A B-Side BY Armin

Louisville Slugger

About: (Est. 1894) “Louisville Slugger is synonymous with baseball and softball. It is the leading brand in diamond sports. The company makes the #1 Bat in Major League Baseball, bats that are swung by the best of the best - Derek Jeter, Josh Hamilton, Joey Votto, Curtis Granderson and David Wright, among hundreds of other current MLB stars. […] Louisville Slugger also makes industry-leading equipment for youth, high school and college players. It sponsors top-level NCAA Division 1 baseball programs, including the 2012 National Champion Arizona Wildcats.”

Design by: N/A

Ed.’s Notes: Kind of terrible. The logo is now stuck in the 1980s, early 1990s. If they had just let it be another ten years it would be all retro and stuff, even with how mangled that old typography was. Bigger view, and a shot of the logo on bats below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: WFPL story

Select quote: “Hillerich and Bradsby Company Vice-President of Marketing Kyle Schlegel says this is the first new look for the logo since 1980.

‘What we’ve tried to do is hold true to those pieces of the mark that really speak to the legacy, so the oval is still there but we wanted to introduce a lot of new modern elements to it that allow the brand to really come into the present day,’ he said.”

Continue reading this entry

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).

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Ipro

About: (Est. 1989) “Ipro is a global leader in the development of advanced software solutions used by legal professionals to streamline the discovery process. Ipro’s worldwide network of corporations, law firms, government agencies, and legal service providers rely on Ipro’s Enterprise platform to organize, review, process, and produce litigation data of vast sizes and complexity levels more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Posted mainly because we need a front-runner to Worst B-Side of the year. We could also award the “before” logo an honorary Worst Of.

Relevant links: Press release.

Select quote: “Ipro’s former logo, a blue diamond signifying the company’s longstanding history, will be replaced on all collateral moving forward with a fresher, more colorful image. The three distinct colors and shapes coming together into one spherical design represent not only the integration of Ipro’s three flagship products but the synergy that must exist between the three primary verticals of the electronic discovery: the law firm, the corporation, and the legal service provider.”

Thanks to James I. Bowie for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Entropic

About: (Est. 2001) “Entropic is a world leader in semiconductor solutions for the connected home. The Company transforms how traditional HDTV broadcast and IP-based streaming video content is seamlessly, reliably, and securely delivered, processed, and distributed into and throughout the home. Entropic’s next-generation Set-top Box (STB) System-on-a-Chip (SoC) and Connectivity solutions enable Pay-TV operators to offer consumers more captivating whole-home entertainment experiences by transforming the way digital entertainment is delivered, connected and consumed — in the home and on the go”

Design by: Promar Designs.

Ed.’s Notes: You know what they say: once a swoosh, always a swoosh. Detail view and epically-scored logo introduction video below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Press release.

Select quote: “The corporate logo has been modernized to reflect the newly integrated Company, yet maintains the integrity of key elements within its original logo such as the curved symbol, which is illustrative of the entropy curve from which the Company’s name is derived. The new logo adds dimension and motion to the previous logo symbol, reflecting the Company’s ability to move video and other multimedia content into and throughout the home and on the go.”

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Vancouver Community College

About: (Est. 1965) “Vancouver Community College is a public community college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest and oldest community college in British Columbia, with over 140 certificate and diploma programs.[1] VCC has two campuses, Broadway and Downtown, both located in the city of Vancouver. The college accommodates 26,000 students each year from a variety of nations, about 8 percent of whom are international students.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Very swooshy, sparkle-dusty video below (or after the jump) and a quote from the press release that pretty much explains it all.

Relevant links: Press release.

Select quote: “The logo development, part of VCC’s 2011 - 2014 Strategic Plan, included considerable input from internal and external groups, including staff, faculty, students, administrators, as well as stakeholders from business, industry and the community. The final logo selection represents the voices and insights of over 700 individuals.” (Emphasis mine).

Continue reading this entry

Friday Likes BY Armin

Friday (Dis)Likes 24

This week I might be poisoning the Friday Likes well, but too many wrecks piled up together that I thought it would be worthy to do Friday Likes bizarro world with some really hideous work. Enjoy. Or not.

Continue reading this entry

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.

A B-Side BY Armin

Tulsa International Airport

Established in 1929, the Tulsa International Airport is the airport for Tulsa, Oklahoma. A new logo was introduced earlier this month. It is remarkably nice, for airport logos. Story here. Design by Walsh Branding. Bigger view view of the logo below (or after the jump.)

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport

First built in 1931, Little Rock National Airport serves around 150 flights each day to and from Little Rock, Arkansas. This past March, the airport was renamed as Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, in honor of the former Arkansas governor and former United States president Bill Clinton and his wife, current United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The new logo, introduced this week, was designed by local ad agency Eric Rob & Isaac. Story here. (Mr. Clinton sure likes his C-shaped swooshes, see: Clinton Foundation logo).

Thanks to James I. Bowie for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

A Swoosh is a Dish Best Not Served

Established in 1919, the National Restaurant Association (NRA), as its name implies, is the business association for the restaurant industry, representing more than 380,000 members in restaurant and foodservice outlets. The NRA’s mission is to “lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve.” It does this by providing tools and advice, advocating on its members behalf in Washington, D.C., and hosting the industry’s largest trade show, the NRA Show. Earlier this month, NRA introduced a new logo. Although no design credit was given they do mention in their press release that they “sought input from industry professionals, state restaurant associations and policy makers to create a logo concept that resonates with a wide audience and that illustrates the restaurant and foodservice industry in multiple ways.”

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

RSM

Established in 1964, RSM International is one of the world’s largest independent accounting networks with 698 offices in over 85 countries around the world and more than 32,500 people, specializing in audit, tax and advisory. The new logo, introduced earlier this month, and designed by Euro RSCG is meant to “[Reflect] our growing connectivity and success as an integrated network.” Press release here. Man, and there I thought we stopped making globe logos with swooshes that conveyed connectivity and integration back in the 1990s.

Opinion BY Armin

No Hugs and Kisses for XO from this Reviewer

Established in 1996, XO Communications is a “nationwide provider of advanced communications, managed network and IT infrastructure services for business, large enterprise and wholesale customers” providing internet service, networking, cloud computing, among other services. They have more than 3,200 employees and serve 85 metropolitan markets. Earlier this month, XO Communications introduced a new identity. No credit was given — leads welcome.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Creative England

Established in 2011, Creative England has “the core purpose of supporting the sustainable growth of independent creative businesses, and the talent that feeds them, in every part of England outside London” focusing on film, television, games, and digital and creative services. In November, Creative England “put out an open call for applications for a new brand identity in November last year, asking designers to present an image that captured Creative England’s work and values.” (Way to support the creative community asking for spec work!). After 150 submissions, they picked a logo designed by Sheffield-based Peter and Paul. Story here. The logo represents “fluidity” and is about showing them as “dynamic and moving.”

Thanks to Alice Ralph for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Total Rewards, Totally Vegas

With more than 40 million members Total Rewards is the loyalty program of Caesars Entertainment, which owns some of the most well known casinos in Las Vegas — including Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, Ballys, Paris, Rio, and Flamingo — as well as other entertainment destinations around the world like Planet Hollywood. The Total Rewards program, as you would expect, gives back points to the customer every time they play, eat, drink, stay, or have fun at any of 40 participating resorts and casinos. As part of the customer experience and satisfaction the loyalty program is one of the most important elements of the brand. This past March, Total Rewards introduced a new identity designed by New York, NY-based Siegel+Gale.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Maxis

Founded in 1987 and purchased by Electronic Arts in 1997, Maxis is a video game developer best known for creating SimCity, The Sims, and Spore. With the recent launch of the latest SimCity a revised logo for Maxis was introduced. Bigger view of the logo, and its killer bevels, below (or after the jump).

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Gildan

Established in 1984, Gildan is a “marketer and globally low-cost vertically-integrated manufacturer of quality branded basic apparel.” From socks to t-shirts to fleece, over 30,000 employees worldwide push this good-enough brand. A revised logo appeared last Fall.

Thanks to Michael Smith for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Sign Language for Swoosh

Founded in 1864, Gallaudet University in Washington, DC is “the world’s only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students.” Gallaudet is a bilingual university, offering all of its courses in both English and American Sign Language to close to 1,800 students with more than 900 employees, of which almost half are deaf or hard of hearing. This week Gallaudet introduced a new logo, designed by an internal design committee with two Gallaudet alumni, Zhou Fang and Scott Carollo, credited as the designers. The process of the redesign has been thoroughly documented here.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Skyrush

Skyrush will be the newest ride opening in 2012 at Hersheypark in Hershey, PA. “After climbing 200 feet into the air, you’ll touch the sky before flying downhill at 75mph in the country’s first winged seat coaster train.” More gory details about the ride here. I shouldn’t like the logo but it’s capital-A-Awesome. Dude. Bigger view below (or after the jump).

Continue reading this entry

Opinion BY Armin

Zee TV Sees Swooshes

Established in 1992 Zee TV is one of the leading television channels in India, and since 1995 has been both exporting Zee TV to other countries and expanding its roster of channels to include Zee Cinema, Zee Sports, Zee Business, Zee Cafe, among a line-up of 25 channels, all now under the corporate umbrella of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. Earlier this month Zee TV introduced a new identity to roll out across all of its channels (except the Ten Sports brand) designed in-house with additional muscle provided by global agency Draftfcb.

Continue reading this entry

A B-Side BY Armin

Tetley

Established in 1837, Tetley is the second largest manufacturer of tea in the world. New logo has been introduced without much of a peep.

Thanks to Nicholas Chuva Plagge for the tip.