Opinion BY Armin

Toolin’ & Machinin’

Established in 1943, the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) aims to “help members of the U.S. precision custom manufacturing industry achieve profitable growth and business success in a global economy through advocacy, advice, education, networking, information, programs and services.” Citing a misunderstanding of American manufacturing as being in trouble, NTMA wants to make sure everyone understands that is not the case and that this community is thriving. With 50 chapters across the U.S., NTMA counts with nearly 2,000 members — “members” are counted as businesses not individuals — covering industries “from aerospace to electronics to nuclear power.” The new identity was designed by Atlanta, GA-based Matchstic.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

UNFCCC

“In 1992, countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to cooperatively consider what they could do to limit average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and to cope with whatever impacts were, by then, inevitable.” From the press release: “The new logo presents a new image that highlights the central theme of the Convention and the institutional linkage to the United Nations.”

Thanks to Keenan Chadwick for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Pensacola, Florida just got their own Minor League Baseball team — the Blue Wahoos. Unveiled in November 2011, the team identity was designed by Brandiose, and you can see the baseball cap version of the logo after the jump.

Continue reading this entry

Opinion BY Armin

I Tawt I Taw a Panther Tat

Joining the NFL as an expansion team in 1995, the Carolina Panthers have a total record of 131 wins and 150 losses and have even made it to the Super Bowl (XXXVIII in Houston) in which they lost to the New England Patriots. Over the weekend, which happened to be Pro Bowl weekend, the Panthers introduced a new logo designed by the NFL’s creative department.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Bupa

Bupa is an international health care company established in the UK in 1947. After expanding into Australia with the acquisition of health insurance companies MBF, Mutual Community, and HBA, Bupa rebranded them all with the global Bupa mark.

Thanks to Tricia Ho for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

jcpenney Nails the American Look

As you might remember, jcpenney landed in the top three of my 2011 Worst list for its bake-off approach to designing the last iteration of their logo, so it was with both high and low expectations that I approached a highly public company reimagining announced yesterday. If you don’t mind, I’ll repeat the same introduction from last year: First opened as a dry-goods store named the “Golden Rule” in Kemmerer, Wyoming by James Cash Penney in 1902, JCPenney today is a publicly-traded company with 1,100 department stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, mostly in shopping malls. Providing fairly decent middle-of-the-road merchandise, JCPenney is an extremely popular destination for finding affordable items without the top brand names attached — they develop many of their own brands. / End recycled intro. / “Every initiative we pursue,” starting February 1, reads the press release, “will be guided by our core value to treat customers as we would like to be treated — fair and square.” New store designs, new brand names, new spokesperson partner in Ellen DeGeneres, and — yay — new logo and identity will be rolled out. No design firm is credited (leads anyone?).

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Daphne’s California Greek

Established in 1991 Daphne’s California Greek restaurant is “the fast casual choice of diners who live healthy, active lifestyles and crave something unique” with 60 locations across the West Coast. In 2010, Daphne’s emerged from bankruptcy protection with new owners, who redesigned every aspect of the restaurant in 2011.

Thanks to Abe Vizcarra for the tip.

A B-side BY Armin

Alorica

Founded in 1999, Alorica is a “leading Business Services provider delivering Customer Management and Sales and Marketing solutions for leading brands.” From the press release: “The orange trapezoid (aka flare) represents energy and enthusiasm.”

Thanks to Kenyon Broadley for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

National Weather Association

Established in 1975, the National Weather Association is a “member-led, all inclusive, non-profit, professional association supporting and promoting excellence in operational meteorology and related activities.” From the press release: “The National Weather Association logo represents some of the most common meteorological conditions throughout the world, from sunny and dry to cloudy and rainy. The element of severity, centrally shown as a bolt of lightning, symbolizes the continued need to give greater attention to high impact weather and how it affects our planet.” The new logo was designed by Nesnadny + Schwartz. How cute and helpless was that old logo?

Thanks to Nick Piesco for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Jenny from the Block

Established in 1983 by Jenny Craig (and husband Sidney Craig) in Melbourne, Australia, Jenny Craig is a weight loss and nutrition company that offers at-home diet programs as well as “In-centre” at over 650 locations worldwide. Last year, Consumer Reports named it the number one diet. This past November, Jenny Craig lost some of its own weight, shedding the “Craig” to just be known as Jenny, along with a new logo and brand ambassador.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

JDRF

Established in 1975, JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) is a leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. A new logo has been introduced by JDRF, which is also downplaying the “Juvenile” angle of their organizations as 85% of those affected with T1D are adults. From the press release: “An essential graphic element in the logo design is the unique and clever inclusion of the ‘T1D’ symbol. Intentionally subordinate to the JDRF name, the symbol reinforces our focus on type 1 diabetes, and moves us toward establishing T1D as identifiable shorthand.”

Opinion BY Armin

Be C Spired

Established in 1988 as Cellular South, C Spire, as it has been renamed this September, is the largest privately held wireless provider in the United States and the 9th largest carrier in the U.S.. Perhaps not the most impressive bragging rights, but it’s a start. One impressive bragging right, though, is that C Spire got the right to sell the iPhone, ahead of bigger players like T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular. C Spire has over 1,200 employees and 75 retail stores across the South, mainly in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida, where the majority of its one million customers reside. With the name change came a new identity, both created by Lippincott.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Home Forward

Established in 1941, Home Forward (formerly known as Housing Authority of Portland) is the largest provider of affordable housing in the state of Oregon. On the new logo: “Vivid blue, green and featuring a ‘flourishing home’ symbol that combines the two colors, the new identity tells current and future residents, business partners, and community members that Home Forward is a progressive, positive enterprise committed to a better tomorrow, for the organization and especially for its residents”. Full press release here [PDF]. The new identity has been designed by Bend, OR-based Brand Navigation. A detail of the logo below (or after the jump) and a full case study here. This is one of my favorite icons of the year: simple, smart, and hopeful.

Continue reading this entry

Opinion BY Armin

Old Arrow for New Leaders

Established in 2000, New Leaders (formerly New Leaders for New Schools) is a nonprofit organization that “develops transformational leaders for high-need schools and promotes the system-level policies and practices that allows strong leaders to succeed.” New Leaders runs its training programs in 12 urban areas throughout the US. In the last ten years, New Leaders has prepared almost 800 educators through a variety of their programs like the Emerging Leaders Program, Aspiring Principals Program, and the Principal Institute. In September New Leaders introduced a new identity, designed by Chermayeff & Geismar, to reflect their name change. Disclosure for whatever it’s worth: While at Pentagram and later as UnderConsideration I did collateral material work for New Leaders, 6 and 4 years ago respectively.

Continue reading this entry

Opinion BY Armin

BBYO Lights Up

First organized in 1924, BBYO — an acronym for B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, but not formally used anymore as the movement is no longer associated with the B’nai B’rith organization — is a “pluralistic teen movement aspiring to involve more Jewish teens in more meaningful Jewish experiences.” With more than 600 local chapters, and regional outposts throughout the U.S. and the world, BBYO has over 250,000 alumni who have participated in one of the many programs and events the organization offers from travel experiences to social outreach. This past September BBYO introduced a new identity designed by Washington D.C.-based Levine & Associates.

Continue reading this entry

Opinion BY Armin

Human Rights Logo Takes Flight

In early May, the call for entries for A Logo for Human Rights (LHR), a “global creative online competition with cash prizes and open to everyone,” was announced. The goal? To “create a human rights logo ‘by people for people’, thus making a contribution towards the global spread and implementation of human rights with the support of a large public.” The process was your typical contest malarkey: People design, people upload, people vote on uploaded logos, designers e-mail friends and family to vote for their logos, participants complain about the voting process, the top 100 vote getters get presented to the jury (Spiekermann! Ai WeiWie! Jimmy Wales! Jimmy Carter!) and the “experts” (No! Idea! Who! They! Are!), the jurors select their own favorite ten logos, of those top vote getters ten finalists are presented again for online public voting, participants complain about the selection process, finalists designers e-mail friends and family to vote for their logos, a winner is announced. On Friday, LHR announced that Serbian designer Predrag Stakic had been selected as the winner from over 15,000 submissions.

Continue reading this entry

Guest Opinion by John J. Custer Posted BY Brand New

Elementary, My Dear Watsoon

Since 2006, Sleuth has been known as the channel of choice for your favorite crime and mystery reruns—such as Law & Order, JAG; NCIS; Walker, Texas Ranger; and MacGyver. As of August, Sleuth will be known as Cloo. With the help of You&Me Studio, NBCUniversal has completely rebranded Cloo, which sits alongside a fleet of channels that include The Weather Channel, Oxygen, and Chiller.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

OneMain Financial

OneMain Financial is the new name for the former CitiFinancial, Citibank’s consumer-finance business as it prepares to sell that division. More story here.

Thanks to Robert Tommy Ward for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Oily Wave

Founded as the Ohio Oil Company in 1887, the Marathon Oil Company, known as such since 1930, is an oil an energy company that has recently divided its two main businesses: 1) The “upstream” business, which is responsible for the exploration and mining of oil and 2) The “downstream” business, which is about the refining, marketing, and transportation of the oil. In broad terms. The upstream business has been spun-off into its own company called Marathon Petroleum Corporation and is keeping the old logo. The downstream business has kept the Marathon Oil Company name and adopted a new logo, designed by Houston, TX-based BrandExtract.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

JayneMax

JayneMax is a collection of luxury handbags growing in popularity, they made a cameo in Ugly Betty, and have opened more than a dozen stores recently. New logo designed by Brand Navigation.