You can always copy someone else 's logo.

 

Spacex Logo

Here we have the Spacex logo. (Spacex is Elon Musk's rocket firm.) This is the firm that describes their rockets blowing up as "Rapid Unplanned Disassembly".  An original turn of phrase.

But I noticed a similarity between parts of the Spacex logo and parts of the Reebok logo.

Spacex logo (Detail)

The "X" of the logo looks rather similar to the graphic flourish that you find below the word "Reebok" in the Reebok logo.  

Reebok logo (Detail)

Reebok logo

Will most people notice these similarities? Probably not, but that does not mean that what seems to be copying is acceptable.

One of these things is just like the other

Embroidered crest on Anon snowboard goggles

At the local thrift store my daughter found a pair of Anon-brand snowboard goggles. (Anon is a sub-brand of Burton.)  I looked at the logo and immediately thought of of the NASA logo.

NASA logo
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/NASA_logo.svg/1200px-NASA_logo.svg.png

In my youth I was a bit of a space nerd and know the NASA logo well.

I can't imagine that this is just a coincidence. But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then NASA should consider itself very flattered.

It looked a bit familiar

Alpine Aviation logo
(Source: http://www.alpineaviationyukon.com/)

I was doing so research for a presentation and came across this logo. I thought the logo looked familiar and went looking for the original.

Lowe Apline logo (Source: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5498a579e4b08142c229ca5b/54997e2de4b03ff49a71c06e/54998230e4b04b06d4618f0c/1419346566135/Lowe-Alpine-LOGO.jpg)

It didn't take me long to remember where I'd seen a similar logo before. The circular border, the mountain profile, and the orange sky all look rather similar to the old Lowe Alpine logo.

The question is is this coincidence, influence, or copying?  Perhaps it is just the view out of a airplane window flying through the Yukon. Or is this sort of imagery so common and generic that anyone could have come up with the idea?

Who needs a logo?

Column with MAC name in multiple fonts, Hudson's Bay store, Vancouver, BC

Column with MAC name in multiple fonts, Hudson's Bay store, Vancouver, BC

Column with MAC name in multiple fonts, Hudson's Bay store, Vancouver, BC

Column with MAC name in multiple fonts, Hudson's Bay store, Vancouver, BC

For most brands the logo is sacrosanct. You don't mess around with the font or colour. There are usage guidelines for every conceivable use. Colour or black and white, print or online, CMYK or RGB.

But with this wrapped pillar MAC has turned those conventions on their head.

I wonder if this is a one off display of inconsistency, or if I will see this elsewhere?

Keeping up with change

The old and new Instagram logos
(Source: http://www.designbolts.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Old-New-Gradient-Instagram-Logo-Design-2016-3.jpg)

Video display at Douglas College showing social media logos

Video display at Douglas College showing social media logos (Detail)

Instagram changed its logo two months ago. Not everyone was crazy about the change. (I do prefer the old logo that pays tribute to Polaroid cameras.)

But when a logo changes, pushing that change out to the community is a real challenge. Not every user will update their use of the logo promptly. And if the logo is used in printed material many users will wait until the existing stock of brochures etc. is use up before reprinting with the new logo.

There is less justification for delay when the logo is used electronically. (Unless you just prefer the old one.)

Searching for a new visual metaphor

Preparing for an upcoming class I was prowling aournd the web looking for stuff on Knowledge Brokers. I cound an article and downloaded a copy.

And what is Adobe's icon to save a copy? A tiny rendering of a 3.5" diskette. While I make the connection, I'm sure that there are many people who have no idea what a diskette is.

Will this icon transcend the technology behind it? We've seen that with all telephones being represented by a handset that was originally manufactured in 1949 and was based on an older design from 1937.

Photo Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Model500Telephone1951.jpg

The problem is that some time very soon the diskette visual metaphor will mean nothing to the vast majority of people.