January 2007
New Concordia Logo: My Take
Ok, rather than just razzing the new Concordia ninja-head logo, here’s my take on it - a stylized combination shield, book and heart enclosing a sunburst with the City and University motto, concordia salus. The font is Beta Sans Bold. I’ve done a main crest as well as a tagline/signature version.
Can you find the hidden historical reference in the design? Answers next week.
Concordia steals sheep
My alma mater unveiled its new logo today.
Seeing the history of former logos alongside it, I long for the heraldic authoritativeness of the 1978 shield, and the typographic friendliness of the 1988 version. This new one could be a logo for a dentist’s office.
Not only does it have atrocious visual balance, with the “shield” or remnants thereof being too close to the text, the maroon elements completely overshadow the background tan elements. And why, o why, did they use such a heavy font, then letterspace the lowercase letters?
Frederic Goudy is spinning in his grave.
January 19, 2007 in Design | ✍ 4
I talk, therefore iPhone
Yes, it’s the Prettiest Object Ever and we All Want One (unlocked, 3G version please…so I guess we’re really waiting for version 2.)
In the meantime, here are some random thoughts.
Questions:
- Can you use it for data storage like regular iPods?
- Can you make its memory partition a bootable volume?
- Is there a dev kit for widgets and apps?
- Does it support stereo Bluetooth headsets?
Worries:
- How do you change the battery?
- How durable is it?
Wishes:
- C’mon Steve, let us develop games for it…that use the sensors…can you say WiiPhone?
- When paired with a Mac, becomes a multi-touch graphics tablet / auxiliary display?
- Two words: Universal Remote
- Mobile iTunes Store
January 10, 2007 in Technology | ✍ 1
Culture Jams, and Jellies
My fellow YULBlogger Marie-Chantale Turgeon, who I have great admiration and respect for, recently posted something in favour of vandalizing subway ads with little “You don’t need this” stickers, a kind of adbusting move.
I disagreed in comments with both the ethical stance and the economic logic behind this campaign (and hey, the use of paper is a bit unecological isn’t it?)
I find such anti-advertising moves puzzling because while they might raise consciousness, they rarely offer any antidote to the alleged social malaise of “overconsumption to fill social/spiritual emptiness.” Following the logic that advertising is bad, then capitalism is bad, thus any exchange of money for services or goods is bad, so then what? Do we all stay home and raise turnips? I don’t think that’s a viable policy option…
Andrew Potter posted something about Sao Paulo’s complete ban on public advertising over at his Macleans blog; he notes that yes, advertising can be annoying, but it’s also interesting, often delightful and enjoyable, and a necessary part of capitalism - and it also serves the needs of arts and alternative subculture groups, whose flyers were also swept up in the ban.
Regulating advertising seems to be much more effective than banning it entirely. Since the Drapeau era, Montreal is relatively ad-free and even our commercial signage is tamer compared to the 1950s neon jungle we used to have. (It seems to have all moved to the Internet, actually).
If advertising bears a social cost of annoyance, then let it be taxed or as Potter and Joseph Heath suggest, remove its deductability as an expense for businesses; and individual communities can decide to place limits on when, where and how big it can get.
But that sort of lengthy, negotiated, collective agreement isn’t as sexy as stickering ads — it doesn’t make you feel like an outlaw rebel, does it? ;)
January 7, 2007 in Branding | ✍ 5
Bad Brand Stewardship: The Mouse and KSFO
ABC/Disney are tarnishing their own brand by lending their legal muscle to rabidly right-wing San Francisco talk affiliate KSFO. In doing so, they’ve also enraged the blogosphere with their shut-down of a critical blog that was hosting clips of their shows under Fair Use educational purposes.
More after the jump. Comments are now closed for this entry.
Continue reading “Bad Brand Stewardship: The Mouse and KSFO”
January 5, 2007 in Branding | ✍ 2
Stéphane Dion's reaction this morning:
January 5, 2007 in Politics | ✍ 3
