Our incredibly talented production artist & manager, Chantal was married this past Saturday. Congratulations Chantal!
Less is More with Walmart
Re-design by Lippincott (?)
Everyone hates Walmart right? The majority of the people i’ve met are pretty bipartisan about it across the board. I foster no strong feelings about Walmart being good or bad, really. We’re cool, me and Walmart. BUT when the opportunity to buy a garbage can with a collapsable revolving top shows itself, i’m left with no choice. I spring for the cheaper of the 2 options. Sorry Target. Let me know when Archer Farms is ready to mass-produce plastic kitchen waste receptacles but until then we’ll always have Paris.
For all you Walmart-hating, coffee drinking, tree-hugging, human activists out there, get a load of this: In a concerted push to soften their public image, the retailer is updating its look which now features a brighter color palette, friendlier typeface, and people-centric abstraction: an interpretation of it’s trademark ’star’. Try not to be too critical. Trust me, i could talk to you about this until you’re blue in the face. It’s not worth it.
What you’re seeing is an evolution from an identity that used a boring typeface and a stiff design element to symbol with a mission. I’d like to think it’s telling us the walls are about to give way to a brand with a little humanity in store. That or more civic-minded rights for it’s employees but don’t hold your breath.
Tip-off via Brand New
Out with the Old, In with the New
Since this hits a little closer to home, I thought i’d mention that this year’s Woodward Dream Cruise— an event that draws thousands of enthusiasts to Detroit each year— just redesigned their logo. I don’t really care much for cars or the event but i’ve always felt the responsibility to make the Dream Cruise look more marketable and systematic fell largely in the auto industry’s court. And year after year, they’ve failed dismally:
2005 Logo
2006 Logo
2007 Logo
I cringe every-time i flick on the television and tune into the local ABC affiliate here in Detroit because the on-air graphics are clunky, outdated and unattractive. Meanwhile, the news anchors and event organizers seem keen on ignoring the issue all-together. They happily cover the event and i sit off to side shaking my head because i don’t get it. With all it’s resources and vast amounts of talent, visually the event never looked much better than the theatre posters the drama department at my former highschool would make.
Other logo iterations
But at least this time, i think they’re going in the right direction. I should mention the new logo was designed by long-time automotive designer Dick Ruzzin and digitized by Rochester based studio Catalyst (who live just down the street from us here at Trent Design). Previously, Ruzzin was director of Design for both GM Europe and Chevrolet North America.
I think this new 2-Dimensional look does a better job of communicating the spirit of the celebration sans all the hokey 3D gradients and chunky type-treatments. Plus the color palette is a little more livelier. It’s not a total turn-off.