Before Google Maps became the de facto on-line mapping destination, MapQuest was the biggest player in town, or at least the most commonly referenced in the late 1990s and early 2000s — Yahoo! Maps was a contender, but in terms of a cool Web 1.0 name and functionality, MapQuest was it. This past August 26, MapQuest launched a Beta version of a redesign of the service, including the de-bevelization of its logo — here is a quick overlay and comparison of the logos. This is as close as it gets to a miracle in twenty-first-century identity design. What's great is that, underneath a decade of bevels was a pretty decent, fun logo with a hint of both Jetsons and Bowl-a-Rama, which is more than can be said for many logos. The new logo may not be the epitome of logo design, but it sure is perfect for its context and as an evolution of its web legacy. It's too bad about all the rest of the AOL flotsam and jetsam that destroys the MapQuest page; no matter what improvements have been or not been made to the map… one minute spent there is one minute more than necessary.

Thanks to Mark Husson for the tip.

Earlier this year, the city of Seattle and the Seattle SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett came to a $75 million-agreement where Bennett would be able to get out prematurely from his lease at Key Arena and take the team to Oklahoma City, while Seattle retains the SuperSonics name, rights and history so that one day it can have its team back. Introduced officially yesterday — although apparently leaking out slowly over the past few months — is the name and identity for the NBA's "newest" team: The Oklahoma City Thunder. If the name doesn't make you shake in your seat out of electrifying excitement neither will the logo, not even with lukewarm blurb about it: "With a nickname denoting energy and power, a classic-look logo, and the colors of an Oklahoma sunset […]". Perhaps the most misguided, dispassionate and lackluster professional sports logo produced in recent time. There is nothing unique, memorable or thunderous about it and the cornucopia of elements thrown in there never make a cohesive whole. Quite dispiriting to see a blank-slate opportunity missed so harshly.

I don't know much about cars, or what makes a good car good, and I haven't owned one in five years, but somehow I know that Ford Mustangs kick ass. Or at least they appear to. Regardless… as Ford prepares for the launch of the 2010 edition of the Mustang they have issued a press release for the redesign of the badge. Fitting somewhere between logo design and sculpture, this new pony comes with some of the most awesome (and I strangely mean this without sarcasm) press releasing: It’s just a faster-looking steed. → We lifted the head to make the pony more proud, tipped the neck into the wind to give it a feeling of greater speed and better balance. → It's more chiseled and more defined and looks more like a wild horse. And indeed it is! It really looks like it could do even more ass kicking than the previous version. The differences are hard to discern so I quickly put this overlay together (yellow is the new badge). I love it when companies obsess over details to make a stronger visual, reminds me a little of Matthew Carter's redrawing of the MoMA logo. Giddy up!

Thanks to Jason who already reported it on his blog for the tip.

Woolworths, the largest grocery store chain in Australia has recently rebranded its 21-year-old previous logo and is preparing a rollout of the new identity across 780 stores, including the transformation of the Safeway stores (owned by the same parent company) in Victoria. So, having little to offer on the brand as I've never had the pleasure of setting foot in Australia, much less a Woolworths, let's turn to some press releasing and explanations by Hulsbosch who designed the identity.

From Hulsbosch on the shape of the new icon:

— "W" for Woolworths
— The icon represents "people," the upper body of a person with outstretched arms — food is energy is life
— The round shapes signify friendliness, humanity, approachability and openness

And from the press release:

The new identity introduces a new icon incorporating a stylised 'W' with the addition of an abstract leaf symbol representing fresh food. It is also reminiscent of one of the most famous of all Woolworths logos used in the 1970s and it represents a person — as in "The Fresh Food People" and the Woolworths focus on its customers.

From this video, I am guessing this is the 1970s logo they refer to in the release. I like to think that I am pretty open to interpreting logos or looking for shapes in clouds but this "person" that everybody keeps seeing in the logo seems to evade me. If I squint maybe, but I'm not convinced. And would it be wrong to call this new logo an apple? That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the logo, but there seems to be no mention of it, and the funny thing is that an apple stands for all the same things that the brand wants to stand for. So I guess I'm just a little confused… and a little concerned for Woolworths as a certain technology company might feel their branding territory is being pee'd upon again. But I digress.

The change is very welcome, it's an undeniable improvement over the non-logo of before, specially one that treated its tagline with more importance than the name. I like the new icon, there is something refreshing and progressive about it. I do find it a bit on the extended side, if it were a little less wide it might feel less heavy. The typography feels weak in comparison and doesn't seem to jive with the aesthetic of the icon, it's like two different design languages. In this case I'll defer to our Australian readers and let them bring us up to date on the relevance of the brand and the change. From where I'm seating though, it sure beats Key Food. Many applications from Hulsbosch below.

Thank to Adam Cason and Stewart Falconer for the tip.<

I will preempt this post by saying that this may or may not be an official long-term change for HP. There has been no press release and no change on their main web site, but the use of this reworked logo has been making enough appearances to consider it a low-key rollout. I first saw the logo on a TV ad for HP's Touchscreen PC — and I would recommend watching the ad as it is pretty awesome — and then it has been popping up in print ads in a variety of mainstream magazines, including Wired, where the logo shown above comes from. The evolution looks interesting, I definitely like the removal of the holding shape which has always, to me at least, made it look more like the logo for a dishwasher. I also like how the circle now "masks" the italic hp letters, it gives the sense of there being more beyond what you are looking at. The shading doesn't look great in the image above, but it's a nice subtle execution, as opposed to the clunker two posts down. A nice, punchy evolution.

Update: A clean version of the new logo has kindly found its way into my inbox. Refresh your browser to see it.

Giant Food and Stop & Shop, two sister companies that represent a pair of the nation's largest regional supermarkets have shed its previous identities for a bowl of fruit — or a plant — or, um, a multi-colored flower thingy. In any case, gone is the Giant-on-your-side G and the stop lights.

Myself, a native New Englander, I have to admit that I'm sad to see the Stop & Shop logo say goodbye. That red and green traffic light, while paired with some heavy-handed typography and an even heavier containing shape, had an amazing amount of brand recognition for two colored dots. I'm convinced that in my original neck of the woods, you could stick that traffic light symbol up in front of anyone at all and they could recognize the company without fail.

I'm not as familiar with the Giant logo — its modeled, red wordmark slicing through a Giant "G" — it's clunky, dated and a bit over-beveled if you had asked me on the street. And while I feel like the red and green shapes of Stop & Shop could have had new life breathed into it, it would have only solved half the problem. While this new identity system is colorful and has slightly better typography (save the terrible setting of "Stop&Shop"), the real advantage is that it is able to minimize overhead costs by working for both chains without the loss of either name. To that point, some success — as for determining what the logo is… your guess is as good as mine — clearly this is not a logo with the kind of long-term recognition that the traffic-accident-inducing red and green logo of old had.

Stills from an animation developed by Süperfad. So maybe there is the answer of what the logo is.

As for the corporate rationale, Stop & Shop's Consumer Advisor Andrea Astrachan said "Customers talked and we listened… The new look shows customers that we're making changes and committed to providing great food and meal solutions at low prices everyday." And you can always read the press release.

This coming October will be the inaugural season of a new venture from the International Ice Hockey Federation: The Champions Hockey League, that will see the best Hockey teams from Europe battle it out. The simple, yet elegant press release offers the following explanation on the logo: "The most prominent part of the trade mark has the shape of a hockey puck, where two hockey stick blades meet. In the middle of the puck, the rink's centre ice area is shown — with the centre circle and the centre line — depicted." If they've already put so many things in the logo what stopped them from throwing in a Zamboni, goals, and referee? IIHF President added "It's simple, it gives you an immediate association to what you want to communicate and it conveys a touch of class." You heard it here first people… gradients, bevels and glows are the new class. Sarcasm aside, the new logo feels oddly non-European and maybe a tad too American, or a tad too Second Life, there is no sense of restraint or focus, and the typography is downright clunky. Feels like being hit in the teeth with a puck.

Thanks to Andras Sudy and Ivan Philipov for the tip.

Quick Note: The opening image above is not exactly a before/after of logos, more of a visual language before/after.

I have always had a soft spot for orange sodas, there is something about the combination of magic syrup, orange and bubbles that is just fun. In Mexico the undisputed taste champion (at least in my personal tests) was Orange Crush and I guess the funky glass bottle it came in had something to do with the experience. A close second was Fanta. So, yes, that was an odd segue to bring us to the subject at hand, but I really wanted to link to the Orange Crush bottle. With more than 70 flavors (including mind-benders like Banana Fermented Milk, Mellon Vanilla and Mint Raspberry) in 180 markets around the world, Fanta, from the Coca-Cola family of products, will be implementing a new identity designed by San Francisco-based Office.

The official description of Fanta, from Coca-Cola, will help put in context the work:

Available in Europe since the 1940s, Fanta was introduced in the United States in 1960. Consumers around the world, particularly teens, fondly associate Fanta with happiness and special times with friends and family. This positive imagery is driven by the brand's fun, playful personality, which goes hand in hand with its bright color, bold fruit taste and tingly carbonation.

New identity elements by Office.

As explained on their web site (Work > Fanta) Office developed a flexible range of branding elements — in the form of a visual vocabulary of playful illustrations, shapes and colors — that can then be put together in a variety of different ways according to each locale's message, audience and the flavors available. As well, an evolution of the logo has been introduced.

Current bottle and can design.

The old and current look of Fanta fits right in the soda market. It's colorful, bold, and busy, relying heavily on swirls and eye-of-the-storm backgrounds to capture the attention. In contrast, the new identity is more cohesive, more evident about what it's selling (oranges!) and, most importantly, it's more varied, diverse and versatile. And the new cans, which may or may not be the final product, look pretty damn fantastic.

Can designs by Office.

Bottle designs taken from Poland's Fanta web site.

Not quite sure where this is from, but it does show what happens when good elements are paired with bad elements.

The new identity hasn't been rolled out in the U.S. yet, but it has started to appear in Europe and Russia. Along with the identity created by Office, there is a new range of characters that inhabit the Fanta world, which I believe were created by animation powerhouse PsyOp, which combined, create a fresh, hip new identity.

I really, really like the work created by Office, it's exuberant and well crafted, and it manages to be both elegant and youthful, and it stands apart from other fruit drinks. More encouraging is that the Fantanas will likely go away.

Thanks to my wife for the tip.

If staying at an Econolodge is too highbrow for you, perhaps one of the 2,000-plus locations of Super 8 Worldwide (formerly just Super 8 Motel) would satisfy. Because I believe everything I read in Wikipedia, I now know this is "the world's largest budget hotel chain," which is a testament to the ubiquity of these motels as you drive through any and all states in the U.S., and how well it has blended into the background since its inception in 1973. The new logo was introduced back in April of this year but has slowly begun to be displayed in about twenty of the properties, including a recent unveiling at the first Super 8 to grace the landscape of Aberdeen, South Dakota. As with any hotel rebranding, this one is meant to signal a change in the amenities and services offered by the chain — there is a press release to tell you all about it.

The old logo had that clunky Nouveau Americana (I just made that up) look that is neither offensive nor appealing. Although I had never paid close attention to the logo and the lettering is not bad at all, that "SUPER" is, well, pretty super. The new logo "featuring a brighter, modern graphic design," takes on a very, very odd direction by appropriating the visual language of sign painters and letterers more commonly found in the produce and deli sections of grocery stores or on the windows of convenience stores and bodegas — forcing Super 8 to be at a perpetual discounted price forever and ever. Which may not be a bad thing, of course, it just seems a strange decision. By maintaining the shape of the old logo, so that changing signs across all locations is as economical as possible, the new logo feels like a monkey in a cage, swinging all over the place with little room to breathe. The "8" is almost a nice graphic and almost fits nicely with the lower bowl of the holding shape, but the rest of elements feel too forced and cheap. The "Super" appears to be an out-of-the-box script typeface, where it would have been interesting to hire a sign painter to draw something unique that would fit perfectly in the shape, instead of forcing stock items locked up by a swoosh… which, as far as swooshes go, it's not that bad. A funky rebranding overall, that even if it's not overly successful at least has offered a new approach.

Thanks to Sue and Jay Ehret for the tip.

A leader in the production and distribution of gas-based domestic appliances, Emegé (pronounced, roughly, eh-meh-heh) is a 75-year-old, family-owned corporation based in Argentina, slowly growing into the international market. With six logos logos since its inception and the latest update in 2003, Emegé has released a contemporary new identity designed by Buenos Aires-based Brea, García Barra y asoc..

Logo in its holding shape.

Clearly the old logo was anything but attractive and might as well have been an electronics store targeted to vampires and mass murderers, so improving upon it was not that difficult. Nonetheless the wordmark created by BGBA is an assertive design that is streamlined and confident. I am regularly skeptical towards unicase wordmarks, but this one works better than most, specially since all characters occupy neatly the same visual width (the M is a little wider) and the lowercase "e"s add a nice rhythm that the monotonous uppercase "E" wouldn't, so instead of arriving at a wordmark with nine horizontal bars this is a good balance of round corners and straight lines. The accent over the last "e" does a great task in making the wordmark more asymmetrical and creating a beginning and an end point.

Packaging and collateral samples.

Logo for a museum within corporate headquarters.

Tag line.

To support the simple and contemporary wordmark, BGBA selected Process Type Foundry's Klavika for use in the identity. One of my favorite things about this project is the tag line and its adorning accent: "Cada día más" which literally translates to "Each day more" is visualized by the uphill slant of the accent, which in Spanish serves as a way to denote that emphasis should be placed on the letter directly below it, so together it works as a nice metaphor for continued and increased positive movement.

Let me preface by noting that I'm not Canadian. I have never lived in Canada. I've never seen a commercial with a pair of talking beavers named Frank and Gordon hocking telecommunications products and services. Nor have I seen a lot of the previous Bell Canada logos out there in my daily world. And the first instances of the new logo I saw were images of their teaser campaign with its ample negative space and stark typographic compositions — just the right kind of light-handed touch to peak the curiosity of the graphic designer in me.

The former iteration of the Bell Canada logo was somewhat dated with its fat italic type and planetary-like rings swooshing around a stylized profile — belonging to its era of creation as much as one of its predecessors belonged to theirs. This identity worked relatively well in one-color, animated environments (such as in the end of the semi-aquatic rodent commercials), where the swooshes could work their dynamic magic. But time has caught up with the cosmic logo, the apparently polarizing dam building critters and BCE's exclusive contract with Cossette Communication Group.

Frank and Gordon in action.

A few excerpts from the BCE press release:

"The new Bell brand underlines that we are moving forward as a company and as a service provider, with new services, a new strategy and a new goal," said George Cope, President and Chief Executive Officer of BCE and Bell Canada. "It's a straightforward and customer-focused brand that directly supports the Bell team's goal: To be recognized by customers as Canada's leading communications company."

The new brand platform was conceived by Zulu Alpha Kilo, a new agency founded by Zak Mroueh, the renowned Canadian creative genius behind award-winning brand and advertising campaigns for companies such as Mini, Nike and Pfizer.

The Dream Team composed to execute the new brand platform across Bell's product and service portfolio consists of Zulu Alpha Kilo; the Toronto office of Leo Burnett, one of the world's largest and most respected advertising agencies; Ig2, a top Montreal agency responsible for the French-language platform and Cossette Communication Group, a long-time Bell marketing partner.

To tie the advertising even more closely to the concept of "better" and underline the range of product and benefits Bell offers, the English campaign also makes liberal use of words ending in "er" — faster, easier, music lover, gamer, worker, talker, texter, multitasker — which was also the basis of the company's recent advertising teaser campaign.

Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers with solutions to all their communications needs, including telephone services, wireless communications, high-speed Internet, digital television and voice over IP. Bell also offers integrated information and communications technology (ICT) services to businesses and governments, and is the Virtual Chief Information Officer (VCIO) to small and medium businesses (SMBs).

Normally, if you asked me, I'd tell you that I'm not a fan of overly tight kerning (nor do I advise the sheep stealing antics of letter spacing black letter) and I'll admit that the old man in me was ready to condemn this wordmark from the get-go, however upon further looking I realized that in this rare case the kerning seems to work. There is something onomatopoetic about it — I can hear a bell ringing when I look at the mark. It's likely the round "e" which seems to have struck the sides of the letters on both sides. Or perhaps the fact that the strokes and counters are asymmetrical and create a rhythm not found in many current wordmarks trying to implement more consistent stroking and structure across their letterforms. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to hurt the legibility and aides in the logo's memorability. And the idea that "life happens on Bell's networks" and thus so should the advertising — while a bit cliché — creates a visual strategy that has a lot of promise.

Bell teaser campaign images by Flickr user asianz.

As for the teaser campaign, while it potentially engaged the audience through its cryptic nature, and employs an enviably amount of expensive white space, I'm not sure there was enough meat there for most people to give it more than a glance or a passing comment. Though perhaps it's a breath of fresh air after years of damp beavers.

You can read about some Bell history here and have a look at a Bell Canada endorsed eye dressing kit.

If 100 yards feels like too many or being subjected to the whims of nature is not your thing, then indoor football might just be what you need, and there is a new league waiting to fulfill your full-field-length passes: The Indoor Football League (IFL). Created from a merger of two existing leagues, United Indoor Football and (the awesomely named) Intense Football League, IFL will bring together the teams from each league for next year's season.

Wordmark sans eagle.

The former logos definitely felt second rate and rather unexciting. The new logo at least conforms to first-rate sports logo standards: Mean animal, beveled typography and strokes, lots of strokes. This, of course, does not make it a good logo and by first-rate standards this one falls at the bottom of the pile. Everything that could be wrongly depicted on the eagle is: Wings are too short, the claws grasping the ball are awkward and, poor eagle, appears to have lost his eyeballs. The lettering is nothing we haven't seen before and there is an odd relationship between the width of stems and the height of the serifs that makes it look stretched. The nudges in the top junctions of each letter are kind of cool, but that's about it. The football is overly shiny and at an odd perspective, judging from the laces.

So, while it's an improvement from the previous logos and a more authoritative look, the result is too standard and not well executed. But at least the eagle won't get soaked indoors if it rains.

Thanks to Drew Davies for the tip.

It is significantly difficult to get excited about dryer sheets — those scented thingies you put in the dryer to make your clothes smell better and cling less to your underwear — but this redesign is relatively exciting. Bounce, a product from the infinite P&G empire, recently launched a complete redesign of their full line of dryer sheets, which come in a variety of scents and styles. A large variety.

The old package looked more like its close relative Tide, with the concentric sans serif type and color palette, and it was as unmemorable as most things in the detergent aisle. The new one may not be the package you remember first when you get home and reminisce fondly on your most recent grocery shopping, but it sure goes a long way in giving a small dash of personality to a well-named product. With custom lettering, the new logo that adorns the package is more dynamic and interesting. There are a lot of things that could have been done differently, specially giving it more, well, bounce — there is too much activity happening in the "unc" but not much anywhere else, and the "e" feels remarkable tiny. The "un" is a fun ligature, and I wonder if it could have all been executed as a script instead, keeping the solid sans structure.

Even the exploding supernova in the background seems acceptable. And the idyllic photo of the fresh white sheets floating in a green field — those must be some rich people who can afford an acre or two just to hang their clothes to dry — is so extreme it works. Again, relatively speaking. For a mainstream product like this, this is a nice update that dares to be slightly different. And the family of products (at least in small .jpg form) looks pretty fantastic together.

Thanks to Jonathan Lawrence for the tip.