Sochi 2014 picks fancy-looking URL as logo

The logo for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, was unveiled today, and it's notable both for what it doesn't include—the traditional abstract cultural image relating to the host city or country—and for what it does: a Web address. In other words, in a desperate appeal to the world's youth, even the Olympics are retreating from the real world into the virtual one. Developed by Interbrand and Sochi's own brand council, it's the first Olympic logo to feature a URL, and Sochi 2014 chief Dmitry Chernyshenko couldn't be more proud. "To prove our commitment to innovation, Sochi 2014 will have a clearly digital Games emblem," he says. "Today, we welcome tomorrow. ... Our emblem challenges people to look beyond what they expect from our country. We believe sochi2014.ru can become an international symbol of a sporting, social, economic and environmental legacy that lasts for generations." What do you think of it? Via idsgn. UPDATE: OK, yes, several of the letters in "Sochi" have been designed to mirror those in "2014," which could bring to mind a reflection in water, and thus Sochi's location on the Black Sea. I mean, obviously.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Previously on AdFreak:
London unveils logo for the 2012 Olympics
FIFA unveils the World Cup 2010 logo

Published on December 1, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Design, Logos, Nudd, Olympics

Robot designer gets screwed over yet again

A foul-mouthed graphic-designer robot objects to being treated like a talentless, underpaid slave by a brochure-seeking client in this humorous video. But of course, in the end he takes the work, because he's a wanker with no self-respect. The clip was apparently created on a site called Xtranormal, a "text-to-movie" service where you can type in dialogue and watch scenes of cartoon characters (including the robots) reciting it back to you. The Xtranormal logo and tag appear at the end, making it a pretty good ad for the site itself. Via The Denver Egotist.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 29, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Design, Nudd, Robots, Xtranormal

Get your daily dose of vomit-inducing logos

Sometimes a logo is so ugly, it transcends bad and becomes blogworthy. Now, there's one central place to see such moments of ill-advised artistry. Your Logo Makes Me Barf is an addictive daily digest of design work created by only the finest aficionados of MS Paint. The site's brief "About Us" section admits the goal is to convince small-business owners (and the state of Missouri) to "leave the designing to the designers." But design issues aside, I have to give credit to the artist behind the Analysis Design logo featured here—on the assumption that this monstrosity was an obscure reference to the fictional story that Greek playwright Aeschylus died when an eagle dropped a turtle on his head. Otherwise, yeah, barf.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on March 23, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Design, Griner, Logos, Your Logo Makes Me Barf

Evil fictional corporations given nicer logos

The crew over at Spacesick have set themselves the daunting task of designing friendlier logos for the evil fictional mega-corporations from Hollywood films. So far, they've whipped up lovely new identities for Omni Consumer Products from RoboCop, Rekall from Total Recall, Cyberdyne from the Terminator movies and Tyrell Corporation from Blade Runner. Although I still say Cyberdyne sounds more like a dental-spittoon manufacturer than anything overtly evil. But I'm old-school, and prefer the classy martini-glass motif Conglom-O used to any of today's glossy Photoshop stuff.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on March 20, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Design, Kiefaber, Logos

Pepsi logo fulfills God's plan for humanity

Remember when the new Pepsi logo debuted a few months back, fulfilling 5,000 years of aesthetic philosophy and epitomizing our relationship with the cosmos? No? Well, it happened. An internal document from the Arnell Group has made its way online, illustrating the copious and absurd rationalizations (PDF file) behind the firm's redesign of the logo. There's discussion of the Earth's magnetic fields, the Theory of Relativity and all sorts of other cockamamie horseshit that shows how Arnell is   "applying universal laws to establish a blueprint for the brand." Fast Company describes it a bit differently: "One of the most ridiculous things ever perpetrated by somebody calling himself a designer." But hey, if you're hired for an obscene amount of money and all you do is smash together the logos for Barack Obama and Korean Air, it doesn't hurt to defend your decision as the manifest destiny of humanity's creative endeavor. Via Gawker.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on February 11, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (11)
Filed under Arnell Group, Design, Griner, Pepsi

Prythee, canst thou make that logo bigger?

Bringing it in true old-school fashion, a rare surviving example of a 16th-century design portfolio, of the kind used by Medieval bookbinders to show off their typefaces, has been discovered in England. The Macclesfield Alphabet Book is more than just a prop for ye olde job interviewe. It features 14 different types of decorative alphabets—including anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and foliate alphabets, and two sets of borders in remarkably preserved colors and gold. The British Library is eager to acquire the book, and so far they've raised £340,000 of the £600,000 purchase price from the library of the Earls of Macclesfield. The book's been sitting there since 1750, as it appears the Earls are busy creative-director types who have completely overlooked the portfolio sitting on their desk for the past few centuries. Via Boing Boing.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Published on January 28, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Cullers, Design, Europe, Vintage

Coke design agency gives Metallica a hand

Coca-Cola design agency Turner Duckworth fashioned the cover of Metallica's new album, Death Magnetic. Brandweek says David Turner, one of the company's founders, is friends with drummer Lars Ulrich, and their children go to the same school. Such details make Metallica sound old and unhip. But what do I know? The disc shot to No. 1 and sold 500,000 copies in three days. The cover shows a magnetized coffin. I want to be buried in one of those, so anyone with a cellphone or change in their pockets or metal jewelry will be pulled toward my grave screaming, "Help! Dave's pulling me into his grave!" Hey, at least I've got a plan for the afterlife, OK?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 19, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (8)
Filed under Design, Gianatasio

The stately hood ornament's quiet demise

That ultimate symbol of brand and luxury, the automotive hood ornament, seems to be nearing the end of the road. Newsweek reports that Jaguar has quietly stopped offering its signature cat figurine as a standard feature, and Mercedes is using a raised ornament on less than one-third of its new models. Hood ornaments have been on the decline for decades, especially since Ralph Nader ruined the fun by pointing out that these often spear-like flourishes had a habit of, well, spearing pedestrians. But you have to admire the impressively long run of a design technique that started out simply as a way to gussy up radiator caps in the 1920s. If you just can't say goodbye to yesterday, fear not. Hood ornaments still come standard on Lincoln Town Cars and Mack trucks. And they must still be popular with at least one crowd: thieves. Rolls-Royce has had to program its ornaments to retract into the hood when the doors are locked. For more photos like the one above, check out this beautiful Flickr set from the Blackhawk Museum.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on August 27, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Automotive, Design, Griner

It's a brand new day at the Stop & Shop

Hot on the heels of Wal-Mart's new logo, Stop & Shop/Giant unveils a redesign of its own. The grocery chain's effort looks like half an asterisk. Wal-Mart, perhaps owing to its larger inventory, gave us the whole thing. The S&S logo is part of a broader set of initiatives which, according to the press release, include the opportunity for consumers to "consult with an in-store butcher and request cut-to-order meats." I think "in-store" goes without saying, as most people would avoid the blood-splattered, cleaver-wielding maniac on the street. And why couldn't you request meats from the butcher before? At last, his gag have been removed, and he can speak freely about pork loin. Then there's the promise of a "family-friendly ... tabloid-free, candy-free checkout aisle." Screaming kids denied their glucose, grumpy parents denied their Brangelina—that doesn't sound like an enhanced shopping experience, really. Why would anyone shop at such a place? Because it's cheaper than Whole Foods, and they don't get all Al Gore on your ass if you want your produce double-bagged!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 21, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Design, Gianatasio, Grocery