In Brief BY Armin

Recycling Canadian Retro

The composite image above shows two things: To the left is the logo for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) designed by Burton Kramer in 1974, and the remainder of the image shows a photograph taken by Stefan Kraft in the London Underground of a current campaign for Stella Artois developed by Mother London with the help of Cristiana Couceiro. The campaign, titled “Recyclage De Luxe,” touts the Belgian’s beer commitment to the environment and its embrace of recycled production in their packaging. And somehow, taking a beloved and well known Canadian logo, disassembling it, and spraying it like retro fairy dust throughout this campaign helps carry Stella Artois’ message forward. Discuss.

Thanks to Jesse Woodward for the tip.

Richard Faulder’s comment is:

“Beloved” is a term I would use lightly when concerning the CBC.

On Oct.12.2009 at 11:35 AM

Andy Allen’s comment is:

Blimmin’ eck, it wouldn’t have been difficult to at least modify the pattern a little, or at least bother to change the colour…

On Oct.12.2009 at 11:45 AM

Von K’s comment is:

That is just weird. The CBC logo-bits don’t really add much to the overall design and they seem to have little thought behind them. Then again, they didn’t even change the colors. This has to be an intentional reference, right?

On Oct.12.2009 at 11:46 AM

Peter’s comment is:

The logo is beloved (by designers anyway), maybe not CBC though.

It is an interesting idea, re-purposing old logos. Very Warhol.

On Oct.12.2009 at 11:53 AM

Alex’s comment is:

Recycling the logo for a recycle campaign. I think it’s ingenious even if it was not an intent :)

On Oct.12.2009 at 12:03 PM

jason Parry’s comment is:

I saw that campaign in the underground i thought the little half circles were weird but i figured it was just something else British i didnt understand.

I think its fine now that i know the context i mean we could put the little green recycle arrow triangle into our designs cant we? or no?

On Oct.12.2009 at 12:03 PM

Matt S’s comment is:

Being from London, I’d never have known the CBC reference, along with most viewers of this advert I would assume. But having it pointed out really does add a lovely esoteric layer of ‘ahh nice!’.

I already liked the campaign for the idea. And I could handle the stylised look, which I guess ties it in with other recent ‘1970s Francais’ Stella ads. I had at first thought the colour overlays were just a stylistic device, and maybe the weakest part, but if they are also discreetly recycled logos then I can dig them too.

Respect your mother!

On Oct.12.2009 at 12:08 PM

jpg’s comment is:

The designer of this ad, Cristiana Couceiro, also did a similar piece (I assume personal work) using the CBC logo before this one: http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/?p=6132

Also on the topic of the appropriation of the CBC logo: http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/?p=10459

On Oct.12.2009 at 12:10 PM

Mark’s comment is:

Interesting, not sure it works though.

What’s the use for it? it just sits there and sticks out like a sore thumb.

On Oct.12.2009 at 12:10 PM

Robin’s comment is:

What does the letter “C” have to do with the product or the message? If I took a couple of NBC peacocks and pasted them on a can of Black Label, I would get laughed out of the academy. I love retro but try to have a connection when plagiarizing.

On Oct.12.2009 at 12:39 PM

Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:

Apparently the designer likes seeing her own initials even if they happen to belong to another organization.

On Oct.12.2009 at 01:17 PM

EMD’s comment is:

I get the recycling concept, but this is just trying too hard, even for a beer.

On Oct.12.2009 at 01:28 PM

Bendy’s comment is:

Recycling has to be the last thing on the mind of an individual when making an alcohol choice.

Although, I guess this works in Stella’s favor… Hah.

On Oct.12.2009 at 01:37 PM

Gareth Coxon - Dot Design’s comment is:

Well spotted, looks like deadline for initial visuals was near and then designer sadly resulted to pinching the graphic, not good.

On Oct.12.2009 at 01:49 PM

Trent Walton’s comment is:

Not sure what to think about that one. It’s either smart or it just looks like someone got their layers mixed up in photoshop and exported half of two concepts.

On Oct.12.2009 at 03:52 PM

Mike’s comment is:

The old CBC logo was known as the “exploding pineapple” here in Canada. The static image doesn’t do it justice, compared to the way they used it on-screen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWRyx-VN9Lw

On Oct.12.2009 at 05:27 PM

tetra’s comment is:

I agree with the comment made on the second link jpg posted:
This is really lame. It’s not homage, not even really a theft, just a lazy bastardization.

Especially considering this designer’s used it in other pieces.

On Oct.12.2009 at 05:32 PM

Nick’s comment is:

I’m not really sure what to say about this one… Color me confused…

On Oct.12.2009 at 06:34 PM

mark’s comment is:

fellow students have been thrown out of my design program for less.

On Oct.12.2009 at 06:36 PM

Jamie’s comment is:

I don’t get how all the pieces are really supposed to fit together.

Belgian beer, recycling, London, 1970s Canadian Broadcasting logo. This isn’t a cohesive message to me. Maybe I’m missing some underlying esoteric message.

If you were going to reinvent/recycle a graphic element from a bygone era wouldn’t it have made sense to be some Belgian/UK or humourous beer element?

On Oct.12.2009 at 07:36 PM

Che’s comment is:

Considering the many trademark issues in design, namely the recent Apple Vs Woolworths — surely there is an issue if the symbol is trademarked by CBC and Mother doesn’t have their permission??

This is only clever/well executed recycling if they actually intended it that way and went about it in the correct legal manner…

As mark said above, I have seen students thrown out of design courses for less.

I’ll happily give Mother credit, but only when I know the full facts.

On Oct.12.2009 at 09:02 PM

Nikabrik’s comment is:

Totally lame. Not just because she stole the design elements from an existing logo (and didn’t really change them beyond using certain sections… didn’t even change the colors!) but also because she’d used it in a previous piece. It just seems tired to me.

And the bits of the CBC logo don’t even look that good in the ad!

On Oct.13.2009 at 12:40 AM

Michael Kozakewich’s comment is:

Right by the front of the car, I end up seeing ‘ICO’. The rest of it looks fine, though.

On Oct.13.2009 at 03:52 AM

dfsfds’s comment is:

I’m guessing they just saw the logo on its own on ffffound or something and didn’t realise it was a logo just thought it was a pattern.

Seems a weird campaign anyway, thought it was for banking the first few glances on the underground

On Oct.13.2009 at 03:58 AM

vile’s comment is:

lacking true substance but not soul. I find this series far more engaging than usual beer advertising.

On Oct.13.2009 at 05:06 AM

FiveseveN’s comment is:

So this is either

1. A campaign that has to come with an instruction manual, so one may get the “inside joke”


2. Coincidence, thus rendering the “clever reference” null


3. Plain and simple theft

Needless to say none of these options are examples of good design, so my vote is in the fail basket.

On Oct.13.2009 at 06:56 AM

Pennsylvania wrongful death lawyer’s comment is:

I guess? That’s really all the sentiment that I have. A half cocked sort of grin but nothing really against it.

On Oct.13.2009 at 11:28 AM

Nicholas’s comment is:

The designer behind this uses photographic and existing graphic sources (though vintage, out-of-print, or outdated identities) to collage for illustration and advertising.

Some of her work also remixes the Blue Note covers by Reid Miles.

http://setediasete.blogspot.com/

On Oct.13.2009 at 12:28 PM

Greg Washington’s comment is:

Looks like some ignorant designer just needed some retro elements and happened upon the CBC logo… not knowing how prominent of a logo it actually is.

On Oct.13.2009 at 01:36 PM

Brian Maloney’s comment is:

Actually, Allan Fleming designed the logo and Kramer took credit for it.
It’s funny how this keeps coming up as Kramer’s work.
What is it that they say, the designer who steals from the most sources is the most original…
I fail my students for piracy.
Picasso said good artists borrow, great artists steal.
Clearly this is somewhere between good and bad.
Nothing great at all.
Cheers,
Brian

On Oct.13.2009 at 06:36 PM

J Martin’s comment is:

@BrianMaloney : I’m intrigued by this Allan Fleming angle — do you have anything to back the claim up?

I think it’s so easy to believe that Kramer created this logo because it falls very much within the visual vernacular of his work (such as repeating geometries and colour gradation). It also helps that he and the people he worked with at the time attribute the work to him.

It’s a bit of a hard fit in Fleming’s portfolio as much of his work explores thick strokes and negative space.

On Oct.13.2009 at 11:05 PM

J Martin’s comment is:

Here are a couple of other pieces of Kramer’s work illustrating his style as being very much inline with the CBC logo:

http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/?p=2192

http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/?p=5473

On Oct.13.2009 at 11:09 PM

Dan!’s comment is:

appropriation. get over it! that girl’s work is so hot right meow.

http://setediasete.blogspot.com/

On Oct.14.2009 at 01:11 PM

Erin’s comment is:

The logo bits seem extraneous to me. I looked through her portfolio and I have to say —- I love Cristiana Couceiro’s work. Not this one, though.

Viewing the beer ad with the idea of “something” being laid in the areas the CBC logo bitlets are occupying —- it certainly does look like a visual element would work there, but I think she should have kept looking for something else. Whereas other things in her portfolio have a really deliberate, finished look, this one looks unsettled.

On Oct.14.2009 at 02:12 PM

Steven Todd’s comment is:

I think what might not be immediately obvious from this post (but is obvious on the posts linked to by JPG, or at least this post http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/?p=10437 linked to in the post JPG linked to) is that this isn’t a ‘retro’ CBC logo, it _is_ the CBC logo.

For more than 30 years the CBC has been using variations of the same logo, sometimes with different colour schemes, occasionally with a glass effect, often animated — but always with the same core form.

What Couceiro has done here is no more ‘recycling a vintage logo’ than it would be if she had used Nike’s Swoosh, or Apple’s Apple. The colours have changed over time, but the form has always been the same.

Of course that’s not even touching on the fact that she used the exact colour treatment of the original (and, in my opinion, best) CBC logo.

Too bad. As Erin above me said, her work is good.

On Oct.14.2009 at 02:20 PM

Mike B’s comment is:

Is this a case of ‘designers designing for designers’?
Wouldn’t think the ‘recycled’ aspect would be picked
up by the general public, given the recycled element
is so foreign to the audience - surely they’re just
‘nice colored bits’ to most…tenuous to say the least…

On Oct.15.2009 at 07:51 PM

AL’s comment is:

I liked this campaign and posters. The circles were very intriguing but felt enough ‘retro’ at the same time - so appropriate, making interesting contrast with b&w images.

Obviously, it completely alters the perception now, when I know where the circles came from.

Ignorance is a bless?

On Oct.16.2009 at 12:46 PM

Marnie’s comment is:

@ Mike I think you mean exploding pizza. I’ve never heard anyone called the Ceeb’s logo a pineapple.

There was actually a piece on this on the CBC’s As It Happens fairly recently. They spoke with Burton Kramer asked if he intended to do anything about the plagiarism. He pointed out that the logo isn’t his anymore, it’s the CBC’s, and it’s up to them to protect it if they want to.

Personally, I resent that the logo of a publicly owned institution has been ripped off by an individual for use in the ads of a for-profit company. It’s not clear to me what the intention was—Couceiro can’t have thought the logo would go unrecognized, but if the intention really was to recycle someone else’s logo, why not choose one that is more universally recognized?

On Oct.16.2009 at 01:02 PM

Todd’s comment is:

This is bullsh*t. Theft from the mother corp. And an embarrassment to the designer’s otherwise good work.

I move that Stella Artois reimburse each and every Canadian with a 6-pack of delicious beer.

On Oct.16.2009 at 04:55 PM

Peter’s comment is:

The designer’s “other wise good work” looks like warmed over Lester Beall. Scanners are pretty cheap these dates so I’m not sure what accounts for her success so far - it isn’t talent or originality.

On Oct.18.2009 at 02:35 PM

Timothy’s comment is:

I find it lame that this designer works upon other designers’ real work… it seems as if she didn’t put much thought into the design as every bit and piece of all of her designs have already been made for her to just place it randomly. No real substance at all. Just plain collage and taking credit for other people’s work.

Good artists copy. Great artists steal.
She’s just a “good” designer (and i’m being generous). Nothing more.

On Oct.18.2009 at 06:18 PM

JoshuaNTaylor’s comment is:

I don’t think anyone really gets this.
This is her style. Look at the rest of her work. http://setediasete.blogspot.com/
You cannot look at this ad from a branding perspective. Those are simple geometric shapes, something she works with a lot.
I completely disagree that this is plagiarism.
I first saw this ad on her site, and it made SOO much sense within the context of the rest of her body of work.

On Oct.19.2009 at 11:37 AM

The Right Stuff’s comment is:

plagiarization

the act of plagiarizing; taking someone’s words or ideas as if they were your own.

LAME.
GO BACK TO DESIGN SCHOOL. and execution sucks. logo pieces are just floating.

On Oct.19.2009 at 03:27 PM

Brownstone’s comment is:

I could see this working in Canada, but in the UK? Plain and simple rip-off. What does this designer (Cristiana Couceiro) have with the exploding pizza… it has been used in other works of hers.

While the current CBC logo takes the integrity of Burton’s original logo, it is a re-design now featuring a solid circle rather than a “C”. So, yes, the recycle concept works… but not in the UK. Maybe the Beeb’s logo just didn’t look right.

On Oct.20.2009 at 04:06 AM

Stéphan Bureau’s comment is:

And how about this : http://www.youworkforthem.com/product.php?sku=E1308

On Oct.25.2009 at 09:50 AM

Vitezslav Valka’s comment is:

Nice. I think that retro combined with hi-tech may be the next direction of fashion/style…

On Oct.25.2009 at 12:22 PM

ArthurF’s comment is:

Matching the different categories, or classes of “recycle” with “recycle” is smart when done well. But this is really taking a page from the playing book of cartoons in the last decade, where the most intriguing work has been intellectually re-animating old brands, the most interesting era of the Cartoon Network. It was clear, and hit the nostaliga dead-on in the market while going for a new audience, and really witty while having a necrophile sensibility in the re-purposing. In other words, cool. But in this case, just on first view — which is what counts —- I don’t really understand precisely why “CBC” except on a formal level it is a 70s design that can be divided up nicely… er…is that it? Really.

On Oct.27.2009 at 05:57 PM

Patrick’s comment is:

It’s one thing to use someone’s else design as inspiration for your own, but this looks basically as if the designer just cut and pasted the CBC logo into the ad. Lazy. Or maybe I’m just being defensive, since my parents were both on CBC News when I was a kid in the 80’s and I have a lot of nostalgic memories of watching that logo fade up on the screen!

On Nov.18.2009 at 05:18 PM

sharm’s comment is:

This is pure plagerism. When I first saw these ads in the tube, I instantly recognised them as being the CBC’s logo, as I am Canadian. My first thought was ‘OMG, does the CBC know they are being ripped off?’, ‘Have they agreed to this?’. If yes, and they have given permission and been paid accordingly, then I am fine with it…but if the logo has just been used with the hope that no one will know, then I have a huge problem. Surely, a company and designer of this magnitude is familiar with copyright laws and the concept of IP. If ad agency’s have to pay to use songs in their adverts, then surely they should have to pay to use another company’s logo. I am sure that if someone used sections of Couceiro’s work in their ads, then she would be on the phone to her lawyer.Just pay up!

On Nov.21.2009 at 05:43 PM