Corporate Logos That Contain Subliminal Messages

I love this piece by Dominic Greene for Business Insider that I have to share part of it here. Some of these I knew, some are a cool surprise. There's always a strategy behind every design - big, small or subliminal!

The FedEx logo hides an arrow in its negative space. Even a glance subliminally inspires thoughts of efficiency and forward motion.

This cool logo for Sony's computers represents the brand's integration of analog and digital technology. The 'VA' is designed as an analog waveform, the 'IO' is binary code.

This logo, introduced in 2005, cleverly uses the company's initials to advertise its number of ice cream flavors (31).

Slightly more abstract than the other examples, the Tour de France logo contains a well-integrated biker.

See the dancing bear in the mountain? The design is a tribute to the Swiss town where the chocolate was developed.

The cleverness of this logo is twofold. The arrow points from a to z, referring to all that is available on Amazon.com, and it doubles as a satisfied smile (with dimple).

For more, check out Business Insider. 

Kombucha Dog

Some of you are thinking "huh?". Or maybe, "oh, some fermented tea and a hot dog?". Well, Kombucha Dog is fermented tea and the "Dog" part is a clever strategy to help get local dogs in need of a home adopted. Good cause, great design, healthy drink! 

Besides the healthy, organic, raw, hand pressed goodness, every dog on the bottle is a local (Los Angeles area) dog that is currently in need of a home. And as you can see from the beautiful dog portraits on the label, Michael, the founder was a commercial photographer turned kombucha producer. Each dog has it's own page on the website under "Adopt K-Dogs".  If these dogs don't get you to try kombucha, I'm not sure what will. 

They are a hyper-local brewery and product so all you LA people, go show some love and help find these dogs a home while you're getting all this probiotic goodness.  

Learn About Branding...Literally, Learn About Branding

We talk a lot about branding. But have you ever thought about "branding". Really? Like branding cattle. There are actual guidelines in designing a "brand". I thought this was really interesting as it's one of the oldest forms of using symbols to create ownership. This is from the Texas Brand Registration.  

How To Design A Brand

The best rule to follow is to keep the image simple. Simple brand designs are easier to read and are less painful for the livestock.

A brand design consists of 2 or more symbols. Many brands have 3 units in the design. Few brands have more than 3 units.

Brands records include the design of the brand and its position on the livestock.

Left or right:

Brands are based on 4 kinds of marks, used alone or in combination.

• Letter of the alphabet
• Numbers
• Lines and circles
• Pictures

Brands are read from left to right, top to bottom, from outside in.

Sometimes when the letters or symbols are joined, the word "connected" is included in the reading.

Samples:

However, often the symbols are read as though they were separated by space.

Samples:

We might know this as a hashtag these days, but it's a pigpen.

Four rails are read as pigpen

There's a whole strategy in combining characters to create a unique and ownable brand. It's not so far off from our more advanced world of branding...considering they have one color to work with. A history lesson worth learning!

How Many Licks Does It Take To Get The The Center Of The Coffee Table?

Lanzavecchia + Wai created a whole set of edible furniture, Austerity Edible Furniture, for the Milan Furniture Fair. I can imagine it was a sticky affair. 

The Hard Candy coffee table has a top made from a huge hard-boiled sweet that leaves one saucer at the end of each leg after it has been nibbled away.

Twenty-four kilograms of white chocolate was formed around a stool to create the Chocolate chair.

Rice bricks glued together with starch form a backrest for a bench, draped with a cotton quilt full of dried beans.

A table top baked into a cracker balances on stacked tins of corned beef, which can be removed as the table is munched to leave a simple tray.

(Dezeen)

Progression Of Logo Designing (infographic)

It's incredible to see how these iconic logos first started out. There's always room to touch-up at the drawing board yet remain true to the brand. 

(Design Taxi)

US Federal Reserve Needs A Design Strategy Firm

Have you seen the new $100 bill?  The redesigned $100 note will begin circulating on October 8, 2013. Okay, I get the security issues that have to be addressed for counterfeiters, but really? This is pretty embarrassing. What do you think?

(via NewMoney.gov)

Old School For New Tech (video)

It's throwback Thursday! Like most of us, we depend on our iPhone for everything. When you ask people what time it is, they are morel likely to look at their phone then at their watch - if they are even wearing one anymore. And to be honest, I use my phone for everything, even as my dependable alarm clock every day. But I do crave a bit of the old school look and feel. Something about the classic design of an alarm clock on the night-stand seems so much more reliable. Well, here's the alarm clock dock by designer Jonas Damon.

And it comes in all these fun colors!

(AREAWARE)

Shape Matters - Bud Goes Bowtie (video)

In packaging, we all know shape can make a big impact on the shelf as well as how it interacts with the user. Budweiser is taking it's iconic bowtie logo and translating it to the can. This only helps to reinforce the brands iconic logo and takes it to the next tangible and material level. By the way, not only is it a new shape for the brand, it will only come in a new 8-pack box. 

The proprietary bowtie-shaped can, in development since 2010, will be available only in the United States and in an 8-pack and will not replace the traditional Budweiser can. It will be available May 6, 2013. 

Due to the can’s slimmer middle and sleek design, it holds 11.3 ounces of beer and has about 137 calories, approximately 8.5 fewer calories than a traditional 12-ounce can of Budweiser.

In this short video, Vice President of Innovation at Anheuser-Busch Pat McGauley discusses the development of the proprietary bowtie can and how the shape dramatizes the historic Budweiser brand icon.

(Budweiser)