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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Opinion BY Armin

Meet Mr. PIP

Established in 1983, Belkin designs and produces a broad range of consumer electronic products, from routers, to mobile accessories, to a perplexing but always life-saving range of USB and cables — or, as they so eloquently and on-brand put it, “Belkin products connect the dots between people and technology.” To coincide with, CES, the biggest electronic show — and with the return of Belkin founder, Chet Pipkin (pay attention to the name) — Belkin has introduced a new identity designed by Wolff Olins.

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Opinion BY Armin

Hörst gets Hot

Hörst Dusseldorf, as its name implies, is a German brand — sold and distributed by a Canadian company based in Montréal — of high-end clothing for men that includes shirts, suits, pants, and other accoutrements to make a man feel more man than slob. (Their site seems to have broken down in the last hour or so). This past December, they introduced a whole new look designed by Montréal-based Lg2boutique.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Gildan

Established in 1984, Gildan is a “marketer and globally low-cost vertically-integrated manufacturer of quality branded basic apparel.” From socks to t-shirts to fleece, over 30,000 employees worldwide push this good-enough brand. A revised logo appeared last Fall.

Thanks to Michael Smith for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Urecel Quickdry

Established in 1997, Urecel is an Indonesian company that manufactures a specialty high-performance foam called Quickdry that is used for high-end outdoor cushions. Among other things and uses. The new identity has been designed by Melbourne-based Lucas Melbourne. A cool infographic video below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY Armin

Nooka goes Bold

Established in 2004, Nooka is a product and fashion design company whose fame rose with the introduction of a wrist watch that displayed the time in a rather unconventional way — while the hour of the day was displayed in a big bold number, the minutes were rendered through a horizontal bar that filled in as the hour went by. From there, the watches’ display got more abstract and playful and with more success and recognition, Nooka has grown into a full brand of products, from the original watches to belts, wallets, eyewear, and even fragrance. Nooka has a bit of a funky new-agey philosophy, i.e., “Creates physical manifestations of ideas”, or “Promotes universal communication via the form and visual language of fashion and design” or “Brings a techno-progressivist set of expectations to the world of ordinary objects.” A little too frou-frou for me, but I’ll bite, because sometimes the world can do with less serious things. The in-house design team at Nooka has just completed an identity redesign.

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Opinion BY Armin

A New HP: So Close, Yet So Far Away

Established in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, HP (shorthand for Hewlett Packard, just for the record) is, as it describes itself a “technology company” selling consumer products for printing (shipping more than 1 million printers a week!), personal computing (48 million units a year), and software, as well as offering IT infrastructure and other related services. Ranked 11 in the Fortune 500, HP counts with 324,600 employees across 170 countries and generated $127.2 billion in revenue in 2011. Clearly, HP is big but, also, it lacks that je ne sais quoi that transforms a massive company into a revered brand like, oh, I don’t know, Apple. With the help of Moving Brands, HP hopes to transform its perception and introduce a whole new way of portraying the company. Maybe.

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Opinion BY Armin

The Huntsman Rides Again

Founded in 1822 by Joshua Tetley, Tetley’s Brewery in Leeds in West Yorkshire, England is one of the better known beer brands in the UK. Perhaps not always for the right reasons. Although it enjoyed quite a bit of success before the 2000s, Tetley’s beer has bounced around owners — now owned by Carlsberg — and closed its legendary plant in Leeds. Tetley’s is heavily involved in the sponsorship of Rugby teams and its most recent logo and packaging focused a little too heavily on that. Tetley’s recently reintroduced its iconic huntsman logo and new packaging, designed by Leeds-based WPA Pinfold.

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Opinion BY Armin

It’s Okay to be the King

Currently the closest — and by closest I mean pretty not very close but it will do — thing the NBA has to a Michael Jordan-level global superstar is LeBron James of the Miami Heat, formerly of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He can dunk, he can block, he can pass, he can piss off an entire audience through megalomaniac ESPN specials, and, perhaps he can win a championship. But not yet. In the meantime, the only crowning he’ll have is by his own “King James” nickname, which serves as the basis for the logo of his Nike line of shoes and apparel. Designed by Nike Brand Design, the logo officially debuted this past October although it was leaked as far back as November 2010.

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Opinion BY Armin

Vintage Brewer

Founded in 1807 in Blackburn, Lancashire, UK, Thwaites Brewery is an independent, family-owned brewer, bottler, wholesaler, and retailer. Thwaites offers a variety of beers from cask beers to keg beers to bottled beers to craft beers, most of which can be enjoyed at one of their 350 pubs. This past June, Thwaites introduced a new logo and a new fleet of trucks.

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