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Design

After soaring with the same logo since 1968, the nation’s third largest airline, American, has recently unveiled a new logo that will appear on planes by the end of January.

New York based Vignelli Associates created the airy, simplistic design you see here.

 

The new logo still consists of red, white and blue undertones, but now features them as lighter and brighter.

American has also decided to update their alternate typography logo. Notice that the new version below has a more refined font in a solid color, a good symbol of unity, considering the words in the old logo were split between red and blue.

 

Old Logo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Logo

 

 

 

 

Some elements the brand did keep the same though are American symbols like the eagle and flag — reflecting the airline’s “passion for progress and the soaring spirit.” The new logo also creatively and simplistically introduces some new American motifs that were not in the old mark, such as a star, the letter A, and a runway.

We think the airline will do well with this new logo and re-branding, as it now reflects the times – it’s modern, but still remains recognizable and true to the airline’s core beliefs.

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Ta Da!

If you weren’t lucky enough to have received our 2012 Holiday Package, here is a glimpse of what our clients received in the mail or by hand delivery.

These all-natural carrot cakes (courtesy of Donna Hutches) were baked in 4 mini jars, and placed in a carefully designed package—complete with individual wooden spoons (for sharing) and a hand-stamped logo on the lid of each of the jars.

Nestled in an embossed box and wrapped in a letterpress belly-band, these cakes are as much a joy to open as they are to eat.

We’re proud to show off this latest brand identity we created for The Cake & Carrot Company (C&C) ….and yet, our clients and friends were equally (if not more) thrilled to have received them!

 

 

 

We had a very short timeline in which to have this packaging completed. We’re very grateful to the vendors that we worked with to get each element produced with such time constraints. A Quick Cut, of Maple Shade, NJ was able to turn our custom dieline into a functioning and beautiful box, stamped from Neenah Classic Crest stock and then embossed with the Cake & Carrot Co. logo and crest.

 

 

 

 

The belly-band was produced by Colleen at Cleanwash Letterpress on Frankford Ave. in Philadelphia. Printed on French Paper’s 100 lb. Construction Line stock, she was able to achieve a nice impression that really brings the branding to life. On the day the cakes were baked, we hand-stamped the date on the bands, adding a personal touch.

 

 

 

The holiday card and production notes contained within the box were digitally printed by our friends over at Garrison Printing. We were kept plenty busy while these elements were turned around to us. Debossing the C&C crest into each steel jar lid proved to be quite a challenge. Using a custom ordered aircraft-grade steel stamp, we found that we needed 12 tons of pressure to get a clear imprint. With each lid needing to be stamped individually while operating a modified hydraulic press by hand, Eric’s weekend was pretty much spent in his garage.

 

 

We were relieved when all elements merged seamlessly to create the finished product! As we work to expand upon the Cake & Carrot Co.’s brand, and to help get these treats to market, be sure to visit thecakeandcarrot.com to sign up for updates, or visit the brand’s Facebook page.

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In a world where there is an increasing dependence on virtual interfaces in the form of computer, tablet and phone screens, there is been a natural desire to hold on to familiar pasts. While a touchscreen device offers unlimited possibilities for interface innovation, we’ve found ourselves peering into a reflection of obsolete pasts–vestigial pieces that only exist to make us feel comfortable about the future. Why is this? In a time where humans are creating new technologies at an incredible pace, we should be focused on how these can best be nurtured rather than weighing them down with our past. In order to free ourselves for true innovation, we need to rid ourselves of our dependence on skeuomorphism.

 

What is a skeuomorph? A skeuomorph is a design element that imitates a feature that was functionally necessary to an original design, while being merely ornamental in its current state. For example, a modern “engineered hardwood” floor may have a printed wood-grain pattern on its surface. While the engineered material is likely a vast improvement over natural wood—with no warping, staining, or cracking to worry about—the idea of real wood is familiar and comforting to us. After all, few people stand in awe of the perfectly aligned particulate beneath our feet. Another example is window mullions—the dividing bars of a window pane. While at one time these were necessary to divide individual pieces of glass, we now have the capability to produce more efficient glass panels at any size, rendering a grid of smaller panes obsolete. Still, we have a cultural connection to those bars, going so far as to superficially glue them to a window that is perfectly functional without them.

 

 

This theme is nothing new. From hubcaps to greek Greek columns, pleather jackets to flame-shaped lightbulbs—this idea is instilled in us. It has only been with the rise of the on-screen interface that we’ve seen how deeply ingrained skeuomorphism is within human culture. One of the earliest adaptations in the computing world is the file folder. Most of us use tabbed file folders everyday. But, how many of them are physical folders? I see 15 folders on my desktop right now and not a single one is made of paper. Rather, they are made of pixels, and hold nothing but 1′s and 0′s. If you save a document, likely you will be clicking on an icon shaped like a floppy disk. Yet, when was the last time you saved something to a physical floppy disk? I haven’t even seen one in a well over a decade.

 

In recent years, Apple has been at the forefront of the skeuomorphic interface. Their iBooks are neatly displayed on a wood-grained bookshelf and all calendar events are posted in a leather-bound planner. Are these visual cues necessary? Will a user lose all reference for their task if they are not reassured by objects from the real world? As a designer, I feel there is a better solution. Microsoft—not known for their design chops—has challenged Apple’s direction with the introduction of Windows 8. With a heavy dependence on typography, blocks of color, and simplified icons, Microsoft hopes to break current trends. This week Apple has taken note, firing their lead software guru Scott Forstall, who along with the late Steve Jobs is a proponent of the skeuomorph.

 

 

While it has yet to be seen whether consumers will respond well to the lack of real-world-reference in early stages, it seems to me that this is the direction that we need to move. We need to embrace technologies as they apply to us now, not as they once did. But what of the future? Will we one day be using some unfathomable device in which its book reader feature looks like an old-school iPad? We’ll have to wait and see.

 

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Wendy's Logo, Before and After

 

Wendy’s was fist opened in 1969 and has undergone only minor updates to it’s logo since. Last week, the third largest fast-food burger company rolled out a refreshed logo after the previous one stood for nearly thirty years. While maintaining much of its value when it comes to the pigtails, the company has chosen to move away from the antiquated typography and to move toward a more modern and inviting hand-drawn type. Although the execution leaves much to be desired, its evolution and purpose is clear: to appeal to a new generation of customers with slightly more sophisticated palettes who tend to be more calorie conscious. Reflecting these values, Wendy’s has also released their vision for an updated restaurant experience, seen below.

 

 

Looks like we’ll all be eating our Double Baconator in relative style.

 

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Nope, not the relationships–the brand!

There is a lot to say about this re-design from Friendship Dairies–initial reaction–awesome! They have put a modern twist on their existing logo AND successfully combined their logo and each SKU description. With a simple twist and pops of color, Friendship Dairies without a doubt will stand out amongst their competition. Here is a look at the old lineup:

friendship_old

From a predominately blue background before to such drastic color improvements here, Friendship Dairies has made it easier for consumers to find what they are really looking for: milk fat percentage. Sure there was some color differentiation before–but not to this magnitude. Without making too much of a change, they were sure to keep their signature dove emblem that their consumers recognize. Take a look:

After_friendship

These colors have allowed shoppers to find their favorite SKU quickly which is key to today’s buying experience. While making it easier for consumers, Friendship added some sass to the fridge!

What else? Even the lids feature the new variety color and a little quote.

After_friendship_lids

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We were happy to be part of this new flavor exploration with our long standing friends at Campbell Soup Company. According to them, these new V8 varieties are the first new flavors since 2003!

They came to us for help and by the looks of it–we succeeded! New V8 Hint of Lime and V8 Hint of Black Pepper have hit the shelves. These new  juice varieties offer twists to the savory taste of V8 100% vegetable juice to fulfill people’s growing desire for more bold flavors. Such a new venture took quite a bit of exploration. Due to the already established brand equity, our exploration for this design was a challenge. We had to stay within the already established guidelines but at the same time make these products stand out on shelf. With the help from our team, illustrators and marketing, we were able to come to the solution you see here. We introduced new colors, new bursts and of course new illustrations to the mix.

V8 Hint of Lime, V8 Hint of Black Pepper

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A lot of big companies right now are struggling with the private label competition. With the economy being down, many consumers are seeking the store brand/private label option to help cut costs and better manage finances.

If you are a frequent WalMart shopper, you are more than likely familiar with their brand “Great Value.” Their packaging is predominately white, has blue copy and a simple photo. But how about if I told you that the label below was “Great Value,” would you know?

Cott Beverages has gone through three different label designs in the last three years for its line of juices under the Great Value brand. This time, they opted to take consumers to “the fertile farmlands where the most delicious fruits and vegetables are grown.” (source) This approach allows imagery to do the work in illustrating that this great tasting juice begins at the source.

Compared to any other item under the Great Value name, this is definitely eye catching…but is it also deceiving? What do you think?

 

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We haven’t looked at a before and after in a while. Let’s check out this new design from the UK’s leading independent producer of sugar confectionery and popcorn, Butterkist.

Let’s take a look here. To the left is the old design. The first noticeable difference is that of the color. They went from a fire engine red to more of a richer red, maroon almost. This rich velvety red is the official brand colour, and is used consistently across the product range. They offer a subtle background here to create visual interest as well as have re-vamped the logo and its imagery. This redesign is said to reflect Butterkist’s heritage and their long her association with the film world. Created in 1914 in America, their machine eventually made it to the UK in 1938. It is still popular today.

With such a prominent history in film, this new Butterkist identity has been designed to reflect the idea of a popcorn production company.  The theme is reflected through the introduction of the ‘epic’ popcorn Atlas symbol, and a chiseled-style Butterkist logotype. The cinematic theme continues with the use of different typographic styles to illustrate ‘film-like’ personality into the individual parts of the package which allows for differentiation between flavors and creates a platform for a wider range of products.

What do you think?

 

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Although a blog can be used as an information source, it can also be used like a journal. Some may be opinion based, others may not, but isn’t it fun to give your two cents every once in a while?

Take a look at these package design concepts and vote for you have! Click on the link below:

2012 Makeover Challenge

 

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If you read our blog, you can see that there are a lot of current trends between going green, clean packaging, promoting healthy habits and so on. With that said, this new product from Nestle fits right in. A healthy habit that Nestle is pushing is natural tastes, without preservatives and food coloring.

Their product Beltè with Infused Fruit is just that. The infusion is a natural process that allows lemon and peach to free all of their flavors, giving freshness and goodness to iced tea.

So the challenge was, how to get this brand message across in a liter and a half package and how to make it recognizable on the shelves? Take a look–its tall and slender bottle with a square section, completely stands out among the array of short bottles with round sections. The result, also from a visual point of view, puts together marketing goals with aesthetics. The label transmits a sense of genuineness and goodness and exudes a lightness and fresh feeling. Furthermore the label, simply attached to the wide grip area, allows a constant physical contact between the brand and the consumer.

The stylized tea leaves on the shoulder and on the lower part of the bottle are a key element that gives graphical continuity to the spirit of the brand.

 

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