Sophisticated. Brilliant. Funny

Comedy Central just unveiled their new logo. And what I love is a number of things: First it works on the simple sophistication of working in 1 color. Black. One of the first design rules I learned in college was that a good mark needed to work in one color. Now forward 20 plus years. With technology always changing, the mediums and options for application are endless. But that doesn't mean that design needs to become more complicated. In fact, as we process information faster and faster, look at smaller and smaller screens to see content, I feel that it's more important than ever that design needs to be a simple and easy to understand. And what is also fantastic is that the agency that did this understands that as well as their audience. From the video they put out, to the fake twitter account acknowledging the change, it's clear that these people know what they're doing.
New Logo Video
Face Twitter Account
Design Discussion on the new identity

What your twitter icon says about you

The size is .24 x 24 pixels. That's tiny. And that's the size of your twitter icon that potential followers are seeing. So what does yours look like? Is your logo cut off? Are you using gradients and textures that when reduced are little blurs? A photo of yourself? Make sure your head isn't cut off. An image "borrowed" from another website, photographer or illustrator. Don't get me started on copyright issues. But what I'm saying is to think about it. How others are seeing you. In different mediums. In different environments. Because what you put out there, if you own your own business, represents you. So think about it as the world's tiniest business card. Does it say what you want? Because it needs to say a lot in a little space. Just like a tweet.

winterizing: Spiegel, I thought you were smarter than that

winterizing: Spiegel, I thought you were smarter than that

Spiegel, I thought you were smarter than that

Despite the fact that I've only purchased one item from this retail giant and get daily emails on sales despite a number of attempts to be removed from their spam, I found today's ad especially annoying. Because I am convinced that despite focus groups and knowing their consumer, they decided that to  feature selling plus size clothing they should put a tiny size zero in their ad. And while the model looks stunning in her cashmere tunic, the real connection to marketing is lost. A connection to the audience. Because my guess is that woman who lounge around in cashmere are smart consumers. Smart enough to know that there is no way in hell they would like that if they bought these sweaters.

Gap redoes Logo. Look what happens.

Gap recently redid their identity. And while I see traces of their old mark (in the tacky gradient square), it seems that this was a wasted opportunity to refresh their highly recognizable mark.
And without knowing exactly what the client wanted (because as I've said before, it starts by listening)
I can't help but feel that this has positioned (or repositioned) the gap as a lower line. Closer to Old Navy, one of the other companies under the huge corporate umbrella that also carrier Banana Republic, Piper Lime, and Athleta.

MTV refreshes logo-by cropping off tag line

As businesses evolve, sometimes a refresh of a logo is necessary. Maybe the type is dating the companies with a 70"s vibe. Or a tech company from the 90's used some sort of swoosh. Or a television station that once started out playing videos and now features people with the name Snookie as their big money maker. Either way, MTV, once responsible for video killing the radio star, felt that after 30 years, the logo needed to be refreshed. The result: They removed the tagline. Now, not knowing what was also presented as part of this exercise, I did a little investigation. The only thing I learned was that the "M" now stands for Millenium. That's their audience. But what happens when that audience gets older? Are they going to try to retro fit another "M" meaning? Read about the thoughts behind the original logo

Chair Obsession

I am always on the search for the perfect chair. So when I saw these on Apartment Therapy, my first thought was I wish I knew how to reupholster. Despite being creative, I can't even make a pillow. Maybe that's why I am so in love with Anthropologie's Astro Chair.

Anthropologie

Or maybe it's the color. Then there's this little red number from the James Hotel. Like the perfect little black dress, this one never goes out of style.

Naming

I love creative names for companies. And if the name of the company and website are the same, more power to them. Especially since it feels that every good name online has already been purchased.

So while I was at my in-laws today, I came across an ad in Family Circle, for their online mag targeted to moms with kids between 7 and going to college. Momster. Ugh I thought. Like monster, or napster, or some sort of weird hybrid. It wasn't funny or clever. More leaning towards grungy. And while I poked around for a few moments, I realized this wasn't for me. I didn't want to be a Momster. I wanted to be a cookie. Which was a much more interesting resource for urban parents.

http://www.cookiemag.com/

iphone and design apps

I did it and bought an iphone. Never mind the fact that AT & T has terrible service. Which it does. And while I'm not in love with it like some of my other associates are, (I prefer the keyboard on the Blackberry) I do appreciate the interface design. Beyond that, the apps icons that are created. The simplicity and restrictions of the phone itself call for a more streamlined design. With only a tiny square, designers need to communicate what their application offers. Years ago, I had a boss who always said, "Will it fit on a pencil?" It was his litmus test for marketing. Today, while no longer my boss, I can hear him in my head saying "How will this look on the iphone?" Scott Mitchell, over ten years later, and I'm still learning from you. Now that's a great boss.