250 Custom Printed Stickers Giveaway from UPrinting.com

I am excited to announce that UPrinting.com has allowed me to give away 250 custom stickers for free to one lucky reader! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment describing what you would do with 250 stickers.

Contest deadline is Wednesday July 15, 2009.

Please Note: each person is only allowed 1 comment, and the winner will have to pay for shipping.

Most Innovative Websites

BooneOakley: Website made entirely on YouTube videos. Visit it on YouTube to get the full experience.

IE6 Users are Killing Babies

Well, not quite. That headline may be a little misleading. If you are a web designer or developer though, you know how fast the web evolves, and I don't need to explain why IE6 is a festering pile of yesterdays news. However, the average Joe is left blissfully unaware of the massive headaches, pain, frustration, and general discomfort he is causing us. That may all change very soon as more creative attempts are made to grab users attention.

Here are some of the more outlandish attempts. Enjoy ;)





view more *** WARNING *** messages contain vulgar language and crude jokes. Like that's going to stop you.

Selection of images results from Google search: Bring Down IE6



If you have come across a creative way to get the message out about IE6 put a link in the comments below or send an email to info@joshuardavis.com

For more information about the cause and why you should upgrade your browser check out these websites and blogs: TechCrunch, 37signals, 6 reasons why IE6 must die, and of course join the bring down IE6 movement.



At the very least, please update your browser to IE7, or better yet, download one of these browsers for free: Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Opera. And if your wondering what a browser is, your using one right now to view this page. Please help support the cause by clicking the spread the word icon below.

This has been a public service announcement. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Google's new Wave Logo passes with Flying Colors

Google's new communication service, Wave, put simply is a combination of email, IM, and threaded comments. You can view a full video preview on YouTube. This post, however, is about how Google has created a new fresh logo design while still maintaining it's brand consistency. Thanks again Michael for suggesting this post. If you would like to make a suggestion for future posts, please leave it in the comments below or email info@joshuardavis.com.

My critique of the design is below.


Form: Usually I do not care for 3D logos because they are executed terribly. They have tons of gradients, weird perspectives, and when you remove all the effects, the design fundamentally looks different or is just boring. What makes this design different is that it works in one color. You can take away all the special effects and it will still retain its core essence. I can not stress enough how important that is, because it ensures that the design will work in any and all media.

Function: Because the logo is a symbol and in a square format there are lots of possibilities do display it. It can be used alone, with the text larger to the right, or smaller underneath, all while adjusting to different circumstances and available space. This helps the logo fit seamlessly into any design layout.

Scale: Is not even an issue, as the logo will be recognizable even at 16x16px, or your standard favicon. Even so, if you notice on the Google Wave website they simplified the favicon even further.

Color: This is where Google shines, not because they choose the best looking colors, but because in every version of their brand they use the same ones. Remember consistency and familiarity breeds trust and loyalty in consumers. Besides that I think it was rather tastefully done with subtle gradients.

Uniqueness: Google Wave reminds me of Apple's logo in a few instances. They are both simple and yet have tremendous impact, can be used alone or with text, and are a visual representation of the brand name; which has shown to be an extremely effective technique to retain brands in customer minds.

Your Opinion: I purposefully do not expound further, because I would like to start answering specific questions you have, so that we can all gain a deeper understanding of design and branding. So go ahead and feel free to leave a comment, question, or suggestion.

Also check out: Microsoft's new Bing Logo is an Epic Fail

Microsoft's new Bing Logo is an Epic Fail.

If you haven't heard by now, Microsoft has rolled out a new search engine called Bing, which is supposed to rival Google. I'll believe it when I see it. However, the real controversy is over the new logo for Bing which most people are calling just plain ugly. And rightfully so. Everything you could possibly do wrong has been done. It is such a poorly designed logo it almost makes you think they did this on purpose. And maybe they did and we're just not giving them enough credit. In any case I am going to critique the design.

First let's look at the design in all its ugly glory.



Typography: The font choice is a rounded sans-serif that is typical of web 2.0 logos. No surprise there. Boring, unoriginal, and bland come to mind.

Scale and Proportion: I don't know what the design team was thinking, but it looks as though the logo has been run through a taffy puller and been stretched out. It seems during this process that the kerning was also skewed. Obviously they didn't think they need to pay attention to pesky little details like that. The picture below shows how kerning was completely disregarded.



Color: Typical corporate colors that in my opinion do nothing for the brand and do not speak the vibrancy you expect when you hear the word Bing! It's a shame; so much more impact could have been created with the design.

Uniqueness: If you call the strange indentation of the i and the orange dot unique.

Your Opinion. I could go on forever about why this logo is terrible, but I would rather hear your opinion. Go ahead and leave a comment below. Good, bad, off-topic, it doesn't matter, but please no spam.

Well that is my critique of Microsoft's new Bing logo. A bit harsh maybe, but you should expect much better from one of the worlds leading technology companies.

The image below is what the logo should have looked like with the proper kerning, scale and proportion. Slightly better, but still no beauty pageant winner.



It seems as though Bing's the logo is not the only unoriginal concept on their website. It was recently pointed out that they copied their interface from Kayak (a popular travel destination search engine). This is just disgusting and disgraceful. Shame on you Mircosoft. Shame.

Here are some other popular re-design disasters, and for even worse examples of poor logo design check out: YourLogoMakesMeBarf.com

Portfolio

Logo Design

100 Brands of Interest

Recently I was fortunate enough to have my logo featured on Dache - a blog by logo designer David Pache. The following is from his article 100 Brands of Interest II:

"Over the past few months, I have been compiling another 100 brands of interest and have been very lucky to have such a selection to choose from. The standard really is very high.

It can be the easiest thing to create a logo for a client but when it comes to assessing what style of identity can best represent yourself or your business, this is a different matter altogether.

In this second collection we see again the basic elements of design from geometry and linear imaging to the more creative and flamboyant techniques. No matter what the style, I think it can be said that all of the 100 brands below have been executed successfully to create effective, professional logos which communicate well to their audience. There is a whole mix of styles ranging from monograms to symbols or pictures but it is simplicity which is the common denominator."

Thanks again David, for featuring my logo along with many other talented designers.

What makes the World's Largest Brands Logo Designs Special?

According to the ‘Top 100 Global Brands Scoreboard’ report the top 50 brands & logo designs in ranking order were:

Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, GE, Intel, Nokia, Walt Disney, McDonald’s, Toyota, Marlboro, Mercedes-Benz, Citi, Hewlett-Packard, American Express, Gillette, BMW, Cisco, Louis Vuitton, Honda, Samsung, Dell, Ford, Pepsi, Nescafé, Merrill Lynch, Budweiser, Oracle, Sony, HSBC, Nike, Pfizer, UPS, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Canon, SAP, Goldman Sachs, Google, Kellogg’s, Gap, Apple, Ikea, Novartis, UBS, Siemens, Harley-Davidson, Heinz, MTV, Gucci and Nintendo.

You would think that an analysis of this list should give some good commercial pointers to a good commercial new logo design. So here then is a description of a logo designs that conforms as near as possible with the emphasis supported by these top 50 brands (the (%) identifies the percentage of these brands that hold to this view) :

• The name does not describe the product sold (94%)
• The by-line tag is not included in the logo (90%)
• The font style is clean and clear (84%)
• The logo design uses one colour only (74%) (white & black not counted as a colour)
• The logo design uses letters only without the symbol (74%)
• The logo design is a made-up name or ACRONYM (72%)
• The logo design is rectangular in shape (66%)
• The logo design is one word only (62%)
• The logo design includes the trademark symbol (54%) and is placed in the top right (48%)
• The name is 6 letters or less (52%)
• The name uses upper & lower case (44%) (excluding ACRONYMS)
• The background is filled and solid. (52%)
• The pronunciation includes three sounds/syllables (44%)
• The predominant color base is blue (40%)

Originally published on: Knol by Peter Baskerville

The Secrets to Good Logo Design

You may be surprised to know that a good logo design has little to do with its color, shape, size, aesthetics, or whitespace. Not to say that these elements are not important, because they are, but only if used correctly and purposefully. Paul Rand (best known for IBM, UPS, and ABC logos) explains a logo’s purpose:

A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon.
A logo doesn't sell (directly), it identifies.
A logo is rarely a description of a business.
A logo derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around.
A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it means is more important than what it looks like.

Quoted from and article originally published in 1991 by AIGA, the professional association for design, and was included in the book: Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design

So in the end, it does not matter what your logo looks like as long as it fulfills its purpose. However, if you find that your logo no longer serves it’s purpose or no longer aligns itself with your companies core values it may be time to, gulp, re-brand.

What really goes into a Large Scale Website?

If you’re really serious about your business website here are some of the essentials you will need.

Copywriter: Most of the time this position will fall on you. Responsible for writing all the content that will appear on the site. It’s not an easy as you would think, so I would recommend hiring someone if you don’t like writing a lot.

Web Designer: Your designer and possibly also your graphics go to guy. Responsible for the entire look and feel of your website, UI - user interface, and to a certain extent, how the site will function. I would not suggest undertaking this by yourself without at least first contacting a designer to see what you’re really in for.

Web Developer: Your programmer and possibly your IT person. Responsible for coding more advanced functions such as interactive features, databases, e-commerce, etc. Defiantly not a job to leave to yourself. Do not even think about it unless you have had extensive experience with coding a website.

Project Manager: Again, this duty will fall on you, so if you’re planning a large undertaking you may want to consider how much free time you have. Responsible for coordinating everyone’s task and generally keeping everyone happy and productive.

Jack-of-all-Trades: It is very possible to find a person to fulfill all these positions, just make sure you have a backup plan.

Now of course, if you have a small website you can be all of these people at once and still have a successful website, but it is still important to know the functions they play in your site so if you ever need help or want to expand, you’re all set and ready to go!