Opinion BY Armin

Follow-Up: DC Comics

Yesterday, DC Comics officially unveiled its new identity, after the whole internet (including us) stole its thunder at the start of the week when we all judged its new branding effort based on a single, black-and-white rendition of their new logo. Now it’s an uphill battle to get people on board with what is actually a fairly good looking and flexible identity designed by Landor.

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Opinion BY Armin

T&D is for Twists and Drop Shadows

As part of China Radio International (CRI), the state-owned radio broadcast system of the People’s Republic of China, and an extension of the news site CRI Online, T&D (for Television and Digital) is a new platform established to hold all of its new media — from online broadcast to network television to mobile content. The new identity has been created by The Brand Union China.

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Opinion BY Armin

Abstract Sports

Established in 1990, FADU (Federação Académica do Desporto Universitário, Academic Federation of University Sports in English) is an organization in Portugal focused on sports as a tool of educational development. It acts like a less carnivorous version of the NCAA by organizing events and enabling communication between higher education students, almost 7,000 of them, across all possible sports from soccer to basketball to chess to bridge among 25 total activities. A new identity has been created by Braga, Portugal-based Gen Design Studio.

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Opinion BY Armin

Sign Here

Only one of three mobile telecommunication service providers in Argentina, Personal, whose parent company is giant Telecom Argentina, has 18 million customers. (Sorry, don’t have much else to say about it). Earlier this month, Personal introduced a new identity created by London-based This is Real Art and a new ad campaign by TBWA\Buenos Aires.

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Opinion BY John J Custer

I’m With…

Formerly known as Polytechnic South West until 1992, Plymouth University is the ninth largest university in the UK, with a student body reaching just over 30,000 students along with 3,000 faculty and staff members. In June of this year, Plymouth University launched its new identity, “With Plymouth University,” designed jointly by here design and Buddy.

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Opinion BY Armin

Fight Old Logos, Make New Good Ones

Established in 1989, Alzheimer’s Australia, a federation of State and Territory member associations, is a “charity providing support and advocacy for Australians leaving with dementia.” Earlier this month Alzheimer’s Australia introduced a new identity designed by Interbrand Australia with the goal of making their “first move in a step change towards the way the organisation voices the issues surrounding dementia and the lives it affects.” The identity was launched on October 13 with a march at Parliament House, to demand $500 million over five years to address the dementia epidemic.

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Opinion BY Armin

War! What is it good for? For Good Logos

Founded in 1917 and first opened to the public in 1920, the Imperial War Museum — no plural at the time — was established to create a record of the experience of Great Britain during the first World War. Since then, and with an expansion to four other museums — IWM London; IWM North in Trafford, Greater Manchester; IWM Duxford near Cambridge; the Churchill War Rooms in Whitehall, London; and the historic ship HMS Belfast — the Imperial War Museums (IWM) is “the world’s leading authority on conflict and its impact, focusing on Britain, its former Empire and the Commonwealth, from the First World War to the present.” IWM, as it is now officially named, introduced a new identity last month, designed by London-based Hat Trick.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Marina Port Vell

Built in the early 1990s, Marina Port Vell is a waterfront harbor in Barcelona that is currently undergoing a major transformation. The new identity has been designed by London-based Aesop Agency. “The logo itself is an aperture shaped ‘M’ with a playful nod evocative of boats entering the marina,” from this story. More identity applications here.

Thanks to Marc Nijborg for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Asian Art Museum Turned on its Head

First opened in 1966 as a wing of the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the Asian Art Museum, now in its own building, is currently one of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian Art, housing a collection of over 17,000 artworks. It was also one of the most financially troubled museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian Art with a $120 million debt, which was recently announced would be solved, setting the museum up for a much needed reinvention: “Our new brand,” explains Jay Xu, Director of the Asian Art Museum “promises to awaken the past and inspire the next. It means we’ll unlock the past for visitors and bring it to life by sparking connections. We’ll also be a catalyst for new art, new creativity and new thinking.” To help turn things around, literally, the Asian Art Museum worked with Wolff Olins to design its new identity.

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Opinion BY Armin

The Edmonton Valley Zoo is Watching You

First opened to the public in 1959, the Edmonton Valley Zoo is a small zoo with 350 animals — in contrast to, say, the 4,000 animals found at the San Diego Zoo. With a master plan in place since 2005 and committed funding from the city since 2009 the Edmonton Valley Zoo is gearing up for a lot of changes and expansions for 2012. This past May the zoo announced a new identity designed by Edmonton-based Calder Bateman.

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Opinion BY Armin

A1, Flexible Enough?

Established in 2010 from the merger of two popular telecommunication providers, A1 and Telekom Austria, A1 Telekom Austria is now the leading service provider in Austria with more than 5 million mobile and 2 million fixed-line subscribers and 9,700 employees. At the end of April they announced that the two consumer brands would merge into a single one under the A1 name and a new identity created by Saffron. A micro site introducing the new identity (with a brief movie) can be found here and a press release (PDF and in German) here.

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Opinion BY Armin

M Opposite W

Established in 1997 McCann Worldgroup is the parent company of eight businesses, including the well-known, global advertising agency McCann Erickson — in turn well known for acquiring Sterling Cooper in 1963 — and brand agency Futurebrand. McCann Worldgroup is owned by giant Interpublic Group. At the beginning of the year McCann Worldgroup announced the launch of a new identity, designed by Futurebrand, and it has been gradually rolling out this year.

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Opinion BY Armin

Not Your Parents’ Veterans

Established in 2004, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in the U.S. for veterans of its most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its mission is to “improve the lives of this country’s newest generation of veterans and their families.” IAVA counts with 200,000 members — membership is free as they note that its members have “already paid [their] dues in Iraq and Afghanistan.” This week IAVA introduced a new identity designed pro bono by Landor.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Florian Stephens

Florian Stephens is a London-based 3D artist and designer. Fellow Londoners at Disengised have designed a logo — an “icosahedron (20 identical equilateral triangular faces, 30 edges and 12 vertices) which is colored in dynamically” — that has over 1,700 possible permutations. Case study here.

Opinion BY Armin

OCAD U, All New

Founded in 1876, OCAD University is Canada’s largest art and design institution, located in Toronto, Ontario. Formerly known as Ontario College of Art and Design, the school changed its name in 2007 to OCAD University when it received degree-granting status. Despite the “C” in the name still standing for “College” the acronym was kept as it had substantial equity and recognition. In 2004, OCAD University moved into its new campus, a radical structure designed by Alsop Architects that looks like a cross between a crossword puzzle and those super tall robots from War of the Worlds, with some color sprinkled for good measure. It may sound like a jab at the building, but the thing is truly jaw-dropping when you are standing below it. Anyway. Last night, at the 96th Annual Graduate Exhibition, the school unveiled a new identity, created by Toronto-based Bruce Mau Design (BMD), as well as another slight name change, to OCAD U.

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Opinion BY Armin

Follow-Up: XXII Olympic Winter Games

In December of 2009 we reported on the logo and look, created by the Moscow office of Interbrand, of the XXII Olympic Winter Games that will take place in 2014 in Sochi, Russia. This week the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee unveiled the concept of the Look of the Games which was designed by BOSCO Sports, a sponsor of the Olympics, as well as the official uniform provider for the Russian Olympic team since 2002. They donated the work to the committee. The look revolves around “the principle of the ‘patchwork quilt’ — a combination of 16 designs representing the most famous traditional Russian arts and crafts, ranging from Gzhel to Khokhloma.”

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Opinion BY Armin

There is no “i” in Thnk. Seriously, there isn’t.

Launched this year, with the first class beginning in 2012, the THNK Creative Leadership Program at THNK, The Amsterdam School of Creative Leadership is a post-graduate program designed to “provoke and inspire professionals, entrepreneurs and scientists into becoming the world’s next creative leaders.” Limited to 30 participants the program runs for a whole year with one month of “basic training” off campus, four months of “intensive training” on campus, and five months of “acceleration program” off campus. Tuition is €43,000 (US$63,000). An identity for the school has been created by Amsterdam-based Lava.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Youth Service America

Founded in 1986, Youth Service America (YSA) “improves communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles.” Their goals are to “Educate youth, teachers, community organizations, media, and public officials in the power of youth as problem solvers.” and “Engage children and youth as volunteers, as academic achievers, and as community leaders.” A new identity has been created by Redding, CT-based Alexander Isley Inc.. More on the new identity here.

Opinion BY Armin

CooperVision, Looking Good

Established in 1979, CooperVision, part of The Cooper Companies, is a manufacturer of contact lenses that hasn’t enjoyed the mainstream consumer popularity of competing brands like Acuvue, Bausch+Lomb, or CIBA Vision, placing it squarely in fourth place. Although CooperVision had a good rapport with eye care professionals recognition among consumers who more and more are getting their contact lenses straight from the source. In March CopperVision introduced a new identity designed by Siegel+Gale that aims to bring it more visibility.

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Opinion BY Clinton Duncan

Eurostar Sculpts New Logo

Launched in 1994 Eurostar was, until recently a tri-nation collaboration between Britain, Belgium and France, aimed at moving people quickly on trains, often at speeds up to 300 kilometers per hour, and in a tunnel 120 meters under the surface of the freezing cold English channel. Yep, we’re using metrics for this review people. With a re-structuring of corporate management, and consolidation to one entity based in London, Eurostar sought to rebrand and engaged the services of SomeOne. You can see a video summary of the brand at SomeOne’s project page here.

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