In what looks like a nod to Eatock’s alternative 2012 logo, artist and designer Roy McCarthy created this free-to-use branding for those who’d rather not pay thousands to become an official sponsor.

“I think there’s room for everyone to benefit from, and show support for, the games without having to stump up a load of sponsorship. Normally in a situation like this I would have a bit of a moan in the paper’s comments section, but this time I’m seeing it as a chance to do something creative instead.”

I’m all for less moaning, more doing.

Read and see more on Roy’s Pymlico page. Via davidthedesigner.

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These Japanese manhole covers are a definite step up from the standard fare. Via @JennyTheolin.

Smart people don’t think others are stupid, by Derek Sivers. Via @DuaneKinsey.

A short but sweet post, with a comment from Derek Halpern that stood out (excerpted below).

“When it comes to being smart, as Susan Cain pointed out in her book Quiet, people often view ‘first talkers’ as smarter than people who sit back and contemplate. She then went on to explain how Harvard trains people to take fast, decisive action, which supposedly puts introverts at a disadvantage.

“Is it ‘right?’

“Probably not.

“But people are people… and as long as people continue to have a bias towards those who talk first, there will always be people who take advantage of it.

“The key is to make sure you’re not someone who’s easily swayed by a first talker.”

Bubble tents. I’d love to spend a clear night in one, ideally watching an aurora, with heater. Via ISO50.

Orman Clark’s Classica theme for WordPress is a bit nice.

Advice that’s not new, but clarified: Of course you should write like you speak.

Painters suspended on cables of the Brooklyn Bridge, on October 7, 1914. Eugene de Salignac.

Photos of old New York from the New York Municipal Archives. Some hand-picked gems on The Atlantic. Via Kottke.

Creative Review’s Patrick Burgoyne asked if it’s time to ditch the pitch. Interesting comment thread.

I like the illustrative work of Craighton Berman’s fueledbycoffee sketchblog.

Nice Things, a collection of design, illustration, typography and photo images collated by Luke Jones.

An insightful read about the state of journalism, by Stijn Debrouwere. Via Subtraction.

On referring to YouTube, Facebook, and a host of other companies mentioned in the article, Stijn said:

“It’s not journalism. But you’d be naive if you thought their services aren’t often consumed instead of news. It’s the same kind of functionality in a different package, after all, and that new package happens to be rather attractive a lot of the time.”

Previously: From the reader #9

Brand identity inspiration on Identity Designed.

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As a refresher, from this January's post on TV Land: "Launched in 1996 and originally part of a Nickelodeon programming block called Nick at Nite, TV Land is a cable television channel aimed (according to owner MTV Networks) at the 40- to 50-year-old with a blend of original programming, classic and contemporary television series acquisitions, and movies." What has changed in the last five months since I last wrote about the on-air look of TV Land is the development of more original programming, bringing their total to five shows, and they also seem to be gunning for a slightly younger audience. Last week, TV Land introduced a new logo and on-air package designed by sixth-year collaborator Trollback + Company and new mnemonic and theme by CORD Worldwide.

Logos introduced in 1996, 2001, and 2009.

For the first time since the launch of the network 16 years ago, TV Land is unveiling a new and re-imagined logo plus re-designed on-air packaging and graphics, it was announced today by Larry W. Jones, president, TV Land. Gone is the logo with a classic TV screen and retro style. Instead, beginning Wednesday, May 9, viewers will see a fresh mark with a nod to the channel's roots, a change that reflects the evolution of the network itself. — TV Land Press Release

The goal for the logo was to lose the retro feeling and make it more modern while maintaining TV Land's heritage. Creative Director Anna Minkkinen explains the strategy, "The new horizontal logo locks up with type neatly, allowing us to constantly reinforce the brand connection between the network and the shows." — Trollbäck + Co Press Release

It fascinates me that TV Land is so attached to the atomic TV shape they have been using for 16 years — it was memorable and relevant with the channel's launch and early evolution but now it's just a visage of something that used to make sense. If ever there was a chance to let go, it was now. The shape in the new logo is barely there, now almost unrecognizable if you don't know what it is or where it came from. Not only is it not gone, it's there twice! But let's assume the channel's viewership and ability to generate well-received scripted series would collapse if the shape wasn't there: the logo is okay. "TV" sits nicely inside the shape, Gestalt-ingly completing it. Then, "land" has grown rather large creating a somewhat strange small caps wordmark that doesn't exactly work out, since the thickness of "land" is lighter than "TV" but not by much, and I wonder why it wasn't just equalized. I don't think the logo is the successful "re-imagination" the releases tout; it simply looks like one more evolution trying to hold on to something that I don't think has that much value anymore. Luckily, Trollbäck + Co has once again done what Trollbäck + Co does best: develop a catchy, happily contagious on-air package — I tell you, you could give them the word "potato" typeset in Helvetica and they would find a way to package it as the most exciting thing. The new on-air package brings to life the logo and highlights the new cast of characters with a great color scheme and the fun, whistle-y theme. I liked the last on-air system better, but this one still saves the logo too.

On-air montage. "The shooting style," explains Trollback + Co, "was also designed to express a fresh, dynamic energy. By using diverse talent shots and juxtaposing punchy imagery, the team was able to set a bold, fun tone against a rich color palette."

Established in 1994 (originally as Internet Wire), Marketwire provides "global press release distribution, industry-leading social media monitoring and analytics, and a fully integrated marketing communications platform for content creation, optimization, distribution and measurement." Many of the press releases we quote on Brand New come from Marketwire, as it serves more than 12,000 clients through 20 offices around the world. This week Marketwire introduced a new identity. No design credit given.

Marketwire's new brand promise, Beyond Words, captures the power of combining content and conversation. It articulates a renewed emphasis on personal service, advanced execution through "powerful simplicity," exemplary performance and growth. […] Reflecting its new brand identity, Marketwire's new logo blends two intersecting shapes, representing the integration of content distribution and social media. — Press Release

New brand introduction.

Not the most flattering or marketing-ready photos but they get the point across of the swag look.

The old logo was cute, in the way a helpless turtle turned on its back is cute, flailing legs and, um, legs — with its wi-fi signal coming out of the tittle and some default-looking sans serif, the logo had that naive early 2000s start-up look. The new logo manages to correct some of its predecessor's misgivings through a very simple icon that gets the point across — two entities (companies vs. the media/public) connecting — and some new nice sans serif, gently tracked and sized, that adds sophistication to a service working with many Fortune 500 companies. The icon works well as both a pattern, as seen on the website, and blown-up, as seen on the coffee mug which gives it a contemporary argyle-like look. The animation at the top of the post gets a little triangle-happy at points but there are some interesting visual moments and the animation of the logo itself is well resolved. Even though there is no groundbreaking originality this is a very commendable upgrade.

Thanks to Scott Misner for the tip.

Pentagram’s Eddie Opara has been named to Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, the annual list that celebrates “business innovators who dare to think differently.” The list, published in the magazine’s June issue, out next week, recognizes a wide-ranging group of leaders from the fields of design, technology, advertising, business and entertainment, and Eddie is ranked alongside such luminaries as Wes Anderson, Björk, CeeLo Green and Aziz Ansari.

For the issue, Eddie was invited to create an infographic illustrating his process for creating an infographic. The image playfully shows how he turns data into art. “(The illustration) is a library of infographics,” he tells Fast Company. “Too often, people start with a pie or bar chart, but you have to understand the content and patterns in data before throwing images on paper.” Several members of the Pentagram team appear in the infographic, analyzing data and helping the process along. View details after the jump.

Infographic: Eddie Opara, partner-in-charge and designer; Verena Michelitsch, designer.

http://fr.etapes.com/natasha-jen-un-talent-de-plus-chez-pentagram

Via @asburyandasbury.

More on London 2012: London 2012 logo threatens Iran 2012 Olympic non-events Royal Mail 2012 stamps

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Established in 2007, NYSE Euronext is the holding company of some of the most important and influential securities exchanges in the world, including the doubly eponymous New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Euronext, trading equities, futures, options, fixed-income, and exchange-traded products. With 2,993 employees and 8,000 listed issues NYSE Euronext represents "one-third of the world's equities trading and the most liquidity of any global exchange group." Yesterday, NYSE Euronext introduced a new identity designed by Interbrand.

The new icon — an abstract representation of the globe — visualizes the concept of unlocking the potential of our worldwide community. Simple yet impactful, the image conveys the dynamism of NYSE Euronext's markets, the connectedness of our community and the diversity of our people. Multiple color bars represent our broad array of product offerings, geographies and cultures, projecting a company and community in constant motion. The blue and green color palette reflects growth and optimism; the lighter hues convey our commitment to transparency, and the bolder colors recall our storied historical role in developing the world economy. — NYSE Euronext's Brand-New Look

Brand video.

Upon the merger, NYSE Euronext inherited the NYSE double window logo, a mark more laden with equity than any memorable or engaging visual quality — and that logo appears as it will remain for the NYSE. The new logo goes for more visual excitement with asymmetrical, colorful bars that have an amazing range of rationalizations from forming a globe to representing offerings to portraying motion. It would be easy to call bullshit but it works. It's exactly the kind of corporate logo that sells well in meetings and sounds excellent in press releases. You might think I'm being sarcastic — I'm not — this is a very well played logo and identity. It doesn't mean it's the best logo we've seen all year, it just means it hits the mark. The colors go from corporate blue to sustainable green, making it lovable from all belief angles, and it works well on top of the black and white photographs. Not to leave any element without critique, the type in the logo is some unobtrusive contemporary sans serif that although it doesn't take away much attention I wish were smaller in relationship to the icon. Overall, a very appropriate redesign.

Time-lapse of the NYSE trading room floor getting decked in the new brand.

Thanks to James I. Bowie for for first tip.

As the image above implies, we are actively looking for partners for three of the bigger projects this year at UnderConsideration: 1 & 2) An offset printer who would be interested in producing, in full or in part, either one or both of the FPO Awards and Brand New Awards books — 256 pages each approximately, 4/4. And 3) Companies with a product or service that would like to sponsor the 2012 Brand New Conference this September in New York — Presenting, Event, and After-Party sponsorships available starting at $3,000. Contact me to inquire about the perks, benefits, and other good things we offer in return for your support.

http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2012/eddie-opara

As part of Telefonica — one of the world's largest providers of broadband and telecommunications services, with main operations in Spain — Telefonica Digital is a global business division of its parent company with the mission to "seize the opportunities within the digital world and deliver new growth for Telefonica." Last week Telefonica Digital introduced TU — Spanish for "You" — a " new umbrella brand for its direct to consumer services" and has launched its first product, TU Me, a free global communications mobile app, that puts all calls, texts, shared photos, etc. into one simple timeline and as long as you are on Wi-Fi or using your data plan you can use it wherever you are. The naming, identity, and visual system for TU and TU Me have been developed by London-based SomeOne.

At first glance this new identity seems to target many popular trends, including subtle gradients, overlays, and geometric typography, making it easy to dismiss as one more app-ish looking brand, but there are a couple of details that make it stand out and help establish a visual structure for the main venture, TU, the first app, and all potential launches in the future. The main device that sticks out, which is also not that original, is the circle-with-one-square-corner — is there an official name for this thing? — that appears, first, at the intersection of the "T" and "U" in the main logo, in some of the characters of the custom alphabet, and on the icons of the app. The shape isn't groundbreaking but the way it is embedded throughout the identity is a clever new way of using it and establishing it as a key component of the identity. Also, of the many possible gradient executions, the ones used here are enjoyable — which are more fog-like rather than just transitions from one color to another — especially the orange to pink. Also, considering that this is a global app from a very large corporation for anyone who has iOS or Android, the identity is simple enough to appeal to a very large audience.

I read a comment from designer Miles Newlyn where he mentioned he wouldn’t work with a zoo on ethical grounds. I’ll be writing a chapter in my book about ethical considerations so was wondering about the stance of others. I asked this question on Twitter.

What type of business would you refuse to work with on ethical grounds?

Here are some of the answers that were kindly shared.

“I stay away from anything I don’t fully understand (and can’t see if they’re beneficial). Financial products are a good example.” — Richard Baird

“Cigarette branding for obvious ethical implications.” — Ben Powell

“Extremist religious/movement groups, family.” — Phil Stringfellow

“Gambling. Their business model should not be dependant on the illness of addiction.” — Mel

“Online gambling and classified sites/businesses that include an adult services section (i.e. Village Voice Media).” — Amara Poolswasdi

“Tobacco and religious organisations.” — Mark Bradford

“Oil/petrochemical, tobacco, companies with shady practices such as Monsanto.” — Abbas Arezoo

“Anything even remotely to do with the adult entertainment industry.” — Tim Phelan

“Tobacco and gambling are the two I would never touch.” — Guy Moorhouse

“Any type of bussiness taking advantage of slave labour in third world countries.” — Lejla Kuric

“Our ethical policy excludes companies with poor human rights/exploitation or environmental records. Nestle, BP, etc.” — Dave McCourt

“If you work in the quasi-public sector (as I do) the only business’ you can refuse to work with are those operating illegally or those which can provably ‘bring [your] institution into disrepute’.” — Gabriel M. Clarke

“I’ve just refused to do pics for an abbatoir training resource *vegetarian shudder* for obvious reasons.” — Leanne J

“Trophy hunting.” — Josephine Jost

That last comment reminded me of one company I choose not to do business with.

Has your ethical stance ever ruled out (or won you) a client?

—

Resources: Ethics in Graphic Design, a blog by Eileen MacAvery Kane A quick primer for ethics in design

Crumpled note image via Thinkstock

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Launched twelve years ago, innocent sells more than two million pure fruit smoothies each week in 11,000 UK outlets.

Here’s the story behind the “face with the halo” logo quoted from a comment thread on the Fast Tractor innocent blog.

The story goes like this — the name ‘innocent’ came from us (actually via Rich (founder) going through the thesauruses in Huddersfield town library). We had a fair few dodgy names before settling on innocent.

The logo was designed by Gravy at Deepend. Gravy doodled on a piece of paper in front of us in response to our brief ‘we just need a face with a halo above it’, and we looked at his first sketches and said ‘that’s it’.

We agreed that Deepend would provide us the first 18 months of design services in return for them getting 2% equity, but Deepend went bust so the equity reverted back to us.

Story from the keyboard of Dan Germain, head of creative at innocent.

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A tasty edition that includes pretzels, beer (again), and lettering.

Sigmund's Pretzels

You can almost taste the salt and rub shoulders with Woody Allen in this identity by Triboro for New York pretzel maker, Sigmund's. [More / Scroll down at the link]

Dockside Brewing Co.

A micro brewery started by three Landor colleagues and designed at their Cincinnati office, Dockside's cans feature abstract-ish tiles of goodness that tell the story of each flavor. [More]

Rob Clarke

One of my favorite pieces of lettering to come out of the 2011 Brand New Awards, the logo by and for logo executioner, Rob Clarke. [More]

Established in 1969 as a central body of the state administration of the Czech Republic, the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) gathers, analyzes, and publishes data about the Czech Republic. More specifically, its mission is to "[yield] a reliable and consistent image about the state of the arts and development of the society according to developing needs of users of statistical service in conditions of changing environment." CZSO achieves this by publishing documents, hosting conferences, and engaging the public and the media. At the end of last year, as the result of a contest, CZSO introduced a new identity that is now being rolled out in full, designed by Prague-based Toman Graphic Design.

The new logo is based on the activities of the Czech Statistical Office. "Statistics reflect reality and helps to compose a comprehensive and readable picture of it. That is why we used the symbol of draft chart that accurately reflects the pattern of the name name. All materials are trying to emphasize and develop the main idea of ??supporting the Authority's mission - to acquire and process data for statistical purposes. — Provided Materials

The old logo, designed in the mid 1990s, was a very cold and aggressive look for an office trying to provide some helpful information — but if someone had figured out the correct and even spacing for all the elements, the 45-degree-angle visualization of ČSÚ would have been somewhat interesting. The new logo is a simple concept, with a bar chart on the left mimicking the width of the type on the right. It's elegant, stately, and, for a government institutions, relatively playful. With so many contemporary sans serif typefaces available I always tend to question the choice of old standbys like Futura, but I guess it gets the job done.

In application, on what look like mostly prototype images, the logo has a very nice presence in all the materials, especially in things like the logo on the seam of the polo shirt, the division of the pen, or the spine of the publications. The bar charts used as a background or framing element work fine and provide a good and somewhat flexible structure to create a variety of materials. Overall, a lively yet serious identity.

The Elephant Combs logo caught my eye over on Creative Review’s roundup of the 2012 One Show Awards.

Designed by TBWA/India for MKV Household Products.

It’s so fitting I can’t help but think it was designed before the product existed.

That’s a compliment.

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To make room for the 2011 Brand New Awards books — NOT yet available — we are cutting prices in half for all versions: Book ($17.49) / PDF ($9.99) / iPad ($9.99). Get 'em while they are cheap!

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/luxembourg_philharmonic_orchestra.php

Michael Gericke and his team have designed a new campaign for Top of the Rock, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center.

New York City never looks better than it does from Top of the Rock©, the observation deck at the summit of the landmark 70-story skyscraper 30 Rockefeller Center© in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The spectacular unobstructed views from Top of the Rock stretch from New York harbor to the south, to Central Park to the north, from the Hudson River to the outer boroughs and beyond.

Pentagram’s Michael Gericke and his team have designed a bold and elegant new advertising campaign and graphic program for Top of the Rock that highlights the amazing one-of-a-kind vistas seen from the deck. The campaign, which will run throughout the year, appears in print advertisements, promotions and websites, and on posters, digital kiosks, banners and buses throughout New York. The campaign is especially visible at Rockefeller Center itself, where the colorful graphics build awareness for the millions of visitors who pass through the center.

The campaign assembles views taken from Top of the Rock throughout the day and in different seasons.

The campaign captures the spectacular all-around vistas seen from Top of the Rock.

Gericke worked closely on the campaign with Tishman Speyer, who own and manage Rockefeller Center. Top of the Rock reopened in 2005 following a $75 million renovation and has since become one of the city’s most visited tourist attractions. 30 Rockefeller Center is the heart of the bustling complex of offices, shops, theaters and public plaza at Rockefeller Center, and is also known as the GE Building, home of NBC Studios and its signature programs “The Today Show” and “Saturday Night Live,” (as well as “30 Rock,” actually filmed in Queens). Built in 1933, the building is an Art Deco masterpiece, and the three-tiered observation deck at Top of the Rock was originally built to resemble the deck of an ocean liner. The views are ranked by many as the best in the city, surpassing the observatory at the Empire State Building, 15 blocks to the south.

To capture the unique Top of the Rock experience, Gericke and his team have developed an unusual treatment of the skyline that transcends familiar images of the city. The views at Top of the Rock change continuously throughout the days and seasons, and the campaign pieces together a panoramic assemblage of images taken from the observation deck from day to night. Specific views—looking north, looking south, and so on—are assembled from multiple images, showcasing the spectacular all-around vista from deck, as well as suggesting the many points of view available to visitors.

The iconic photographic treatment has been paired with a memorable tagline, “Any Point of View,” also developed by Pentagram. An integral element of the campaign, the tagline highlights the unobstructed views and has an embedded double meaning. The “NY” in “Any” has been set in bold to provide another read—“A NY Point of View”—that emphasizes Top of the Rock as a one-of-a-kind New York experience.

Project Team: Michael Gericke, partner-in-charge and designer; Don Bilodeau, Tony Lee, Matt McInerney, Jed Skillins and Kelly Sung, designers.

The campaign appears in advertisements and promotions in major media, at Rockefeller Center and throughout New York.

The Cass Art store on High Street Kensington has revealed a revamped fascia including a window featuring one of this season’s iconic bags which will be available in all five stores across London.