In Brief BY Armin

City of Melbourne, Expanded

City of Melbourne

Back in July 22 we reported on the new identity of the City of Melbourne, and I remember at the time, someone had e-mailed me saying that the blueish green M iteration was only one of dozens. On LevelEleven, a blog devoted to the work of Landor’s Sydney office, they have posted, indeed, dozens of versions of the icon as well as a ton of snazzy applications.

Thanks to Googe Farrugia for the tip.

DATE: Sep.04.2009POSTED BY: ArminCATEGORY: In Brief COMMENTS: 46

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Trent Walton’s comment is:

Seeing all those versions laid out that way makes me want to find an arcade and play Space Invaders… I like the green blocky one on the middle-left.

On Sep.04.2009 at 06:24 AM

soully’s comment is:

Are both links supposed to be pointing at the archived article on Brand New?

I’m definitely preferring the implementations above to the one I’d seen previously. Fresh.

On Sep.04.2009 at 06:56 AM

jon’s comment is:

Here is where the second link should point :)

http://level11.tumblr.com/post/177820498/city-of-melbourne-identity

On Sep.04.2009 at 07:26 AM

Erwin’s comment is:

Seeing all those different variations I have to say I just simply love it! Everything about it! Wish I had come up with all that! Absolutely adore it! Period.

Still don’t know if the logo really fits the city of Melbourne, but at least it looks awesome!

On Sep.04.2009 at 07:53 AM

Armin’s comment is:

Yes, sorry about the bad link! It’s been corrected.

http://level11.tumblr.com/post/177820498/city-of-melbourne-identity

On Sep.04.2009 at 08:48 AM

Mike’s comment is:

i’m still curious about the typography used in this system. does anyone have a clue to what it is?

On Sep.04.2009 at 08:54 AM

Swifty’s comment is:

Wow. I am in awe.

I haven’t seen an identity that I found so inspiring in a very long time. I love everything about it - the color scheme, the traingles, the implementation.

(Although, I have to say that it is slightly reminiscent of the early iterations of the MTV logo.)

On Sep.04.2009 at 09:14 AM

Margot’s comment is:

I absolutely love this system. It allows for such wonderful variations and applications. Kudos to the Landor Sydney team for putting this together. Amazing work.

On Sep.04.2009 at 09:17 AM

Scott’s comment is:

Even the parking tickets are exciting.
Well played.

On Sep.04.2009 at 09:31 AM

Moeed’s comment is:

I’m green with envy. Absolutely stellar work from Landor.

I think every designer knows that its not easy to do an identity for a city. That being said, I think Landor pulled this off with flying colours.

On Sep.04.2009 at 09:34 AM

Mario’s comment is:

Is it me or is this starting to feel like the M TV logo of the 80’s?

On Sep.04.2009 at 09:37 AM

couchideas’s comment is:

Initially I thought it had too much a Saffron, Wolff Olins vibe. But who cares, the applications are awesome!

Good job.

On Sep.04.2009 at 09:43 AM

Impossibly Stupid’s comment is:

Sorry, but this is starting to represent a good idea taken too far. It’s like when word processors first came out and everyone thought it would be cool to use every available font in their papers. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Throwing out so many different variations so soon only means it’ll grow stale quickly. Poorly executed.

On Sep.04.2009 at 10:29 AM

Mark’s comment is:

This is one of the best identity systems I’ve come across in a long time. I love dynamic systems that can change for any occasion. It’s so much more flexible!

On Sep.04.2009 at 10:47 AM

Skysofly’s comment is:

This is one of the best branding re-designs I’ve ever seen. Honestly, 80’s and all, this is by far the most versatile.

On Sep.04.2009 at 10:59 AM

KM Alexander’s comment is:

This has to be my favorite package this year. Easily.

On Sep.04.2009 at 11:11 AM

Rafal S.’s comment is:

I absolutely love everything about it. And I definately do not see any MTV logo in it. There is some faint similarity, but it is far enough not to be an issue.

At first I did not like the all uppercase typography under the M mark, but now, in the complete implementation, it seems very strong and actually quite beautiful.

I especially like the fact that the logo mutates to various colourful forms, but the overall identity is still very strong.

The main version of this logo still wins The Best Implementation of Gradient Award. It is rare to see a gradient used wisely, and actually adding something valuable to the design.

On Sep.04.2009 at 02:24 PM

Samuel’s comment is:

Agree with couchideas. It has the London feel.

On Sep.04.2009 at 03:26 PM

Brandon S.’s comment is:

fantastic…

Love everything about it, one of my favorites to date.

On Sep.04.2009 at 03:32 PM

ScottyM’s comment is:

God da#n that’s some good work! To take all that nonsense they had before and scoop it up into one campaign that works beautiously …

Well done. And fun.

On Sep.04.2009 at 03:34 PM

olumi_day’s comment is:

I love everything about this redesign!

However, I am curious as to what the thought-process was that led to picking the iteration that was selected to be the main lettermark.

There are just so many better designed options to pick from.

On Sep.04.2009 at 06:47 PM

Mark’s comment is:

Interesting, well done! reminds me a a bit of MTV’s old idents.

On Sep.04.2009 at 08:19 PM

Jude Landry’s comment is:

I’m also curious. What’s the typeface?

A great identity system for a city.

On Sep.04.2009 at 08:47 PM

Benga’s comment is:

Very interesting variations. Perhaps you show the animated examples as well. Good update.

Benga creative

On Sep.04.2009 at 10:36 PM

Chris Stirton’s comment is:

One of the typefaces is Arete Mono, popular with Vincent Frost - prominently used as part of his Zembla magazine design - and available from T26.

On Sep.04.2009 at 11:18 PM

Caspian’s comment is:

Love love love love it. I’ve always said Melbourne is my second favorite city in the world, but with their new identity they might just pip the post. Coupled with Federation Square and its pixel font identifier (when I was there 5 years ago anyway). Just brilliant.

On Sep.05.2009 at 01:01 AM

Marcy’s comment is:

I get the feeling this is all about designer showing off what they can do, but where is the actual identity.

I agree with the above comments that say this is going too far. It really is falling apart in the applications, I don’t get the sense that it is all for the same client.

Sorry, good design if often about what you leave out.

On Sep.06.2009 at 01:24 AM

Neil Martin’s comment is:

Everything about this work makes me want to collect it and admire it in person.

On Sep.06.2009 at 10:07 AM

pekas’s comment is:

Awesome logo. Good example of logo work.

On Sep.06.2009 at 03:22 PM

shalvius’s comment is:

well done

On Sep.07.2009 at 04:14 AM

Luke’s comment is:

Sweet as bro!

On Sep.07.2009 at 05:07 AM

Goffredo Puccetti’s comment is:

The core of a corporate identity programme is the application, the development of a concept into an organized system.
This identity is brilliant; it literally shows the multitude of facets of the city.
Standing ovation.

On Sep.07.2009 at 07:11 AM

Bendy’s comment is:

Thank you Mario… that’s exactly what I was thinking, too. All too ironic that’s its an ‘M’ as well.

I simply love this identity. While I’m not crazy for gradients or over-colorization of logos, I think the mark (M) itself is fantastic. How long has it been since a city took a risk on branding itself? It’s bold, it’s playful, it’ll look funky (in a good way) in 20 years… has huge potential for longevity and implementation.

What I really do like regarding colors is the concept of using the M as a viewport… think of the die-cut and print applications for that thing. Wonderful implications and execution.

This may be my favorite identity of the past few years.

On Sep.07.2009 at 01:53 PM

Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:

Niiiiice!

On Sep.07.2009 at 07:12 PM

Che’s comment is:

I do agree… it is coming together as a system—the mark (including all variations) are well executed. However, the type to me seems unrefined and more of a after thought “trying to fit with the mark look-and-feel” rather than complement it.

Maybe for application usage and touch-points it will work over time, but it does not work on the logo.

Still, love how it has come together… it has definitely grown on me.

On Sep.07.2009 at 11:42 PM

Nate’s comment is:

I think the MTV approach works. I’m not entirely crazy about the M in form alone, but I do like the possibility of infinite solutions.

On Sep.08.2009 at 03:50 AM

David Hartman’s comment is:

I agree with the majority of comments above - it’s a lovely identity program.

A few of the executions that are more triangle based do bear a strong resemblance to the recent work from Doyle Partners for the Cooper Union, or perhaps the work I helped create for the VCU Brandcenter identity in 2006-7.

While I do find the system visually inspiring, I wonder if anyone else thinks it lacks a strong conceptual underpinning. In the case of VCU Brandcenter, the identity system was inspired by the structure of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes, which presented a radical new idea in architecture and how it related to the mission of the school. Briefly, the larger and wider the foundation of different, integrated ideas - the stronger the creative result becomes.

As beautiful as the system is, in the case of the Melbourne identity conceptually that big idea seems less clear.

On Sep.08.2009 at 04:57 PM

Mark’s comment is:

I am a designer that works and lives in Melbourne and have run the gammut of good and bad comments about the new logo design.

I personally feel that its a great outcome, regardless of who executed this work and where they hailed from.

My only criticism of the overall look is to just push the kerning of the headline type that little bit extra to lift call out text.

Its a common issue with mono-spaced type where a small amount of attention to this (kerning) as a detail, that should go hand in hand with the device creation, will add an even higher level of finish to an already excellent outcome.

On Sep.08.2009 at 09:48 PM

Manny’s comment is:

Playful and Youthful.

The typography on the applications is a bit amateurish though, needs some crafting.

On Sep.09.2009 at 12:09 PM

Inoue’s comment is:

Hasn’t this been done?

Just read the Logo trend report in CR June 09.
Lots of ‘Mosaic’ single letters featured.

Like this:

http://www.dache.ch/portfolio/logo/webmynd/
http://www.hezi-box.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/logo-trends-mosaic.jpg

On Sep.10.2009 at 03:30 PM

Nunnsey’s comment is:

Diiiiig it.

On Sep.11.2009 at 08:01 AM

Dache’s comment is:

Fun.

One question, i noticed some of the ‘m’ versions shown in the above example do not follow the new triangular grid.

Check out the ‘m’ symbol in the top left.

Is it a system or not?

On Sep.11.2009 at 11:34 AM

Emma’s comment is:

Reminds me alot of the Wolff Olins NYC identity

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/i_wolff_olins.php

On Sep.11.2009 at 02:18 PM

Michele Champagne’s comment is:

C-

THE POINT OF BRANDING IS TO CREATE DIFFERENTIATION IN A MARKETPLACE. THIS IS NOT DIFFERENT!

From a Canadian perspective, this approach to city branding is undifferentiated. It now continues down a sad path of trends and clichés in place branding.

MANITOBA
- http://www.mbpromotion.ca/index.php

MONTREAL
- http://www.brandinggreatermontreal.com/greater-montreal.html