A B-Side BY Armin

Emma

About: (Est. 2003) “Emma is a web-based email marketing service helping more than 40,000 customers manage their online communication efforts. With sophisticated design, easy-to-use features and stellar customer support, it’s the easiest way to create, send and track stylish email newsletters and campaigns.”

Design by: In-house (Chris Korbey, Creative Director).

Ed.’s Notes: Sexy librarian, anyone? Logo variations below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Emma blog.

Provided quote: “The new logo is simpler, more modern and more flexible, but the real story is in the wordmark. Emma is dedicated to great design — even within the tight parameters of HTML for email. One of email’s biggest restrictions is a limited choice of typefaces. Web fonts don’t work with email, so you’re beholden to system fonts. With that in mind, we created the new wordmark from Georgia Bold Italic, which every Emma user has access to. The letterforms were customized to marry with the new Emma face, but the logo pays homage to our customers.”

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Banelco

About: (Est. 1985) “Banelco is an ATM network in Argentina. Established in 1985, Banelco offers several services related to the cash flow management, including debit cards, electronic transfers, services payments, etc. Operating 4,500 ATMs (one third of the total in the country)[…]. The company also operates Pagomiscuentas, an electronic bill payment service. Banelco, an acronym for Banca Electrónica Compartida, is owned by private banks. Link, in turn, is used primarily by state owned banks.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Design by: DAS Branding.

Ed.’s Notes: Fairly nice, in that South American corporate identity kind of way (rounded, bold sans serif, italicized). A few more images below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: DAS Branding case study.

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Vevo

About: (Est. 2009) “Vevo is a joint venture music video website operated by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The videos on Vevo are syndicated across the web, with Google and Vevo sharing the advertising revenue.” (Source: Wikipedia).

Design by: Red Antler.

Ed.’s Notes: I like it. Bigger view of the logo, some motion graphics, and a couple applications below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Red Antler case study.

Select quote: “We’ve introduced a streamlined, lowercase logotype, creating a brand that celebrates fans. expressive, in-your-face graphics, rich color, and strong typography reflect an infectious passion for music.”

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O’Charley’s

About: (Est. 1971) “O’Charley’s is a casual dining restaurants chain in the United States, with more than 230+ company-owned locations. O’Charley’s is located in 17 Southern and Midwestern states, including four franchised O’Charley’s restaurants in Michigan, one franchised O’Charley’s in Ohio, three joint venture O’Charley’s restaurants in Louisiana, and one joint venture O’Charley’s restaurant in Wisconsin.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Ed.’s Notes: Had never heard of this place, or, well, these 230 places. The new one isn’t that great but the old one, with the horribly slanted Bookman, was a true horror. Bigger view of the logo and exterior shot of the restaurant below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Restaurant News Article. Enhanced Online News Article.

Select quote: “The new identity derives inspiration from the approach of Charley Watkins, the man who founded O’Charley’s, and will be encapsulated in the following Watkins quote prominently featured at all O’Charley’s entrances: ‘Everyone who walks through this door is a friend of mine.’ The quote’s attitude will be born out in the new visual identity and updated menu as well as in the welcoming layout and openness of new floor plans which feature different rooms named to reflect its southern heritage such as The Piedmont, The Charles, and The Porch.”

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Boston.com

About: “Boston.com is a regional website that offers news and information about the Boston, Massachusetts area. Boston.com was launched in late October 1995 by Boston Globe Electronic Publishing Inc., the Internet subsidiary of the Boston Globe.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Design by: In-house.

Ed.’s Notes: This is not the most groundbreaking story but every time I visited Boston.com’s magnificent The Big Picture feature I cringed at the ridiculousness of that curved logo. Good riddance.

Relevant links: Boston.com Tumblr Post.

Thanks to Hal Tepfer for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

StarTrack

About: “StarTrack is the product of the integration of the retail division of Australian air Express and Star Track Express. Backed by parent companies and strategic partners Australia Post and Qantas, the new StarTrack offers its customers the largest network in the country. With 57 branch facilities Australia-wide, StarTrack operates a fleet of more than 3,000 vehicles and transports more than one million parcels across the country for its customers every week.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: OMG, that old logo. LOL. Bigger view of the logo, an ad, and a truck below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: StarTrack Media Centre (scroll to bottom for announcement and TV spot).

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Opinion BY Armin

Ablixa: After You See This Logo, You’ll Need It

Entering the market this week is the newly Food-and-Drug-Administration-approved Alipazone — brand name: Ablixa — an antidepressant drug of the “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class” that has been produced to treat major depression, and is prescribed off-label for other conditions. The logo, packaging, and advertising have been designed by Pentagram partner Emily Oberman.

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Opinion BY Armin

Univision Needs More, More, Más

Launched in 2002 as TeleFutura by parent network Univision and quickly rising as the second most watched U.S. Spanish-language television network, the recently renamed UniMás has been retooled specifically for Hispanic millennials with programming geared to a “younger, bicultural audience,” as well as complementing Univision’s programming plus being its “cultural connection más the coolest content for young, U.S.-based Latinos.” The new name was conceived internally as a combination of “Uni” from Univision and “Más” for “More” and “Plus” in Spanish while the identity and on-air graphics were designed by Troika.

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Food Network

About: (Est. 1993) “Food Network is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers’ best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and averages more than 9.9 million unique web users monthly.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Pretty terrible evolution.

Relevant links: Food Network blog post.

A B-Side BY Armin

Tucson Electric Power

About: (Est. 1892) “Tucson Electric Power provides the energy behind Tucson’s economy. We deliver safe, reliable power to more than 400,000 customers in the Tucson metropolitan area.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Love that old logo. It’s crazy. It’s also 33 years old.

Relevant links: Press release.

Select Quote: The new logo features a sunny-colored arc suggestive of Southern Arizona’s most prominent characteristic and was designed to resemble the recently introduced logo for UNS Energy. The blue lettering, the same color used in the previous TEP logo, is a tribute to the new logo’s predecessor.

Thanks to James I. Bowie for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Energy-infused Logo

Established in 1995, TRUEnergy is one of Australia’s largest energy retailers, servicing over 2.7 million customers. In March of 2011 they announced that they would be purchasing the retail operation of EnergyAustralia, a state-owned company that manages the electricity network assets (poles, wires, and substations) which, in turn, have been transformed into a new company called Ausgrid. In August, EnergyAustralia unveiled a new logo that will serve to transition TRUenergy into the name — for now the only place showing the new logo is here with both companies still operating their own websites, probably doing a slow transition into the change. The logo and national advertising campaign were created by Leo Burnett Sydney.

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Omnitrans

Established in 1976, Omnitrans is a public transportation agency in San Bernardino County, California, serving 15 cities with a fleet of 196 fixed route vehicles. Last month, Omnitrans introduced a new logo and livery for its buses. No design credit given. Story and images here. Saddest part of this: that old logo was capital-A Awesome.

Thanks to Hank for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Mission Aviation Fellowship

With origins as far back as 1943, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) “serves people who deal with challenges due to isolation in regions such as Africa, Asia, Eurasia, and Latin America by providing aviation, communications, and learning technology services.” Its mission is to share “the love of Jesus Christ through aviation and technology so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed” and that “all people have access to both the Gospel and the resources that advance God’s Kingdom.” MAF introduced a new logo earlier this month. Part of the release states: “The dove — part of MAF-US’s logos since the 1970s — was maintained in the new design and represents the Christian faith, aviation, and MAF history.” No design credit given.

Thanks to Phil Laver for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

RCN

Established in 1996 in Boston, MA, RCN (short for its previous name, Residential Communications Network) offers internet, cable, and phone services in Boston, Chicago, D.C. Metro Area, Lehigh Valley, New York City, and Philadelphia. A new logo was introduced in June. No design credit given nor press release issued.

Opinion BY Armin

Old McDonald Had a Logo

Established in 1916 along with the Federal Farm Loan Act that helped establish the Farm Credit System, Farm Credit service of Mid-America (FCSM) is an agricultural cooperative lender — owned and controlled by their customer-members — serving more than 92,500 customer-members throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee through 92 offices and more than 900 employees, backed by $17.4 billion in owned and managed loan assets. In May, FCSM introduced a revised logo and brand relaunch designed by Minneapolis, MN-based Colle + McVoy.

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Badminton World Federation

Established in 1934 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Badminton World Federation is the international governing body for the sport of badminton. A new logo was introduced over the weekend. Press release here. Launch video below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY Armin

Gaga for GooGoo

First sold in 1912 and claiming to be the world’s “first ever combination candy bar”, a GooGoo Cluster is a rocky mound of caramel, marshmallow nougat, roasted peanuts, and milk chocolate produced by Standard Candy Co. in Nashville, Tennessee. The GooGoos are as much an icon of the city as its music and have an app of their own to locate stores across Nashville that sell them. They are also quite popular in the Southern part of the U.S. with devotees as far North as Canada. A logo and package redesign by Atlanta, GA-based Green Olive Media was introduced last year — as part of a larger effort that included spinning off GooGoo Cluster into its own company and a new recipe — but with the centenary of the candy in full swing, there is more GooGoo Cluster fever than ever.

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Post Foods

Established in 1897, Post Foods is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded ready-to-eat cereals like Honeycomb, Pebblers, and Golden Crisp, along with their own branded Bran Flakes and Raisin Bran, and others. A revised logo has recently appeared on their website and commercials.

Thanks to Tom Culton for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Scanning for Shapes in Clouds

Established in 2001 in Edinburgh, Scotland and now with offices in Singapore, Skyscanner is an online travel search site that finds the best deals and connects users directly to the airline, hotel, car rental service, or travel agent, so it doesn’t take commissions from the user. Skyscanner is available in over 25 different languages and has been lauded as one of the best travel search sites by media publications across Europe. Last week, Skyscanner introduced a new identity designed by Glasgow, Scotland-based Stand.

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Corel

Established in 1989 with the launch of CorelDraw, Corel is a software developer “with more than 100 million active users in over 75 countries.” None of which are graphic designers, unless you count using CorelDraw as a punchline for bad graphics. The new logo was introduced back in April or May of 2011. Not sure how we missed it. Story here.

Thanks to Nodws for the tip.