Identity Spotlight: Cologne Intelligence

It seems the Germans have more to offer than just products with tank-like durability. They’ve got good design.

Cologne Intelligence rebranded after twelve years and the result is brilliant.

The C was given sharp, ninety-degree angles in order to look like a bracket ([).   The CI used by itself for the most fundamental presentation is great; but it gets better. When the C and I are spread apart, they can neatly frame in the main logotype and sub-brands. This makes the identity extremely versatile.

Interestingly, by definition brackets are used to enclose words, separating them from the context. Thus, the use of the C puts emphasis on the contents of documents, folders and notepads. As you can see, the simplicity of the identity affords the opportunity to stretch the C for print on any stationery while still maintaining brand recognition.

Truly the designer(s) of the Cologne Intelligence identity had “full-scale” in mind while they were hard at work. All-too-often there’s this disparity between the logo and the other visuals displayed with it on products, packaging, stationery, what have you. The disparity exists because there’s nothing that ties the logo to the rest of the identity.

A collection of designs without cohesion is essentially worthless. Each facet, presented alone, should give the viewer an impression of the whole brand image.

There needs to be an obvious thread weaving through every aspect of the identity. And these designers nailed it. The initials CI can be used to frame in anything and everything that pertains to the company. Their work is definitely worthy of the spotlight.

Here’s a link to the Cologne Intelligence website.

And here you’ll find a good presentation of the full identity.

Netflix Rebrand

Photo from underconsideration.com

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The new Netflix logo appeared on their website a few days ago.

I have to say, this an instance where I don’t think flat is a good choice. There is a place for designs with more depth and I think Netflix fits the bill.

The presentation of the Netflix logotype prior to the change said “movies.”

Think 20^th Century Fox, and classic, epic films like Ben-Hur.

The old Netflix logo captured the glamor of the blocky, 3D look without appearing dated. When presented over a red backdrop reminiscent of a theater curtain, with the text baseline arcing slightly, the cap line remaining constant—it said, “Welcome to the movies”. And the cool thing was, “the movies” could be found in your mailbox and enjoyed in your own home. Of course now it’s more about what you get online, but the same idea applies.

The New York Times recently published an article, written by Nick Bilton, who stated,

The company has apps for almost every Internet-connected device with a screen, including computers, game consoles, tablets and smartphones. In these cases, the Netflix logo is either too small and illegible, or too bright and jarring. (In a former life, when I designed film titles, the first lesson my boss taught me was, “Never use red on a screen with text as it pulsates too much.”)

[…]

Compared with ABC, CBS and HBO, which all have flat, simple and clean logos, the Netflix iconography is difficult to read on a billboard from 100 feet away. The Netflix logo is equally illegible when it is scaled down to fit in the bottom right or left corner of a screen.

Although the narrow black and white text may have limited legibility at smaller sizes or greater distances, I wonder how many would struggle with identifying Netflix as Netflix on a billboard that appeared anything like the famous red envelopes they’ve been sending to mailboxes for years. Black and white lettering jumping out at you, augmented by a bright red background—pretty hard to miss, or misidentify. (And when it was presented over a deeper red backdrop with a subtle linear gradient, the logo was quite stunning.)

A huge part of brand identity is taking recognizable shapes and colors usually presented with the logo and translating them onto other mediums. A lot of times, recognition and cohesion are maintained by simply presenting a color by itself, even without the logo; or perhaps, retaining a small, identifiable portion of the logo. Netflix definitely had something unique—however “bright and jarring”. Rather than go flat like “ABC, CBS and HBO” (which are all three-letter acronyms and thus have little to be compared to “Netflix”), why not continue to be different?

However debatable the previous design was, no one else has one like it.

Redesigning the Crest

Cool Hunting recently released an interview offering a closer look into the details of the Cadillac rebrand.

Too Many Wings

 

  

If you’re an automaker thinking of using the wings, yes, it’s been done before.  (There are more; I left out and probably missed a few.)

Wings create a feeling of freedom and swiftness, we get it; that doesn’t mean there are no creative alternatives. (If you’re wondering, I didn’t include the Mazda logo in the list because I believe its designer found a clever way to reinvent the wings and make them distinctly Mazda.)

Needless to say, it’s important for identity designers to consider the competition for the purpose of distinguishing, not carbon-copying.

A Brief Tribute to Good Brand Naming

 

I think I’ve mentioned before how choosing a good name for your brand is just as valuable as the logotype designed for it. An example of this is This Old House.

At first, one might think the use of the word “old” in the name would cause the brand to sound antiquated, which is usually negative in our progressive world. But then the word “house” drops in immediately afterward and puts the whole name into perspective.

If you’ve ever searched for housing, I’m sure words like “Victorian” have piqued your interest. For starters, it’s very surreal to envision yourself living in a house that has stood for close to two centuries. The craftsmanship was different then, the design style has been long-since buried; unless such a house has been renovated, living in it would be quite an interesting experience—like stepping back in time.

Needless to say, there’s definitely an attraction to these kinds of estates. Even if you can’t afford a Victorian-era home, a mid-20^th century home falling into some disrepair can also be an alluring investment.

People love to fix up old homes while endeavoring to maintain whatever history it is that defines them. This Old House has aimed, through various forms of media, to provide a solid source of information on the subject of home improvement and remodeling. Theirs is a name that causes the hearer to reflect on what it might be like to purchase a classic fixer-upper and spend several years pleasurably bringing it back to its former splendor. Since the name caters to people’s desire to restore older homes, I’m confident many would be willing to see what This Old House can offer them on their journey.

Beside all this, the name sounds like the chorus of a folk song, or perhaps the title of a poem.

All these things work together to paint a picture that has great potential to connect with viewers and readers.

The logotype is very simple; but as is often the case, whenever the brand name has great intrinsic value, the best approach to the logo is that of simply letting the word, words or phrase be as they are—unique, memorable, thought-provoking—while keeping design elements to a minimum. Sometimes a brand name is strong enough to carry a lot of retaining value without the need for additional visual attraction. A good designer will recognize when this is the case and let the name speak for itself; generally not adding any symbols, providing only a strong wordmark.

I make it a point to analyze little details such as this because that’s what designers do. So it may seem as though I pulled a lot out of a little. But I think it’s important to recognize and appreciate when a name really says something, especially for those who want to come up with something long-lasting.

A brand name, like its logo, can really help the brand stay alive and, to me, This Old House is a prime example.

Nivea Rebranded

In my opinion, this rebrand is the most effective out of the ten listed in Business Insider’s The 10 Best Corporate Logo Changes of 2013.

Before I go any further: no, I’m not going to discuss the kerning—at least not at length.  I’m very particular about kerning (sometimes detrimentally so), but in the case of Nivea the obvious gaps do appear to serve a purpose.  Specifically, the chasm between the “N” and “I” serves to equalize the wordmark by compensating for the unavoidable gap between the “E” and “A”.  Oftentimes I see designers enter the Colosseum over things they would or wouldn’t have done to a logo.  Really, we can all debate til we’re blue in the face but, unless it’s a situation like Gap’s redesign that met an unfortunate, early demise, the fact remains: the company liked the logo enough to choose it and put it on its products, and the designer went to the bank!

Moving on…

Richard Feloni states,

Nivea…cleaned up its logo for a rebranding. The circle is a reference to the cold cream tins that made the brand famous, and due to the surface area it takes up on packaging, makes Nivea products stand out on store shelves.

I might add that if you look at the old logo, it definitely hints of the metallic, shiny accent that many brands go for in the cosmetic product lines.  Suave, Noxzema and Dove on one product or another all maintain a similar appearance with their metallic gradients and accent lines.  They do give the desirable look of rich, clean and fresh, but that’s just it: they all basically say the same thing.  Differentiation is key, and a good idea remains a good idea only as long as it’s unique.

As to how it looks on the shelves, the product presentation shown above reveals the brand’s commitment to an even simpler appearance than it already had.  The descriptive text has been uncluttered, which, combined with the bold new logo, makes for an attractive first glance.

Nivea made an excellent move here not only by giving the logo more surface area as mentioned by Mr. Feloni, but also by breaking the mold of an overused theme.

R-illy Good

I really like this logo and wanted to share some thoughts about it.

First off, let’s see how this logo relates to the summary of the business it identifies.  Illy makes this statement on its website,

The illy story is rich in innovation, borne of a scientists [sic] curiosity, and artists [sic] feel for beauty, and a coffee purists [sic] quest for ultimate quality and pleasure in the cup.

If you don’t get sick from all the sics I inserted for lack of apostrophes and somewhat ambiguous sentence structure, you’ll notice that the description doesn’t have obvious ties to the logo.  The strongest links I see between the visual identity and the company’s written identity quoted above is “artist” and use of the color red: the letters give the impression of an artist’s brush strokes and the red is bold, like the taste of good coffee.

Here we have a classic and time-tested method: creating a logo that doesn’t really convey much about the business; yet it represents the business regardless—even powerfully so.  It’s attractive and memorable so it successfully serves its purpose.  Personally, I’d wear it on a plain, white t-shirt and if I had it on one of my coffee mugs, it’d be the mug of choice every morning.  If I’d be willing to do those things, I’d also be willing to look for it in a coffee shop or convenience store.

Perhaps this logo’s biggest achievement is that it ties in well with coffee-culture.  The light-hearted, warm and artsy feel goes right along with the sensation that all good coffee brands endeavor to give–all without using coffee beans and cups.