SKAGGS

Fubiz tuned me on to these beguiling images by Parisian illustrator Jules Julien [note–not work safe]. Does this work imply that within a consumerist culture, we are soon defined by the products we consume? Or that globalization leads to the loss of cultural identity?

It’s interesting to consider just how many brand services and products each of us consume every single day. This point is well made by annonymous blogger Dear Jane, whose timeline of every logo she sees on an average day rings true for most of us. Take a moment to think about it: what would yours look like? No doubt there’ll be a Facebook/Twitter application out there soon.

The New Zealand brand Bloomsberry & Co have really done something different with their packaging and produced a range of vibrant eye-catching graphics. They also have a rather charming website.

Established only in 2001, the brand was set-up by Giles Barker, a Graphic Designer and his wife, a trained cook; a perfect match of good design and good ingredients.

Always appreciative of pretty colours and anything with sugar, these chocolate bars have got me hooked and determined to eat my way through the whole range – purely for the sake of design, of course.

At the beginning of the year we were approached by TOTO USA to conceptualize, create and execute their green campaign. TOTO are no strangers to sustainability having practiced sustainable manufacturing processes for over 40 years and pioneered some of the most eco-efficient products available today. With many companies also advertising their sustainability and social responsibility, we knew that the messaging for the campaign was no walk in the park.
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If you have a good hour to spare, you could do worse than click through Kariann Burleson’s collection of superb business card designs on Flickr. Of course, none of them are a patch on ours…

I see the business card, calling card, and name card as tiny works of art, or even poems, as they express a brief visual narrative of something so much more. They are an introduction - an affectionate piece of evidence, a receipt of a connection, a meeting, a moment. It’s this nature of the business card or calling card that enchants.

Everyone has a morning routine when they arrive at work: check email, voicemail, news, etc. Part of my morning routine is checking out what is going on in the design world (and yes every word is a link).

If anything catches my eye I’ll take a look, but most of the time its a click here and there for a bit without anything interesting.

This site almost always does though. I’m not sure what it is though; is it my underlying obsession with critiquing(bashing) work, my interest in what else is going on, or being witness to the death passing of great logos. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes there are great redesigns done, but a vast majority just disappoint.

Yeah, I’m a little late to the Xerox redesign bashing party, but honestly, this is a travesty. I died a little inside when I saw this.

It’s becoming more and more apparent that corporations feel that they can discard the equity they’ve built in their identity for something new and shiny… very shiny, and bulbous too. As you scroll down the site you’ll see more and more that Identities are being redone for the sake of being redone.

It’s a shame.

A detailed look at the design process behind the creation of the ubiquitous Google logo.

I just remember thinking: “First day of school: Cold, cold, cold” I had forgotten my mittens in NY and my hands were purple when I walked into the schools library to present the assignment. I badly needed my gloves! I drank tea and more tea to warm me up until I started to sweat and stink oh my… that’s exactly what I feared the most; a stinking teacher with bad mouth breath! So I ran to the corner store and bought the strongest sugar free bubble gum available and wool mittens!

For 2 weeks I taught first, second and third year students in the Graphic Design Department at the Myndlistaskolinn á Akureyrar (the Arts and Crafts Collage in Akureyri). The assignment was to create a high-end brand for an organic chocolatier that had 2 locations – one in Akureyri and one in Reykjavik. The concept for the brand had to reflect it’s high-end and unique quality but also had to reflect it’s organic and sustainable approach. For example, the brand would only be sold on premise where the chocolate was made and packed.
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Wolf Ollins have had their fair share of grief this year. From their much poo-pooed London Olympics 2012 logo and the Wacom “trumpet thing” to their part in the (I will say no more) NYC taxi redesign and NYC Visit logo. I’ll admit I was one of the many grief givers, however time has passed and I’m not gnashing and grinding my teeth as much. Today I found myself looking at the nycvisit.com site, thanks to the beautifully designed “This Is New York City” posters from I Love Dust and BBH NY.
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The NY Times on Sunday had an interesting article about retailers making their bags “cooler” more luxurious and durable, so that consumers would use them again and again, thus the consumer becoming a walking billboard for the stores. Scoop and Lord and Taylor both have new bags whilst Bloomies and Bergdorf Goodman both have extensive “top secret” redesigns underway.
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Colour Lovers recently highlighted the almost unbelievable story that T-Mobile and its parent company Deutsche Telekom (DT) have trademarked Color No. 395 52 630, also known as Magenta. No..Not Magenta!? It’s one of my favorite colors! I’ve actually never heard of anything so ridiculous until Bradley pointed out that UPS has its brown and Tiffany has its blue.

I wonder if UK mobile phone network provider Orange has their orange? Have they trademarked/copyrighted the word Orange? Can they do this? If so what do we call those delicious citrusy vibrantly colored fruits!?(ok so I maybe over-reacting a little *ahem*).
Engadget has a great guide to answering questions like mine…it’s not as bad as it seems.
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