Prtty Shtty

Seamless.com and GrubHub.com

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Pr*tty

I’m not necessarily in love with the design of these ads, or the Seamless identity with that awkward .com, but I think the writing is pretty sharp and well-targeted to their audience. I’m certain references to the urban lifestyle, as well as other online experiences, ring true to many people who encounter these ads.

Sh*tty

This competitor’s ad is flawed in so many ways. It’s half a premise: where’s the “There’s an easier way to get lunch” headline payoff? Next, the cut paper “illustration” is too obviously a Photoshop effect. Would it kill them to actually cut paper? Also, I can’t help but think those speech bubbles should be thought bubbles... hard to talk with scuba gear in your mouth, and, well, fish don’t talk. A minor quibble, but it irks me.

Perhaps what irks me more about the fish talking is what it’s saying: S#!t.

Seriously, what is that? S#!t? Would it have killed them to go with a conventional comic strip convention like a grawlix (i.e. @#$%&!)? No, instead they thinly veil their profanity with two alternate characters that look very much like their alphabetic counterparts, which sucks all the very-little-to-begin-with humor out of imagining just how vulgar this fish is. And sushi, after all, should be more like old-school Eddie Murphy: Raw.

10 Ways Charlotte’s Web is an Ideal Branding Case Study

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

One of the fun parts of being a parent is sharing with your kids the things you enjoyed at their age. Movies, toys and games, and most of all, books. It’s especially gratifying when those books turn out to be even more rich and layered than you ever realized as a kid. So just imagine my delight not only as a dad reading to his 5-year-old daughter, but as a designer, to discover Charlotte’s Web had something to teach me about the importance of good branding.

In fact, once I saw the branding allegory in this tale of a spider and her pig pal, it became impossible to ignore. And so I’ve decided to share with you the 10 Ways Charlotte’s Web is an Ideal Branding Case Study.

1. The Scenario
Wilbur is the runt of a litter of Spring piglets. He is our protagonist: a new product under threat of an early demise but for the measures taken by an early-adopter and supporter, an eight-year-old girl named Fern Arable.

“‘He’s yours [Fern],’ said Mr. Arable. ‘Saved from an untimely death. And may the good Lord forgive me for this foolishness.’”
“Fern loved Wilbur more than anything. She loved to stroke him, to feed him, to put him to bed.”

Fern sees Wilbur through his formative stages, until he is acquired by a larger entity, the farmer Homer Zuckerman. Unfortunately, Zuckerman intends to divide Wilbur into his constituent parts for a short term gain (to put it mildly).

“‘Kill you. turn you into smoked bacon and ham,’ continued the old sheep. ‘Almost all young pigs get murdered by the farmer as soon as the real cold weather sets in.’”

And so Wilbur must find a way to demonstrate his worth in order to win the devotion he so desperately needs.

“‘I want to stay alive... I want to breathe the beautiful air and lie in the beautiful sun.’”
“Wilbur didn’t want food, he wanted love.”

2. Believing in the Brand
Fortunately for Wilbur, he meets Charlotte, and she immediately becomes a staunch believer in Wilbur’s cause and his worth.

“‘You’re terrific as far as I’m concerned,’ replied Charlotte, sweetly...”
“‘You shall not die,’ said Charlotte, briskly ‘...I am going to save you.’”
“...She had a kind heart, and she was to prove loyal and true to the very end.”

3. Serious Business
Not only does Charlotte believe, but she takes her business very seriously.

She does her research: “I’ve watched you all day and I like you.”

She’s no stranger to hard work: “I have to get my own living... I have to think things out, catch what I can, take what comes.”

And she understands salesmanship: opening with the flourish of “Salutations” when a simple “Hello” would do.

4. Seeking the Truth
Charlotte, a natural storyteller, understands the importance of the truth. Not necessarily the tangible, quantifiable facts about a thing, but its essence. Wilbur is in fact, a pig. But Charlotte sees the more compelling truth in his character.

“‘...I have to say what is true.’”
“‘We must advertise Wilbur’s noble qualities, not his tastiness.’”

5. A Partnership
Like many successful agency/client relationships, Charlotte comes on board as a true partner. Indeed, she is only paid in the insects that Wilbur’s natural pigginess provides.

“...[Charlotte] was truly fond of Wilbur, whose smelly pen and stale food attracted the flies that she needed...”

Not only that but, skipping ahead a bit, she leaves her legacy—her children, and their subsequent perennial offspring—with him to keep him grounded and true to his brand. That is a serious commitment!

“As time went on... [Wilbur] was never without friends... Charlotte’s children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, year after year, lived in the doorway.”
“‘We like this place, and we like you.’”

6. The Strategy
After much deliberation, Charlotte develops a plan—“a trick”—to give voice to Wilbur’s essence.

“Finally, one morning toward the middle of July, the idea came. ‘Why, how perfectly simple,’ [Charlotte] said to herself.”

The plan is a campaign, its key messages written into Charlotte’s web, and rolled out in well-timed phases. First the message “SOME PIG.” Then “TERRIFIC” followed by “RADIANT” and finishing with the truest statement of them all, “HUMBLE.”

“‘Humble has two meanings. It means “not proud” and it means “near the ground.” That’s Wilbur all over...’ said Charlotte.”

7. A Compelling Execution
Due to Charlotte’s design acumen and leadership of her writers (the barn animals, in particular Templeton the rat), an immediate sensation arises celebrating the wonders of Wilbur.

“Charlotte’s web was a thing of beauty... Even Lurvy, who wasn’t particularly interested in beauty noticed the web when he came with the pig’s breakfast.”
“People came from miles around to look at Wilbur and to read the words on Charlotte’s web.”
“Dozens and dozens of strangers stopped to stare at him and to admire his silky white coat, his curly tail, his kind and radiant expression.”

8. Becoming the Brand
Being a humble fellow, Wilbur himself has a hard time believing in the messages Charlotte is delivering about him. But he becomes a believer, compelled not only by Charlotte’s faith in him but also by the undeniable beauty of her work. Wilbur sees he must live up to the brand messaging if he is to be responsible for his fate.

“When Charlotte’s web said SOME PIG, Wilbur had tried hard to look like some pig. When Charlotte’s web said TERRIFIC, Wilbur had tried hard to look terrific. And now that the web said RADIANT, he did everything possible to make himself glow.”
“...When his audience grew bored, he would spring into the air and do a back flip with a half twist. At this the crowd would yell and cheer.”

9. The Competition
Having firmly established himself as a viable and exciting brand—thanks to Charlotte’s efforts—Wilbur must face his biggest obstacle yet when he attends the County Fair. There he must be judged against the competition, an enormous and undeniably worthy hog named Uncle.

“...Reported Charlotte... ‘He has a most unattractive personality. He is too familiar, too noisy, and he cracks weak jokes... He’s going to be a hard pig to beat, though, Wilbur, on account of his size and weight. But with me helping you, it can be done.’”

Thankfully, despite Uncle winning the blue ribbon, Wilbur is so well-loved, so intensely valued, that he is awarded an honor exceeding anyone’s expectations and secures his longevity as a viable and significant brand.

Announced over the loud speaker at a special ceremony: “On behalf of the governors of the Fair, I have the honor of awarding a special prize of twenty-five dollars to Mr. Zuckerman, together with a handsome bronze medal suitably engraved, in token of our appreciation of the part played by this pig—this radiant, this terrific, this humble pig—in attracting so many visitors to our great County Fair.”

“Mr. Zuckerman took fine care of Wilbur all the rest of his days, and the pig was often visited by friends and admirers, for nobody ever forgot the year of his triumph and the miracle of the web.”

10. The Designer Remains Invisible
Design done well should feel like a natural and inevitable manifestation of the thing it is in service of, never tipping its cap to itself nor to its creator. And so it is with Charlotte, who goes largely unseen and unlauded for her masterful branding of Wilbur.

“Nobody, of the hundreds of people that had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all.”

Instead, as it should be, her satisfaction is in seeing the success of her dear and worthy friend.

“Charlotte could hear everything that was said on the loud speaker. The words gave her courage. This was her hour of triumph.”
“‘...I feel peaceful. Your success in the ring this morning was, to a small degree, my success.’”

And so Charlotte, ever the wordsmith, leaves us a branding mantra to live by: “By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

Love is in the Air: A Couple of Vans

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000

The vibe of the My Fresh Shirt van from yesterday rolls right into today, rounding out the week with a couple of nice looking delivery trucks. Both for juice, both featuring some super-sized product.

The giant, trompe l’oeil pomegranates, wedged into the back of that truck are pretty damn genius. Another obvious idea, but executed with believable tension and gravity in their composition... you can almost see them bounce when the trucks hits a pothole.

Love is in the Air: Ain't it Obvious?

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000

I mentioned this on Tuesday, and regular readers will know I swear by it: sometimes the obvious idea is the best one, especially if it’s well executed.

It doesn’t hurt that the TIP (Transport International Pool) logo, by way of its obviousness, also happens to have more of that bold, condensed, oblique type I love so much. Sorry for the poor image quality, get a better look here.

Love is in the Air: Oblique? More like Oblike!

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Yes, the italic type from yesterday’s post has leaned into today’s.

Can there be any doubt how much I adore me some boxy, oblique typography? (I only wish I could blame the poor kerning of Pylones on the sign-installer.)

Love is in the Air: Hardware

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Picking up that industrial flavor from the previous post, today’s affections are focused on the toolbox.

These logos employ simple but effective, great-looking typography. And some of my favorite things are at work here: holding shapes; bold condensed type; and in the case of DAP, a bold use of the obvious. (Too bad they updated this logo, as I find this version, complete with low-grade printing, utterly enchanting.)

Love is in the Air: A Couple of Maps

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 02:26:00 +0000

Seeing as how the weather finally seems to be more Spring-like, I guess I’m feeling the love. I was going through my backlog of images, and just decided I’m going to indulge in a whole mess of Pr*tty this week.

First up are a couple of interesting bits of lettering paired with maps (or, more precisely, silhouettes of geographical locations). The almost naive, but handsome lettering on both, combined with their stuck-on-industrial-equipment-and-showing-some-wear-and-tear character make me swoon.

Sh*tty: Companion Animal Protection Society

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:12:00 +0000

I’m not even sure if I need to say anything about this. Do you think the (possibly famous?) blonde lady signed on to be not only a dogface, but a puppy mill dogface? Meanwhile the actual face of the dog is so small on this poster you can barely perceive what it is you’re supposed to be so outraged by... he’s got a bum eye, I guess.

But here is where this design really accelerates to warp-speed sh*ttiness: as a passenger on mass transit, you too can be the face of a puppy mill dog!

Thanks for the chuckle, CAPS. Naturally, I kid. But seriously, this is a great ad...

For me to poop on!

Halvetica

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 04:39:00 +0000

Had this silly idea. Maybe it’s a poster. A t-shirt?

The surface area of each character has been mathematically halved—or as close as I could get—by making one vertical or horizontal slice, while still retaining the characters’ readability.

What do we think?

Brand Newish: Iroquois Manufacturing

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Pr*tty

Sometimes when I come across something like this great looking mudflap, I have to research what the company is just to get the proper context. More often than not, I discover that if there’s good design at work in an unexpected place, the larger context demonstrates it’s just an accident.

Still, there’s a refinement in the type and in the arrowhead holding shape that bespeaks a certain level of taste. So I was hoping for the best.

Sh*tty

Alas, sometimes when I look up a company I discover not only is their good design an accident, but that they’ve done themselves the disservice of overriding it with something much worse.

Given that this company manufactures specialized, engineered truck bodies, I can only scratch my head at the decision to trade in their refined logo for this sixth-grader’s hand drawn version. What a shame.

Sugar Rush

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

One of the more mild consequences of Superstorm Sandy, is that Halloween has been decidedly postponed this year, if not altogether cancelled in some communities. Fortunately, our little town has decided the Trick-or-Treating must go on. So tonight, I’ll either be escorting my little ones from door to door, or answering my own door repeatedly to costumed little people.

Either way, there’s bound to be a lot of surplus candy in the house for the next several weeks. In celebration of that fact, I’m featuring some sugary sweets from my image backlog that I find quite nice.

First up, Emergency Chocolate, from Bloomsberry & Co. The idea here is simple and clever: lean into the “curative” or “therapeutic” qualities people already attribute to chocolate. Then design it in a tongue-in-cheek way that encourages purchasing if for no other reason than novelty. Consequently, the design stands out really well on the shelf. And, true or not, also happens to look a bit Swiss. I hear the Swiss make some decent chocolate.

Next we have something I’m still a bit uncertain about: Unreal Candy. Their message and mission is admirable if nothing else, and I say kudos to that. My uncertainty is more to do with their design, primarily that it’s sort of hard to read their name in that jumble of right angles. However, I think it’s amazing they’re doing something so aesthetically different from their peers. It has plenty of shelf-appeal for one thing. For another, it feels fun and fresh and appropriate without having to buy into the existing candy or “natural” products vernaculars. And that tips me from uncertainty to pretty much loving it.

Last up, this ain’t candy. It’s straight up sugar. Saint Louis sugar to be exact. Despite a quite handsome logotype, it’s obvious from their website that their brand design is a mess. Forgetting and forgiving that, these sugar packets are bright and cheerful, they come in an unusual shape, and they address something so few sugar packets do: most of the time they’re just sitting around waiting to be used, so why not make them decorative. To me, each one is an invitation to rip it open and pour it right into my mouth. You’re welcome mouth. (Sorry fat parts.)

Weathering the Storm

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:59:00 +0000

iPod and ACCU-CHEK Nano

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:41:00 +0000

These two commercials are somewhat similar in that they both feature small electronic devices moving around in otherwise empty space on the screen, set to music. And yet it’s safe to say they couldn’t be more different from one another.

Pr*tty

This is an easy one. iPods are cool.

Sh*tty
This is an easy one, too. The ACCU-CHEK Nano is not cool.

And that’s the real problem here. Glucose meters aren’t supposed to be cool. And they sure as hell shouldn’t make attempts at being so. Which is all I can guess at when I try to imagine what they were thinking (if you can call it thinking). The result, anchored firmly in a profoundly absurd jingle, is so laughably bad that I couldn’t possibly add more humor to the scenario.

The bottom line is, I think this might truly be the worst commercial I’ve ever seen.

Playing With Food: Tic Tac and Hillshire Farm

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Pr*tty

I’m the first to admit that this “Shake it up” campaign is muddled at best. Yes, it calls to mind the familiar rattle of the Tic Tac box, but the cognitive leap from there to shaking people out of a complacent lifestyle via some connection to a brand of breath mints is one even Felix Baumgartner wouldn’t take (topical humor FTW!).

That said, the Tic Tac Type is so fresh and delicious it makes most bus shelter ads reek like a bad case of halitosis.

Sh*tty

I guess the alternative visual analog for an arc of kielbasa is a horseshoe, which I suppose makes one wonder if there’s any horse meat in there, and that’s maybe not a good thing. So sure, go with the magnet idea. Or just go with a good idea instead.

And just to be thorough here, the campaign is “Go Meat!” Not “Veggies Go To Meat!” That’s just vegetable pandering, and it has no place on Hillshire Farm as far I’m concerned.

ITG and Select Sector SPDRs

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Pr*tty

The ITG rebrand is one of my favorites of the year. It is brave and unexpected, and also happens to look pretty damn cool. I don’t think I need to point how unusual that is for a business in the financial services sector.

Sh*tty

In fact, here’s a fine example of what’s usual.

I have a tip for you folks in the realm of finance, when you approach your ad agency and ask them to make an ad out of that PowerPoint slide you use to explain your wares to detail-nerds like yourselves, and then—ignoring the fact that your ad is intended to reach an audience of non-detail-nerds—that ad agency makes an ad exactly like your PowerPoint slide with some additional unconvincing spiderwebbing and a poorly differentiated, Trivial Pursuit-esque color-coding scheme... (end of run on sentence dramatic pause) fire them! And yourselves.

Ktoberfest: Adkeeper

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Raise your steins one last time! Ktoberfest draws to a close.

There’s plenty about this I shouldn’t like. The whole dimensionalized, web 2.0 effect is not my thing at all. And frankly I don’t quite understand what this ad is promoting. Despite all that, I do quite like this K.

I’m a bit of a sucker for a simple, silly visual pun, so the exclamation point as the stem of the K works for me. I also like that it’s essentially paired with the mathematical symbol for “less than.” For me, it’s basically saying this: if the exclamation point stands for excitement or awesomeness, that’s still less than what Adkeeper has to offer. A bit of a stretch maybe, but no one said layers of meaning had to be huge, obvious layers.

Ktoberfest: Keystone

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Serif? Sehr gut!

Keystone makes after-market automotive parts, so this identity feels a bit off-base: a little too literary with the serifs, and too static with the bold-extended style. But I can live with that, because that is one handsome K.

Sorry that pic is so murky. I took it through a snowy windshield a couple winters back.

Ktoberfest: YKK

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Der K Zug rollt!

Ever look at your zipper (literally almost any zipper you own) and notice these initials? It’s nice to see they don’t just make great zippers. Those are some fine looking K’s, too. Simple, but with just enough character to make them appealing.

Ktoberfest: K&N

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Strap on your letterhosen, Ktoberfest marches on!

Next up...

It’s fair to say the ampersand is doing the heavy lifting here, but the K has some big, blocky charm all its own. And since K&N makes air filters for cars, the overall, racing-stripe, almost-macho-boldness of this seems spot on.

Ktoberfest: Kane is Able

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Seeing as how we’re heading into the second week of Oktoberfest, I thought we should celebrate Pr*tty Sh*tty style. So, without further ado, I give you Ktoberfest, a weeklong celebration of the letter K.

First up...

I love this K. I especially love that it’s so stylized and then oddly paired with the super bland, gothic ANE.

It’s worth noting that this is somehow not the company’s logo. You might think their name is Kane, and the “is able!” is tagged on as a sort of tagline. But no. Their name is actually Kane is Able, Inc. And their logo is completely different. Check it out, it’s pretty damn awful. There’s a better look at the side of the truck there too.

Frutti di Mare

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Earlier this week I took at look at produce shipping boxes. In the process of compiling those, I realized I also had a significant backlog of aquatic themed images, most of which were also pretty great. So here they are.

The next couple are from the Water Tower Mall in Chicago. I was there the summer before last when The Shedd Aquarium was featuring an exhibit on Jellyfish. They used the mall’s central core to dangle these gorgeous, huge, translucent jellies, and put similar decals on the glass elevator shaft. These pics don’t really do it justice. It was really very inspired and cool.

These next two are also from that same Chicago visit. Over at the Field they were featuring whales. I thought these two ads were pretty cute and eye-catching. It’s an interesting and fun idea for a natural history museum to use such cartoonish illustrations to promote their exhibit.

And while we’re looking at whales, I just adore this children’s book cover. The type, the illustration. It’s exceedingly charming.

Shifting gears over to cephalopods, The Kraken rum is no stranger to accolades. But it’s nice to see that even their shipping boxes are well-considered. As with the produce boxes from my last post, the one-color, low-quality substrate demands a certain simplicity, and they execute it well. Their bottle is their brand, for the most part, so they highlight it and give it the extra twist of the stylized, etched look that is really brand-appropriate.

This last item is just me showing off a bit. My daughter had a sea-themed 5th birthday party back in April. We got all kinds of crafty around here, but my spin on Pin the Tail on the Donkey—Pin the Arm on the Octopus, naturally—was really the highlight (IMHO). Yes, he has more than eight arms, but the idea was to give every kid a turn, and no one had to worry about not winning. The finished result is more of a Zoidberg than an octopus, but I can live with that. Whoop whoop whoop.

In Praise of Produce Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 03:11:00 +0000

I don’t have much more to say about these than this: I think they’re pretty great.

Clean, interesting typography. Limited color palettes. It’s a simple recipe really. Too bad these just get thrown away by the stackful nightly around here.

Seriously, Stop It

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 05:55:00 +0000

Looking back through my backlog of possible blog-worthy images, I came across these three items from this past Spring. It never fails to amaze me how rampant ads that directly reference the commuting experience are.

Do I really need to point out these trains don’t have dining cars?

Not altogether awful. But still overdone.

I don’t get this one. It’s for hotels. So I’m supposed to get off the train, and go to a hotel, in the town I live/work in, which somehow puts me among the jet set? Your logic may be a little flawed.

In summation: Please, copy writers, can you just stop already with the commuting/subway vernacular ads? How often must I say it? Believe me, I get it; I’m one lazy dude. But there’s plenty of interesting—as opposed to hackneyed—ways to be lazy. Just look at sloths, for example.

Pr*tty: Pro Bar Halo

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Pr*tty

The overall design of these is quite lovely. But the food-based type treatment—beautiful, fun, and communicative—is simply divine. And with a name like Halo, we shouldn’t expect anything less. The designer(s) have earned some well-deserved kudos, which is more than I can say for Kudos.

Missed Opportunity: VW Beetle Ad

noreply@blogger.com (pr*tty sh*tty) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 04:42:00 +0000

This ad is nothing special. It’s a decent, servicable design, with a modestly charming joke in the headline.

But when I first saw it, I really got excited, because I thought it was actually the set up to an even better joke. See, on the commuter trains, these poster holders are two-sided, and once in awhile someone takes advantage of that format. So, I really wanted the other side of this ad to read, “Its front”, along with a picture of, yes, the front of the car. That would be an ad I would bow down to.

Instead, it was this:

So the lesson, VW, is this: Sides matter.