A B-Side BY Armin

Conax

About: (Est. 1986) “Conax protects content for over 350 pay-TV operators, representing 125 million consumers in 85 countries around the globe. Our latest content protection platform, Conax Contego, built on 25 years of pioneering security expertise, is the most secure on the market today. Conax Contego provides secure content delivery and digital rights management across broadcast, broadband or OTT on the devices of your choice, wherever and whenever you need it. Headquartered in Norway, Conax has offices in 14 locations, including 24/7 global support operations based in India. Conax is part of Telenor Group, one of the world’s largest mobile operators.”

Design by: Pajama.

Ed.’s Notes: It’s like a Richard Serra sculpture and video mapping performance all in one! A few more applications and video of the animated logo below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Pajama case study.

Select quote: “The company had last invested in its branding in 2002. The appointment of a new CEO in 2012 led to a decision to address a rather dated identity which no longer fitted the global company Conax had become. We advised that the identity could not be refreshed without brand strategy.

The creative brief grew out of the strategy we helped Conax articulate. The big idea for the brand, ‘Sustaining Magic,’ encapsulates the crucial role of conditional access in safeguarding valuable TV content. This idea is supported by values rooted in the Conax culture and useful for future growth: Curiosity, Integrity and Agility.”

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A B-Side BY Armin

Solvay

About: (Est. 1863) “SOLVAY is an international chemical Group committed to sustainable development with a clear focus on innovation and operational excellence. It is realizing over 90% of its sales in markets where it is among the top 3 global leaders. Solvay offers a broad range of products that contribute to improving the quality of life and the performance of its customers in markets such as consumer goods, construction, automotive, energy, water and environment, and electronics. The Group is headquartered in Brussels, employs about 31,000 people in 55 countries and generated EUR 12.7 billion in net sales in 2011 (pro forma).”

Design by: Vincenti Design.

Ed.’s Notes: Another epically-scored logo introduction video below (or after the jump). I hate to say it, but there is something I like about the new logo. Not much, just something.

Relevant links: Press release (PDF).

Select quote: “We wanted a corporate identity capable of conjuring up the notions of expertise, innovation and modernity. We chose this creation that perfectly expresses the ability of our Group to reinvent itself. The highly symbolic letter “S” and the use of the color blue, maintains a clear link with the Group’s history,” says Michel Defourny, Head of Solvay’s Corporate Communications.

“With this solution, we wanted to create the impression that viewers are plunging into an object, as if it existed in 3D. We used computer graphics to model the shape, to create something half-way between a liquid and a solid in order to refer to Solvay’s core business activities,” explains Laurent Vincenti, CEO of Vincenti Design.”

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Opinion BY Armin

Logo Gigante!

With a history dating back to a single television station in 1955 in San Antonio, TX, Univision (as it was named in 1986) today is the leading Spanish-language television network and media company for Hispanics in the United States. With programming that covers everything from the storied telenovelas (soap operas) to sports to the juggernaut that is Sabado Gigante, Univision is mostly known as a television channel but it also owns radio stations and websites. Yesterday, they unveiled a new logo designed by Wolff Olins.

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Opinion BY Armin

A Screenvision of the Future

Established in 1976, Screenvision provides national and regional advertisers with on-screen advertising, in-lobby promotions, and integrated marketing programs in 14,400 screens, 2,380 theatre locations, and nearly 400 universities across all 50 States. In other words: if you get to your movie theater very early, all the stuff playing on the screen to keep you relatively entertained, is probably by Screenvision. They recently introduced a new logo, identity, and complete in-theater experience, designed by bi-coastal branding agency, loyalkaspar.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Rosetta Stone

Established in 1992, Rosetta Stone provides “cutting-edge interactive technology that is changing the way the world learns languages. The company’s proprietary learning techniques—acclaimed for their power to unlock the natural language-learning ability in everyone—are used by schools, businesses, government organizations and millions of individuals around the world.” A revised logo was introduced recently, designed by Pappas Group.

Opinion BY Armin

Chuck E.’s Makeover

Established in 1977 with its first location in San Jose, CA, Chuck E. Cheese is a chain of restaurants aimed at kids — commonly for their hellish birthday parties — and offers “pizza, a salad bar, appetizers, desserts and a feature musical and comic entertainment by life-size, computer controlled robotic characters, family oriented games, rides, and arcade style activities.” Owned by CEC Entertainment, there are over 500 corporate-owned locations and 50 franchises in 48 states of the U.S. and seven other countries. As AP reports, Chuck E. Cheese has been having a rough year and is looking to boost sales. Chuck E. — the restaurant’s mascot since the beginning — to the rescue! Unveiled earlier this month, the rodent has gotten a drastic makeover, as drawn by Chris Ayers, and will be the focus of a new advertising campaign by The Richards Group.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Clariant

Established in 1995 as a spin off from the Swiss chemical company Sandoz, Clariant is a specialty chemical company providing products for use in consumer care products (shampoo, lotions, etc.), industrial applications, plastics and coatings, energy, and biotech. This week, Clariant introduced a new logo that is “characterized by clarity and concentration on what is essential.” A bit more here and a slightly annoying brand video, but with a good logo animation at the very end, below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY Armin

Kids in Brazil Get their Gloob On

Launched last week, Gloob is a children’s entertainment channel created by Brazilian TV powerhouse Globosat, a network of 38 channels. Aimed at a pre-school audience, Gloob — an anagram of “Globo” (which translates to both balloon or globe) and pronounced Gloobee — will show animated series and movies. The logo and on-air application were designed by Globosat’s in-house team, led by Manuel Falcão. Additional 3D animation was created by Rio de Janeiro-based Seagulls Fly.

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Opinion BY Armin

Design Stuff: Ready for its Close-Up

Organized first in 2006, San Francisco Design Week (SFDW) is a “week of events highlighting the diversity and professionalism of the design community around the bay” led by the San Francisco chapter of AIGA in partnership with Adobe and the local chapters of the the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), and the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD). Its goal is to “raise public awareness of the impact that all design-graphic, product, interior, fashion, architecture, advertising, et cetera-has in the San Francisco Bay Area.” We reported on the event’s identity last year. This year, AIGA SF worked with Manual to design a logo that would be established as a consistent mark for all future SFDW events as well as the creative campaign for this year’s edition, which kicks off today.

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A B-side BY Armin

Unitymedia

Established in 2005, Unitymedia is one of Germany’s largest telecommunications companies, offering cable, internet, and land and mobile phone service. This March, it adopted the artichoke-shaped logo of its parent company, UPC Group. Bigger and single-color view below (or after the jump). A bit more info here.

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Opinion BY Armin

A Datsun Logo Datsucks

First sold in 1931 by DAT Motorcar and purchased by Nissan in 1933, Datsun is a brand of cars that was discontinued in 1981 in both Asian and American markets. With some quirky models in its history, Datsun has sort of a cult, hipsterish following. This week Nissan announced that it would be reviving the brand in India, Indonesia, and Russia starting in 2014 and it will be “a green car, affordable car, small displacement, high local content.” After 21 years off the market, it needed a new logo.

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Opinion BY Armin

It’s a Gradient-Covered World After All

Founded in 1953, Rede Record is, in terms of reach and coverage, the second largest television network in Brazil with varied programming that covers everything from soaps to sitcoms to reality TV to variety shows to news and this year they are the official network for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. This past February, they introduced an evolution to their logo, which has featured a globe surrounded by metal-like plates since 1994.

[The ADC Young Guns X imposing “X” will be on the site for 24 hours only. We are happy to be their media partners.]

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Opinion BY Armin

Premium Effects to the nth Degree

Launched in 2006, n — yup, just “n” — is a DTH (direct to home) satellite television platform, a lá DirecTV, in Poland, offering nearly 100 channels from around the world, over 20 Polish language channels and a new range of premium channels called nPremium HD. The package includes four channels covering the latest Hollywood movies, sporting events, documentaries, and more, as well as a fifth on-demand channel. Warsaw, Poland-based mamastudio designed the nPremium HD on- and off-air look, building on top of the existing n logo.

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Opinion BY Armin

Hill Holliday Goes Minimal

Established in 1968 in Boston, Hill Holliday — a member of the Interpublic Group conglomerate — is an advertising agency with over 850 employees across three offices in Boston, New York, and Greenville. Their clients include Dunkin’ Donuts, CIGNA, Major League Baseball, Toys R Us, and more. Recently, they introduced a new identity for themselves designed in-house.

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Opinion BY Armin

HotelsHotelsHotelsHotels.com

Launched in 2002, Hotels.com is an online service to reserve lodging around the world with more than 145,000 properties listed. The last time we talked about Hotels.com was in 2008 when two separate logos, one for the U.S. market and the other one for international sites, were introduced. Since then, Hotels.com has completely abandoned the bellhop mascot and adopted “SMART”, a soul-patched claymation spokesperson that is not as annoying as he may seem at first glance. This month, Hotels.com has introduced a new logo.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Virgin Media

Established in 2006, Virgin Media is the first provider of all four broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services in the UK. Virgin Media is getting its British on. The revised logo was designed by Start JudgeGill, who also designed the original logo. Press release here. Bigger view of the logo below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY bryony

Budget Pillow

Headquartered in France with 90 locations worldwide, Accor is a hotel operator, hotel franchisor and hotel asset manager and is considered the number one hotel operator worldwide simply in terms of units owned, leased or operated under management contract. It manages over 500,000 rooms across 4,200 hotels. Accor recently rebranded its line of economy hotels: Formerly ibis hotel, Etap Hotel, and All Seasons Hotels into ibis, ibis styles and ibis budget. The implementation of the new brand, designed by Boulogne-Billancourt, France-based W&Cie, and segmentation is expected to be completed worldwide by early 2013, with a strong communication campaign during 2012. The goal? to capitalize on the ibis “mega brand” through modernity, simplicity and well-being, while highlighting the unique qualities of each entity within the economy brands.

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Opinion BY Armin

Sportsnet Shoots and Misses

Launched in 1998, Sportsnet is the main sports multimedia platform in Canada, which includes six TV channels, two radio stations, a magazine, and a website. It has been owned by telecommunications giant, Rogers, since 2001. Sportsnet is the official broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games. This week, it introduced a new logo and on-air look designed by Los Angeles, CA-based Troika.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Rostelecom

Rostelecom is Russia’s leading long-distance telephone service provider. Its new identity was designed by Moscow-based Re-Branding. A video showing all kinds of applications below (or after the jump).

In Brief BY Armin

British Airways Goes Vintage

British Airways is trying to infuse its brand with some of its past. Last week they launched a new 90-second TV spot that brings together vintage aircraft with modern day, big ass planes and even the Concorde — the Concorde! Remember that? — makes an appearance. They are also reviving British Airways’ motto “To Fly. To Serve.” and coat of arms, the latter revised in 3D by forpeople design.

For clarification: The crest does not replace the BA logo. It’s an additional identity element.

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