Steinway Street Partnership

I’m happy to leave the realm of rebrandings up to Brand New. But sometimes things are too local to be covered there. In this case it’s so local it’s practically in my backyard.

Pr*tty

Clearly something is afoot on Steinway Street. This ad not only uses a nice, clean design and some really fun illustrations, but the new logo is a beautifully drawn bit of typography. Looking just at the identity design, Steinway Street is giving almost anything comparable in Manhattan a run for its money.

Sh*tty

I can only hope this site is soon to be a thing of the past, and the above bus shelter ad isn’t just a fluke. Stay the course Steinway, stay the course!

Kone and ThyssenKrupp

Pr*tty

You have to trust me on this... if you value your toes, spend time being transfixed by how awesome this logo is before you step onto the escalator, not as you’re about to step off of it.

Sh*tty

If Gene Roddenberry had lived longer, he would have created another Star Trek spin-off, where The United Federation of Planets fell victim to a corporate takeover by the Venndiagramians, and henceforth people traveled through space via elevator.

Wednesday Waffler: Lemode Plumbing

I admit, this is kind of a weird one. Something tells me I shouldn’t find this so delightful, but I do. The Bodoni Poster Italic, the illustration that looks like it came out of an old school plumbing how-to, and the name Lemode (so much like commode) create a very charmingly comic whole.

Of course, maybe it’s not a good thing for this sort of business to have a comic image... I’m having trouble being objective here... Pr*tty or Sh*tty?

Solo and Dart

Pr*tty

These guys make cups.

Sh*tty

These guys make... these? (They only wish!)

Foxy and Peter Rabbit Farms

Pr*tty

The highlights on this aren’t necessary, but since they’re there I wish they were drawn better, but overall the Foxy logo is quite charming. The fox silhouette is cute, and the bold, san serif type does just enough with those rounded terminals to be unique.

Sh*tty

Not good. An unimaginative name, ugly choices in typeface, and a haphazard illustrative logo. Is that sun rising in front of the fence?

I will say this much about it... the bunny’s tail is probably one of the best uses of a registration mark I’ve ever seen in a logo. Good for them.

Red Wings and Hurricanes

I’m not a fan of hockey, and there’s already a great site about sports uniforms, but after seeing today’s Sh*tty example on the subway the other night, I felt compelled to show it here.

Pr*tty

A plain red shirt, a few white stripes, and a beautiful (and classic) illustrated logo. At least Detroit has this going for it.

Sh*tty

Clearly a case of everything but the kitchen sink: a badly drawn, hockey puck hurricane logo; secondary logos on the shoulders; multiple stripes (the gray ones are actually a cheap metallic silver fabric!); and a hurricane warning flag pattern along the bottom, just in case you missed that they’re called the Hurricanes. Maybe they should add a boarded-up-window motif for next season.

Halls and Nyquil

Pr*tty

These ads are incredibly awesome. The photography is shot, modeled, styled, and photoshopped brilliantly. The writing is amusing. And the candy-like Halls typography is utterly sublime. I’m dying to know who designed these ads!

Sh*tty

All in all, this isn’t so sh*tty, really. It’s pretty damn boring is all. But the biggest difference between this and the Halls ads is the photography, and Nyquil blows it by going with something a little too real to be truly compelling. If I wanted to see a fat bearded guy with clogged pores, I’d look in the mirror, thank you very much.

Bonus Pr*tty

A little close up of that Halls type, with the actual Halls as punctuation. Damn it’s good.