopedia written all over it.”

*shrug* that’s what I like about it. It’s just a shame the website doesn’t give me the same warm feeling the logo does.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:12 AM

Eli’s comment is:

I think it’s quite a cool (and original, as far as I’ve seen) idea replacing the name of a website with a symbol that perfectly represents it and using a .com afterward.

Very cool.

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:34 AM

ocelot’s comment is:

i know its obviously not their audience but in non-english speaking countries the ‘logo’ just stops working ?

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:38 AM

Clinton’s comment is:

Perfect. Don’t change a thing. Vertical asymmetry? Pffffft! Trying to hard to offer critique guys!

Web site could be much better, the visual identity alluded to in the logo isn’t there - perhaps it’s stage 2.

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:51 AM

mubd’s comment is:

Y.com?

On Dec.15.2009 at 07:02 AM

MSGDS’s comment is:

I wouldn’t say it’s great, but it’s not bad either. I agree that vertical orientation isn’t working.

On Dec.15.2009 at 07:40 AM

Mr. Kim’s comment is:

Needs a lens flare filter and some gradients with a scribble… Otherwise, this would look great on a t-shirt. Nice.

On Dec.15.2009 at 08:51 AM

Keith’s comment is:

Maybe I’m just in denial about our food chain, but shipping live lobsters in a box just seems inhumane, even if they are “snug” and wrapped in seaweed. Another southerner here who thought “crawfish”

On Dec.15.2009 at 09:12 AM

Santa Clara domestic violence lawyer’s comment is:

I think it will be appropriate to other forms well, that’s the main point for liking it I have. I think that they are such a unique company, with that url, that if it gets adopted to shirts, or mugs and especially the boxes they ship in it will do very well.

On Dec.15.2009 at 09:31 AM

Pennsylvania workers compensation lawyer’s comment is:

The logo works due to the product they’re advertising. It’s not a design firm, people catching and selling lobster without the middle man. I think it’s brilliant to keep things easy and loose.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:18 AM

Mojo’s comment is:

@ JC: http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h299/N2DUXS/Crawfish.jpg

Whatever, you’re obviously NOT from Louisiana.

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:54 AM

Christopher Pace’s comment is:

How did you guys get to the site? My keyboard doesn’t have a lobster on it.

I actually really like the logo. It gives off a New England feel that makes me feel the salt breezes I associate with the area. I agree with the comments about red lobster since they too have a New England-y lobster sign thing going on. That’s too bad but I think this is different enough, I guess time will tell.

PS: I got to the site. I put a plastic toy lobster on my keyboard and pressed that. Seemed to work fine.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:31 PM

elisa’s comment is:

i agree with lee, i don’t like the vertical set up, and pablo, i think your idea is great. it’s a bold move, but i like the idea.

On Dec.15.2009 at 06:45 PM

Mark’s comment is:

I like it.

It’s new, it’s different, it gets your attention.

On Dec.15.2009 at 06:52 PM

Lua’s comment is:

I love it! I totally get it.

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:35 AM

SonHouse’s comment is:

The new identity is refreshingly different, and works really well on the website - which is also nicely done as a whole.
However - I cannot believe that this business model - with those prices - has lasted over 10 years.

On Dec.16.2009 at 09:24 AM

fogfish’s comment is:

Dot com hand drawn on the lobster would be fitting.

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:04 PM

Kristina’s comment is:

I really like this solution, but I just can’t help but think of the Red Lobster logo. Granted, maybe this is because Red Lobster was my first employer in high school, but still. The colors are similar (but what other color could you use?) and the use of lines for shading… maybe I’m trying too hard to compare, but it looks like the Red Lobster’s lobster just got a little straightened out for the Lobster.com logo.

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:02 PM

Ian’s comment is:

Someone liked the Mercycorps logo.

On Dec.17.2009 at 12:03 PM

Jody’s comment is:

More bothersome to me than the awkward .com placement, is the context. While the web site isn’t awful (it has clear navigation & hierarchy), it doesn’t really seem to match the woodcut style of the new mark. The distressed, early 90s type really threw me. Call it the “obvious” approach, but I was expecting to see something more retro like Trader Joe’s circulars and vintage Sears catalogs.

On Dec.18.2009 at 11:19 AM

winter olympics’s comment is:

Thanks a lot for the very nice post. it’s just too confusing, everything about it. We’re not talking Rand’s IBM here… And why would you make a logo in woodcut style if you already know the one big lobster logo of America.

On Dec.21.2009 at 04:53 AM

Chicago Car Insurance’s comment is:

I think it’s great. Also very impressed to see such a clear URL. Makes me what to order some, however great brand or not, might be a little pricey.

On Dec.28.2009 at 11:53 AM

Gareth Coxon - Dot Design’s comment is:

Like it, memorable, instant and with a touch of heritage too.

On Jan.01.2010 at 11:59 AM

Adam russel’s comment is:

This is really good blog. I have a bunch myself. I really like your layout. I know this is off topic but,did you make this layout yourself,or purchase from somewhere?

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On Jul.24.2010 at 07:30 AM