A B-Side BY Armin

Accuweather

About: (Est. 1962) “AccuWeather is the World’s Weather Authority. They provide local forecasts for everywhere in the United States and over two million locations worldwide. They also provide products and services to more than 175,000 paying customers in media, business, government and institutions. AccuWeather headquarters are in State College, PA, home to the greatest number of forecast meteorologists in one location anywhere in the world.”

Ed.’s Notes: Forecast for this new logo: sunny!

Relevant links: Accuweather press release.

Select quote: “The updated identity system prominently features a sun icon along with the ‘AccuWeather’ name appearing in a warm orange tone. Orange was chosen as the new corporate color after extensive international research on color usage and meanings in various cultures. The orange tone is meant to reflect warmth, friendliness, and trust.”

Thanks to James I. Bowie for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

National Kidney Foundation

About: (Est. 1961) “The National Kidney Foundation is the leading organization in the U.S. dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of kidney disease for hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals, millions of patients and their families and tens of millions of Americans at risk.”

Design by: TIO Agency.

Ed.’s Notes: A cleaner update using a hard-to-work-with shape. Bigger view of the logo and a sample of some effective Skype-themed PSA TV spots below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Press release. Public service announcement videos.

Select quote: “Inspired by the organization’s rich history, the new signature incorporates the symbols, font and colors — orange and black — associated with the National Kidney Foundation in a modern fashion. Instead of interlocking kidneys , the new logo features a single kidney bean shape along with the text.”

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Opinion BY Armin

WNBA Steps Inline

Established in 1996 when the NBA Board of Governors approved the concept of a women’s National Basketball Association, the WNBA began play in the summer of 1997 with eight teams and a few well-known stars at the time, like Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie. Four expansion teams have been added since and although attendance peaked in 1999 — with an average of 10,000 attendees per game — and dropping since, the WNBA is still considered the “most successful women’s professional team sports league in the world.” Last Thursday, the WNBA introduced a new logo and identity designed by New York, NY-based OCD | The Original Champions of Design. For a brief video of Laurel J. Richie, WNBA President (and 2010 Brand New Awards judge!), explaining the logo click here.

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Opinion BY Armin

It’s Good to be the King

Established in 2003, King is one of the leaders in cross-platform, casual, social games with 150 exclusive titles available in 14 languages and has grown to become the second largest developer — behind powerhouse Zynga — of games on Facebook and a leader in mobile with over 108 million monthly players generating over 12 billion game plays per month. Interestingly, according to their advertising page, 75% of their players are women and 70% have children. King has offices in London, Stockholm, Barcelona, Bucharest, Hamburg, Malta, Malmo and San Francisco. Today, King introduced a new identity designed by London-based venturethree.

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Opinion BY Armin

Home is where the Pattern is

Led by the National NeighborWorks Association — an organization that “unites housing and community development practitioners to advocate for affordable housing and economic opportunities” — and supported by over 190 housing and community development organizations at the national and local level, Home Matters is a new national initiative launched yesterday on Capitol Hill that “aims to unite America around the essential role that Home plays as the bedrock for thriving lives, families, and a stronger nation.” Its goal is to raise awareness of the importance of “Home” by educating, bringing disparate organizations and industries together, rallying local leaders and mobilizing the public, encouraging policymakers to protect and support Home and related initiatives, raising funds and increasing investments to sustain the work that makes Home a reality for more Americans, and promoting and honoring the extraordinary impact of Home. All in all, a good thing, considering how screwed up some homes — of all economic and social classes — can be. The initiative’s identity has been designed by Brooklyn, NY-based OrangeYouGlad working under the direction and coordination of New York-based Ideon who set the branding strategy and story.

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Opinion BY Armin

Leave it to Beaver (and Nike)

Playing in the NCAA’s Division I tier through the Pac-12 Conference — sorry non-Americans, I know that means absolutely nothing to you (not that I blame you and in the bigger picture it doesn’t really matter other than you should know that’s the higher echelon of college sports) — the Oregon State Beavers are the sports team of Oregon State University. They haven’t been overly successful in terms of winning — only three NCAA national championships in Wrestling, Cross Country, and Baseball — but they have big followings in their football and basketball programs. Yesterday, the Beavers introduced a new logo, identity system, and uniforms designed by Nike’s Graphic Identity Group. The new beaver and block typography will replace the old beaver (obviously) as well as the well-known “OS” monogram and typography (all shown in animated GIF form above).

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Opinion BY Armin

Home is Where the Holes Is

In April of 2012 it was announced that two Manchester cultural institutions — Cornerhouse, an “international centre for contemporary visual arts and independent film” and the Library Theatre Company, who produce a mixture of contemporary drama and modern classic plays — would merge to create a single, producing arts organization. Now, this new organization has a name, HOME, and new identity designed by o street and Creative Concern.

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Opinion BY Armin

Accion gets some Action

Established in 1961 in 22 small towns in Venezuela to “empower the poor with the knowledge and tools to improve their lives,” Accion, a global nonprofit organization, is currently one of the world’s leaders in microfinance having established 62 microfinance institutions in 31 countries on four continents that in turn reach millions of clients with loans and support, fulfilling its mission of “giving people the financial tools they need to improve their lives.” All the way back in March with a rollout in the middle of the year, Accion introduced a new strategy, established by New York, NY-based IDEON, and new identity, designed by New York-based Joshua Levi.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Couchsurfing

About: (Est. 2004) Couchsurfing is “A global network of travelers, adventure seekers and lifelong learners who value trust among strangers and are dedicated to sharing their cultures, hospitality and authentic experiences — whether they’re on the road or in their hometowns. There are over 5 million Couchsurfers in more than 97,000 cities, with a new user signing up every 11 seconds.”

Design by: In-house.

Ed.’s Notes: Don’t worry, no handwriting was harmed in the making of this logo. It’s just a font. Two versions of the log exist: one without the loop as it appears on their site and one (below or after the jump) with the loop when the logo appears outside of the main website; part of the idea is that people can customize it.

Relevant links: Couchsurfing blog post.

Select quote: “Our objective with this new logo was to focus on the entire word ‘couchsurfing’ and turn it into a term that has meaning in and of itself. We’re not about ‘Couch’ and ‘Surfing’, we are about the act of ‘couchsurfing’, of connecting with people for inspiring experiences all over the world. We’d like to turn the word itself into the symbol that the couch has been. The designers brought this sense of human touch to life with the font they chose for the logo, which suggests handwriting. The more earthy shade of orange was chosen because it gives a sense of authenticity which reinforces the humanity of our brand.”

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Opinion BY Armin

Galavisión Lacks Vision

Launched in 1979 and owned by Univision, Galavisión is the leading Spanish language cable network in the United States and is described as “the direct, sexy, funny and alternative cable network that brings the best of modern Mexico to U.S. Hispanics.” The channel’s programming is a mix of comedy, lifestyle, documentary, “supernatural-themed programs”, and, of course, telenovelas, drawing much of its content from the Mexican TV superpower, Televisa. Earlier this month, Galavisión introduced a new logo designed by New York, NY-based PMcD Design.

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Opinion BY Armin

Houston Astros Looking Stellar

Established in 1962 as the Houston Colt 45s, the Houston Astros, as they were renamed in 1965 when they moved into the Astrodome, are the Major League Baseball team for Houston, Texas. The team’s best season came in 2005 when they made it to the World Series but were swept by the Chicago White Sox. In November 2011, it was announced that, after 51 years in the National League, the Astros would move to the American League, a move that balances the two leagues, now each with 15. I’m sure to actual baseball fans this has more philosophical meaning but to me, as math equations go, it makes sense. This past Friday — after MLB stole its thunder by leaking merchandise with the new logo early (and offering an apology) — the Astros unveiled their new logo, uniforms, and mascot at their stadium.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Rockmelt

About: (Est. 2009) “Rockmelt is providing a fundamentally better Web experience by re-imagining the browser around how you use the internet today.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: We covered Rockmelt’s logo back in 2011. I liked the end-of-the-world look to it. Bigger view of the logo below (or AtJ).

Relevant links: Detailed blog post from Rockmelt about the change.

Select quote: “The final concept started conceptually as a mobius strip, to represent the endless path you could take through the Internet. (Yes, we know a mobius strip is supposed to be connected, but that was gonna be really hard to pull off unless we changed our name to Bockmelt.)”

Thanks to Christopher Jones for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Follow-up: Fiji Airways

Back in August of this year we reported on the new logo for Fiji Airways, the national carrier airline of Fiji that is completing a full rebrand to be set in motion in 2013. At the time of the logo reveal, Fiji Airways preemptively announced that its livery would be introduced on October 10, Fiji Day. Here it is.

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A B-Side BY Armin

CTC

About: CTC is owned by CTC Media, “a leading independent media company in Russia, with operations throughout Russia and in a number of other CIS markets. It operates three free-to-air television networks in Russia — CTC, Domashny and Peretz — as well as Channel 31 in Kazakhstan and a TV company in Moldova, with a combined potential audience of over 150 million people.”

Design by: BDA Creative.

Ed.’s Notes: Logo animation below (or after the jump). That old logo was pimp!

Relevant links: Press Release.

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A B-Side BY Armin

California Historical Society

Established in 1871, the California Historical Society is a non-profit organization “with a mission to inspire and empower people to make California’s richly diverse past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives.” A new logo designed by Palo Alto, CA-based Randle Design was introduced in February. Anybody know what the shapes in the icon mean? Loaves of sourdough bread?

Thanks to Pierre Granier for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Colorado Springs

Located in South-Central Colorado, Colorado Springs is home to a little over 400,000 folks, many of which were offended at the “before” image shown above which was introduced in November of last year which led to a whole ordeal of doing a new logo. Story here. The new-new logo was designed by local design firm Fixer Creative Co. after an open call for proposals. Their story here.

A B-Side BY Armin

GoPago

Established in 2009, GoPago is a merchant service that allows businesses and customers to complete purchases using their smartphone only, no credit cards needed. GoPago has made news for getting JPMorgan Chase to fund it handsomely. A new logo and name change from Pago to GoPago was introduced in February.

Thanks to Nelson Vassalo for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Dignity Health

Established in 1986, Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) is one of the largest healthcare networks in the U.S., with 10,000 physicians and 55,000 employees across Arizona, California, and Nevada. They changed their name and logo in January. Press release here [PDF]. Logo explanation: “The logo represents the coming together of caregivers, services, care centers, etc., to create a continuum of care. The three sections remind us of the three dimensions of our mission — healing, advocacy, and partnering. The icon surrounds a central space, symbolizing how an integrated health system honors the inherent dignity of each individual.”

Thanks to Carlos Montalvan for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Winged Tiger on the Loose

Established in 1920 in the UK, where their first vehicles were “milk floats” deployed by dairies for deliveries in London, Smith Electric Vehicles is one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of zero-emission commercial electric vehicles, specializing in trucks for corporate fleets to companies like PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, Coca-Cola, and Staples. Smith was launched in the US in 2008 and in 2011 the American corporation purchased the UK parent company and in order to establish a consistent global brand, Smith introduced a new identity in November, designed by San Francisco, CA-based Strohl.

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A B-Side BY Armin

IZIBUILD

IZI is a Portuguese home improvement store owned by PreBuild. In 2011 EuroRSCG rebranded IZI, now known as IZIBUILD. Prebuild’s Margarida Calvinho explains (as translated by Google) “the new graphic identity reinforces the strength, experience and credibility that characterized the group Prebuilt.”

Thanks to Rodolfo Foitinho for the tip.