Well it’s been quite the year,

I figure since it’s the last day of 2020, the year where many fortunate Americans traded in their office/business attire for ‘athleisure’ wear; what better brand to spotlight than the one that practically coined the phrase.

I’m prefacing this edition of ‘Evolution of a Logo’ with the following: This post is full of my own personal speculation and opinions and quite possibly will need to be edited and retracted at some point in the future.

Not much is known about the lululemon name and logo. This hugely successful company is rather secretive about the development of their identity.

The story goes that the founder, Denis ‘Chip’ Wilson of Vancouver, presented 100 people with a selection of 20 names and ‘lululemon’ was chosen. But the logo was really the intended mark for another name ‘Athletically hip,’ which obviously wasn’t chosen.

Are you kidding me?! One of the most successful brands of modern retail created this crucial aspect of their brand… like that? For a company that makes exercise wear, that just seems a bit rash and kinda lazy to me. Someone should explain to them what a real branding exercise looks like.

Here’s the mark in case you’ve missed it.

I’ve heard the following theories behind it:

It’s a stylized version of the omega sign.

I can certainly see it, but why?

Lululemon did start out as an exclusively women’s clothing company. Is there some misogynistic, hidden meaning? It’s possible. Keep reading and you’ll learn why.

It’s the outline of a uterus.

A uterus?

I mean maybe, if someone who doesn’t have one drew it.

The letter ‘A’ (for ‘Athletically Hip’ I guess) with a classically feminine hourglass shape

This seems a bit more plausible to me.

Again, shaking my head, tragically lazy.

Or maybe a silhouette of ‘The Rachel’

Truthfully, this is the first thing I saw, and what I have always thought it was supposed to be before I started doing my research. Or maybe, upon closer inspection…

Two lowercase l’s (back-to-back) for lululemon, but that’s technically three l’s.

It also looks a helluva lot like the design on Mick Jagger’s t-shirt from a 1969 Rolling Stones concert.

Maybe Denis ‘Chip’ Wilson is a Rolling Stones fan and totally knocked off the design?

Ding, ding!

Who knows, but whatever your interpretation is, it’s undeniably feminine looking.

In my opinion, it’s safe, boring, completely conventional in the worst possible sense, and lacks any semblance of real meaning. The very opposite ideology of what the company is trying to portray.

More thought provoking to me is the elusiveness of the logo on its articles of clothing. Quite small, and often placed on a calf, shoulder, lower back or pelvis, you actually have to go looking for it.

Take other athletic clothing manufactures, like Nike (the swoosh), Adidas (the three stripes), or Under Armor (the interlocking U and A), their logos are typically big, bold and the center of attention.

Ballsy, right?

…and rather seductive.

It’s a distinction that shouldn’t go unnoticed, and I applaud lululemon’s designers for their discretion. If you follow my blog, which you don’t, but if you did, then you would know I’m a big fan of subtlety. Classy, I’ll give them that.

The packaging and shopping bags, on the other hand, scream,

“Look at me! I just shopped at lululemon…

… I can look like I do yoga, without actually doing yoga!”

The bags are intense, you’ve seen them with all these wannabe-inspirational-but-more-patronizing type messages on them like,

‘Friends are more important than money.’

But I need money to buy these $100 leggings.

‘Do one thing a day that scares you.’

Yep, never heard that one before. So you’re telling me if I go pet a snake today, all my hopes and dreams will come true?

‘Jealously works the opposite way you want it to.’

Okay, that one is actually pretty good.

Ironically enough, these bags filled with messages about being healthy, were recalled in 2010 because they contained high levels of lead in them.¹

So if you’re a bag hoarder (wink, wink… you know who you are), and you still have a lululemon bag that predates 2010, you should probably go ahead and dump it… might want to put on some rubber gloves first.

I know, I know… I’m sounding incredibly cynical and pessimistic. Maybe I’m letting my knowledge of Denis ‘Chip’ Wilson’s reputation and his rather controversial and distasteful comments about women’s bodies and what type of women’s bodies his apparel is made for tarnish my opinion of the brand?

But in my defense, according to his website, his purpose is-

To elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness for 20 – 40 yr olds via transformational development in technical athletic apparel.

~ Chip Wilson

Barf.

So if you are over 40 I guess ole Chip doesn’t make apparel for you either.

Why are so many men who are highly successful entrepreneurs such d-bags?? That’s a whole other topic though, for someone who is much more qualified and well-versed than me, to tackle.

Maybe sometimes… most of the time… it’s not about the ridiculous, hard-to-pronounce name… or about the douchebag ceo with bad press… or about the logo at all… Maybe, at the end of the day, all us consumers really care about is the Luon fabric that makes our a$ses look so good?

Fair enough, but it makes me a little sad. It’s probably good that most of society doesn’t obsess over logos and branding as much as your average graphic designer does. While I do appreciate the opportunity to rant and rave about logos, that’s not  the sole purpose of this blog. I hope, for those of you out there that do stumble upon one of my posts, that maybe it will inspire you to pay more attention to the brands you support, and to examine logos a little closer.

Who knows, maybe lululemon will do a rebrand in the future, and I’ll need to update this post with my thoughts and opinions on it. I seriously hope so, and I look forward to the day.

Happy New Year Everyone! & remember in 2021, be sure to dance, sing, floss & travel

¹ CBC Radio Canada

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The Chili’s logo? Really?

Hello everyone. This edition of ‘Evolution of a Logo’ is a little bit different than it’s predecessors in that its equal parts confessional and trip down memory lane.

Confession:

Typically, I can spot the hidden symbol(s), if there are any, in a logo right away… I mean naturally, right? BUT with this edition’s logo, I admittedly and quite shamefully didn’t notice it until a few days ago as I was driving northbound on I-35.

My thought: Oh! Chili’s got a new logo. When did that happen?

I made a mental note to do some googling the next time it was convenient for me.

Soooo, here I am. Confessing to you, my audience of two, that the Chili’s logo has been in its current state since 2011. 2011!!

And here’s another confession- I NEVER noticed the hidden apostrophe as the stem of the chili pepper, <GASP!> until my road trip down I-35 a few days ago, and that has been a part of the logo concept since 2002. 2002?! How did this slip past me? I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. I haven’t eaten at Chili’s since around 2002, and I’m typically driving so I don’t always notice new and improved roadside eatery signs.

Here’s a brief history of the Chili’s logo in case you need a refresher.

But still… it got me thinking. Was it because of my general lack of interest? No, I don’t think so. I have general disinterest in pretty much all chain/fast food type restaurants, but I’ve certainly taken note of the Hooters logo, and you don’t have to be a designer to recognize the genius behind McDonald’s. AND, anyone who lives in Austin can agree on how dope the Flyrite logo is. Amirite? So I’m blaming it on execution, or rather, lack there of. It was a creative concept that just fell a little short in my opinion.

Or maybe…

it’s because anytime I see a Chili’s my head gets clouded with a certain epic jingle?

Anyone born before 1990 knows what I’m talking about. There’s a fairly entertaining story behind the creation of this song that refuses to release our brains from its eternal clutches.¹

Apparently the writer of the jingle, Guy Bommarito of GSD&M (at the time), wrote it in, I quote, ‘like, five minutes,’ in a frantic Hail Mary to win his client, Chili’s, back over. I wonder if it worked?

Or, a better question:

Did you tell your client you wrote it, in like, five minutes?

I encourage you to read the Vice interview; it’s way more fascinating than this blog post.

For those of you still here, I am genuinely baffled as to how I never noticed the hidden symbol and rightly embarrassed, but on the bright side it sent me down a google rabbit hole where I discovered the Vice interview, which led me to this video:

And then of course the commercial we all remember from way back when we were forced to watch television commercials.

Trip down memory lane:

AND then this complete gem I had completely forgotten about: (wait for it… wait for it…)

Seriously, how did I never notice it??

¹ Vice News article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/ypx4dy/the-inventor-of-the-chilis-baby-back-ribs-song-has-never-eaten-their-ribs. GAWD, I wish I could write like this.

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Well, it’s been awhile… what can I say? I got busy. BUT I finally found a moment to catch my breath, and thought I would write another edition. I’m pretty sure there’s only 2 people who read this blog anyway (Hi Mom, Hi Dad!), but if you happened to stumble upon this post and need an intro to the project please read edition 1.

In this edition I’m going to tackle the brief history of goodwill and it’s logo. You’ll notice I really dig logos with hidden symbols (more on this later). Goodwill was founded in 1902 by Rev. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister, on the philosophy of “a hand up, not a hand out.”

This was Goodwill’s logo from 1902-1968:

Courtesy of Logopedia

Don’t remember it? Me either; it was before my time. Goodwill’s new logo (see below) was designed in 1968 by Joseph Selame. Joseph was a really interesting fellow, I encourage you to read more about him. Joseph was a branding genius and designed a wide array of logos and brand identities for dozens of big time companies. He really nailed it with the goodwill logo. A timeless design that’s been around for 50 years, and will probably be around for another 50 years.

Courtesy of Logopedia

What Joseph was able to capture in this super simple design was goodwill’s positivity, and mission to inspire hope and self-confidence. Plus it, like the FedEx logo, has a delightful hidden symbol. What you probably see right away is half of a smiling face, right? However, upon closer inspection you’ll notice that it also forms a lowercase ‘g’, which he repeats in the lettering below. Genius.

I can’t help but smile.

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For a brief introduction on Evolution of a Logo please read Edition 1.

Welcome to Edition 2. We’re going to take a look at the FedEx logo. Unlike the Nike Swoosh, it’s history isn’t as memorable, but there’s a certain coolness to it that most people don’t see right away…if ever.

But before you get to see the cool you have to know a little about the origin. The original FedEx logo (then Federal Express) was created in 1973 by Richard Runyon. If you were around for the 80’s then I’m sure you remember this logo only because of it’s ubiquity, not because it was in any way cool (No offense Richard, the design just doesn’t have a timeless quality to it).

Okay, moving right along. The current logo was created in 1994 by Lindon Leader, who was a Senior Design Director at Landor Associates in San Francisco at the time. Unlike the Nike Swoosh, I can only imagine what this design must have cost FedEx, let’s put it this way- it was for an undisclosed amount. I couldn’t find it disclosed anywhere anyway.

What most people probably don’t see until it’s pointed out is the arrow located in the negative space between the E and the x. See it? Now that I’ve pointed it out, it’s probably the only thing you see. The arrow is meant to symbolize forward movement, speed and precision. The design is brilliantly simple.

Leader created over 200 designs before realizing he could create the arrow with those letters. He manipulated the two different type faces (Univers 67 and Futura Bold) to achieve the natural looking shape of the arrow. This chosen design was one of six finalists. Apparently during the presentation of the designs, the CEO, Fred Smith, was the only executive out of 12 to see the arrow right away.

So why is this logo so successful? The subtly of the arrow displays amazing discipline by designer and client. To have emphasized the arrow or made it more obvious would have been anticlimatic- like the guy who ruins the surprise party. But I think the creator says it best-

The power of the hidden arrow is simply that it is a hidden bonus. It is a positive-reverse optical kind of thing: either you see it or you don’t. Importantly, not getting the punch line by not seeing the arrow, does not reduce the impact of the logo’s essential communication. On the other hand, if you do see the arrow, or someone points it out to you, you won’t forget it. I can’t tell you how many people have told me how much fun they have asking others if they can spot something in the logo. To have filled in the arrow, or to somehow make it more visible would have been like Henny Youngman saying Please take my wife instead of Take my wife. Please. Punch lines that need to be explained are neither funny nor memorable.

~ Lindon Leader

For more Henny Youngmen jokes- Click here.
A special thanks to The Sneeze for the great interview with Lindon Leader.

Stay tuned for the next edition.

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This being the first edition, I feel it necessary to provide a little introduction and background information- So I’m thinking of starting a new series of blog posts where I take an extremely recognizable logo of modern brands and dive into it’s history and evolution. How and when it was created, how it has evolved or changed over time and it’s impact on popular culture.

What exactly is a logo? Quite simply, it’s a means to which brands speak to it’s customers through imagery. A logo can evoke emotion, inspire ideas and impress values on millions of people. It’s a hundred words jam packed into one little icon.

So I’m starting out with the infamous Nike swoosh. It will be a tough act to follow, in part because the story of it’s origin is such a great one. If you’ve never heard it, you are in for a real treat, it’s an excellent conversation piece.

The original design was created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at Portland State University, for Phil Knight and his company called Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS).

BRS was launching a new line of athletic footwear and Davidson agreed to provide design ideas for a jaw dropping rate of $2 per hour. In June of ’71 Davidson presented a number of designs to the BRS execs, but they ultimately selected what is now known as the Nike Swoosh (see image below). When Knight first saw the logo, he was reported to have said, “Well, I don’t love it, but maybe it will grow on me.” BRS paid Davidson a grand total of $35 for her work ($192.75 in 2011, according to DollarTimes).

Inspired by the Greek goddess Nike, the winged goddess of victory, the swoosh represents her wing. The company adopted the name for all its operations in 1978.

Overtime the logo has evolved slightly. The word Nike is sometimes printed with the swoosh (see image below), but the swoosh is now so recognizable that the company name itself has become obsolete.

Today Nike employs 30,000 people worldwide and reported more than $19 billion in sales in 2010. With endorsers such as: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Andre Agassi, Shane Warne, Maria Sharapova, Tiger Woods (well at one time anyway), Venus and Serena Williams… et cetera, et cetera. It’s a global phenomenon. You would be pretty hard pressed to find someone in a developed country that doesn’t own a shoe, tshirt, and/or a pair of shorts that doesn’t have this logo on it.

I’d like to ask Phil if the logo has grown on him yet.

Stay tuned for the next edition.

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I heard about 99 Designs a few years ago and really didn’t think much of it at the time. But I recently heard a radio commercial for the service and it started to sink in how much traffic this site was actually getting, and so now I feel compelled to voice my opinion about it. Afterall, one of the great beauties of blogging in America is that we get to say what we want. I know I’ll sleep better tonight.

If you haven’t heard of it, 99 Designs is an online marketplace of crowdsourced graphic design (according to their website). Crowdsourced? Sounds like outsourced. In fact, that’s almost what it is, with the exceptions being when a task or project is crowdsourced it’s assigned to an undefined group of people, who may or may NOT get paid. Sounds an awful lot like exploitation.

This is how 99 Designs works (in particular order)-

1. Interested Party (aka Client) launches a design contest by creating a clear outline or creative brief of what is needed/wanted and chooses style or styles of design that he/she is drawn to based on existing, popular designs.
2. Client chooses a design package.
3. Designers then opt in to the competition by submitting their design(s). The Client provides feedback via an online forum
4. The client chooses a winner (if there is one), pays the money, receives the artwork and the copyright to the artwork.

Here’s one major flaw in the model- creative briefs are not easy to create. I find the best way to create one is to have a 1-on-1, face-to-face interaction between client and designer. I have a set of questions that I ask, but the briefing rarely sticks to the script. I discover things about the client, their business and/or project that I never would have realized. 99 Designs removes all that personal interaction from the design process. You wouldn’t go into a surgery before first having a consultation with a doctor would you? Maybe a logo design isn’t as important as a surgery, or maybe it is, depending on the surgery. A logo is how your brand lives and breathes, so why not treat it as such.

However, I do think there is a place for 99 Designs, and while there are obvious imperfections, I find the site/service very well thought out and easy to use (from what I can tell).

Here’s who I think could benefit from using 99 Designs-

CLIENT:

• Your main priority is timeframe, you need something FAST
• You have a very small budget (although I believe you can get a much better logo for not that much more money)
• You don’t care about a process or personal interaction with the designer. You don’t care who does your logo/design or what their name is.
• You want to be able to choose from MANY designs, perhaps a 100. (This could deflect from reason #1. I don’t like to present more than 7 concepts, I can’t imagine having to choose between 100 designs, but to each his own.)

DESIGNER:

• You’re fresh out of school, or maybe you are self taught and need pieces for your portfolio
• You’re unemployed and need a way to make some money, even though it’s not a guarantee

Those are the only two reasons I can come up with on why a designer would want to subject his work and time to 99 Designs. But they are 2 good reasons. I’ve been there, hopefully never again, but I’m pretty sure I would have submitted some work on 99 Designs if it had been around when I was fresh out of college. I’ve always enjoyed a good competition. However, I can’t say enough for gaining experience in an agency-like environment, being a part of a team. Learning from people who have been exactly where you are.

The fact is, 99 Designs isn’t going anywhere. People use it and people like it. My only hope is that there are enough potential clients out there who appreciate and recogonize the importance of a truly collaborative process from an experienced design professional.

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They look like this (see thumbnail to the left), I’m sure you’ve seen them, they are popping up everywhere. QR stands for Quick Response. They are used to direct an audience to a URL by being scanned with a smart phone app such as QR Code Reader, zappit, kaywa, etc (there are many).

This is one example of how it can be used- a reader comes across your ad in a magazine and he or she sees this barcode, he takes his smart phone out of his pocket, opens the QR code reader app, holds his smart phone up to the barcode and the smart phone then launches the URL that’s encoded in the image. Now, your print advertisement is somewhat trackable if you use a custom URL.
Pretty cool, right? They are somewhat of a sore thumb but can be tucked nicely into the bottom of an ad.

Add them to other mediums, such as: flyers, posters, and/or invites and it can take viewers directly to a webpage containing: Product details, Contact details, Offer details, Event details, Competition details, A coupon, Social Media pages, A link to a YouTube video, the list goes on, you get the idea.

I’m actually starting to see them on business cards as well to store contact information, not sure I’m on that bandwagon yet, but who knows I could change my mind. Add some rounded corners and a little reflection, it might not be so ugly. I kid, I kid.

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Only a couple of years ago, I called myself a flash developer, and now it rarely surfaces during my elevator speech. Flash is no longer useful, nor practical, in the regular website. There are too many security flaws, it takes up too much bandwidth, in today’s world of internet browsing, let’s face it, it’s all about speed and SEO. None of which Flash effectively offers. AND most importantly it takes too long to develop. I can deliver an image banner or slideshow in html/css/jquery in a fraction of the time, and it’s compatible on virtually any web browsing device.

However, I am not of the opinion that Flash is dead. It just doesn’t have the same stage it once occupied (pun intended). Flash can and should still be used; it’s a commanding animation tool. Sites that require a lot of user interaction can still benefit from its power.

Flash is to websites as what bell bottoms are to fashion. What was once hip and cool becomes seemingly ridiculous, but strutted correctly and appropriately- can still be super sexy.

I’m not trashing my copy of Flash, just like I wouldn’t goodwill my bell bottoms. I never know when I might get invited to a 70’s themed costume party.

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