Opinion BY Armin

Loopy Solutions

Many internet moons ago, way back in the twentieth century, it used to be that you could only register top level domains (.com, .net, or .org) with a single company, Network Solutions, and not for the bargain price of $12 each 2-year period you can today but for a hefty $100 price tag. Network Solutions pioneered domain registration but it also engendered some shady domain swooping practices like locking up any domains that were searched for availability but not purchased and, all things considered, they were a monopoly which is not the American way, and today you can register domain names pretty much anywhere in places whose name actually includes the word “daddy.” This past month, Network Solutions has been letting their customers know about an upcoming change in identity and web design.

The old logo was anything but distinctive so it’s nice to see a bolder move to create something more memorable and unique. The “ns” monogram is the beginning of an interesting idea not perfectly executed; the folds give it a nice motion and the “s” works well but the “n” is a little too awkward to be convincing. I could probably live without the holding shape, but it’s not totally inappropriate. The typography, now in all lowercase, is techie without going overboard and has some nice details. Related to a recent review here, on Lending Tree, this is a good counter-example of how to do the techie-look correctly without getting into bad clichés. The overall effect of this redesign is very appropriate for the industry and space it lives in.

UPDATE: The identity was designed by Pappas Group in McLean, VA.

Thanks to Jason Keath for first tip.

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Many internet moons ago, way back in the twentieth century, it used to be that you could only register top level domains (.com, .net, or .org) with a single company, Network Solutions, and not for the bargain price of \$12 each 2-year period you can today but for a hefty \$100 price tag. Network Solutions pioneered domain registration but it also engendered some shady domain swooping practices like locking up any domains that were searched for availability but not purchased and, all things considered, they were a monopoly which is not the American way, and today you can register domain names pretty much anywhere in places whose name actually includes the word \"daddy.\" This past month, Network Solutions has been letting their customers know about an upcoming change in identity and web design.

Many thanks to our ADV @ UnderConsideration Partners