Designs Both Real and Imagined

Never underestimate the importance of having a recognizable brand. Here at The Spill, we appreciate the power of having a recognizable logo. The right logo is like a royal coat of arms: an instantly-recognizable image that makes your intentions known to all who look upon it. This is as true for fictional products as it is for real ones. Any Quentin Tarantino fan, for example, knows the fictional brands Red Apple Tobacco and Big Kahuna Burger. The following two stories are about experimenting with the well-known designs of beloved franchises.

Suds Style

Sports fans' loyalty to their favorite beverages is matched only by their loyalty to their favorite team. In the battle of beers, the distinctive Bud Light logo has been a staple for decades. After more than 30 years of success, the Anheuser-Busch company decided to change it up.

Image via Wired.

Although the can keeps its classic blue shade, the name of the beer now sits alone in a new font. The new logo actually bears a striking resemblance to a design the beer had in the early eighties. The design change is seen as a way to appeal to the growing craft-beer demographic. Rivals Miller and Coors have likewise recently adopted minimalist designs. Although the taste of the beers hasn't changed, it remains to be seen how long-time fans will react to the changes in appearance.

May the Flags Be with You

In record time, Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the highest-grossing American film in history. The film has introduced millions of fans to the battle of the Jedi vs. Sith and created a host of new worlds. As our heroes zip from one side of the galaxy to the next, have you ever wondered what it would look like if each of the inhabited worlds had a flag of its own? One Star Warsaficionado decided to answer that very question.

Image via Wired.

New Zealander Scott Kelly has been a fan of Star Wars since childhood. Like many fans of the franchise, Kelly liked to fill in the blanks regarding details of the films that weren't specified on screen. In particular, he tried to imagine the individual societies of the galaxy far, far away. Kelly has created more than 100 flags representing the worlds featured in the Star Wars franchise. Each minimalist flag features bold colors and a simplified crest suggesting the economy and agricultural history of each world. "I tried to walk the line between traditional flag design and these far-off alien planets," Kelly says. He hasn't specified an end to his project. It's quite possible the franchise's upcoming films and TV series will inspire Kelly to make even more flags.

Little Details

Just as our world is full of products and details we take for granted, so too an imaginary world would be full of details beyond the lives of the central characters. Without uttering a single word, the brands we use every day speak volumes about us.

The Science Behind Logo Design

It's easy to say that design has a lasting effect, but most people don't take time to think about what that means. Logos with a lasting effect are the result of careful research into human reactions to colors, shapes, and patterns.

With the some of the world's biggest companies making changes to their interfaces in order to become more visually appealing, the complexity behind such changes is worth appreciating.

The Eyes Have It

The letter-based vision test has become a staple of waiting rooms the world over. Whether you're visiting the optometrist, getting your annual physical, or renewing your driver's license, you've probably had to stare long and hard at the shrinking cascade of letters on the white board. Unpleasant though it can be, the test is known for having prevented countless maladies. What isn't well known is the long and complex history behind the test.

Image via Gizmodo.

In a recent article for Gizmodo, graphic designer Lorrie Frear traces the history of the contemporary eye chart. Beginning with the first chart, designed in 1836 by Heinrich Küchler, Frear describes how the test has been refined over the last 179 years. The refinements have taken into account physical factors like font design and viewer distance, along with psychological factors, such as the viewer's ability to describe the letters or words on the chart.

Color Me Sold

As you walk down the grocery aisle to pick up your favorite cereal, you probably put more thought into the taste of the cereal than the color of the box or the lettering of the logo. Still, why is it that you are drawn to one box more than all the others?

Image via Inc.

The design of the brands you see every day is the result of countless hours of research. The above infographic is a quick primer on the most common factors used in the design of some of the world's most recognizable brands. You may believe your choice is based solely on taste, but that nice-looking box has an influence on your wallet that you might not even be conscious of.

Added Benefits

Perhaps the most intriguing factor in the psychology of consumer brands is the fact that the average person is taking part in an experiment that never ends. Just as the right to vote gives people an active role in the mechanics of their government, so the purchases consumers make give them an active role in their economy. That's why those who want consumers' hard-earned money invest so much time and energy into influencing their decisions.

Signs of the Times

For regular readers of this blog, it should come as no surprise that we appreciate the importance of a good logo. A lifetime of training and precision can go into creating pieces of brand recognition. Though logos may be seen only momentarily, they generally leave a lasting impact on the people who see them.

This is just as true for independent business and creators as it is for corporations on Madison Avenue. The "little guys" might not have the financial backing of their larger counterparts, but what they lack in financing they can make up for in creativity. Once designers make a connection with their intended audience, they can inspire a sense of loyalty bordering on the religious.

Rock & Rule

The basement or garage may not seem like the most auspicious place to begin a successful career, but many of the world's most memorable innovators started their careers right there. From Hewlett/Packard to Apple computers, the garage has proved to be a breeding ground for creative mavericks.

Perhaps no industry has benefited more from "garage innovation" than rock music. Metal music in particular has always stood on the fringes of the musical mainstream. It's no wonder that logos created for many metal bands reflect that same outsider status.

Image via Wired.

A typical metal logo wouldn't look out of place on a horror-film poster, and that's not an accident. The logos lend visualizations to the dark and aggressive music. In designer Mark Riddick's new book Logos from Hell, he collects and comments on 600 logos from metal acts over the past 30 years. "The genre kind of commands a particular style of logo that the listener can identify with," says Riddick. "I want people to recognize this as much more than a high schooler scribbling in his notebook and calling it art. This is legitimate serious talent. It's a subculture that's create a whole look and feel unlike any other. That's a powerful thing."

Bunny Hop

For more than 60 years, Playboy magazine has been the industry standard for showcasing some of the world's most beautiful women. The magazine's first issue featured a then-unknown Marilyn Monroe and has since gone on to feature award-winning actresses and renowned supermodels, often wearing nothing more than a smile.

That tradition is about to change, in light of the recent announcement that the magazine will no longer feature nude pictorials. It's a bold move, to be sure, but it raises the question whether Playboy's photo spread's were ever as important as its famous logo.

Image via Wired.

The Playboy bunny logo was reportedly created in just half an hour by Chicago artist Art Paul. Founder Hugh Hefner commissioned a design that, like the magazine he was assembling, would be "a projection of the wonderful world I dig." After the recent announcement, WIRED magazine design columnist Magaret Rhodes argued that the company's award-winning writing and legendary icon were more important than its infamous photos. "Losing the nudes shouldn't pose a big threat," writes Rhodes. "If you're looking for pornography in 2015, you're not likely to pick up a print edition of Playboy. For a lifestyle brand that once claimed to prize Picasso, Nietzsche, and sex equally, that can only be a good thing."

Medium Cool

Since its creation in 2012, Medium has quickly become one of the Web's premier platforms for longform writing. The layout is intentionally simple so that focus is kept on the written essays rather than on flashy design. But that hasn't stopped the site from making noticeable design changes, the most recent of which was the introduction of its new logo.

Image via Medium.

Although the original "Stag M" logo—which consisted of a white "M" against a black background, or vice versa, proudly represented the site's simple design, the creators felt it was time for a change to something less monochromatic. "This simple geometric interpretation of the M felt fun, like a delightful game or a deeply satisfying puzzle," said Medium reps Erich Nagler and Karen Jaimes. "We couldn't stop ourselves from playing with all the different treatments, mutations, and color combinations it was practically begging for."

Although there were no announcements about expanding the design to other parts of the site, the reps maintained that they were happy with the design, which does not distract from the essays for which the site is still known.

Same Name

People remember a logo even when they don't remember what a company actually does. That said, making brand recognition the sole focus risks making the services purely superficial; failing to evolve the brand itself risks making it obsolete. In the end, a beautiful design will catch people's attention, but adherence to high quality will keep them coming back.

Social Skills

With more than half of American adults using social media on a daily basis, it goes without saying that the process of using it should be made as simple as possible. We’ve mentioned before that ease of use and design appeal can make or break a site. Web designers continue to experiment with minor tweaks while sticking to their winning formulas. The Web’s most-trafficked sites continue to evolve their logos, their interactive capabilities, and even their basic functions.

Success by Design

We recently saw that Facebook went through its first major logo change. While this may be a new thing for the world’s largest social network, Facebook's sleek new design is right in line with the simplified designs of its Silicon Valley colleague companies.

Image via Wired.

A typical rebranding will minimize or eliminate the text while emphasizing the actual function of the service. As shown by the Spotify logo above, the company’s name was removed in favor of an illustrated transmission signal. It also switched to a brighter shade of green and removed the dark borders along the text. Spotify currently being the No. 3 streaming music service, it’s hard to say how much of their success was due to their logo. Still, it doesn’t seem to have hurt.

All Thumbs

For more than a decade, Facebook has changed the way we think of invitations, family photos, and even the word “poke." Possibly the most recognizable and oft-used part of Facebook’s service is the ubiquitous Like button, a one-click option that allows you to show your approval of a friend’s posting with an illustrated “thumbs up." The message it sends is clear, and for years users have campaigned for the icon’s antithesis. Finally, the icon is getting a diametrically opposed counterpart.

Image via Wired.

Facebook's CEO and co-founder generally neither confirms nor denies the eventual presence of a Dislike icon, despite acknowledging frequent user requests for it. At a recent Q&A session, however, he didn't beat around the bush. “People have asked about the Dislike button for many years,” he said. “We’ve finally heard you and we’re working on this and we will deliver something that meets the needs of the larger community.”

It remains to be seen how this oft-requested function will actually work in practice. Knowing Facebook users, it won’t take long for them to Like or Dislike the idea.

One-Click Consumers

For decades, science fiction authors and technical visionaries looked toward a future where shopping is done from great distances at the touch of a button. The Digital Age has made online shopping easier than ever, but it’s only recently that the idea of one-button buying has become a reality.

Image via Wired.

A recent article for "Wired" highlighted the rise of the Buy button, starting with the proliferation of the personal computer in the late '90s. From Amazon’s filing for a one-button patent in 1997 to Facebook’s purchase programming, the simplification of online shopping cannot be underestimated.

Looking Ahead

With such bold strides in design, function, and interactivity, it’s hard to see where else these companies can go to improve their users' experience. But, then, the defining attribute of innovation is creating something people didn’t know they needed. 

A Sense of Social Media Style

As a company changes and grows, so will the design it uses to identify itself. When two of the world's most recognizable companies began to implement changes to their logos, millions of people took notice.

Simple as ABC

It's hard for Google to make changes and have them go unnoticed. The entire tech world sat up and paid attention when founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced the creation of a holding company named Alphabet. And with the creation of this new company came immediate reaction to its logo.

(via Wired)

The logo was regarded by some as a sign of the 16-year-old company’s maturity. "Their [Larry and Sergey's] design sensibility may have just matured with them," says Natasha Jen of Pentagram. "That’s radically simplified and nuanced from the original Google identity design. There’s an elegance in it that comes with maturity. And I see that elegance in the Alphabet logo." But the design was also criticized as looking unfinished. "I keep getting drawn back to this lowercase 'a', which lacks the subtlety of the other forms, like it missed a week of letterform school," says typographer Tobias Frerer-Jones. "On the whole, I think it’s a well-made mark that could have borne some more polishing." What impact that new company and its logo have on users remains to be seen.

Something to Tweet About

When Twitter altered the background image for its users' home pages, the backlash was immediate: its membership stalled, and the company lost ground to contemporaries like Snapchat and Pinterest. Many in the tech world are pointing to  the company’s design scheme as the chief reason why Twitter isn’t as prominent as it was just a few years ago.

Image via Wired.

Besides tweaking background images, Twitter has made some subtle changes that only longtime users have noticed. One such change—replacing the "Favorite Tweet" star with a red heart—has already gotten a mixed reaction. "The concern is misguided for a few reasons," says Wired design writer Brian Barrett. "Hearts are intrinsically different from stars, sure, but they’re also much clearer in what they represent. A star can be a superlative, yes, but also a bookmark or a brush-off. A heart carries no such ambiguities." The heart is just the first in a series of planned changes suggested by CEO Jack Dorsey. As he said, "Our goal is to show more meaningful tweets and conversations faster, whether that's logged in or out of Twitter." The micro-blog company has occasionally been accused of trying to emulate the look of Facebook.

User-Friendly

Perhaps neither of these companies will owe their success or failure to their designs, so much as to the experiences they create for their users. Still, it's the first impression that is undeniably the most important. What do you think of the new logos? Tell us in the comments!

Logo Redesign: A Risk Worth Taking

What is it about a particular logo that just sticks with us so well? Even when a company goes out of business, the logo can live on as a unique fashion statement. Perhaps it’s the fact that no matter what definitive thoughts one has of the business, the logo can be interpreted any number of ways.

With logos having the ability to outlive their products and companies, attempting to change one is a risky proposition. Here are a few big-name companies that recently took the risk.

A Coke and a Smile

There are few beverages considered to be as “quintessentially American” as Coca-Cola and few logos as recognizable as its iconic stripe. The logo was created in 1885 by advertiser Frank Mason Robinson and has remained relatively unchanged in the company’s 100-plus-year history. Variations are often limited to the title signature, relative to the primary language of the region where it’s sold. But the latest change removes the signature altogether.

(via Wired)

For the Islamic month of Ramadan, the company that been shipping limited edition cans featuring no signature; just the silver curve against the red background. The advertising company behind the new can says the altered design is part of a larger campaign attempting to fight prejudice and preconceived notions.

Although there are no plans to bring the new can westward, the reaction has generally been positive. Margaret Rhodes of Wired comments that “Kumbaya rhetoric aside, the new cans say a lot about today’s branding landscape, without saying anything at all. [..]Coca-Cola’s enduring look can go simpler without sacrificing design identity; that ribbon is enough to let us know what’s in store.”

Face to Face

In the tricky relationship between technology and personal interaction, few milestones have been as definitive as the rise of social media. And no other social media network has had the same impact as that of Facebook. Since its founding in 2004, the website has been the subject of countless think pieces, lawsuits, psychological analyses, and even one Academy Award-winning film. It’s turned its founders into billionaires overnight and connects its 1.44 billion users in an instant. Needless to say, when Facebook makes a change, quite a few people take notice.

(via Facebook)

Facebook tweaks its design on a fairly regular basis, often to the consternation of long-term users. The logo has seen the fewest changes since the name was changed from “TheFacebook” in 2005. However, it was recently altered slightly as part of the company’s plan to further expand worldwide. Reaction to the change has been mixed. “It is, unfortunately, a bit plain,” says Rhodes. Although she acknowledges the “slickness” the company was attempting, “that slickness comes at the cost of personality—something corporations, especially ones designed around people, should value.”

Given the company’s history, this change isn’t likely to be the last. Only time will tell if this one is as easily accepted as those that came before.

Logic and Tech

For a company that never actually made computers, Logitech became one of the defining companies during the rise of the internet. It’s third-party accessories – most notably its mouse units – added a refreshing splash of color to the otherwise dull beige of out-of-the-box PC tools. They seem like the last company to try and change their logo, let alone their name; but they’ve done both.

(via Wired)

The company has officially shortened their name to simply “Logi”. Furthermore, they’ve removed the red and green from the logo in favor of a streamlined monochromatic image. The redesign was the brainchild of the Logi’s new CEO, Bracken Darrell. He described the move as an attempt to brand the company as “a design company” rather than a technological one.

Each of the above has a secure stake in their respective market, so they could afford to take risks with brand recognition. Although the risks appear to be minimal, they do demonstrate just how much a change to a brand’s literal image could equally change their publicly perceived image.

Radio (Shack) Silence

It seems that with every passing year, there's a staple of American business that disappears forever. Whether it be a result of changing times and technologies (which led to the loss of Tower Records and Blockbuster Video), or a once-major chain no longer able to support itself (Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward), some of the most recognizable retails chains in the US have shut their doors forever.

(via New York Times)

Now another familiar chain is in danger of disappearing: on March 5, electronics retailer Radio Shack announced that they would be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closing some 1,700 stores in the US and Mexico. The chain has been struggling for quite some time, having already closed 1,100 stores in 2014. There was hope that a rumored buy-out from Amazon would get the company back on its feet, but those plans now seem uncertain.

Home of the Gadget-geek.

Though Radio Shack's history goes back to its founding in 1921, the company really came into its own during the 1970s and '80s. It became a haven for both average consumers needing the right antenna for their tv, professional electricians searching for reasonably-priced supplies, and budding gadget geeks of all stripes.

Although on-line shopping has increased the ease-of-use in finding the electronics of one's choice, there's something to be said for the interactive nature of shopping for personal electronics in person. The electronics specialists of Radio Shack paved the way for the likes of Geek Squad and the "Genius Bars" at Apple stores - the latter of which is fitting, considering the role Radio Shack equipment played in the first Apple products.

Although the chain has yet to be declared "dead", the recent activity proves that it has suffered damage from which it might never recover. Which is a shame, because it means that there's one less recognizable American business to patronize - and one less budding gadget geek to find the right wires to make their dreams come true.

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