Showing posts with label Typography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Typography. Show all posts

Thursday, 8 December 2016

Taco Bell Logo Refresh


Many years ago, I travelled across the USA. It was an incredible experience that I will always cherish. Business has kept me traveling back and I have since designed branding and packaging for some of the countries largest retailers. One of my memories of my time traveling the US was the bright branding used by the many of fast food companies. Competition in the US was so much greater than that of the UK, where at the time I had travelled from. Now living in Cape Town many of the chains are starting to appear here. We recently saw the arrival of Dunk'in Donuts. I am not necessarily, someone that frequents fast food establishments, but the branding is of interest to me. I love how some are stooped in the history of 1950's America. I also love how they have subtly changed over the years. To read through some of my older posts, there are stories on the evolution of Burger King and Ihop.

Taco Bell is another of the brands that I did not got to see, growing up in the UK. Back in 2002, when I travelled extensively throughout so many of the countries states, Taco Bell, the brand and the concept was very new to me! In particular in LA, I was amazed by the rich Mexican food culture! The company was established in 1962 in California. Full company history here!

I can still distinctly remember seeing a blast from the past in the old brown and yellow, 1985 Taco Bell logo, still being used back in 2002. Reading through the design press, I was interested to see that Taco Bell was going through a subtle rebranding. One area of change that I really like is the new fonts used on the word-mark. See below for more news on this:


Brown and yellow Taco Bell Logo 1985-1994

Before and after - Left: How I remember the logo from my trip across US in 2002. Right: The 2016 redesign.


Below - From the Taco Bell company website, discussing new re brand.

Brand Evolution – 25 Years in the Making
While Taco Bell restaurants have seen continuous evolution, the logo has remained unchanged. In fact, the previous logo made its debut back in 1995.

In what the brand terms an “evolution, not revolution,” the new logo mirrors the new restaurant strategy: one size doesn’t fit all. In this modern take, color makes a splash and allows customization through patterns and textures, giving usage flexibility while maintaining its iconic framework.

Digital rollout of the logo refresh takes place today, while physical assets like restaurant design, packaging and impacted retail partners will roll out more gradually, depending on development and refresh timelines.

The refreshed logo was created is partnership with the leading creative consultancy Lippincott and Taco Bell’s internal design group, TBD.




Unveils Flagship Restaurant in Las Vegas, New Logo, and the Taco Bell Experience of the Future

Irvine, Calif. (November 14, 2016) – Taco Bell makes its debut on the Las Vegas Strip today, becoming the brand’s 7,000th restaurant and first flagship destination.

Alongside its opening, Taco Bell revealed its first logo refresh in over 20 years and follows the recent unveiling of new restaurant design concepts. These latest developments represent the brand’s evolution and growth plan to become a $15 billion brand by 2022 while adding 2,000 new restaurants globally and 100,000 new jobs in the U.S.

“If you’re going to throw a party to celebrate the growth and evolution of your brand, there’s no better place to hold it than Las Vegas,” said Taco Bell CMO, Marisa Thalberg. “This flagship restaurant is our ultimate expression of the Taco Bell brand, and lifestyle."

A Flagship Experience
Las Vegas becomes the fourth Taco Bell Cantina restaurant to open, following Wicker Park Chicago, SOMA San Francisco and Austin, and the first of its kind to offer 24-hour service. The flagship restaurant is centrally-located on the Las Vegas Strip on Harmon Corner, directly across from CityCenter and The Cosmopolitan Hotel.

The restaurant will offer a dining atmosphere fit for the lifestyle of the Vegas Strip, inclusive of experiences unique to Taco Bell Cantinas:

• Retail: The Taco Bell retail experience is the latest example of how the brand looks to create new cultural ground. For the first time, customers can now purchase exclusive Taco Bell merchandise and memorabilia in the restaurant. Selections include limited edition Las Vegas branded retail and newly designed brand merchandise, ranging from hats, shirts and bags to bikinis, rings and sweatshirts. Select branded merchandise will also be available online in Taco Bell’s Taco Shop.
• Freeze Wall: Eight Freeze drink taps line the back wall. Equipped with eight base flavors (Margarita, Cola, Pina Colada, Lemonade, Orange, Baja Blast, Cherry and Blue Raspberry), customers can add alcohol (Tequila, Rum, Vodka, Whiskey and Spiced Rum) and additional flavors for customized concoctions. Both Freezes and Twisted Freezes (those including alcohol) will be served in 16 or 32oz. souvenir cups.
• Technology: The flagship restaurant will feature digital menu boards and digital ques to monitor your order process, in addition to portable ordering tablets to reduce wait times. The 16 screens lining the interior wall will feature entertainment, live-stream video, sports and social media conversation.
• Transparency: An open kitchen design and food served in open-faced baskets gives customers a look inside Taco Bell’s quality ingredients.
• Shareables: Cantina restaurants feature a tapas-style menu of shareable appetizers – including nachos, quesadillas and chicken fingers, in addition to the full craveable and affordable Taco Bell Menu.
• Vegas Touches: Dedicated space for DJ entertainment, Wall of Taps, outdoor misters and heaters, community style seating, VIP lounges and unique custom artwork will also be featured. The two story building is faced with a wall of glass, an upstairs mezzanine and lounge overlooking the action and an outdoor patio right in the middle of it all on Harmon Corner and the Vegas Strip.

 


You can read original article from Taco Bell Site by clicking here.


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Wednesday, 7 December 2016

Brand Masters Re-brand!


World renown branding agency Interbrand, have redesigned their famous word-mark, in-house. Moving the design into a clean but simple use of Helvetica, this supports their new look website. You can read more about interbrand below and can visit the site by clicking here.

More here:
Matthijs van Leeuwen project page
Johnny Trinh (website) project page

About Interbrand (from their website)
At Interbrand, we believe that growth is achieved when an organization has a clear strategy and delivers exceptional customer experiences. We do both, through a combination of strategy, creativity, and technology that helps drive growth for our clients’ brands and businesses. With a network of 24 offices in 19 countries, Interbrand is a global brand agency, and publisher of the highly influential annual Best Global Brands and Breakthrough Brands reports, and Webby Award-winning brandchannel. Interbrand is part of the Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) network of agencies.



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Thursday, 1 December 2016

World Aids Day - Designing to End HIV

On world AIDS day, I thought that it would be a good oportunity to give a huge shout-out to the amazing work that Vince Frost and studio Frost Collective are doing with ACON, to end HIV by 2020 in Australia. I love big ideas and they don't come much bigger than this. Please support the fantastic work that they are doing. Click here to read more at the Frost Collective Website. More here!


Image: Frost Collective
Image: Frost Collective
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Wednesday, 30 November 2016

37 Great New Designers from Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2016



For the past five years I have had the great pleasure of being selected as a mentor for the ico-D and Adobe design Achievement Awards. This year however, I had the added bonus of also being chosen as a pre selection judge! I really enjoy what the awards stand for and it always feels so good to be able to support young design talent!

Below are some of the fantastic young/student designers that I discovered, whilst judging the awards. There's some amazing talent here! If your hiring new creatives I would certainly urge you to view some of these talented young design stars of tomorrow and please support the ADAA!


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Tuesday, 1 November 2016

Quantas Brand Update


Australia’s largest airline has introduced a new logo and livery, designed in partnership with Quantas consultant Marc Newson and Australian branding agency Houston group.

In a press release, Quantas write:

The change is only the fifth time the red-and-white image on the tail of Qantas aircraft has been updated since it was first introduced in 1944. The last update was in 2007 to coincide with the introduction of the Airbus A380 to the national carrier’s fleet.


Marc Newson, who has helped design Qantas’ lounges, the A380 cabin and the iconic Skybed, said:

“Aircraft tails are fantastic canvas to work on and the Qantas logo is one of the most recognisable in the world. This re-design aims to retain the fundamental essence of the flying kangaroo but also move the brand forward.

“This new brand is more streamlined and the shading behind the kangaroo gives a better sense of movement and depth.

 

On the Houston Group Project Page:

 The key opportunity for us was in contemporising the ‘roo. Making it more streamlined, and simplifying the shape. It’s evolved beyond a literal kangaroo - it’s become a unique brand symbol. We spent just as long handcrafting the Qantas logotype. We focussed on making it more streamlined, as if air is pushing across the top.

  


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Thursday, 27 October 2016

Origin of the Red Bull Brand

I will always remember my first trip to Thailand! It was one of those life affirming moments, a sensory overload of experience and learning!!! Travelling has been a great way for me to experience other brands and how consumers interact with them on a daily basis. Brands that I have never seen before visiting that country. Brands that are like the ones I grew up with but different! I love it. 

One of the most confusing for me was seeing what look liked the Red Bull brand, but when I tasted the product, it wasn't fizzy and was a lot thicker and more like a syrup. It seemed stronger in it's effects and they were sellking T shirts everywhere with the two bull branding on. It looked like the brand, but the product was different. Over the years, I read more and started to understand why this was. The following excerpt explains why this was!


I found this excerpt from global design agency, JKR's book 'Champions of Design 4', and it's a really interesting read, especially if like me, you were once confused why it tasted so differently in Thailand! The article was also featured on David Ariey's blog 'Logo Design Love.'

JKR's Champions of Design series, examines the history of some of the worlds most recognised brands. In this particular article, they feature the history and success of Red Bull. It's an absolutely fascinating story! Enjoy!



Under the leadership of Austrian brand owner Dietrich Mateschitz, Red Bull’s epic forays into art, racing, flying and even space have made the brand a global phenomenon. In terms of experience and communication, Mateschitz’s company added incalculable value to the brand. Where they didn’t add value was the design of the original Thai energy drink. And that of course, is what has added value. Sometimes, knowing when not to meddle with the magic is the thing that makes the magic itself.



In the 1970s, Red Bull was being marketed at farmers, construction workers and truck drivers in Thailand. Krating Daeng (‘Red Bull’ in Thai) was a populist drink for the working man: one that allowed you to overcome fatigue, pull a double shift, or drive all night.

It formed a long-standing association with Muay Thai (Thai kick boxing), which gave it popularity and street cred. With a potent mix of sugar, caffeine and taurine all packed up in a small medicinal brown glass bottle with a bright, colourful label, Red Bull became something of a success amongst its working-class consumer base.

It started with a humdrum business trip to Thailand for Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz. He stumbled across the drink and apparently discovered that it ‘cured’ his jet lag. In partnership with Thai inventor Chaleo Yoovidhya they launched a version of the Thai drink slightly modified to suit European tastes. The rest, as they say, is history.

Red Bull’s evolution from quirky local drink to global mega-brand is a master-class in how to execute a brilliantly joined-up communications idea across big-idea events. But it’s also a lesson in the value of restraint and sensitivity. When Mateschitz decided to launch ‘Krating Daeng’ in Austria, he was careful to retain the iconography of the brand, leaving its charging bulls virtually untouched. He recognised, perhaps, that a sense of the ‘foreign’, the exotic, the quirky and the doubtless potent would be positive associations for a new energy drink brand.

Design icons aren’t built overnight, and knowing when not to change them is a valuable skill. So now the world is richer for having two Red Bull brands that are of course, same same but different.

Did you know?

Thanks to Red Bull, its co-owner, Dietrich Mateschitz is the richest man in Austria.

Red Bull owns four football teams (based in Leipzig, Salzburg, New York and Campinas in Brazil) and two F1 outfits. Its F1 operation is said to cost the company half a billion dollars annually.

Red Bull racing hold the record for the fastest ever pit stop, timed at 1.923 seconds at the Austin GP in 2013.

As well as its famous extreme sport sponsorship, the company also promotes a paper airplane tournament called Red Bull Paper Wings.
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Monday, 18 July 2016

New Logo For MasterCard Designed By Pentagram



The new logo for Mastercard, designed by Pentagram, has been raising eyebrows online and seems to be dividing the design industry on whether people are in favour or not.

I for one am a huge fan of the new design! I love how Pentagram have looked back at the heritage of the logo and brought back original elements, yet balanced it perfectly to create a brand-mark that is ultimately very modern and uncluttered. This is most evident within the choice of a clean and modern type style that has been employed, all in lower case and now moved below the symbol for the first time. This logo is a success for me in the same way that the updated Google logo was last year. Great branding is about creating a simple iconic message. Look at Apple, Nike or what the red cross means to us all. These are forms at their simplest that instantly connect with us and this is why the pared down and modenised re-working is so successful for me. What are your thoughts on the revised, paired down design?



Below is the press release from Mastercard.

The digitization of commerce processes and increased connectivity of consumers is driving a digital transformation that will provide seamless payment choices. To reflect a readiness and optimism about this transformation, Mastercard is introducing an evolution of its brand identity - simplified, modernized and optimized for an increasingly digital world. The brand identity starts with a new brand mark, and plays out in a holistic design system that will bring a forward-thinking, sophisticated and inclusive brand expression to every touch point around the world.

The evolved brand identity, including the most comprehensive brand design system ever introduced globally within Mastercard, will be rolled out to all Mastercard products, communications, and experiences, starting with Masterpass later this month, and across Mastercard beginning in the fall.
 
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Thursday, 30 June 2016

Sainsbury's Design Studio 1962-1977


I am an avid collector of design books and on a recent trip back to the UK, I stumbled across a fantastic book containing a veritable gold mine of vintage Sainsbury’s packaging, chronicling the years 1962 to 1977.

The books forward tells the story of the author, Jonny Trunk and his search for a particular 1970 Sainsbury’s pack design for cornflakes that he had memories of from his childhood. On calling the retailers head office, he discovers that there’s a huge archive of pristine Sainsbury’s own label packaging dating back from the 1960’s and onwards. An ideal subject for a book!

There is also an essay from Emily King, which gives an insight into the relationship between the company director, forward thinking JD Sainsbury and the visionary designer Peter Dixon who founded the Sainsbury’s in house creative studio and spearheaded it’s unique pack designs.

  
 

Also of note is the important role that the company played in society. Britain was going through a period of social change in the 1960’s/70’s and the supermarket evolved with its costumers. This including working mothers who strived for quick, convenient meals to fit with their busy lives and those who had just taken their first foreign holidays and wanted more exotic ingredients. Although my family didn’t travel overseas whilst I was growing up (our holidays were in North Devon), I can still fondly remember the introduction from meat and two veg, to Indian curries and Italian spaghetti bolognese. With its use of san serif typography, bold colour and form, the packaging design represented modernity within this time of great social and economic change.

Being born in Britain in the early seventies, I had huge waves of nostalgia looking through the pages and remembering some of the distinctive designs. These works really did become the fabric of daily life in Britain. The design for the coke tin, using the company logo on a slant to represent a straw would never get through the rigid rules and guidelines set out by the brand experts of today, but somehow gives so much character and identity to the design. These days, some may see naivety from a time gone by, yet others (like me) will appreciate its concept! JD Sainsbury wasn’t always keen on the slanting of the company logo but this further emphasises the full backing that he gave to designer Peter Dixon. The book also recalls how teachers would cut out the orange discs from the cornflakes packs to represent coins whilst teaching school children about money!

  

This gem of a book currently sits in pride of place at my design studio. After being based in Cape Town for over half a decade it feels like a fantastic snap shot of design and of a changing society in a country and time for which I was born and raised. A time long before the invention of the Apple Mac and Adobe software it shows how concept rules over tools and technology! I can’t recommend this book enough.

The book is written by Jonny Trunk and published by Fuel: www.fuel-design.com
Article originally published by Todd Anderson at The Design Life
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Wednesday, 1 June 2016

My Copy of Graphis Diagrams



In 1974 Walter Herdeg edited issue 165 of Graphis Diagrams, a square hardback book showing the scientific side of graphic design. It contains beautifully illustrated, full colour diagrams of abstract data and theres also some lovely multi layered maps that use transparent papers. The cover is a fantastic example of the modernist Swiss style of type and design. It really is a thing of beauty, an iconic classic and I once had a copy, or should I say, I may still have a copy... Somewhere! It wasn't that I forgot I had it, but instead that I was recently reminded when I turned to page 46 of Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne's fantastic book '100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design', and there it was in all it's glory, featuring in the chapter 'The Square Format!

I am not completely sure of how this book came into my life. My father was always great at picking up a bargain and may of bought it second hand for his son. My family always supported my love of everything creative. I may of even been given it, or did I buy it myself around the time I was at college. I just think that I would remember buying such a beautiful specimen of design!

 
To where it currently resides is a complete mystery to me. I have been living overseas for many years and my things are scattered in different countries, half way around the world from each other. There are probably five places where this book could potentially be and I just want it back in my life. I even did a quick search to see if I could pick up a bargain copy, but it's changing hands for hundreds of pounds (UK) these days. Im not surprised, its worth it! It just shows that you really don't know what you have until it's gone. I will hopefully someday add an addition to this post where me and my copy of Graphis Diagrams are reunited.

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Wednesday, 13 April 2016

Sandeman 255th Anniversary Design

This limited addition design to celebrate the 255th anniversary of Porto’s Sandeman is just stunning. The attention to detail used in the design by agency Volta is incredible.

I love the use of type; breaking the serif on the brand name Seixo giving it some real identity. The finish is also beautiful, employing the use of embossed lettering and illustrative elements, texture paper stock and touches of gold foil.



On my recent trip to Bologna I came across these wonderful old Vintage Sandeman bottles that I couldn't wait to share with my branding and packaging design friends! I also thought very apt addition to this post. Of note is the 1977 Queens Silver Jubilee Edition, which brought back many fantastic memories of my family and where I was born in the UK!



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