Friday Fun Day

Not an original post idea, but I still get a kick out of seeing peoples business card designs. Always inspiring. Enjoy some of these. More to be found here. ••••

A Texas Upgrade

Its been awhile since I have truly been blown away by a logo/identity...perhaps even months since it has been that long since I have posted on Crew Design. tsk tsk.

The new identity system for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History designed by the geniuses at Pentagram has really knocked my socks off. "Stout and his team in Austin (represent!) developed a logo consisting of three squares representing the letters F, W, and M (Fort Worth Museum) and an entire alphabet of Legorreta-inspired letterforms. The square letterforms can be stacked and rearranged like a child’s set of alphabet blocks. These symbolic “building blocks of knowledge” are a metaphor for the museum’s early roots as a children’s museum and its commitment to families and learning."



I can't help but show some of the initial application ideas of this identity which are on the Pentagram website. The square motif shows up in other components of the new identity system, including a pattern based on a lattice of squares called “The Skeleton,” a distinctive graphic rendering technique created by reversing a grid of squares out of simple silhouetted imagery, and fun merchandise concepts like foam block hats, square coffee cups, and a set of “Legorreta Letterform” alphabet blocks. “I wanted the museum to own the square,” says Stout. “I want them to be square but hip, too.”

As usual, I can't help but throw in my one bit of critique...not a huge fan of the color palette, but no one’s perfect. ••••

Major X-Acto Knife Work

Major props to Julien De Repentigny's identity for the Westwood Hotel.••••

Fro-YO!!!!!!!

Walk down the street in L.A. and you'll likely hear one blonde say to another, "Wanna grab some fro-yo?" Fro-what, you might ask? Fro-who? Fro-YO. You know, slang for Frozen Yogurt. Obvi. Well it seems the frozen yogurt phenomenon has finally made it to just about every major city. Recently three new Frozen Yogurt stores opened up within walking distance from my work in downtown San Francisco. I love a good frozen yogurt, but what really catches my eye is the visual concepts behind each store. Many of the stores that I have come across have strong visual identities - bold colors, clean designs, modern appeal - they emphasize nutrition and aim to create an entire "experience" verses just grabbing a quick ice cream cone and walking away with it. Check out the websites for Pinkberry, SoGreen Yogurt, and Yogen Fruz.

One such identity really caught my eye. British design firm ICO created the strong visual identity for Snog Yogurt. As described on their website:

The Snog name, coined by ico, is derived from ‘Snow & Yogurt’ and is the perfect solution for a bold, young, urban and British brand. In effect, the name informed the entire creative concept. A fun and infectious copy-led approach followed. Bright pop colours and an edgy typographic style completed the brand.

The name is catchy, the dominant pink color is bold, and the overall concept is fresh and memorable. As far as branding goes, I think that they have created a very successful identity - it speaks to the target audience by creating a youthful and catchy visual representation of the featured product. I often long to go back to London (I have a long-standing love affair with British design) and now this is just one more reason to return! Now who wants some Fro-Yo? ••••