This is almost two months old, but it's something I meant to post when it came out and somehow forgot to. The Community of Madrid, which is one of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain, unveiled a new logo that they will use to promote Madrid-based businesses in other countries, complementing the launch of a network of offices around the world that will support the international endeavors of these businesses. The Community of Madrid already has a logo, a red square with the seven stars of Madrid's flag, which some people argued would have been enough instead of having to make a new one — specially a new one with such an odd message.
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I have to begin by apologizing for the tiny logos you see above and for the more-than-usual lack of information. Since this identity launch is not official yet, there is little to no information, much less supporting graphics. But an update this… hellish, deserves special advance screening. According to this page, buried deep somewhere in the capitalone.com server, the new look (which you can delight yourself in while visiting that URL) will take place in late February, while, one of our tipsters informed me that the logo had been released internally since last summer. Regardless of when this will be official, it will not be a second too soon to bask in Swooshiness 3.0 — yes, it's on a revival course. The old logo was nothing to admire, with its extended italic sans, and flimsy, subscript, italic serif [you can see a detail of it in this pop-up] but at least it didn't have a swoosh. As I write this, I am actually glad there is no press release about the new logo, as I can't imagine it being anything less than infuriating. Nothing, in the year 2008, can justify the use of a swoosh. Much less a swoosh with gradients and bevels. Even less for one of the major financial players in the U.S. — next time you check to see what's in your wallet, really, check that you don't have this in it. Perhaps we've been living in purgatory since 2000 and Xerox just opened the gates to hell — and hell looks like the Capital One logo.
It is a sad day in the world of identity design: A day in which we say goodbye to the beautiful, and now defunct, Bank of New York logo and usher in the new Bank of New York Mellon logo. On July 2, 2007, Mellon Bank offically merged with The Bank of New York and on October 1, 2007, the Bank of New York Mellon launched its global brand program — one all the more challenging as both banks have storied histories that include great identities with great legacy.
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Guest Editorial by Ryan Hembree
In April, Unum, a leading employee benefits provider in the United States and the United Kingdom, unveiled a new identity in an attempt to better communicate the company’s core competencies and focus. Formerly UnumProvident, the company’s new logo, designed by The Gate Worldwide, is visually superior to the old — while at one time the highly patriotic logo probably appealed to companies based largely in the United States who desired to “buy all things American” (and who doesn’t love the logo’s ode to “Ole’ Glory’s” stars and stripes?), the company’s products and services have expanded well beyond the borders of this country and into Europe. And in today’s geo-political climate, looking “American” might be considered a liability and unpopular with an international audience.
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Ditech, the infamous mortgage loan company, ditched the awful swoosh-mouse-cursor-Optima logo and upgraded to a clean sans-serif look. Along with the new logo, designed by L.A.-based Ground Zero, comes a new campaign slogan, "People are smart." The irony is I can't quite figure out what the new logo represents. Or maybe I'm not their kind of people.
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I have always been disgustingly fascinated by the name "Fifth Third Bank". Specially since I had no idea where it came from. I wondered, how stupid can a bank be that divides anything into two times more than it mathematically could? Having never had to satisfy that curiosity until today — since I bank at Pentagram-designed banks only — I finally learned that the name comes from the merger of Fifth National Bank and Third National Bank almost one hundred years ago, in 1908, forming Fifth Third Bank. In the same vein, the old logo has consistently struck me as both repelling and fascinating, with its ultra thickness, italicism and super curves. Luckily, with a redesign by Cincinnati-based branding agency Deskey, I have now come to peace with my paradoxical feelings: I just find it repelling, nothing else.
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