A B-Side BY Armin

Budget Car Rental

About: (Est. 1958) “Budget Car Rental is one of the world’s best-known car rental brands with more than 3,000 locations in more than 120 countries. Budget is an industry leader in providing vehicle rental services to value-conscious travelers and also operates the second-largest truck rental business in the United States, through a network of more than 2,100 locations. Budget is owned by Avis Budget Group, Inc.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Not bad and it goes better with the redesigned logo of its parent company, Avis. An alternate lock-up with the road graphic on the side is below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: N/A.

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Voya Financial

About: (Est. 1975) “Voya Financial, previously ING U.S., is a leading provider of financial products and services, both at the workplace and through an expansive distribution network of financial professionals. Voya’s mission is to guide Americans on their journey to greater retirement readiness and to make a secure financial future possible—one person, one family and one institution at a time.”

Design by: Interbrand.

Ed.’s Notes: The name is described as “an abstract name coined from the word ‘voyage’,” and the same could be said for the typography: an abstract take on what letterforms are supposed to bend like. That’s sort of a dig. The idea seems okay, but the resolution of how the letterforms bend and twist is highly unresolved and inconsistent. Bigger view of the logo and an application below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: ING’s explanation. CoreBrand article. brandchannel article. Advertising Age article.

Select quote: “The selection of a new brand for ING U.S. took months of extensive research and testing. We started with a list of 5,230 potential names. After conducting multiple rounds of creative refinement, 390 legal prescreens and testing it in nearly 60 different languages, we believe the new name best reflects our company’s mission, values and personality – Voya.”

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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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AMC (TV)

About: (Est. 1984) “AMC is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs theatrically released movies, along with a limited amount of original programming. The channel’s name originally stood for “American Movie Classics”, though since 2002, the full name has been deemphasized as a result of a major shift in its programming. AMC’s most successful original series include Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Hell on Wheels.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Design by: Troika.

Ed.’s Notes: Not sure this was needed, but okay, I guess. The “gold” effect feels more cheap than premium and reminds me of some of the not so old on-air graphics of HBO.

Relevant links: Troika case study. Press Release.

Select quote: “AMC announced today a new look and brand positioning, ‘AMC: Something More,’ which reflects the network’s ongoing commitment to providing a place for original stories and characters that defy expectations. Now featured on-air and online, ‘AMC: Something More’ punctuates a refreshed graphic identity for the network. AMC’s new identity features an updated logo, with letterforms surrounded by a gold box which suggests both premium quality and popular appeal.”

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Acxiom

About: (Est. 1969) “Acxiom is an enterprise data, analytics and software as a service company that uniquely fuses trust, experience and scale to fuel data-driven results. For over 40 years, Acxiom has been an innovator in harnessing the most important sources and uses of data to strengthen connections between people, businesses and their partners. Utilizing a channel and media neutral approach, we leverage cutting-edge, data-oriented products and services to maximize customer value. Every week, Acxiom powers more than a trillion transactions that enable better living for people and better results for our 7,000+ global clients.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: It’s nice to see that boring, corporate logos can still be done nowadays. Bigger view of the logo and some applications below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: N/A.

Select quote: “The rebrand is an expression of our new powerful reality and reflects our strategy of connecting people, business and their partners. We are ramping up investment in product innovation, and have recently launched two products,” said Jefferies. “We want to make 1:1 marketing at scale, with privacy best practices, a reality.” - Wyatt Jefferies (spokesperson)

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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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Space Channel

About: (Est. 1997) “Space is a Canadian Category A specialty channel owned and operated by Bell Media. It features science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming including films, documentaries, scripted television series and more. SPACE originally used the subtitle The Imagination Station following its name; it is still sometimes used informally by fans today.” (Source: Wikipedia).

Design by: Bell Media Agency.

Ed.’s Notes: I don’t think the old logo was good (it wasn’t) but this new version is as dry as certain parts of earth. A brief montage of new shows shown below (or after the jump) hints at some potential though. A few more clips are available here

Relevant links: Long story on Marketing Magazine. Bell Media press release.

Select quote: “Space’s new logo reflects the channel’s more earthly focus, losing the previous galactic swirl in favour of all lowercase letters inside a sphere. In promo spots, the logo is placed on real-life items that relate to specific shows. For example, for Being Human, there’s a blood splatter with the Space logo on it.”

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Belize

About: Client is Belize Tourism Board. “Belize is a country located on the north eastern coast of Central America. It is the only country in the area where English is the official language, although Kriol and Spanish are more commonly spoken. Belize is bordered to the north by Mexico, to the south and west by Guatemala and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. Its mainland is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and 110 kilometres (68 mi) wide.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Design by: Olson.

Ed.’s Notes: Video on the making of the logo and bigger view below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Olson project page.

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Opinion BY Armin

Brazil Foods Means Business

No big projects to start off the week, so we’ll turn to Brazil to get Monday started and perhaps continue with a few simple, logo-only reviews this week. Established in 2009 with the merger of Perdigão (est. 1934) and Sadia (est. 1944), BRF (originally BRF Brasil Foods) is one of the world’s largest food companies managing some of the most popular consumer product brands in Brazil like the previously eponymous Perdigao and Sadia, and Batavo, Elege, and Qualy. BRF operates over 50 production facilities and distribution centers and employs more than 115,000 people. This past January they introduced a new identity designed by Interbrand and A10, the latter responsible for BRF’s previous identity.

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Opinion BY Armin

Billbold

First published in 1894, Billboard is a weekly magazine devoted to the music industry and issuing weekly charts of the top songs, including the popular and industry-leading Hot 100 of the top singles, which then spawned an endless inventory of CDs. This week, Billboard is introducing a redesigned magazine featuring a new logo, both by Pentagram partner Michael Bierut. The new identity will be introduced unto the website on January 26 when it relaunches.

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ams

About: (Formerly austriamicrosystems and acquired TAOS Inc. in 2011) “ams develops and manufactures high performance analog semiconductors that solve its customers’ most challenging problems with innovative solutions. ams’ products are aimed at applications which require extreme precision, accuracy, dynamic range, sensitivity, and ultra-low power consumption. ams’ product range includes sensors, sensor interfaces, power management ICs and wireless ICs for customers in the consumer, industrial, medical, mobile communications and automotive markets. With headquarters in Austria, ams employs over 1,200 people globally and serves more than 6,500 customers worldwide.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Overly explanatory (and unconvincingly so) video of the new logo below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Press release.

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Gelderland Broadcasting

About: (Est. 1985, Radio; 1996, TV) “Omroep Gelderland (in English: Gelderland Broadcasting) is a regional public broadcaster for the Dutch province of Gelderland and they have their own radio station and TV channel broadcasting primarily for the province itself.” (Source: Wikipedia).

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Funny video of literally changing the new for old logos below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: New identity page.

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Glutino

About: (Est. 1983) “Glutino and Gluten-Free Pantry is a manufacturer and distributor specializing in gluten-free products. Since 1983, the mission of the Glutino Food Group has been to provide healthy gluten-free products and a healthy lifestyle to all those with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, wheat allergies and those who follow a gluten-free or wheat-free diet.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Silly type for a silly name, more stuff below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: N/A.

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Germanwings

About: (Est. 2002) Germanwings is a low-cost airline based in Cologne, Germany, and is wholly owned by Lufthansa. Its fleet includes 32 Airbus A 319 that flies over 7.5 million passengers a year to over 90 destinations.

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Livery shot and video below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Press release.

Select quote: “The key element will be a stylised burgundy and yellow ‘W’, transforming the wings in Germanwings into a succinct icon.”

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Rebel

About: (Est. 2010) “Rebel offers a wide range of the latest release, quality, branded sporting and leisure goods. With an extensive list of product categories for the casual and serious fitness enthusiast, Rebel’s range includes fitness equipment, sports equipment, apparel and associated accessories for both the casual enthusiast and serious competitor. [It] has grown to become an extensive network of more than 90 stores located in every state and territory in Australia with the exception of the Northern Territory & Tasmania”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: See what they did there? The second “e” is flipped, going against the grain. You know, like a rebel.

Relevant links: N/A.

Thanks to Jarrad Langdon for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

The Animation Guild

About: (Est. 1952) “The Animation Guild is Local 839 of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE). We are a labor organization that represents animation and visual effects artists. We do for our members what every labor organization does: negotiate wage minimums and working conditions, provide pension and health benefits (specifically through the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan) and act as an advocate for our members over disputes between employees and employers. Our goal is to provide a seamless cloak of benefits and the strength of a collective voice to our members across the animation industry.”

Design by: Malcolm Grear Designers.

Ed.’s Notes: That old logo simply cannot be true! LOL, man, LOL. New logo has nice, old-school concept to it. Larger view below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Animation Guild blog post.

Select Quote:“As the lowercase ‘a’ and ‘g’ join together to form the symbol, the letters seem to be in constant movement, animated. They appear linked and interwoven but they also actively flip back and forth, each letter switching from foreground to background.”

Thanks to Dave Logan for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Change.org

About: (Est. 2007) “Change.org is the world’s largest petition platform, empowering people everywhere to create the change they want to see.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Nice type selection and I like the use of the “c.” mark a little more — seen below (or after the jump). And their new website is slick.

Relevant links: N/A.

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Quadrigam

About: (Est. 2010, formerly Impure) “Quadigram is the solution for any individual or organization that works intensively with information. Quadrigram enables you to prototype and share ideas with your data rapidly as well as produce compelling solutions in the forms of interactive visualizations, animations or dashboards.”

Design by: Brava Buero.

Ed.’s Notes: The logo is some kind of chart-turned-book thing. Is nice. Logo animation and detail of book thing below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Brava Buero case study. Quadrigam launch blog post.

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TDS

About: (Est. 1989, Dublin) “TDS (Time Data Security) Ltd are leading specialists in the areas of integrated Security Systems and Smart Card deployments.”

Design by: RichardsDee.

Ed.’s Notes: Really liking the icon for this; Big Brother-ish but cool. Sample application image below (or after the jump) and a few more at the links below.

Relevant links: RichardsDee case study. TDS press release (PDF).

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Marsh

About: (Est. 1931) “Headquartered in Indianapolis, Marsh operates 78 Marsh Supermarkets and 3 O’Malia’s Food Markets in Indiana and Ohio. We also manage 16 MainStreet Market locations. The largest pharmacy chain based in the state of Indiana, Marsh has forty-one pharmacy locations. Marsh has the distinction of being the first grocery store in the world to use electronic scanners to ring up purchases. Nearly 9,000 employees serve two million customers weekly.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Newspaper ad, old and new, below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: N/A.

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