Arrive Magazine and Sky Mall

I recently came across these in a pile of paper work on my shelf. I brought them home from two separate trips almost a year ago, but never got around to shooting and posting them. Better late than never, I guess.

Pr*tty

Obviously, there are better magazine designs out there, but I must say, this far exceeds any expectations I might have had for an Amtrak freebie. Arrive is surprisingly smart and fresh looking when the glut of fugly ads isn’t killing the design.

Sh*tty

Granted, Sky Mall isn’t a magazine, but even as a catalog it is decidedly heinous. If they took the time or care to emulate better looking catalogs, such as the Ikeas or J. Crews of the world, they might actually succeed in making me think they aren’t simply selling cr*ppy garbage filth to a captive audience.

Come to think of it, rebranding Sky Mall would be an incredible student assignment. Teachers, get to it!

Milk Bone and Meaty Bone

Pr*tty

For the most part, I don’t go in for all the dimensionalizing of logos that has run rampant these days, but I must say, this particular execution is really well done. And downright delicious looking!

Sh*tty

I’ll give Meaty Bone this... if I was a dog I’d probably like a meaty bone more than a milk one. But here’s my beef (so to speak):

If the word Meaty had a pig’s tail, you would assume it was made of pork.

If it had a fish’s tail, you would assume it was made of fish.

If it had a cow’s tail, you would assume it was made of beef.

The designers of this logo gave the word Meaty... keep up with me here... a dog’s tail.

Keep a close eye on your pets everyone.

Thermo King and Frost King

Pr*tty

This has to be one of the all time incredible logos ever designed. And despite the business’s current lack of taste or good judgement as evidenced in their horrendous website, they’ve thankfully left this mark untouched for decades.

Sh*tty

Believe it or not, this blobby bastard inspired a movie starring John Goodman. I know you’re doubtful, but the whole cold weather angle didn’t test well, and the script underwent some massive rewrites. They did manage to keep the suckiness intact, though.

Wednesday Waffler: Savarin Select

I’ll admit that this one is a bit out there. But it’s just bizarre enough for me to appreciate its irony (whether it’s intentional or not).

Since I don’t drink coffee, and know little about it, I tried to learn more about this coffee brand, and found this non-Select variety:

The design is not so good: the too-primary colors, the overly detailed drawing of El Exigente (i.e. The Demanding One). It lacks any of the retro charm of the Select logo. And that got me wondering if the Select logo was worth liking at all.

Further muddling the issue, another quick image search on line revealed a pretty nice older design for this brand’s packaging:

So nice, in fact, that I really began to question the Select design. I mean, why did they ever change it, for goodness sake!? Jasper Johns loved it, and that should be good enough:

Oddly enough, this artwork has an interesting little story behind it. I encourage you to take a look... scroll to the bottom.

Changing Stations

Pr*tty

As a parent, you can’t afford to be picky about changing stations. If a public bathroom has one, and it’s clean, you use it. But when you find these nice stainless steel boxes, it sort of makes changing a sh*tty diaper all the more bearable.

And while the isotype isn’t particularly accurate or attractive, it at least explains what the stainless steel box on the wall is for without screaming it to the world.

Sh*tty

By contrast, these lumpy tupperware numbers, are well... lumpy tupperware. The cutesy elephants (which vanish when you open it) are clearly designed for kids, even though parents with oblivious infants are the target audience. And, oh yes, if you didn’t know, this is a Continental Comfort Oasis; translation: a clueless moron with no kids named this f*cking thing.

Reminds me too much of bad diaper design—what a shock!

Bugler and Top Tobacco

Today’s post is an interesting contrast in how things that shouldn’t work sometimes do, and how things that could work sometimes don’t.

Pr*tty

There’s all kinds of bizarre things happening with this logotype, but I must say the overall effect is quite beautiful and engaging. The colors are nice, too.

Sh*tty

The simplicity of the Top packaging and logo seems like something I would like. The slightly retro illustration of the top, too, is close to being OK. But ultimately it just feels cheap and off-target.

Thanks to P*S* Reader Jon Custer for suggesting rolling tobacco ages ago. Finally found the right things to show.

Arrowhead Brass and Cash Acme

I’m pairing today’s logos with the ads they in which were found, as submitted by a P*S* Reader, just so you have a little context for them.

Pr*tty

This is a simply delightful bit of retro. The first choice in brass pipe fittings for the hippest of hipsters.

Sh*tty

An odd name, paired with a regrettable, wholly disposable logo design. One day we’ll all be free of the scourge of generic, thoughtless swooshes added to logos to “liven them up.” A boy can dream, anyway.

(As for that Sharkbite product logo... I actually sort of enjoy the concept (I’m guessing the fitting resembles the shark’s mouth as it’s drawn here), but unfortunately the execution is lackluster and forgettable.)

Big thanks to P*S* Reader Phil Tracy for the submissions.

Ten Point Scale: Frozen Yogurt

Yesterday I took at look at a couple businesses that are part of a food trend that seems to have plenty of staying power: cupcakes. Today I’ll examine another, newer food phenomenon: frozen yogurt.

A few months back I compared a couple of the key players in yo biz, but having seen quite a few shops since then, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to do another Ten Point Scale. So read on to see the spectrum of Pr*tty to Sh*tty in froyo logos.

Also, a quick reminder that 10 is the Pr*ttiest and 1 is the Sh*ttiest. And check out the first and second installments of the Ten Point Scale, in case you missed them.

10. Pinkberry

I’m still not sure why froyo places like the word Berry, but it’s only fitting the the Pr*tty example from my May blog post be at the top of the heap.

9. Yolato

This uses a handsome, slightly funky typeface that gives this logo a distinctive, authoritative appeal. The name is also fun to say. A couple small demerits for the green leaf (yogurt ain’t got no leaves) and a tagline that spells out the meaning of the name (duh).

8. Phileo Yogurt

Another leafy letter. And a heart-shaped i dot. A bit indecisive perhaps, but at least modest in its execution.

7. Eskimix

As with number 8, this one is trying to do too many things. But the name is cute, and I think the extra pillowy typography works better than a lot of the skinnier rounded typefaces you see on this scale.

6. TCBY

Recently featured on Brand New, I think this new identity is well considered, and fresh. It’s a major step up from their earlier abomination (skip to the end to see that).

5. Öko

OK, the font is awful, but the name is short and interesting enough to mitigate most of its awfulness. And the color choices (despite copying Yolato’s (let’s face it, there’ a lot of redundancies in frozen yogurt logos)) highlight this particular shop’s environmentally holistic approach.

4. Froyo Bella

Decently delicious colors (ignore that blue tile on the wall), but all too boring, practically institutional looking typography.

Image submitted by P*S* Reader David Glaubke. Thanks!

3. Red Mango

Here’s what I don’t get about this identity: the name; the O-shaped mark; the unappetizing, un-frozen-yogurt-like red; and whatever the f*ck a red mango is.

2. 16 Handles

This logotype is badly drawn (is it a font?), but what really bugs me is that the punny name makes no sense. What do handles have to do with yogurt? But really, here’s what bugs me even more: the presumption that a fugly cup of yogurt can replace the letter a in Handles. I guess, in light of a name that made no sense, they decided to further confuse people by compromising its legibility.

1. Berrywild

If it was only fitting that the top of the scale be the original Berry Pr*tty, it’s even more fitting that we bookend this exercise with the original Berry Sh*tty. And man is it ever.

Bonus:

1.5 TCBY

Since this logo is still in wide usage, including their website, I figured it deserved a nod. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean nod. I meant vigorous head shaking.

Yet another bonus:

8.5 Flurt

I totally forgot about this one, and found it in my photo library from a few months back. So I figured I’d include it as a bonus a week after the fact. It’s a pretty nice logo, but I’m not sure about the green dots cutting into the u like that. And that t is a little horsey.

Crumbs and Baked by Melissa

In my on-going effort to transfer some of the content management of this blog over to you, the readers, I’m showing two images today that may just spark some debate. They were suggested by a friend and P*S* Reader, and I agree with her for the most part, but I think some of you won’t, and I encourage you to leave some comments and hash it out.

Pr*tty

This growing chain of bake shops has a thoughtful and well-implemented identity system that goes well beyond this charming logo with the handsome type and quirky jester character. The name is also quite nice.

Sh*tty

I’m decidedly not a fan of the tie-dye aesthetic, first of all. I imagine it’s a production nightmare, but it also evokes the nasty, bitter taste of frosting overloaded with food coloring.

My other big beef with this is one I blogged about a few weeks back. The logotype is meant to look hand written, but it’s a font (and a questionable one at that). Obviously the point is to give it a personal touch, but, while the cupcakes may be baked by Melissa, the name clearly ain’t written by her.

Thanks to Katie Kosma for the suggestion.

Quipsologies

Just a quick note to let you know that starting this month I’ll be a regular contributor on the design links blog Quipsologies. Yesterday my pals at UnderConsideration launched a refreshed design for the site, along with a modified approach to how links are submitted and curated. The new design is robust and very visual.

If you’ve never been to Quipsologies, you should check it out. Hopefully you’ll see links from me posted there a couple times a week at least, as well as a wide array from UnderConsideration and the other Quipsologists.

A big thank you to Armin and Bryony for inviting me to contribute!

Oh! And if any of you want to share something with me that could be quipped, please do!

Wednesday Waffler: NYC Street Signs

A P*S* Reader sent me these images from the Bronx. For most New Yorkers, the first image will look very familiar. The second image appears to be a new design for our fair city’s street signs. I’m pretty sure the typeface is a (sadly) compressed version of Clearview Hwy, the new official typeface for roadway signage, which makes sense.

Still, despite Clearview’s well-researched design and highly-sanctioned usage, the new design doesn’t sit quite right with me. It didn’t sit right with today’s contributor either. But it’s probably safe to say we’re only biased by our familiarity with the older design (an interesting phenomenon that might demand further commentary in another post). So, I’ll leave it up to the larger reading population, especially you non-NYers.

Thanks to Fernando Gil for the images.