Friday Likes 45

Backgrounds of lightly-colored hues abound in this week’s Friday Likes with work from the UK, Russia, and Greece.

Potwash Josh

The task for this student project was to “make a seemingly un-brandable field of work appear extremely professional.” Preston, UK-based Sam Sharples chose the field of washing pots for fictional industry superstar “Potwash John”. Being student work there are a few details about the identity that are a little undercooked, but the main visual device of the pink and blue plastic against light blue and pink backgrounds respectively truly elevate this humble pot washer into a fashionable brand. The humor of the concept and execution are scrubby-good. [More].

Malina.am

Meaning “raspberry” in Russian, Malina is a new internet television channel that “depicts and is intended for those whose life is bright and successful.” What I understand is that the programming is led by experts in their fields, including “deputies, ministers, businessmen, renowned musicians and public figures” that serve as hosts and journalists. Yekaterinburg, Russia-based StreetArt created an explosive identity around the color of raspberry, instead of trying to include the raspberry somewhere in there. It’s hip, it’s internet-ey, it has the professionalism of a regular TV channel, and it sometimes goes boom — see animations at the link. [More]

Elina’s Bakery

Baking goodies from her home in Athens, Greece, Elina Smith’s logo is as charming as a baby cupcake. Mixing an oven with a roof’s house, the message couldn’t be clearer: homemade. It’s not a perfect logo, it’s perhaps a little too thick, with some of the corners getting a little mushy but it’s a real tasty idea. The logo and identity, designed by local designers George Strouzas and Konstantina Yiannakopoulou, are printed on lightly-colored hued papers and is complemented by an illustration of lots of big buildings, which seem like another project altogether but I guess they do sort of help offset the little house as something special among the city’s bustle. [More]

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May 19, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0

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May 15, 2013 Posted by SMP In Graphic design Tagged likes, tumblr Comments 0

Friday Likes 44

Things revolve around hand-drawn logos, animals, bearded tattooed models and other fine European accoutrements.

Liseberg

To more fully appreciate the new identity for Liseberg, an amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden, it’s probably best that you first look at the old logo (make it pop-up here). Chuck E. Cheese-ish, ain’t it? The new identity by Stockholm-based Happy F&B adds sophistication where there was none, with a perfectly balanced color palette and fun graphics, along with a redesigned, 1-color rabbit. I would go to there just for the popcorn boxes. [More].

The Collection

I must be on a kick of ugly-ish design (what with the BNC13 identity and all) but I really like this harsh signature-like logo by London-based mind design for The Collection, a (I believe, now-defunct) restaurant at the Royal Academy of Arts designed by interior designer Tom Dixon. The logo is jerky and bendy but it becomes almost luxurious in application with some metallic inks but it can also be hip as a neon sign. The rest of the identity uses a condensed sans serif and a palette of purples and teals and split fountains that seem like another project altogether (but one that would also be cool on its own). Regardless, all is good. [More]

Roar

Nothing says “roar” like a chicken, jack russell terrier, and a goat, right? Yet that’s what makes this identity by London-based ORB get people’s attention. To give a voice to Roar — a provider of business communications (VoIP telphony, broadband, or mobile services) — ORB brought together a cackle of animals and a bearded model to become spokesbeings for the company in a quirky video introduction and identity. [More]

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May 11, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0

Friday Likes 43

Today we go full on Nordic with firms and clients from Denmark and Norway and an aesthetic that you just can’t get either on this side of the pond or even in other parts of that side of the pond. What I’m trying to say: They got serious design skills up there.

Højmark Cycles

Like the streamlined kit of parts that Højmark Cycles uses to build its custom bicycles for clients, Danish firm Ineo Designlab used its own set of streamlined sticks and balls to craft a custom, geometric, stencil wordmark. The resulting logo is as alluring as the frame of a bike and the identity goes above and beyond with a gorgeous set of custom numerals for catalog price sheets. I could ride this all day long. [More].

Advance Nonwoven

This is not something I typically like and when seeing the full identity there isn’t that much there — and when you are there, the logo’s typography leaves much to be desired — but I have to admit that I just completely fell for the image above. How pretty is that? And it’s also quite an appropriate solution by another Danish firm ME! ME! ME! for Advance Nonwoven, a company that creates insulation products from 100% organic and recyclable fibers. So the logo looks technological and woven-ish and warm. Win, win, win. [More]

Krohn

The extra minimalist logo for interior architecture firm Krohn, explains Oslo-based Commando Group, is based “on a room seen from the central perspective,” that “after trying out different views we saw that in a certain angle, the room becomes a disjointed ‘K’!” And to prove it works both ways you can drag the logo around on the client’s website. Web bells and whistles aside, the identity is simple and confident with some metallic ink sprinkled around for a little bit of glitz. [More]

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May 4, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0

Friday Likes 42

All Likes stroke my fancy today. Wait… that sounds terrible. But you get the point.

Ibsens Fabrikker

Let’s start with something that will bring a smile to your face: a smiling factory. How fucking joyful is that? And if that wasn’t enough, the company for which this logo — and larger identity system viewable at the More link — was designed makes, wait for it, inflatable, wearable, and fiberglass mascots. Really great stuff by Aalbord, Denmark-based Form Agenda for Ibsens Fabrikker. [More].

Mobiento

This logo by Stockholm-based Snask for Mobiento, a design agency specializing in mobile work, is almost kind of dumb. I mean, look at that “i”. It’s so wrong, it’s right. Everything about that logo is weird and quirky and just not right. Which is what makes it work. The mint green color also helps and the neon sign (shown on the header image and at the More link) takes it to 11, or to 1, not sure. [More]

Italio

Yes, yes, I know. Another single-width-stroke logo. What can I say? I’m a sucker for ‘em. And this particular one by Orlando, FL-based Push for Florida-based chain of restaurants, Italio, is Lady and the Tramp-slurping good. From the wordmark to the little bowl of spaghetti. [More]

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Apr 27, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0

Friday Likes 41

This Friday is all about food and chefs and restaurants. So come on in and please wait to be seated.

MC Kitchen

Nothing gets me going on a cold Friday morning like a sexy monogram and this swooping, outline “MC” monogram by New York, NY-based OCD | The Original Champions of Design for MC Kitchen in Miami, FL makes me all warm and fuzzy. The restaurant is a contrast of Miami and Italian food and the whole identity is based on the idea of contrast, with the squared slab serif letterforms of the monogram and some vintage Rockwell offset by a condensed sans serif. And within the simplicity of the system the use of the monogram in huge dimensions makes a significant impact. Lots more at the more link. [More].

Umberto Bocci

The logo for chef Umberto Bocci by Pesaro, Italy-based Andrea Vitali is not necessarily succulent and it would be easy to file it under the Hipster Branding trend but it transcends all of that because the business card is, like, totally awesomely produced and perfectly appropriate for the client. A rubber stamp is “inked” with lemon juice to mark the business card which is then placed in the oven, burning the lemon into the paper, resulting in a lovely texture (and I’m sure scent). More time consuming than sending something to letterpress but it gives the designer and chef a great story to tell. [More]

Santa Cruz

Raise your hand if you missed Anagrama on Friday Likes. Now raise it too if you like hand-scribbled identities on stark backgrounds that are meant to deliver BBQ goodness into your belly and are served inside a radically awesome barn-like setting in the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico. Then this identity for Santa Cruz is all for you. Enjoy. [More]

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Apr 20, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0

Friday Likes 40

Today we are going pattern crazy all up in here with extremely different clients and projects from Switzerland, Singapore, and Africa.

Camerata de Lausanne

Based on the work of Ernst Chladni, a German physicist, who “discovered that by taking a copper disc sprinkled with sand and rubbing it with a bow, he could obtain geometrical figures,” Lausanne, Switzerland-based firm Demian Conrad Design created a flexible and generative identity — with its own pattern generator — that visualizes the sound of music in different frequencies for the Camerata de Lausanne. The result is a moody, heavily patterned identity that does manage to capture the subtlety of the sounds of a string ensemble in an unexpected way. [More].

Maki-San

And now for something completely different and totally cray-cray: For Singapore based sushi spot Maki-San, local design firm Kinetic created an intense array of patterns based on sushi ingredients that help offset the otherwise quiet, hand-written logo. Not pictured here but shown at the More link are illustrations of anthropomorphic versions of sushi ingredients, giving the whole thing a slightly surreal touch but that somehow feel perfectly natural given the energy of the identity. Do visit the Maki-San website, it’s a trip. [More]

Dorcas Centre

The Dorcas Centre was established to help women in poverty in and around the the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, a city with a population of approximately 430,000 in Africa. “Inspired by the traditional paintwork found on many of the houses around Bobo-Dioulasso,” London-based Confederation created a simple and elegant pattern for the organization that can be used as a square in lock-up with the Gotham wordmark or can take over a whole canvas. Nothing earth-shatteringly innovative, just a solid, relevant use of pattern applied with restraint. [More]

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Apr 13, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0

Friday Likes 39

After a two-week hiatus, Friday Likes are back with colorful, somewhat colorful, and almost not colorful at all projects.

MUSE (Museum of Science)

Set to open this Summer in Trento, Italy with a building designed by Renzo Piano, MUSE will also have a heady new logo and extra colorful identity by Pentagram partner Harry Pearce. While there are reasons why I shouldn’t like this — mainly the Helvetica and the distorted shapes of the Helvetica (as if it weren’t ugly enough already) — but the result is extremely appealing. For lack of a better description, there is a very science-y tension created by the exaggerated perspective of the logo, it’s like a typographic experiment in progress. In application the logo works even better in tandem with science images and bold colors, adding depth and dimension without resorting to gradients or other cheap tricks. [More].

Elbow Room

Launched last year with three locations — in Newark, NJ; in Brooklyn, NY; and inside the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn — the Elbow Room specializes in, wait for it, “Mac and Cheese as the common denominator” with all kinds of twists to this decadent food staple. The logo and identity, designed by Brooklyn-based mgmt. signal that this isn’t your typical mac and cheese but a contemporary, smooth interpretation. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for script logos that use a single thickness and this one doesn’t disappoint. [More]

Musikkens Hus (House of Music)

For his thesis project at the Danish School of Media, Julian Hansen chose to create an identity for Musikken Hus in Aalborg, Denmark that will house the Aalborg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Music Conservatory of Aalborg and the Institute of Music of Aalborg University. “Inspired by the way nodes jump about on a node sheet,” explains Julian “I made a dynamic logo and a typographic system to match that was inspired by this. The result is a visual identity that is dynamic and ever changeable, just like the building itself. It’s also a visual identity in which the design itself takes the place of the logo.” Using his own typeface, Zimmer, the identity is remarkably market-ready despite being a student project. It’s a great blend of 1950s Swiss typography and 2010s minimalist hipsterism — both descriptions meant as a compliment. [More]

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Apr 5, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0

Friday Likes 38

These Friday Likes are brought to you by the colors black and white.

Orchestre Symphonique Genevois

Although it’s replacing a fabulous 1970s Avant Garde-tastic logo, this new identity by KW43 for Düsseldorf, Germany-based Orchestre Symphonique Genevois in Geneva, Switzerland, is like music to my eyes. Literally. Parts of certain letters have been replaced with the roundy parts of musical notes as if they were placed on a staff. The logo can then be “played”, resulting in a quirky mnemonic sound. The resulting logo and typography are a little off-kilter and weird but the concept and application are great. Video above is in German but visuals are perfectly understandable [More].

Brøchner Hotels

I believe this is a student project. I’m almost certain. Nonetheless, one ready for primetime. Brøchner Hotels is a small collection of four boutique hotels in Copenhagen, Denmark, each apparently more charming than the next. By distilling their architecture down to their windows, local designer Mia Bjergegaard has created a lovely, abstract logo where the hotels can be used by themselves or grouped together, creating their own rhythm, not much different than the symphony identity above it. [More]

National Design Awards, 2004-2011

Things to consider upfront: this is not your typical Friday Like; it’s not flashy; it’s not generative or highly flexible; it’s not one of those “Man, I wish I had done that” projects. In 2004, New York-based Tsang Seymour created the logo for the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum National Design Awards which have risen in profile, popularity, and recognition in the past few years. That logo, in all its simplicity, has served as the basis to create wildly different materials each year that all strike just the right balance of Smithsonian seriousness and designer playfulness. It’s a less than glamorous project that deserves its own kind of recognition. [More]

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Mar 16, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0

Friday Likes 37

Today we play two truths and a lie: without reading the text can you guess which Like today isn’t real/implemented? Regardless, all these share simple executions and bold lines. My favorite.

Bambu

With two locations in Finland, in Helsinki and Turku, Bambu is a medley of Asian cuisines into one single menu. Taking a cue from the different Asian cultures Helsinki-based Bond latched on to the hexagon as a repeating motif among them and then built a lovely icon that looks as sticks of bamboo laid on top of one another. The hexagon then drives most of the materials, from the hard-angled teardrop shape of the menu to the business cards to the tables themselves. The upbeat color palette also helps distance it from similar logos like the Dharma Initiative’s. [More].

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is a yacht-services provider along the entire coast of South-East Asia: if you buy or own a boat they will help you take care of it. Moscow-based Sergey Tarasenko has created a fun system of icons and patterns punctuated by what looks like a very grumpy, eagle-nosed, long-bearded sailor. You know if somebody tries to mess with your boat this Popeye-esque figure will beat the crap out of that person and not lose the placement of his little hat. I also like that his face looks like a half moon and his hat like a little boat. Or that the whole icon looks like an anchor. [More]

Universidade de Coimbra, Alta e Sofia

It’s a shame that this is only a proposal and not a real identity for the application of University of Coimbra to be part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Porto-based Miguel Palmeiro arrived at an amazing simplification of the university’s seal that is bold, contemporary, and, simply gorgeous. The minty teal color gives it an extra freshness in the realm of higher institutions. [More]

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Mar 9, 2013 Posted by SMP In Logo | identity Tagged Friday, likes Comments 0