Archive for the 'Logos' Category
Liquid Agency wins 12 ADDY awards.
Liquid Agency took home 12 awards at this year’s ADDY Awards Gala, including two of the coveted ADDY Statuettes, representing work that was considered the best in its category. The ADDYs honor creative excellence by recognizing the best work of local agencies, as judged by a panel of peers. The party and awards ceremony was hosted by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, on March 4 at the Marriott Hotel, downtown San Jose. This year’s party was smaller than in previous years – a reflection of the tough economic climate – yet the mood was festive, as it seems that Silicon Valley is starting to show signs of recovery.
Liquid Agency received a Best of Category ADDY award for the brand identity refresh we delivered for the Golden Gate Chapter of the Young President’s Organization – a global network of CEOs. The YPO GG Chapter includes mostly CEOs from the technology sector, so we created a visual style that reflects the dynamic and progressive nature of the members.
“We’re happy that the judges have selected to give us these awards,” said Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer of Liquid Agency. “We participate every year because we believe that it is important to play an active role in our local creative community – especially during times like these, when many clients have cut their budgets and agencies have struggled to survive.”
Once the awards ceremony had come to a close, we celebrated in true Liquid style with friends, family and some of the other agencies that participated in the competition. It was a night of camaraderie and friendship shared with many of the agencies that keep Silicon Valley a center of world-class creativity and innovation.
Below is a complete list of all the awards received by Liquid Agency:
ADDY Young Presidents Organization Branding
Gold ADDY Sezmi Packaging
Silver ADDY Microsoft Office for Mac Retail Merchandising
Silver ADDY Aviat Logo
Silver ADDY Aviat Website
Silver ADDY Adidas Motorsports Microsite
Silver ADDY Olive Advertising Campaign
Silver ADDY HP Advertising Campaign
Bronze ADDY Alex Logo / Brand Identity
Bronze ADDY Addison Avenue
Bronze ADDY HP Microsite
To see the all of projects that won at this year, as well as past awards and competitions, click here.
No commentsGreat design from our friends at WSDIA in NY.
WSDIA: A very talented group of people that take design seriously.
On a recent trip to New York I was introduced to a small, but very talented firm: WSDIA.According to their website: “Our name WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA) is simply a goal. Designers and all other professionals alike should not feel constrained to some singular expertise. To survive our own creative game, it is imperative to know that there is not one absolute solution to a given problem. To immerse oneself within different avenues of creative production and mediums forces you to consider the otherwise unconsidered. It’s that method of working that’s exciting and motivating to look forward to the next transition.”
Nice people. Lots of talent. And plenty of ambition.
I was introduced to Jonathan Jackson & Sarah Nelson, two of the three principals at WSDIA, by my very good friend (and also very talented designer), Chris Vivion. In the course of my travels and my work I meet a lot of designers. Sometimes I meet people who are exceptionally talented…on occasion I meet folks who are really smart…and at times I meet designers who are very nice people - alas, they’re personality does not always match up to their work. Meeting Jonathan and Sarah was refreshing because they represented a combination of the best qualities I find in true designers: talent, curiosity, passion, intelligence and ambition. On top of all these great qualities, they struck me as unassuming, approachable, and extremely nice people. BTW: By “ambition” I don’t mean a drive to make a lot of money. No, no, no. I mean the ambition to keep pushing the limits, and the desire to do bigger, better, more interesting and more meaningful projects. That’s the kind of ambition that people that end up being really, really good must have. And the folks at WSDIA have plenty of it.
New Practices New York
Jonathan and Sarah shared with me several projects that I thought were really smart and exceptionally executed. I really enjoyed the New Practices New York exhibition design.
This project exemplifies the firms ability to create striking solutions that blend the aesthetics of architecture and graphics in a combination that is visually fresh and dimensionally interesting. I learned that WSDIA is made up of people that come from backgrounds that include architecture, graphics and fashion…which may explain why their work is so multifaceted. I love the physical nature of the signage and the attention to detail that went into the execution.
Young Guns Live
Another project I really liked is the Young Guns Live project for the Art Directors Club of New York.
For this assignment the team created a set that they photographed as the key visual for the marketing materials. The typography was created from brown fabric and stuffed with cotton (now named, ‘Gotham Stuffed’). The end result is whimsical and sophisticated…and although it is definitely avant-garde, it evokes a certain level of craftsmanship that is not all too often part of today’s design aesthetics…which is what makes it so special and fresh.I look forward to seeing what this talented team will be designing next. In the meanwhile, if you have any thoughts, please feel free to share them.
Thanks,
Alfredo Muccino
Chief Creative Officer
Liquid Agency
Pepsi’s new brand identity: Not what I call “refreshing”.
Occasionally brands need a little refreshing. Pepsi recently announced that it is canning BBDO Worldwide, which has produced campaigns for the brand since 1960, in an effort “to refresh Pepsi’s communications,” according to Dave Burwick, the new chief marketing officer for the PepsiCo North America beverages division. PepsiCo also selected the Arnell Group as its design agency for brand identity and packaging.
Well, pardon the pun, I am not so sure there is anything “refreshing” at all about the new Pepsi identity that Arnell just designed. In fact, it seems like such a missed opportunity…and an amazing waste of money.
Theoretically, the new logo is much improved and much more dynamic because it flashes a smile. That may be so…but when I look at the new packaging it seems generic and impersonal….and that does not make me smile at all. Lately a few venerable brands have undergone makeovers that I think are questionable: AT&T and Xerox, for example. Pepsi is the latest one to join the group.
In the case of AT&T, in an attempt to make the unfriendly company come across as more approachable, the classic logo became dimensionalized. Surely AT&T wanted to come across as a contemporary, friendly and dynamic company. Instead, the symbol seems executed by a design student trying too hard to make something look cool.
Then there is the new Xerox logo. Again, I’m sure that someone thought that the digitized X that we had come to associate with Xerox had become obsolete…and that the company’s sophisticated digital solutions were not properly represented by something that actually looked digitized. Apparently “the sphere-shaped symbol with lines that link to form an illustrative “X,” represents Xerox’s connections to its customers, partners, industry and innovation”. Personally, I think it looks like a red version of the Xbox360 logo.
Now we have the new Pepsi logo. After months of work…during which time much consideration was given to “preserving the heritage of the Pepsi brand, while creating a more vibrant and energetic logo that will help Pepsi connect with its customers”. As a result of all this effort, in my opinion, the designers came up with something just as impersonal as the old logo. According to some reports the re-brand will cost the company in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion.
However, as I am fond of saying “a logo does not a brand make”. So, let’s take a look at the packaging…which is probably the most important manifestation of this brand. When I take a look at the “before and after” images, I can’t help but feel a mix of confusion, disapproval and disappointment. Perhaps Pepsi is trying to be more minimalist…but I think it the brand just comes across as generic and cheap. Is this design better? Will it make any difference at all?
Lastly…I wonder about the strategy behind the logo modifications that are featured on the cans of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Pepsi Max. I guess that Pepsi Max is supposed to make my smile bigger?
Really….what is the point? I am not smiling.
Please feel free to comment!
Alfredo Muccino
Chief Creative Officer
Liquid Agency | Brand Marketing
Olive included in ultimate “Logo” book!
We’re very happy to have been included in what is being billed as “the ultimate designer’s reference” book on logos - the book “Logo” by Michael Evamy.
According to Michael Bierut of Pentagram, “this wonderful resource will make better designers of all of us”. Now, that’s a pretty impressive statement from a very accomplished designer!
The Olive logo shares the same space as the logos for Disney, Ford and Harrods…which is pretty amazing.
“Logo” is a thick book, mostly in B&W…offering a great overview of some of the best identities in the world. For more information about the author, please take a look at his site www.evamy.co.uk …or head out to the nearest bookstore and add this book to your library!
1 commentOlympic Logo: What do you think?
The new logo for the 2012 London Olympics has elicited an amazing amount of controversy. According to Jacque Rogge, President of International Olympic Committee, “this is a truly innovative brand logo that graphically captures the essence of the London 2012 Olympic Games — namely to inspire young people around the world through sport and the Olympic values.” According to many others it is an atrocious symbol that should be immediately scrapped. According to an article in the Times Online by Robert Booth, “The logo, designed by Wolff Olins, a London branding agency, and approved by Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, was launched to almost universal disdain”. Personally, I am still trying to digest it. My first impression is that it is shockingly unattractive, and reminiscent of post-punk eighties graphics. I’m trying very hard to be open minded and see if it grows on me…but so far, it’s not working! I wonder what you think? I’d love some feedback…especially if you can defend it!
