Have Mercy on My Logo

Great post on Brand New about the Mercy Corps logo design and how it actually changed out in the field for the better.

Idea Box

This place is on my dream board. I must have one. In fact, as soon as the market gets better, we're selling our home and getting one of these. Seriously. It's not too big and not too small. The lines are nice and clean and the place really seems huge when you're in one. They are built right here in Salem, Oregon and they are seriously cool. Check 'em out here.

Al's Place

My dad owned a beer tavern back in the 1950s called Al's Place. It was named for him and built by hand by him as well. I always felt a little pride seeing his name up there on the sign even though in retrospect, it was just a little bar out in the middle of nowhere. Still, it was "Al's Place" and that was so cool. I played pool there on the weekend as a kid and the Conjunto Tex-Mex music that blared through the jukebox had a huge influence on my musical taste.

I had some time on my hands and decided to design a logo for a place that was long ago and faraway, but never forgotten.

Cool Tractor

I was a farm boy in deep central Texas in another life. Maybe that's why I find this so cool.

Diana F+ CMYK Edition

This looks like a cool little camera.

The Lost Art of Type Spec'ing

Gah! I remember this - too vividly!

Steampunk Keyboard

I love steampunk anything. I came across this cool steampunk computer keyboard created by Datamancer for a new TV show called Warehouse 13 for the Sci Fi channel. Cool!

Cowboy duds

I wish I had a ton of money. If I did, I'd buy several pairs of boots from this website.

The Bazaarium

I thought this was very cool. From a place called, The Bazaarium. Click on the image for a link.

Bryan Adams Honored With His Own Stamp

With numerous hit singles, a Grammy Award, Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, and an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame to his credit, Bryan Adams may have earned the ultimate tribute from his native Canada: a postage stamp. [Read More]

Coco Shinomiya

I came across this cool new Bob Dylan album cover with lettering created by L.A. graphic designer Coco Shinomiya. I googled the heck out of her name, but there seems to very little written about her. She's designed a ton of album covers and has even published a book about hot rods. Must find out more about her.

Anonymous Western Swing Band # 15

I dig these old photos that mrwaterslide came across in his travels. Check out more here on his Flickr site.

Celebrating the summer with Lenny Dee

Here's a little something to celebrate the coming of summer. I can't quite make out what is on top of the keyboard. Is that an animal of some kind? This cover is just so mind blowingly wrong.

Chinese A-Go-Go

I love it when I run across random bits of weirdness.

Man Sells Mac Ephemera to Save Wife

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. This man loves his wife.

http://www.saldanah.com/applesale/

The Album Is Alive

This made me happy.

Funky Town

Just plain funky.

Kix Cereal Boxes Go Retro

I love all things retro, so I am quite pleased to see that General Mills is releasing some retro themed cereal boxes to your local grocery store. The brands include Kix, Golden Grahams, Cheerios, Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Wheaties, and much, much, more!
[source]

New CD Baby Logo

This just in...CD Baby, the online music distribution juggernaut for independent bands has changed it's beloved logo.

In the literal sense, the three triangles are “play” symbols – like on your MP3 or CD player. In a less literal interpretation, we see the mark as symbolizing the CD Baby community (artists, music lovers, and CD Baby) and the three channels (CDs, downloads, and promotional items). We also worked hard to find a logo style and tag line that kept some of the playfulness of the original “baby” logo but spoke a little more to what CD Baby is really all about.

Old logo is on top, new one on the bottom. What do you think about it?

Egyptian cleric blasts Starbucks for using Queen Esther in logo

I thought she was a mermaid. From the Jerusalem Post:

As Jews around the world are celebrating Purim, one Egyptian cleric has used the holiday to launch an attack against Starbucks, claiming that the woman in the logo of the international chain is Queen Esther, and her presence warrants a boycott of the company throughout the Arab world.

"Starbucks is to be found in Mecca, in Al-Madina, opposite the King Abdul Aziz Gate in Mecca, opposite the Al-Majid Gate in Al-Madina, as well as in Cairo," Egyptian cleric Safwat Higa said during a sermon which aired on Al-Nas TV, and which was documented by the MEMRI watchdog group. "Starbucks is to be found everywhere, with this logo."

"Have any of you ever wondered who this woman with a crown on her head is? Why do we boycott Starbucks? I will tell you, so you will know why you should boycott this company, and what this logo stands for," he continued. "As I've already said, it is not enough to avoid entering this coffee shop. It is not enough to refrain from drinking this coffee. You must urge people never to go there, but none of you should even consider throwing a stone, breaking anything, or burning [the place] down."

"The girl in the Starbucks logo is Queen Esther. Do you know who Queen Esther was and what the crown on her head means? This is the crown of the Persian kingdom. This queen is the queen of the Jews. She is mentioned in the Torah, in the Book of Esther. The girl you see is Esther, the queen of the Jews in Persia," the cleric said.

"The Crown you see here [in the Starbucks logo] is the crown of the kingdom of Xerxes," Higa said.

"We want Starbucks to be shut down throughout the Arab and Islamic world," he concluded. "It is inconceivable that in Mecca and Al-Madina, there will be a picture of Queen Esther. Can you believe that in Mecca, Al-Madina, Cairo, Damascus, Kuwait, and all over the Islamic world there hangs the picture of beautiful Queen Esther, with a crown on her head, and we buy her products?" (link)

New logo for Jack in the Box

The new design by Duffy and Partners. As much as I hated their "old" logo, I don't like this one much better.

Record Sleeves

What a cool idea for a blog. Kavel Rafferty collects old record sleeves for her blog, Record Envelope.

Fifty Dollar Logo Experiment

This is just too funny not to post.

The fifty dollar logo experiment.

Typewriter Tin Collection

Now this is cool. A collection of old typewriter ribbon tins. I didn't even know there was such a thing to collect!

Every Super Bowl Logo

Every SuperBowl logo ever. Check it out here.

Twitter Tweaks Logo Size

Twitterland was all abuzz with the realization that the twitter logo was smaller.

Is it just me or did the Twitter logo shrink?
Funny, i shrunk my logo and twitter followed me...
I didn't log in for 2 days and the twitter logo got all tiny on me.

And so and so forth. I haven't been able to track down a reason for the size change. Stay tuned.

Pepsi Optimism Project

"There's been a lot of discourse about the logo," acknowledged Cooper. "It makes a good news story, but I don't know if it's rooted in reality. It's a 110-year-old brand. Red, white and blue has been part of the brand for a long time."

In fact, Cooper suggested that maybe it was Obama who committed an act of sub rosa homage in his quest to become, ahem, the voice of a new generation. "I'm not sure who followed who," he said. "This [Obama] logo was developed probably a year and a half ago. We've been around for 110 years."

Read the entire article here...

Mexico: Alleged drug hit men using 'Jackass' logo

I thought this was mucho amusing:

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Soldiers in Tijuana have detained three suspected drug assassins with uniforms featuring a skull above crossed crutches, apparently patterned after the logo of the "Jackass" television show and movies.

The men are suspected of working for a Mexican cartel operator nicknamed "Muletas," or "Crutches."

The 15 black uniforms found in the men's SUV in Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, had arm patches with the logo and the slogan, "Muletas Special Forces."

An army statement issued Friday said the men were pulled over because their car had bullet holes in one side.

Soldiers found 20 guns in the SUV and another vehicle and suspect the men were involved in kidnappings and killings. No charges have yet been filed.

The Stories Behind Hollywood Studio Logos

Sorry for the delay in posting. I blame it on the snow and ice that made me feel like hibernating for the rest of the winter.

Just found this link to a web page that gives a little history on some of Hollywood's most famous studio logos.