If we start receiving an inundating amount of job postings I will be happy to reconsider the individual postings on the home page; it might become an end-of-week post with all of them together. Let's give it some time.

[Ed.'s Note: Thanks to Ahead, Inc. for being the first to post through Brand New. To our readers: this is how you can expect the Brand New-specific jobs to show up; comments will always be closed. If you have a cushy job, simply ignore these. Lucky you.]

It is our great pleasure to announce that Brand New has joined Coroflot, the most dynamic, relevant and effective job board available for designers today. If you know exactly what this means and need no further introduction, make yourself at home and go browse or post a job at the Brand New Job Board — a handy button has been added to the right of the logo. If you would like to learn a little more, keep on reading.

For those Looking for Designers
If you are looking for designers specializing in corporate and brand identity, packaging, as well as strategists, marketers, copywriters and brand fiends, there is really no better place to find them than Brand New, and we are happy to be able to open up this world of connections.

Job postings cost US$265, here is what you get:

— Job postings are included in one category and are online for 90 days
— When you place a posting through Brand New, your job is published individually (and within 24 hours), to the home page as part of our everyday content, which generates an average of over 25,000 pageviews a day. It also goes to our RSS feed.
— Brand New's readers come from all over the world, these our top ten countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany, Australia, Russia, Netherlands, Spain, and Mexico.
— And these are our top ten cities: New York, London, San Francisco, Chicago, Melbourne, Los Angeles, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Moscow, and Philadelphia.
— Other than revealing the asking salaries of designers, that's probably all the information we have at the moment.

Based in Philadelphia, with approximately 100,000 employees worldwide, Comcast is the largest provider of cable, internet and digital phone in the United States with 23.6 million, 15.9 million, and 7.6 million customers respectively. To add to its media influence, this past December, Comcast became the majority owner of NBC Universal with a 51% stake in the company in partnership with GE, who owns the other 49%. Comcast also owns television networks like E! Entertainment, the Golf Channel and Sprouts. With a diversifying range of businesses, the parent company, Comcast Corporation announced last week that it would rebrand its consumer services — cable, internet, and digital phone — to XFINITY. All caps. The three services will now be called XFINITY TV, XFINITY Voice and XFINITY Internet, and will begin to be rolled out this week in eleven markets, with the name and identity appearing in advertising, uniforms, trucks and on the cable user interface.

The modest image adorning the sole page xfinity.com.

Surprisingly, there was no press release with a rationalization for the name or any explanations of how the logo represents cutting edge technology and XFINITY's commitment to its customers. Or whatever. The new name feels at the same time pompous and clichéd — as if there is no brighter horizon than the infinity of XFINITY but, really, nothing is as depressing as a badly placed "X," a gesture better reserved for extreme games and products, for bad dot-com era start-ups and for strip-club dancers not named Destiny. It might sound more fun than "Comcast" but at least Comcast sounds like a real company with almost fifty years of experience.

The logo is nearly decent once you accept the name, although it falls prey to a number of clichés as well. First there is the lowercase approach which, if it weren't for the obligation to write it in text as XFINITY, it wouldn't be as obnoxious but having that extreme difference will only lead to confusion. Then there is the omission of the tittles, the dots of the "i," that does create a cleaner wordmark but I believe lowercase "i"s are meant to live in harmony with their dots be it in this lifetime or in infinity. There is a nice gesture when the "f" and "t" join with the "x" and "y" and their crossbars are edged at the same angle as the diagonal characters. But this nice move is offset by too much space between the rest of the letters — "xf" and "ty" become tightly kerned, and the rest is too spacious. When you think about it, this identity could have been more xtremely designed, and it's surprising that there was so much restraint shown, so let's appreciate that, because there isn't much else.

Thanks to Adam Gilson for first tip. Title apologies to Ricky Ricardo.

First brewed in 1959 Molson Canadian has never shied away from wearing its Canadian-ness on its sleeve. Whether it be the pseudo rabble-rousing "I am Canadian" ads of the late 1990s, the Molson Mega Keg (an overt play on Canada's love of oversized monuments along the Trans-Canada Highway), or even the brand name itself. However Canadians have always had a bit of a love hate relationship with brands that speak so directly to the notion of being Canadian. So it's no surprise that recent examples of Molson Canadian's overt Canadiana often walk the line between patriotic and palatable by presenting Canadian symbols such as the maple leaf in its logo in a rather caricaturish manner; It's as if the hyper exaggerated water-and-ice-drenched maple leaf and faux italic typography of Molson Canadian's previous identity are quite tenuously saying "We're absolutely, completely, and utterly Canadian (whatever that might mean)."

For this reason, Molson Canadian's most recent identity refresh, spearheaded by New York-based Spring Design Partners and launched on Boxing Day, is both a return to form, and a rather refreshing step in the right direction. Gone is the cartoonish "leaf-sweat" (I probably found that about as difficult to write as you did to read), and faux italic wordmark; replaced by a bold and realistically rendered maple leafing rising from a gently sloped horizon, shining down on a crisp, clean, condensed Gothic typeface.

There's a welcome feeling of honesty and authenticity to the identity that was sorely lacking in prior iterations, and yet Molson hasn't walked away from the pastiche of Canadiana that makes up the core of its brand. While the campaign imagery, featuring Molson Canadian products sitting in super saturated vistas, makes no apologies for a wholly literal representation of the Canadian landscape, the logo treatment and typography in particular take subtle cues from Canadian souvenir decals and postcards of the 40s and 50s.

Short of re-issuing the iconic "Stubby Bottle" format, it's hard to think of an identity that so thoroughly embraces its Canadian roots without slopping on the kitsch or caricature.

Thanks to Graphicology for the tip.

There is no Sunday like Super Bowl Sunday: The friends, the beer, the chips, the bets, the ads… and, oh yeah, the game. And just in case you were confused by this year's Pro Bowl being played before the Super Bowl, heed the news, the Super Bowl is this Sunday in Miami, Florida with the New Orleans Saints playing the Indianapolis Colts. But aside from mentioning the obvious, let us turn our attention to the Super Logo, designed this season by Attik.

The theme of the 2009 regular season was "Own the Moment" and we used that powerful mindset to develop the creative foundation for the identity. This foundation was the idea of a strong competitive duality; the Super Bowl is 2 teams, from 2 conferences fighting for that ultimate victory. The design reflects this by having a bold sense of symmetry and the upright / ball lockup provides a central, relevant focal point.

It was a fantastic process from beginning to end. Being allowed to work with the client on a strong strategy first and then go into design helped yield a great solution. The designs started as a simple and pure mark and then we let it grow and evolve into an extensive and functional system. We can't wait to see it on Sunday!
— Project insight provided by Attik

All images above provided by Attik.

The XLIV logo certainly feels bold and powerful, more so than any Super Bowl logo I can remember — here are all of the logos for reference — and I like that the logo wasn't forced to look like Miami, otherwise we might have gotten a more festive interpretation, perhaps too much Miami Vice. Looking through the old Super Bowl logos, it's interesting that XLIV is only the third logo to use a football and the first to use a goal post. I'm not entirely convinced by the goal post but I think it's one of those concepts that is so obvious most people simply avoid it and, well, sometimes you shouldn't avoid the obvious. Since the goal post is secondary to the typography, it works well in this context. Speaking of the typography, man, that is one husky type! It's really hard to ignore and it has great presence. The one thing that is a little confusing is the shadow under the "SUPER BOWL" text… I can sort of see where it's coming from, but it's left a little ambiguous as to where the dimensionality exists. Nonetheless, this is a pretty solid iteration of a very difficult, ongoing brief and at the end of the day, it's all about the ads. Sorry, I mean it's all about the game.

Patch and football images from Hlvtca.

Update: I uploaded the wrong logo, which was an older version of the XLIV logo. The new logo has been updated, showing the correct colors and the right drawing of the football. Apologies.

Crystal Light is a sugar-free soluble powder manufactured by Kraft Foods since 1982. Originally offered in only five flavors, the line-up now includes twenty-eight. And as non diet sodas become more and more the face of fattening evil, flavored waters and juices have risen in popularity in the last few years. While I prefer my water on tap without any kind of powder, Kraft Food bets upwards of $40 million in advertising in the last couple of years and more this year, that other people do. And while Crystal Light is clearly targeted towards women, Kraft Foods estimates that 40% of consumers are men, yet at point of purchase, women are the overwhelming majority. This past November, Kraft Foods introduced a new look for Crystal Light with an environmental-friendly range of packaging.

A sampling of the new packaging.

In comparison to the old gaudy packaging that fell for every single visual cliché of consumer packaging — swooshes! glows! type on a curve! — the new packaging is remarkably restrained and sophisticated, even if it now falls under the all-white packaging trend that has been sweeping the globe. Nonetheless, the change is very welcome and it makes Crystal Light look more like a product for grown-ups than Fruit Roll-Up for kids. I believe they are using Optima as a secondary typeface and I have to admit it doesn't look half bad. The bottom band of fruits swimming in colored water is almost appetizing even.

The logo is also a major improvement even if not quite a home run. Again, the old one was a mess on most levels and the new one clearly positions Crystal Light as a healthy, feminine product. It even shows some design awareness by being custom-lettering, rather than an off-the-shelf script font. But it would have been nice for someone to point out that the "s" is fairly awkward. On the print and TV campaign by mcgarrybowen, another secondary typeface is introduced, Museo, the free font that is quickly achieving overexposure. All in all, it's always refreshing to see a consumer product step away from package design excess into something more palatable.

TV ad by mcgarrybowen.

Print ad.

Update: The design was created by NiCE.

Thanks to Derrick Reimer for the tip.

Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Œuvres et la Protection sur Internet (HADOPI) — more or less, High Authority Promoting the Distribution and Protection of Creative Works on the Internet — is a law project that aims to stop illegal downloading of copyright protected work; warning twice those who illegally download copyright protected work, before shutting off their internet connection for an indefinite period of time on the third infraction. While the Hadopi law won't enter into effect until the spring of 2010, the agency of the same name has already been established and operating since early January. But the bigger story surrounding the law is Hadopi's new identity, designed by Plan Créatif on behalf of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication: The identity included two pirated typefaces when it was officially unveiled to the public on January 8.

Three days later, on January 11, in order to disguise the truth and keep manipulating the public, Plan Créatif stepped on the gas, presented a new logo and purchased two licenses — one for FS Lola to replace Bienvenue and the other for Bliss — all in the same day. Jeremy Tankard even told French magazine LePoint that Bliss had been downloaded at 12:05 pm that day. Along with the new logo, Plan Créatif stated in an e-mail that the use of Bienvenue was a simple digital mistake and that this sketch version of the logo somehow managed to become the final version.

However, even if that were true, just an honest human mistake, then how would you explain that the January 8 logo with Bienvenue and an unlicensed Bliss was officially validated by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and registered with INPI, the French copyright authority, on November 16 of 2009? Almost two months before. It would have probably been less embarrassing to just admit the mistake!

January 11 version of the logo using FS Lola and a now-licensed Bliss.

Was it "a digital error in the manipulation of a sketch version of the logo" as Plan Créatif claimed, or a case of blatant piracy as the critics would have it? Behind the great "digital error" story, which didn't really convince public opinion, shouldn't we really be talking about general bad practices, with the culprits including the very people who make laws? Even if the howler was quickly rectified in the wake of the scandal, it still placed Hadopi into the uncomfortable position of "biter bitten", for here was France's anti-piracy watchdog getting caught in the act of piracy. In any case, as they'd say on the X-Files, the truth is out there.

Major thanks to The FontFeed for their in-depth coverage.

Milwaukee-based Cousins Subs was established in 1972 when two cousins, originally from Atlantic City, introduced the Midwest to the Eastern-style subs they had enjoyed back home. From the beginning, the pair were committed to delivering quality sandwiches made with the best ingredients available. Of the company's 150 locations, 128 of them are located in the state of Wisconsin. Having grown up in Milwaukee, it has always been one of my favorite sub shops. In my opinion, the ingredients and the bread really are better than the competition's — the logo is another story.

Detail of logo without gradients.

I have many memories of the brand from childhood. I especially liked how the sandwiches were finished off with oregano seasoning, they were wrapped in white butcher paper and taped shut with plain-old masking tape (not sure if they still are today). I also remember that logo, in use for about the last twenty years. I clearly remember not liking it. But it was one of those situations where it's all you've ever known and it was so bad, it was good — or at least, it was familiar.

I was intrigued when I found out it had been updated by Welke Group, a Milwaukee agency. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information available regarding the objectives of the project, but a recent article by a Milwaukee newspaper points to an obvious need for modernization and better legibility.

Redesigned packaging.

Initially I expected something more drastic, but after giving it some thought, I'm glad they didn't completely change the logo. They were smart to keep the original "sub" shape and I like that it's been shortened slightly. The slightly thickened rule is an appropriate weight for the shape and while I'm not a fan of radial gradients, it creates a subtle roundness to what was previously a flat yellow pill. The original color scheme has been brightened considerably with an updated red and the addition of green. The new type appears to be a variation on Neutra Text Bold, Gotham, Avenir, Nobel and a number of other geometric typefaces. The oversized "C" interacts nicely with the the "o" while enabling the entire name to rest comfortably inside the capsule shape. However, I don't like how the space between the terminal and the bowl has been filled on the "u" and "n" — a gesture that just doesn't seem necessary. Also, the "s" letterforms are an atrocity. Finally, I really wish they hadn't vertically squished the word "SUBS".

Window cling and brand brochure.

Other than butchering the type in a few places, I think this is a nice update because I still recognize the brand I've known my whole life. It's kind of like having a good friend with a bad sense of style who got a makeover — and no longer being afraid to be seen with them in public.

Thanks to Preston Knapp for first tip.

Based in Philadelphia, the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a collective of seven grant-making initiatives dedicated to supporting local artists and heritage organizations. Originally, each initiative had its own logo, lacking any consistency with the others. Because of that, there was no indication that it was part of a greater entity. Another problem was the absence of an umbrella logo for the Pew Center. The challenge for London-based johnson banks was to solve a rather specific client brief.

Glancing at the Pew Center's web site — as its civilian audience will experience it, and not presented in a case study — you might think the logo to be the white square, and that the other words and colors were designed purely for the website's navigation. Checking johnsonbanks' project description proves otherwise. This megalith of a logo includes the organization's full name, the seven initiatives, the word "Philadelphia", and a mammoth palette of eight colors. Designed to adapt to different situations, the primary logo system has three forms, each with varying scale and detail. The largest holds a record-breaking 25 words.

Deeper in the system are treatments designed to push individual initiatives. Each maintains the typeface, 8-color standard, the word "Philadelphia", and a tiny "The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage." It's unclear whether these are meant to be the official logos for the initiative. If so, they certainly won't work at small sizes. Other than that, the designs show just how recognizeable and flexible the "colored cards" concept can be.

A minimal sans-in-square logo isn't particularly groundbreaking for an art institution. What makes these logos worth noting is the ironic use of that solution — where the bombardment of simplicity creates a clutter that's hard to miss. Aesthetically, it isn't the most beautiful, nor the most interesting thing. A family of icons representing the initiatives would've been simpler to manage than type. Accusations of bad design decisions about scalability and printability are certainly expected and valid. In the end, though, it's those risky decisions that make the logo stand out. Most importantly, the design tends to the client's need of a flexible system that reflects the relationship of an organization and its constituents.

With 1.6 million affiliated merchants, Visanet, one of the largest electronic payments networks in the world and the biggest in Brazil, and owned by three banks — Bradesco, Banco do Brasil and Santander, which happen to be competitors — anounced last Novemeber a new name: Cielo. The reason behind this change is that on June 2010 in Brazil Visanet will have multiple credit card brand marks in its portfolio. In other words, Visanet will start dealing Visa and MasterCard, so there could be a confusion if it was still called VisaNet.

TV ad by Young & Rubicam.

The launch of the new brand was widely reported in various media, including massive insertions on prime time network television. A website of the brand was also created in which they present their values, mission, the basis that support it and its brand promise ("To make it possible"), along with graphic material such as stationery, badges, folder and a video (click on "Nossa Marca") in which they show a summary of the brand's essence.

Newspaper ad. Thanks to Gabriel Villa for the image.

The project was carried out by FutureBrand Sao Paulo. The advertising agency that won the competition to make the campaign was Young & Rubicam Brasil, owned by entrepreneur and television host Roberto Justus (a Brazilian humble version of Donald Trump).

The word "cielo" doesn't mean anything in Portuguese, but it does mean "sky" in Spanish. So either the naming didn't take into account that Brazilians hate it when foreigners think they speak Spanish or it was created with the support of a Brazilian polyglot, hoping everyone would find the meaning themselves because of the South Cone brotherhood (which is quite strong actually, when it's not about soccer).

The logo has a few remaining knots, weird endings and uneven widths. Nonetheless the logo as a whole is very adequate. It has personality and appears to be unique, not ordinary compared to the world of credit cards. The visual universe ends up getting a little dull. It uses the letter "o" as an ornament, and bleeding off the page. In badges, the main color (cyan) may be swapped by orange, green or yellow, depending on the category. The choice of the typographic family Museo (some of its weights and styles available for free download and largely used in other places, like The Dieline logo) was very adequate, since the logo and the family share common aspects, such as the unusual circular and extended letters.

Generically speaking, Cielo stands out for the authenticity of the brand and, despite the lack of refinement in the logo, the sum of its parts is well presented.

This American Life, the mesmerizing, hour-long NPR radio program and podcast about nothing and everything unveiled their new identity earlier this month. It will soon grace everything from podcast icons to tote bags (and hopefully book spines given the vertical nature of the lockup). The show, which is produced in Chicago and recorded in Manhattan, is hosted by the incomparable Ira Glass.

The show recently posted a blurb on its Facebook page:

You may have noticed our new This American Life logo […] by the talented folks over at Number 17, who have made logos for all sorts of famous places like Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Orbitz and The Daily Beast. We were lucky to have convinced them to slum it with us.

Along with several logos, designed by Number 17, that were not chosen:

Runner-up logos designed by Number 17 explore the notion of dialogue or discourse

Let me first state that I like typographic identities as much as the next designer. There are few better ways to express a logo boldly and memorably. If the old (and inconsistently used) identity seemed appropriate it was at the expense of being vague, nostalgic and a little too quiet. It makes sense that a brand like This American Life would fall into the capable hands of a firm like Number 17. They have made a name for themselves delivering interesting typographic logos to many East Coast broadcast institutions.

Past all-caps, typographic identities by Number 17

This latest effort, however, I find a little puzzling. This (dream) job is well within their comfort zone and yet everything seems arbitrary down to the color choice of orange and purple. For a show that focuses on the commonalities of American lives, why divide 'American' into two words? The first time I read it, I wondered if the new identity was supposed to highlight the phrase, "I Can." It is also the most inconspicuous use of Flama (more specifically, Flama condensed) that I've ever seen. They took a bold, contemporary typeface and used it in such a way that it may as well be Trade Gothic.

By contrast, Number 17's past solutions seem to exhibit so much purpose. 30Rock eloquently captures the Art Deco qualities of Rockefeller Center, while Late Night With Jimmy Fallon expresses the show's off-kilter cool and smartly minimizes the "with." The SNL identity boldly visualizes the way so many actors have screamed the show's iconic name at the beginning of each airing. The identity for This American Life seems to borrow an aesthetic divorced from its original meaning. Even the towering nature of the lockup seems incongruous with the show. I'm curious to see if there's a compelling horizontal lockup for more restrictive applications.

Now, the good news about straightforward typographic identities is that they have the potential to be iconic. They're often simple enough to become imbued with the positive qualities of whatever they signify. One problem with the past identity was that it was too specific (of a place, time, feeling, etc.). I don't doubt the show will continue to be excellent and, in time, the new logo will come to stand for that. It just seems like a missed opportunity for a show that is so easy to like. Hopefully their web site, to be unveiled in the coming weeks, will add some much needed dimension to this American brand.

Thanks to Adam Flanagan for the tip.

WIND, the first new mobile service provider to enter the Canadian market in ten years, launched in Toronto and Calgary in December of 2009 and was expected to provide fresh competition in the Canadian wireless market by offering low-cost plans and services as an alternative to Bell Mobility, Telus and Rogers Wireless which have dominated the Canadian market for decades. Canadians have long complained of high cellphone bills in comparison to much of the world and many consumers were expecting WIND to make a dent in mobile service prices by introducing low rates and forcing competitors to follow suit, but it doesn't seem like to be the case so far.

Existing Greek and Italian versions of WIND.

WIND is a European import, already operating in Greece and Italy under the same brand, although with some subtle differences. The Greek iteration uses a softer font and brighter colors and the Italian version has a wet floor effect applied to it. The Canadian version isn't too inspiring: Overall, the WIND logo lacks the light, soft, dynamic feel the name brings to mind. The type is extremely dull and devoid of any life, especially in combination with the soft, organic "W" worm. The combination of the two is jarring. I don't see anything salvageable or remotely memorable. What I do see: a shrugging neighbour behind a concrete fence, a fancy moustache, a pigeon cloaca. The happy squiggly character reminds me of a dot-com era start-up. At smaller applications, the logo loses any readability (just take a look at the favicon on the WIND Mobile site. All three versions use slightly different fonts and squiggles. There does not seem to be any coherent global branding effort — the regional logos are treated like red-headed stepchildren.

And what is it with spelling WIND in all caps? Brands that shout are my pet peeve, especially if the name is not a good fit for the tone.

On a brighter note, branding elements introduced in the Canadian identity are indicative of a more professional attempt to coherently brand WIND by Toronto-based AmoebaCorp. The choice of Gotham Rounded and a pastel colour palette seem like a good fit with the whimsical illustrations chosen for the brand.

Mikey Richardson, co-creative director and partner at AmoebaCorp says that the purpose behind the look of Wind Mobile was to be fun, friendly, optimistic and honest. "We wanted to do something really fresh and human," he says. "[We] wanted to do something counter to Rogers and Bell, which are really clinical and slick and void of human emotion." AmoebaCorp decided to work with a palette of 16 colours for the project to further differentiate from the competitors' blue-or-red, one-colour formats. "Wind Mobile is supposed to be talking to the diversity of Canadians," he says. "So we decided to go with many colours, which can create problems because it is difficult to manage something that big. We spent a lot of time creating a graphic standards manual, which lays down how the colours are used and how they interact together."

The WIND brand still has a long way to go before it's mature enough to play with other competitors in the Canadian mobile sandbox. Most Canadians just want another mobile competitor and won't pay as much attention to the logo as long as there is a lesser of the evils. But as time goes on and WIND is no longer an underdog in the mobile brand game, Globalive will need to step up and move past the poor WIND identity. As they don't seem to take the WIND brand too seriously, hopefully there is a greater emphasis on their service quality.

Thanks to Andrew Hladkyj for the tip.

Perhaps I have said this far too many times but, man, you don't want to redesign university identities. And perhaps an even more thankless job, or a more dangerous one, is redesigning a university's athletic identity. Last month, the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University filed for a trademark application for the redesigned icon of the Spartans, the athletic teams of Michigan State University. Last week, the blog Gang Green Red Cedar Message Board at SpartanTailgate.com uncovered the registration and exposed the perhaps imminent change. Students got pissed.

Rather swiftly, message boards rallied to boycott the proposed logo in various ways, including chanting "Keep our logo — clap-clap — Keep our logo — clap-clap — Keep our logo — clap-clap" at upcoming home games and the obligatory Facebook group, named The Old Spartan Logo, now has more than 31,000 fans. Shortly after havoc began to wreak MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis issued a statement:

"The Spartan logo, posted on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site, is a single element of a comprehensive brand and identity project that will be unveiled in April by Michigan State athletics," Hollis said in the statement. "As in all branding, the power of a single symbol cannot be appreciated or measured outside the context of the total presentation."

And UniWatch reports on a memo distributed to staff:

This logo is just a single element of a new comprehensive brand and graphic identity project undertaken by the Department of Athletics. They will be unveiling all elements of the new program in April. The new logo, and the other elements in the program, are the result of a two-year collaboration between MSU Athletics and a team of top designers from Nike.

So is all this complaining and sensitivity really worth it? Is the proposed Spartans icon really that different from the old one that people are so enraged by it? It's not like they are taking away the Spartan helmet and replacing it with a birthday hat. I bet that if you asked any of the 31,000-plus Facebook fans to draw the logo from memory they would be as close to the old one as to the new one, mainly because all the significant elements are consistent. One thing is for sure though, both the old and new have their own flaws so it really is a toss-up between which one is better: The eyes of the old one like it's ready for a nap, the new one is more menacing; the helmet shape of the old one looks more aerodynamic, the new one looks like it slammed against a wall; and, honestly, neither resolves the top brush-like appendix that I'm sure has an official name. On fear of enraging more than 31,000 logo opposers, all I can say is, "Relax, this too shall pass."

Thanks to Cameron Roberson for first tip.

Russia 1 (Rossiya 1 in Russian, formerly simply Rossiya) is one of the main TV channels in Russia. Like much of Russian TV, it is controlled by the state – in this case through direct ownership, as it is a part of VGTRK (All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company). VGTRK also owns a number of other channels, and the new logos attempt to give a single identity to the company's TV empire. They succeed – the new identity, unveiled just before the New Year's Eve, is uniformly bland and uninspiring.

The announcement was made before a select group of journalists in the midst of holiday celebrations and was not accompanied by a press-release. The change of identity came together with a widening of format for two of the channels: Russia 2 (formerly Sport TV) and Russia K (formerly Kul'tura, or "Culture"). Presumably, the change of format triggered the re-design. The two other channels to share the identity are Russia 24 (a round-the-clock news channel, formerly Vesti) and RTR Planet (aimed at Russia speakers abroad, particularly in the former Soviet bloc).

Not to put too fine a point on it, the new design is bad. The other channels subjected to the re-design had similar logos before: the name of the channel in a decent sans-serif font with the flag of Russia in the top right corner. The new red-and-blue box, although it references the colors of the flag, doesn't work as well as a symbol, and it's very bulky — even more so as shown in the video above, where they take up far too much of the screen. The Web 2.0 gradients are, well, boring. The combination of stenciled numbers and the neutral sans-serif makes no sense. The variation in the height of numbers (compare "2" and "24") is weird. The designers didn't even attempt to go through with the stencils in every logo: the swirly "K" in "Russia K" aims literally to represent the nature of the channel, which broadcasts ballet performances and the like. If this "K" is culture, count me out. Finally, the logo for "RTR Planet" looks like they had forgotten about the channel altogether and had to do a logo in the five minutes before the presentation. Cue the stenciled RTR.

One last thing: as Russian bloggers were quick to point out, that stencilled '1' looks an awful lot like the logo of Russia 1's main competitor, the (also state-controlled) "Channel One". I wonder what that is all about.

Thanks to Ivan Raszl for the tip.