My F Opinion

Pentagram's Marina Willer has designed a new brand identity for the British luxury automobile maker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to position itself as a true House of Luxury and targets its newer and younger clientele. See the full project here: https://bit.ly/33UEuop The new logotype replaces the previous font, Gill Sans Alt, with a more sophisticated font called Riviera Nights inspired on an original art deco drawing of the Rolls-Royce Wordmark from the 1930s.... The new font features beveled ends to the letters L and E to give an indication of movement and slightly enlarged R's to mirror the iconic RR monogram (which was designed by Pentagram in 2018). The new icon, known as the Spirit of Ecstasy, was redrawn to work across all offline and online platforms at different sizes, and its direction was changed from left to right to reflect how the brand is facing the future. The new identity also features a new pattern created automatically by proprietary software and a new color palette that evokes royalty. Take a look: https://bit.ly/33UEuop

Gmail is debuting a new logo as part of G Suite's transition to Google Workspace, which merges Google collaboration tools into an integrated platform. https://bit.ly/2SDIAee The new identity was lead by Margaret Cypher, Google's Creative Director, and based on the concepts of movement and connectivity to represent Google's commitment to building integrated communication and collaboration experiences.... The new icons keep their original shapes, such as the M in Gmail and the triangle for Drive, and follow the now well known four-color system that Google has been applying to all of its products. See examples of other Google icons here: https://bit.ly/2SDIAee I have to admit that when I saw the new Gmail logo it made a lot of sense to me, I mean, I knew this change was coming after seeing the Google Maps and Google Photos redesign. Plus, I agree that bringing Google colors to core products is really helpful for brand association. IMO, the Gmail and Drive icons are successful, the issue is on the rest of the icons where it is clear that the four-color system isn't scalable. Moreover, if you compared them with the rest of the Google brand icons the system is starting to become confusing and incohesive. I feel that if they keep pushing this four-color system inside the box, at some point the box will break and another redesign would have to come. Read and see more here: https://bit.ly/2SDIAee

Tecate has launched a new brand identity designed by Elmwood New York with the goal of leaving its toxic masculine personality behind and connecting with the woke Gen Z. https://bit.ly/3cFFUGr The new brand identity aims to create a lifestyle brand by encapsulating Tecate's unapologetic boldness and camaraderie and focusing on the social side of beer culture to connect with the optimism, patriotism, and progressiveness of the younger generation.... The new logo maintains the central visual components of the brand and stripped of all unnecessary items like shadows or prospects. I love when brands realize that they don't need crazy effects or additional elements to make their visual identity strong! The eagle, which has been the brand's icon since the beginning, no longer interacts with the logo (something I suggested in 2015 when they had their previous redesign) and is now front and center of the packaging, just like the Mexican flag. See more details here: https://bit.ly/3cFFUGr The packaging, which I really love , features a very simple and bold color blocking system that is perfectly mirrored across posters, boxes, and other applications. New secondary elements can also be spotted across applications including a "Made in Mexico" seal and a secondary sans serif typeface. See the packaging and all applications here: https://bit.ly/3cFFUGr I have to say, this could be one of my favorite projects of the year! The brand is finally and officially ditching the "macho" trait and the minimalist design works perfectly from can to posters. It kinda reminds me of this project that went viral more than 5 years ago in which a designer created minimalist versions of popular brands to show that there isn't a need for design clutter, and honestly, I'm here for it. Read and see more here: https://bit.ly/3cFFUGr

5 years after its huge brand redesign, Coors Light has launched a new can design created by the Chicago-based branding agency Soulsight, and let me tell you something, they just did what I suggested back in 2015! https://bit.ly/2ZZdEcH The new design aims to highlight Coors Light’s concept of a beer "Cold as the Rockies (in contrast to the 2015 concept of "Born in the Rockies") and create a more emotional connection with the younger legal-age drinkers that are more environmen...tally conscious. The new packaging design isn't very different from the one released in 2015 designed by Turner Duckworth, the logo was kept the same, and adds a blue mountain icon at the top of the logo to represent the mountain cold. The funny thing is that in my 2015 post I suggested this change when the brand was using the mountain shape to cut the logotype . Another big change is the mountain imagery that was redrawn with trees and blue skies and was permanently tinted blue to emphasize the coldness of the beer. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/2ZZdEcH Some people said this new design is too similar to Evian water, however, since the companies are in different categories of drinks (beer vs water) and Coors Light wants to stand out from the other beers, having an image that is fresher and cooler that resembles water could actually have positive results. Read and see more here: https://bit.ly/2ZZdEcH

Following the redesign of Volkswagen and BMW, Japanese automaker Nissan has revealed a new logo designed in-house alongside its all-electric crossover, the Ariya 2021. https://bit.ly/35yapMP The design process began in 2017 and was centered around the early decision that the logo would be illuminated on Nissan's electric vehicles, that's why the design team decided to begin the design process by creating the 3D version of the logo first.... After finalizing the 3D logo, which features a refreshed typeface with a lighter weight and larger tracking to ensure legibility when lit; the team created the flat version by simply pulling the illuminated area out of the physical badge. So basically, the new logo is the "outlined" version of the illuminated physical badge, if that makes sense. Yo need to see the photos to understand, take a look: https://bit.ly/35yapMP Overall, I think the new design works the best when it is illuminated, the design team brought light to the emblem in a very elegant and functional way. However, this got lost in translation when they created the 2D design, which in comparison with the physical badge, feels very weak. See and read more here: https://bit.ly/35yapMP

The final post from my #Tokyo2020 series has to be the Olympic Medals made from recycled cell phones! https://bit.ly/2FfiJpM The Olympic Games medals were designed by Junichi Kawanishi to resemble rough stones that have been polished and now shine, just as athletes have to strive for victory on a daily basis to achieve glory.... Each angled layer of this "polished stone" collect and reflect myriad circles of light to symbolize the energy of athletes and the "warm glow of friendship" from the people around the world supporting them united. And for the first time ever, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games medals have a series of circular indentations on the side that make the medal types easy to distinguish by touch for athletes with vision impairment! Check the full designs here: https://bit.ly/2FfiJpM

Dolby, the leading global innovator and developer of audiovisual technologies, launched a new visual identity along with the announcement of Dolby Atmos Music. https://bit.ly/3gLdoDr The refreshed emblem, also known as Double D, is a simpler negative version of Dolby’s original logo designed in 1967 and later updated in 2008 by Turner Duckworth. The double D represents two funnels through which sound moves and comes out cleanerbasically what the Dolby’s audio technology does.... The new emblem removes the box that contained the funnels and pairs them with a sans serif font that reflects their geometry. By looking at the font, it seems like a custom typeface, and I don’t say this because the design is unique and never seen before, but because the design isn’t refined, the o and b don’t have an overshoot, a basic rule of typeface design. And because a logo isn't everything, there are also some awesome applications. Check them out here: https://bit.ly/3gLdoDr For most of us, Dolby isn't a brand we look at in terms of design and inspiration, we barely understand what the company does, so I think this new visual identity (especially the applications) really helps the brand to show how innovative the company is and how its technology is embedded in the music we listen and the movies we see.

The next post from my #Tokyo2020 series is the Olympic Torch. https://bit.ly/2EMaFwk It is designed with a cherry blossom motif a flower close to the hearts of all Japanese people. Five separate flames emerge from flower petals and come together as one at the centre of the torch to give off a more brilliant light the ‘Path of Hope’.... The torch was produced from a single sheet of metal, from which 30% is recycled from the temporary housing units built after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The use of these recycled material is a symbol of peace and highlights the steps taken towards the reconstruction of disaster-affected areas. I can’t ask for anything else, this torch is the epitome of great design. it has an amazing concept, it is beautifully designed, it is sustainable, and was made with the heart! Take a look at the torch's emblem here: https://bit.ly/2EMaFwk

Meet the characters that competed for the title of #Tokyo2020 Olympic Mascot. https://bit.ly/3hnvCfB And learn about the Japanese obsession with Mascots they even have one for their prison!

, ! Take a look at the beautiful animations: https://bit.ly/3kDgxZ5 If you didn't know. the Olympic Games pictograms were first introduced at the Tokyo 1964 Games. The Japanese were faced with a language barrier and they needed a way to easily communicate information to visitors and athletes who have diverse language and cultural backgrounds.... Inspired by this heritage and #Tokyo2020’s theme, Innovation from Harmony, the team led by Masaaki Hiromura designed 50 pictograms for the 33 sports on the Tokyo 2020 program. Read and see more here: https://bit.ly/3kDgxZ5

Correos de Mexico has a new brand identity designed by a team lead by Carl Forssell the same team that designed Mexico's current federal government design identity. https://bit.ly/3koHfoh The new design takes all of the recognizable elements from the previous logothe messenger pigeon, envelope, and colorsand combines them into a single linear icon. ... Plus, it also replaces the previous font with an all-caps geometric bold font, similar to Gotham, and changes its name to simply Correos, and honestly, I’m glad that they removed Mexico from the name because Mexico cannot be proud of this. We all know that Correos de Mexico isn't the best postal service, but it is an institute with a long history of connecting Mexicans, and I feel that its image should portray that. Unfortunately, this new logo doesn't do that, instead, it gives it a childish image with really bright colors and a type treatment from 2010. It absolutely feels like a school project I would have done in my first years of college. I understand that the logo needed an update because the previous design didn't represent the modern service the institute provides, but why go with the same concept of the messenger pigeon that doesn't show the evolution of the service? There were some good ideas in the sketches the team released where we can see the Mexican eagle replacing the pigeon, and even though they are rough sketches, they feel more professional than the final design. See the sketches here: https://bit.ly/3koHfoh Overall, this feels like a school project, there is no refinement and the applications are basic and unrealistic. It is a weird feeling when you know the previous logo wasn't the best, but you start liking it because the new one is just bad. I'm not sure how was the process with the client, or what type of feedback the designers received to arrive at this result, but I feel this was a missed opportunity to elevate the brand and improve (a tiny bit) the reputation of the service. See the bad logo applications here: https://bit.ly/3koHfoh

https://bit.ly/30svtS3 Did you know that the #Tokyo2020 Olympics were supposed to have a different logo? In 2015 the Olympics committee announced the official identity for the games. However, a few weeks later it was accused of plagiarism by the Belgian designer Olivier Debie.... See the resemblance here https://bit.ly/30svtS3 After all the controversy, the committee decided to hold the first-ever open design competition to find the new logo, which saw nearly 15,000 submissions. On April 25th, the Tokyo 2020 Emblems Selection Committee unveiled the winning design: Harmonized checkered emblem. The new logo was designed by Asao Tokolo, a 46-year-old artist who is known for his intricate, mathematical motifs. The design, in traditional Japanese indigo blue, was inspired by the checkered pattern known as ichimatsu moyo popularized for its use in kimonos in the Edo period (1603-1867). Read everything about the controversy here: https://bit.ly/30svtS3