Big Idea: design
Rules? What Rules?
Maya Lin received a B+ for her Vietnam War Memorial concept while an undergraduate at Yale University. Her unconventional design stood in stark contrast to the other 1,400 entries in the competition. But controversy surrounded her until the monument’s completion in 1982. The prevailing attitude at the time was that monuments should rise heroically above the landscape like the Iwo Jima Memorial sculpture and the Jefferson Memorial, which is based on the Pantheon in Rome. The formula for monument design dictated that any typography on memorials should be a minimum of three inches in height. Maya Lin’s Vietnam wall violated[.....]
What’s in a brand’s name? Would that which we call Starbucks by any other name be as sweet?
Starbuck’s CEO Howard Schultz is famous for recognizing that the brand was never about the coffee, but something more. Starbucks has always been about a powerful emotional connection to the experience that it offers through its products and stores. Well, that recognition becomes even more pointed today as the company announced that it is taking the words “Starbucks Coffee” off of its iconic green and white mermaid logo. The mermaid now appears sans words in the new version. Why remove the brand name and the hallmark product from the logo? Schultz says it has to do with the fact that[.....]
The Gap has a new logo. What’s the big deal?
The Gap has a new logo. Logos are an interesting element. Some people try to read into a logo all the things a brand stands for. Prudential’s logo has a rock which communicates safety and stability. But then the golden arches stand for – well the golden arches; or is that an “M?” Perhaps the most important thing for a logo is to be distinctive and recognizable. Why? Well our brain tends to work on two levels. Sort like a camera. There is the automatic level, just point and shoot; and there is the fully manual level where we adjust[.....]