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.

A B-Side BY Armin

Santo Domingo

Cluster Turístico de Santo Domingo, the tourism office of the capital of the Dominican Republic, has just released a new destination logo for the city. More story here.

Thanks to Mirek Janczur for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains)

Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) sit at the border of Germany and the Czech Republic. As their name implies, the mountains were rich in ores, including silver, tin, and copper. It became an important mining area. A new logo for Tourismusverband Erzgebirge has been designed by Sandstein.

Via The Branding Source.

Opinion BY Armin

A Hell of a Place

Established many centuries ago, and its existence debated by many, Hell is a destination for suffering, punishment, and exposure to open flames for those that deserve it. With a long and well documented competition with Heaven, whose existence is also debated by many, Hell has seen a decline in population and brand recognition. This August — fittingly the hottest month of the year — the Hell Office of Travel and Tourism has introduced a new identity designed by Chicago, IL-based Chris Herron Design to position Hell as “the premier global tourist destination.”

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A B-Side BY Armin

Parques Nacionales de Canarias

Located to the Northwest of Africa, the Canary Islands are a set of Spanish islands with beautiful national parks. The result of a contest, the new logo for Parques Nacionales de Canarias has been designed by Sevilla, Spain-based Pedro Olivares. A PDF with more applications of the logo can be found here.

Thanks to Nora Gummert-Hauser for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Georgetown BID

Established in 1999, the Georgetown Business Improvement District makes sure that the lovely Georgetown neighborhood in Washington DC stays lovely. A new logo, tagline, and website were introduced earlier this month. A story about it here.

Thanks to Matthew Collins for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Moscow Embraces Emoticons

This introduction might be a little choppy because my Russian goes as far as Google Translate will take me. As a personal initiative architect Nicholas Pereslegina and designer Alexander Pershikova have launched their very own brand for the city of Moscow without any government involvement (or maybe even approval). And this is not just some proposal on a Behance page, this is a full-on brand with merchandise and souvenirs already hitting the streets of Moscow. The concept of the new logo is Surprise + Smile = Wow.

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A B-Side BY Armin

St. Petersburg/Clearwater

St. Petersburg/Clearwater is, as the name implies, a small region in Florida encompassing the area of and between the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater, featuring lovely beaches, resorts, and weather. In March a new identity designed by Pentagram was introduced.

Opinion BY Armin

Peru’s New Brand

It’s hard to describe countries without making sweeping statements or delving into clichés, so I won’t even attempt to describe Peru, other than to state some (hopefully obvious to everyone) facts: It’s in South America, its official language is Spanish, and it’s beautiful from its landmarks to its people. Last week saw the culmination of a process that started in 2009 led by PromPeru (Peru Exports and Tourism Promotion Comission) with the unveiling of Peru’s country brand, designed by the Buenos Aires office of Futurebrand.

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A B-Side BY lauren

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta, on a beautiful beach on the Pacific Ocean and Mexico´s second largest tourist destination, has recently undergone a repositioning in response to the changing face of tourism to Mexico. Designed by Puerto Vallarta based Mijo! Brands, “The new identity communicates the attributes which the destination promotes to differentiate itself from a growing list of national destinations competing for a diminishing market share.”