..:: DIG'N THIS ::..

To say I am a fan of this man is a huge understatement. I would say he is a master.

I first heard of Aaron Draplin when he did a Layer Tennis match awhile ago, and have been checking in with him and his work ever since.

His work is super clean and totally original. His daily blog, is one I check pretty much everyday, first thing.

Go check his work out, and check his blog, the man gets it done!

DDC

Photo by Embry Rucker Photography.

..:: THOUGHTS? ::..

Via Logo Design Love

Simon Manchipp, one of three creative directors and partners at London-based studio SomeOne, said on Twitter yesterday:

“Logos are dead. Yet we have been featured in the new book Logo Design Love as an example of how to do Logos.

“They are a hangover from old-school thinking about branding. There is no desire by the public for a new logo. They are simply an old-fashioned approach to differentiating products or services.”

Upon questioning, Manchipp explicitly meant, “…that symbols invented to accompany brand names are a waste of time, money and effort.”

I asked David Law, Manchipp’s partner at SomeOne (and the man who kindly submitted SomeOne’s designs for inclusion in my book), what he thought of his colleague’s statement:

“It’s something we have been debating internally for quite a while.

“When you look at brands like O2, its success lies in the richness and depth of its brand world (bubbles, blue grad etc.). This forms a flexible branded platform that is instantly recognisable — you could remove the logo and still know the brand. The logo in itself is not the ‘hero’.

“In the past, brands like IBM and FedEx traded on the logo as the ‘hero’. We see it even today.

“So while we all acknowledge that the logo is not about to disappear — and that it is still an important part of any brand toolkit — there is a case for applying more emphasis on brand worlds.

“The ‘favicon’ or ‘twibbon’ is now the equivalent of the ‘black and white fax’ that we all learnt (years ago) was the minimum requirement for a logo to be recognisable as. These are much smaller applications than we have ever had to deal with, and ones where traditional logos are struggling.

“Brands now ‘move’ as standard — being ‘Apple‘ implies all sorts of physics that lend attributes to the brand and do not rely on the logo to do everything.

“Lastly, the amount of platforms, media, applications (and now ‘experiences’) that need to be branded has multiplied significantly with technology. People simply get bored quicker and brand worlds allow the conversation to ‘flow’.

“Yes, the logo is the ultimate ‘rechargeable battery’ of the brand and is the final distillation of all the brand’s attributes BUT what we are debating (and we haven’t reached any conclusion) is that if the brand world is powerful enough, could the ‘logo’ simply be the company name designed in a simple, ownable way? Possibly, dare I say it, with no symbol to sit alongside it?”

Symbol or no symbol is a valid question, and one I talk about in my book:

“Sometimes your client just needs a professional logotype to identity its business. Use of a symbol can be an unnecessary addition.

“This is something you want to determine at the outset of the project. Ask your client if she has a preference one way or another. If the company is entertaining ideas about future expansion into other markets, it might be better to opt for a distinctive logotype, because an identifying mark or symbol might prove restrictive.”

Quoted from chapter 11 of Logo Design Love.

So while Manchipp’s initial “Logos are dead” quote might be over the top, it does raise an interesting debate.

..:: THOUGHTS ::..

The Sunday times reports

This could be huge!

I cant believe that the Love Irish Food people are actually claiming that they don't think they look like the same logo!

This could be a huge financial blunder on the parts of the responsible party.

Should be interesting to see how this develops.

Read more here.

..:: DIG THIS ::..

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. from Chris Cairns on Vimeo.

INSANE!
Happy Friday!

Props to Derek for sending this my way!

..:: SPOTLIGHT ::..

If you follow the Bay Area design scene at all,
then this guy needs no introduction.

Benny Gold.

The man behind some of the best branding that's happening in the city by the Bay.

Brands like HUF, MASH*SF, REAL, 510 just to name a few.

The guy is one of the premium taste makers in the game, and with his own line not only looking solid, but selling out, and becoming a premium brand in its own right, his future is only going to get brighter!

Stay Gold.

..:: DIG THIS ::..

I found this while surfing around the other day. And maybe I am behind in telling people about this. But, whatever. Its genius.

Layer Tennis

Its explained on the website like this:

We’re hosting a series of live design events called Layer Tennis. The season wouldn’t have happened without the support of Adobe® Creative Suite® 4, the weapon of choice for Layer Tennis players and creative professionals everywhere.

We'll be playing matches using video, animation, sound, photos, type and lots more, but the basic idea is the same no matter what tools are in use. Two competitors will swap a file back and forth in real-time, adding to and embellishing the work. Each artist gets fifteen minutes to complete a “volley” and then we post it to the site live. A third participant, a writer, provides play-by-play commentary on the action, as it happens. A match lasts for ten volleys and when it's complete, Season Ticket Holders tell us what they think and we'll declare a winner

Go check it out.

..:: DIG THIS ::..

Super busy today everybody, but I wanted to post this great resource for some really good tutorials.

One thing about me, I have a love affair with illustrator, its such a perfect program, nothing against the other bunch of CS4 programs, (which I love as well!) but for me, I am loving illustrator.

Smashing Magazine, put together this list of some nice 3-D Adobe Illustrator tutorials.

Go on, get to learning!