As a graphic design aficionado, surely you’re familiar with the graphic design subreddit! the online community recently had their logo critiqued, because of course, what else do designers have to do? While it did have some design flaws, this prompted the original creator to call on the community to design a better logo, leading to a flood of submissions ranging from genuinely thoughtful, to outrageously bad. Familiar design no-nos, like Papyrus and Comic Sans fonts, uneven spacing, and Microsoft Paint doodles abound. Some users put forward the “graphic design is my passion” meme as the new logo, while others poked fun at the job market with logos reading “Why can’t I find a job?”. After the dust settled, a few serious designs emerged, but for now, the old logo remains, flaws and all.
If you’re a chapstick fiend like us, you’ve always got your Burt’s Bees stick handy. But did you know that the brand is 40 years old this year? To celebrate, the brand is rolling it back with retro inspired design, with merch that will take you all the way back to 1984! If you’re too young to know what that covers, it means: bright primary colors, friendly serif typefaces, desaturated photography, and all the wood paneling your heart desires. The anniversary products were photographed at the cabin of the original “Burt” of Burt’s Bees, so they really took it allll the way back. There’s an additional bonus too: the packaging has been updated to utilize more recycled material.
The Olympics connects the entire world in a unique way, and Heinekin is capitalizing on that with a new campaign in France, designed by the Antwerp-based agency WeWantMore. Instead of the tired old “S\six degrees of separation”, this campaign promotes a theme of “seven continents of connection”. The special cans and bottles feature vibrant designs that celebrate and draw design inspiration from the diverse nations where Heineken is enjoyed, combined under the iconic single Heineken star. Beyond design aesthetics, this campaign serves as a powerful symbol of global unity during a time where it seems the world is short on that.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has a new exhibit that highlights a film that is an undeniable 90s cultural zeitgeist, but also unmistakably a visual icon as well: “Boyz n the Hood”. The exhibition, featuring production elements and photographs by production photographer D. Stevens, honors the movie’s legacy in depicting Black life and culture. The display includes bold environmental graphics and a pastel mural inspired by the film’s setting, highlighting the cultural and visual impact of Singleton’s work and Brent Rollins’ striking logo design, which he half-jokingly refers to as “the Black Star Wars logo” in reference to its impact on the culture. You May recognize Rollins’ other work on the covers of albums for hip hop artists like Blackalicious, Black Star, and Gang Starr, as well as working with Nike and the 2013 World Cup.
We’re halfway through 2024 (yea, I know…anyway, moving on) and LogoLounge is here with a trend report revealing trends they’ve seen so far this year in logo design. This year’s 15 trends highlight bold experimentation, with logos being “boxed, chopped, dropped, liquified, and sticker-ified”, to quote the report. Sounds painful! Gradients are back, and are now more organic and include animation, while icons and letterforms include endless 2D and 3D variations. Key trends include ‘flat box’ designs, smiley faces, and badge-style logos, with AI often symbolized by stars, which seems to be the new go-to symbol for the hottest new tech around.
While in the South we know Duke’s is the best mayo, in Canada, Hellman’s reigns supreme. As Canada’s No.1, they’ve decided to embrace their imitators with pride this Canada Day. In a clever campaign by Ogilvy, Hellmann’s highlights its iconic status with the slogan “Proudly Imitated Since 1913.” The cheeky campaign features a nearly reconstruction of the famous yellow and blue jar recreated with scraps of their competitors’ packaging, showcased on social media and on a giant billboard. While brands may try to imitate the bottle, Hellman’s is confident no can imitate the taste.
