Craftsman Logos

The new logo for HTML5 which has been unveiled by W3C certainly makes an impact, as does their new statement on their website:

“It stands strong and true, resilient and universal as the markup you write. It shines as bright and as bold as the forward-thinking, dedicated web developers you are. It’s the standard’s standard, a pennant for progress. And it certainly doesn’t use tables for layout.”

The new logo was designed by branding agency Ocupop for maximum impact and it certainly does the job. On the site web developer/designers can also customise their own badges according to the types of technology they use. Plus other fun added bonuses such as free stickers and t-shirts you can buy also help with the hype.

HTML5

Picture courtesy of W3C

Starbucks have unveiled a new logo which sees their name dropped from it, which Starbuck which is the world’s largest coffee shop chain says it is its intention to move beyond its core product. Instead their new logo will be missing the words “Starbucks” and “coffee”, leaving just the firm’s white on green image of a twin-tailed siren. This is the first time that Starbucks has changed its logo since it floated on the New York Stock Exchange in 1992.

Starbucks said that in the future “it’s possible we’ll have other products with our name on it and no coffee in it”.

However some brand experts have criticized Starbuck new logo stating: “I think its nuts,” said James Gregory, chief executive of brand consulting firm Core Brand. “What’s it going to be – the coffee formerly known as Starbucks?”

The move has come because Starbucks is already moving on with plans to diversify what they sell and are extending their product range, they now also sell ice cream and in some US outlets they are considering selling beer and wine.

Mr Schultz said: “What is really important here is an evolutionary refinement of the logo, which is a mirror image of the strategy.”This is not just, let’s wake up one day and change our logo.”

In 2008 the company suffered after over expanding itself and suffered falling sales however has since turned itself around, their profits the first three-quarters of 2010 were more than double those in 2009.

House of Fraser have resurrected the iconic sixties brand, Biba. The label originally ran between 1964 and 1975, and was designed by Barbara Hulanicki. Supermodel Twiggy was amongst the ambassadors for this brand when it was in its heyday. However, it has been in the wilderness for many years now.

However, fast forward to 2008 and Bella Freud decided it was high time that Biba was brought into the 21st century. The resurrected label is being fronted by model of the moment, Daisy Lowe. This seems to be a flawless partnership since Lowe encapsulates the essence of the brand as it was in the sixties. Additionally, though, she has the edge to make the new range appeal to the modern girl. Daisy is also a curvy, womanly model who is able to show off these clothes to perfection, with the range truly flattering the female form.

There has been a trend for resurrecting retro brands. This has been borne out of fashion’s love of all things vintage. This is not a trend which is going away any time soon, and House of Fraser are already reaping the rewards of their new Biba range with £300,000 a week selling across their stores.

Of course, it is not cheap. These must be considered as investment pieces. People are trawling vintage stores looking for original Biba pieces. However, now you have the opportunity to buy brand new Biba which can be passed on through generations. It will never lose its style, appeal or value.

‘Recession’ has been the word on the nation’s lips for the last couple of years. There have been some difficult situations for business’s to deal with, for example job losses and, in the worst case scenario, going into liquidation. The most obvious cuts to a personal budget are non-essentials, such as high-end fashion and owning the latest handbag. Clothing is essential, but the pieces purchased from Versace and Burberry perform a higher purpose than simply keeping your body warm.

As one of the first industries to suffer, the same can be said when it comes to recovery. If high-end fashion houses are reporting increased figures, then this may be a good indicator of a recovering economy. Burberry has reported an increase in revenues by 21.6 per cent, occurring in the last six months. Quite an impressive figure taking into consideration the time frame.  

Versace have also reported increased figures, somewhat lower than their rivals Burberry. However recovery can be a slow process. The Italian house has seen an increase of 9 per cent in revenues over the recent months. They have had some re-organisation in their brand, cutting jobs and some operations. It is a move many businesses have made to try and ward off the recession, in order for the down turning economy to have the least impact. 

Versace plans to bring the designer brand back to Japan in the future, after they withdrew from the area in 2009. If the figures continue to rise, then expansion is in reach.

This week San Francisco-based clothing company The Gap quietly released a new logo onto its website, without much fanfare, replacing the clothing company’s iconic logo which has been part of the brand for the past twenty years. However, their logo has not received the great response the company probably had hoped for, especially on Twitter, with many people posting negative thoughts on the new design. However The Gap responded by posting a somewhat cryptic tweet saying “Thanks for the logo buzz! After 20+ yrs, it’s time for a change. We like the new one, but want to see your ideas.”

On Thursday the president of Gap North America, Marka Hansen, addressed the logo change on The Huffington Post. He said: “Our brand and our clothes are changing and rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that. We want our customers to take notice of Gap and see what it stands for today. We chose this design as it’s more contemporary and current. It honours our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward.”

So for now it seems the new logo put out this week may not be the company’s new logo, as they are currently soliciting new design ideas from its customers through their Facebook page in what they’re calling a “crowd sourcing project.” So no one knows whether this new logo was a publicity stunt to create crowd sourcing or it’s all just damage control for a logo that was not well received.

Old Gap logo and possible new Gap logo

Hot on the heels of its recent independence form Time Warner AOL or as it will now be know Aol., has been busy rebranding itself and has now launched it new logo which will be fully unveiled on the 10th December, a simple idea of a basic typeface which sees Aol. instead of AOL and then placing that on various interchangeable backgrounds like a goldfish, a skateboarder, a leaf, a head banging rocker and many, many more, this is the idea of consultancy firm Wolff Olins who have brought us such logos as the London 2010 Olympic Games and Product (RED).

The idea is to represent their new identity of been uniquely dynamic which they feel has been achieved by having the ever changing backgrounds but still keeping the Aol. logo itself consistent. The new logo and all the various versions of it will start to be shown from the evening of the 9th December to make sure they take full advantage of the spinoff from Time Warner. Aol. are hoping this logo revamp will revive the brand as of recent the company have suffered with a decline in its subscription service, advertising revenue, its work force and image.

Here are some examples of the new Aol. logos: