King of Shame

How did this spot get on the air?

At first blush it seemed funny; Sir Mix A Lot rewriting his most famous hit to sell burgers (Question; doesn’t Wendy’s have the square burger patties?).

This is an ad for a Kids Meal (!) for crying out loud. To me it’s patently inappropriate. Like seeing one of those Exten-ze commercials during Saturday morning cartoons. (Do they still have Saturday morning ‘toons? Am I dating myself with that reference?)

I used to admire Crispin Porter + Bogusky, but lately their work seems to push the absurd and borderline offensive just for the sake of it.

What’s the saying, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”? Boo.

Kentucky Fried Potholes

(PRNewsFoto/KFC Corporation, Brian Bohannon)

This afternoon, NPR featured a story about KFC offering to fill 350 potholes in Louisville, KY. The company is not making this gesture out of the goodness of the hearts, it’s about advertising. Of course.

On each pothole that KFC helps to fill, they are spray painting an advertising message.

My initial reaction was this is a pretty silly story. What, really, does KFC get from the whole endeavor? The effort doesn’t seem to be tied to any larger marketing campaign. And the above photo makes the entire thing look low budget. I was imagining the sprayed graphic to be something incorporating the Colonel’s face; you know, the quickly recognizable symbol of the company.

Maybe I’m being too cynical and KFC is doing this whole pothole thing in an effort to be a good corporate citizen. Also, media coverage from the likes of NPR…

Sci-Fi HiFi

This week SCI FI Channel announced it’s intention to rename the network Syfy.

Wuza Wuzzle?

From the press release,

By changing the name to Syfy, which remains phonetically identical, the new brand broadens perceptions and embraces a wider range of current and future imagination-based entertainment

I understand the thought process behind this move, SCI FI Channel is not a copyright-able name and that seems to be the driving force behind this rebranding; the ability to expand the brand (Syfy Games, Syfy Films are given as examples of future extenstions). In this regard, the new naming succeeds, it turns a seemingly public domain name into a copyright protectable entity. I even like the new wordmark and look forward to the on-air graphics.

But in a larger sense I believe this move is a blunder. How does Syfy “broaden perceptions” with it’s confusing spelling and phonetically identical pronunciation? When I say “I saw it on Syfy” it sounds the same as “I saw it on SCI FI”. If they want to get away from a geeky-nerdy association they need to change the name wholesale. This is just confusing.

I’m a firm believer that for companies to be successful, it is imperative that they find their niche and exploit the hell out of it. By broadening their offerings to a generic “imagination-based” collection, SCI FI (Syfy) gives up the one thing that made them unique.

New face of government?

Not only are these two newly instated government programs getting logos, the Obama administration has made the incredible decision to hire professionals.

Messrs. Draplin and Glass bring the bold, slightly retro aesthetic that I would expect from each of these fantastic designers (hat tip Coudal).

I’m thoroughly impressed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) logo. The seal and it’s iconography hit upon the major parts of the “stimulus”—investment in “green” technology and getting the gears of industry back in motion.

The USDOT TIGER logo is a little less inspiring. The type just sits on the page, even the tiger stripes can’t give life to the mark. It doesn’t feel like a unified logo, more like a headline. Naz Hamid had this comment via Twitter, “One thing bothers me about the Tiger logo: is the USDOT TIGER DOT.GOV a URL or what does it mean? Too many DOTS.” and I think that’s about right.

In the end, though, if this is indicative of the kind of change we can expect during the tenure of this administration, I’m all for it.

Design Critique

First, and most important, can we do something to make the logo BIGGER and more prominent? I’ve done a quick sketch using the circumference of my coffee cup as a reference guide (attached) and I’m sure you’ll see the the new eagle is much easier to see at about three times the current size (I’m not sure what that is in computer picas). Everyone agrees that the new eagle logo my daughter drew is GORGEOUS, so I really want those feathers to stand out over the “Stool” info scrolling through the eagle’s mouth (beak? bill? not important).

BUT, on that same subject, Sandra, what can you do to really make the new design “POP”? I want it to really POP off the page. People get many letters every year, and I want ours to be the ones that never get thrown away — just because the POP is literally almost audible. Even in a desk drawer. I want our letters on bulletins boards because of all the POP.

Just a selection from a(n) hysterical Merlin Mann post.

Boy, I’m sure glad that this kind of memo would never happen in real life. {sigh}

If you take a job, you’ve bought into what the company does. You’re responsible. If you work for a company headed off a cliff, hey, you’re going too. The fact that you’re just doing your job doesn’t make unemployment any better. And if the company is hurting people or the world you operate in, it doesn’t matter who told you to do it, you still did it. It’s not just your job. It’s a big part of your life. And you’re way smarter than you’re giving yourself credit for. Speak up, change things or get out.

Seth Godin is so great. (via AZSpot)

Redux Rant

This was originally posted on my Tumblr site, on second thought it seems more appropriate for this weblog:

Andy Rutledge is a talented and insightful designer and opinionated critic. I consistently enjoy his work at the Design View weblog, particularly the long-running “Redux” series ( where Andy provides a step-by-step analysis of a well-known website as well as his version of a redesigned user experience).

Sadly, his latest redux leaves much to be desired. Andy turns his attention to the US government’s information portal USA.gov which he describes as “poorly designed and often confusing.” Unlike his previous redux articles, Andy brings his political views to bear on this redesign.

It’s unfortunate that Andy decided to politicize this site design. It’s also surprising, given that Andy called out popular design blog Design Observer for using their site to further a political agenda.

Andy could have provided a serious look at usa.gov (a site in desparate need of attention) instead he went for a cheap shot at the Democratic presidential candidate.

Can Microsoft remake it’s image?

Seems as though everyone is talking about the Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft ads. Especially now, with the rumors that the campaign is being scrapped in favor of a new approach.

I wasn’t a fan of the first couple of ads. They came off as Microsoft trying desperately to be “quirky” and “cool”. The ads are so obtuse and odd. Though, honestly, I was willing to give them time to find their bearings. This was obviously the start of a much longer and more involved campaign. Two may not make sense, but a dozen or more could tell an interesting (compelling?) story. Which makes the news of their demise all the more strange.

And I don’t believe for a second that this change was intentional. Microsoft got some negative responses to this effort and yanked it, as a form of damage control. It’s a kneejerk reaction to some bad (confused?) press.

As for the new “I’m a PC” spots, they strike me as an odd response to Apple’s “Get a Mac” ads. Too fluffy and not nearly hard hitting enough. Taking the “I’m a PC” live from Apple and trying to own it (or wear it as a badge of honor) could prove to be a good thing in the long run. But for now it’s still Apple’s game and Microsoft is playing defense.

Arts & Entertainment

Logo critique site Brand New, today, has a review of the newly released logo for cable network A&E. I have not seen the logo in use on television, but taken on it’s own the new mark seems off. Certainly it’s bold and nicely designed but I can’t help but feel like this belongs less to a TV network and more to a fashion brand.

Travel2SC.com

August 1 was the introduction of the new vehicle license plate for South Carolina. (PDF link)

Chosen as part of some kind of design contest, the new plates will begin running sometime in 2008.

My initial reaction to the design is skepticism. I’ve been noticing a trend among states to treat the license plate as a fancy advertisement for state tourism, often to the detriment of the plates real purpose—identification. I can’t recount the number of license plates that I have seen where the alphanumerics are nearly impossible to read. Ultra-condensed typefaces with “D”s that look like “O”s and “1″s that could be mistaken for “I”s.

I’ll reserve judgment on South Carolina until I see it “in the wild.” But I am worried that the dark background coloring could affect contrast and readability at a distance.