Top 10 logo tips

Great top 10...

1. A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does


Restaurant logos don’t need to show food, dentist logos don’t need to show teeth, furniture store logos don’t need to show furniture. Just because it’s relevant, doesn’t mean you can’t do better.

Cont'd

Via ybnby

Strong dog frisbee

Love this piece for Iams 'strong dog' campaign from S&S Sydney. Nice work.

Via ibia

Launch a Business, Not a Side Project

I think we have a serious problem in our industry.

I believe it generally started when Basecamp became quite successful and 37signals started to talk about their theories on the subject. Their basic mantra was “Don’t quit your day job to build a web app. Build it in your free time and use your day job to pay the bills until your new app brings in enough money to quit your day job.”

I used to agree with this, but now I think I’ve come full circle. Read on...

Design Strategy by Continuum

Resonance from Continuum on Vimeo.

International Society for Human Rights

The Mouse campaign; well done.

Via ibia

Lights on

lights on from thesystemis on Vimeo.

Very cool, so long as you don't live next door.

Via swissmiss

Creative Elegance - The power of incomplete ideas

Good little read. Download here.

Entreprenuers can change the world

Sweet spot for, phone service? After watching this bit I was expecting to be blown away by some new life changing product or service; but an 800 number? Really? Great work nonetheless.

Via brandflakes

Straight outta '87

Great spot here promoting the next generation of the ever classic Punch Out.

Lily's Kitchen Proper Dog Food

Lily's Kitchen (uk) is a new line of "Proper Pet Food". The all natural chow, free from fillers and artificial ingredients, is made with organic, holistically balanced meats and veggies.

Color coding and custom illustration give the new designs a bit of a retro (while at the same time modern) feel, sending a message to it's audience that this is a product you can feel good about feeding your pets.

"Something that says: “The food in this tin is quality” without resorting to pictures of the food or the usual big dog face."

Miles

Via thedieline

The way you use power has changed

Great work here from Denver's Cactus promoting Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which “wholesales electricity to the regional utilities who in turn sell directly to consumers”. Excellent photography and art direction. Click here for the series.

Miles

Via tde

The four hour workday

How to complete a full workday by noon? Sounds impossible, right? But on many days, by 12 o’clock, I have completed work that should normally take eight hours. And I don’t wake up at 4 a.m. to achieve this. Read on...

Diesel Fist

Love the design of this new Diesel fragrance, Only the Brave. Great concept and immaculate execution.

Miles

Via thedieline

Developing an effective brand packaging strategy

As marketers and consumers equally flock towards the latest in online social networks and forge these new consumer bonds, we must never forget the other critical connection point that is of equal importance - Consumer Packaging.

As these “digital” brand experiences mature to become more individualized, own-able, and even communal, they also inherently become more ephemeral. Packaging, still representing one of the strongest key physical connections to a brand, is becoming increasingly more relevant and powerful in evolving marketing strategies. Read more...

Via thedieline

Friday funny - Real life Twitter

"Dottie had a heart condition and she died"

Check out these 70's era PSA'S promoting "the swine flu shot". Apparently we were on the verge of a pandemic outbreak then too. A bit over dramatic don't you think?

Miles

Via yesbutnobutyes

Skewed stats

Why do people believe every number they see? Tonight social media guru David Armano rebroadcast a tweet claiming Razorfish generated $18.8 million in incremental revenue for H&R Block. It's possible; H&R Block takes in about $4 billion annually, so a 0.47% lift from online chatter could happen. Read on...

Avid Rebrands

Since 1987 Avid has been the leader in video production technology, serving the film and video industry with it's array of products. We use Avid here at Handcrafted, so when the company revamped it's identity, a post announcing the news was a no-brainer.

Designed by someone, the new logo connotes a more contemporary, progressive energy that will help unify the companies offerings - says my opinion. I like the move towards something more iconic and bold and overall, it is a well produced revamp. The only bit that gets me is the negative space between the "v" and the "i". It keeps drawing my eye. Is this bothering anyone else?

Update: Avid contacted us to let us know that "Our press release actually stated that the new logo reflects the "volume up, volume down, play, pause, record and forward" symbols consumers and professionals recognize as fundamental to the digital audio and video solutions they use every day to enable their creativity, and signals a unification of the company's core audio and video offerings."

Miles

In Defense of Eye Candy

Well articulated piece here discussing the importance of well-crafted aesthetics and how many times the basics of color, depth and so on can have a major impact on how viewers digest and or navigate through our designs.

Miles

How Fluff is Driving Away Your Viewers

Nice write-up here that discusses the importance of simplicity and clarity in web design. The article highlights the fact that by incorporating extraneous messaging, gimmicks, etc., you are not only standing in the way of the users experience but also driving them away from your site.