Logo New(s) 6: TV, Sports & Communication
Lipencott Mercer designs the identity for Alltel spinoff Windstream. Clean and trendy for sure. I think this one would fit right in with the Logos of Web 2.0.
The Miami Dolphins put a new brand on their stadium. Same colors but a more streamlined/cool look.
TLC gets a rebranding and a new “Life Lessons” campaign. They round the corners and make the logo shine. I think it looks better without the gel.
If a T could go globe trotting, would it look like a swoosh?
A few notables . . .
For some reason professors want to put the Kansas Jayhawk on their business cards, instead of the more academic and serious logo, proving that nostalgia is a powerful force when dealing with change. Here and Here
A designer defends his own new logo. Via Logo Lounge.
Of course, some major rebrands.
April 26th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
Man, is it just me or is identity design going down the toilet? Personally, the one that rubs me the worst is TLC with the jellifying of their logo. TLC had a solid logo which was quickly and strong identifiable. Now they have a “Web 2.0″ logo that fits right in with the background noise of similar-styled logos. Am I completely off my rocker here or do other people feel the same way?
April 26th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
I think Jon Hicks had a really good thing going with his leaf logo, but it really was time for a change. Too many other similar sites had the same look, and it was no longer unique. The new logo is definitely his style, but I’m not sure it stands out as much as the leaf did in the old days.
April 26th, 2006 at 6:29 pm
Wow. Am I behind. I remember when Indiana’s brand was “Wander Indiana” who knew they had changed? Twice? It’s still “Escape to Wisconsin,” yes?
April 26th, 2006 at 8:06 pm
Wow… that travel T is just plain awesome. I mean, with the swoosh it just has SO MUCH MOTION, and feels dynamic. it’s like you are actually travelling the world with it! *Sarcasm*
How can you go wrong with swooshes these days!
*Sigh*
April 26th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Well, at least it looks like the people at Dolphins Stadium know how to hire a professional firm to get professional results (www.smebranding.com). Notice no bevels, swooshes, or the phenomenon know as “BIGTYPE/littletype”.
Windstream looks like something from the introductory package at logoworks. Sorry, but it does.
And I agree with you P.J.. I look at TLC and can only hear my mom saying “If everyone else jumped of the bridge would you do it too?….”
And the Travel Channel… I cannot believe that got approved. What is that supposed to be? An orange plane circling a globe?.. no, wait, it’s a letter….no, TWO letters.. a T and a C… ughhh. That thing has no fit in any of the Discovery brands.
April 26th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
Visually, I like the new Dolphin Stadium logo. I suppose it’s got a slightly swooshy quality to it and it reminds me a lot of Seaworld’s logo (by Landor). But, it’s a dolphin, and it’s otherwise nicely drawn.
The logotype is loaded with typographic inconsistency, though. Even if you start with a regular typeface, you have to optimize the characters in a logotype to be of even color and weight. There should be harmony throughout. Let’s start with the word “Dolphin”. The D is too wide compared to the O, but that’s nothing compared to the width of the N. It looks like they adjusted the D and N to make the justified setting work, but they should have continued with the other letters. The P’s bowl and counter should have been larger as well. In “STADIUM”, the same issue exists with the A. That crossbar needs to be dropped. Finally, the T is way too narrow. I can’t wait to see all of this in giant 40 foot tall signage letters. Ick.
——-
Windstream’s logo is also nicely done. I think the overall identity would be stronger if they had capitalized Windstream. It would feel less dot-com-like.
April 27th, 2006 at 12:47 am
Man, these logos are all lazy.
They’re all visual dead weight, the kind of thing you see when you’re sitting in a parking lot waiting for your friend to come out of an appointment or a take-out restaurant and think – man, if the designer had only taken about 15 minutes more to clean this up, I wouldn’t be sitting here pissed off at how ugly it is, wishing I could rip it off the sign, vehicle, or billboard and fix it.
Or maybe they all deserve an “E” for Effort. Maybe these were designers who were trying so hard to look trendy that they forgot all about composition, readability, and logic.
Lots of dead space, not interesting to look at, and most of all, they don’t make any statement about their clients besides: “Look! A new logo!”
Pew.
I dunno. Maybe mine are just as bad.
April 27th, 2006 at 12:59 am
Oh yeah, by the way, PJ, I don’t think logo design is completely dead so long as Michael Doret is still around. Man, this guy’s work just kills me. Fantastic.
http://www.michaeldoret.com
April 27th, 2006 at 6:14 am
I think the new Travel Channel mark strikes me as the worst waste of time. The new mark doesn’t communicate nearly as well as the old one.
How does it offend? Its got an overplayed swoosh element, and it downsized “Travel” and the globe element to place more emphasis on… “channel”? I think when its in the lower right of the TV, we’ll figure out that its a channel on our own.
April 27th, 2006 at 11:25 am
“Dolphins Enterprises CEO Joe Bailey announced today a major repositioning of Dolphins Stadium.”
I hope they have a big crane.
April 28th, 2006 at 5:40 am
How about some examples of good logos? It’s easy to criticize and with all the posts lately I’m starting to wonder whether anyone actually has an acceptable logo anymore.
April 28th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
Well, Daniel, go to Michael Doret’s website. http://www.michaeldoret.com.
I guarantee there will be plenty of good logos there. And no stupid gel effects.
April 29th, 2006 at 6:08 am
Oddly enough… Those pieces by Michael Doret don’t do it at all for me either. Even without “stupid gel effects”. I mean, a few I can appreciate such as the Nicks logo, but some of them few really dated to me and not in the “classic” way.