Interesting that Microsoft released some process images on Instagram to explain the thinking behind their new icons. They are correctly treating this icon refresh as a type of logo rollout and people who care about the icons will appreciate the glimpse into the redesign process.

It’s always funny to me what pop culture symbols acquire added cultural meaning.

My son is a big fan of the manga series, One Piece. I haven’t watched much of it, but I know the basics… renegade pirates fighting against an authorization government in search of the ultimate treasure. It’s amazing to me that the One Piece Jolly Roger, with a grinning skull and a straw hat, has become the symbol of protests across the globe.

In a similar way, the logo for the Marvel vigilante and anti-hero Punisher has become a symbol controversially used by military, law enforcement and fascist groups. I often see it on pickup trucks, sometimes combined with an American Flag pattern. I doubt any of these people read the comics, but are instead attracted to concept of excessive violence that the symbol projects.

In both cases, the creators of these symbols have no control over...

My Ph.D. research is focused on consumer response to logos and visual identity, so as you can imagine, I’ve talked about Cracker Barrel¹ a lot over the last few weeks. Everyone has an opinion and is eager to share it. I held off writing this because the social media chatter was just chaotic, but now that things have calmed down, I wanted to share some quick thoughts based on my research.

People care about logos.

In my forthcoming study on logo attitudes with a sample of 1,000 American consumers², over 60% of respondents agreed that if their favorite brand changed their logo, they’d want to know why. Cracker Barrel did a really poor job of explaining why they were changing their logo. It seemed to consumers like change for the sake of change and when challenged by consumers (plus a really strange political...

My PhD research is on how people respond to logos. One factor for a successful rollout appears to be context. How will the logo be used? What’s the story behind the change? More context = better response. Neither Cracker Barrel nor MSNBC gave any real context. Here’s my published study on context.

Thanks Cracker Barrel and MSNBC! I needed some more recent logo backlashes for my dissertation.

I missed that Lego released a refined visual identity a couple of weeks ago that includes a new typeface, Lego Typewell, based on brick proportions. I really like it. The best detail I’ve found on the typeface is on this review from BP&O.

A new look and branding for Honda EVs

Honda showed off two new EV concepts under the new Honda Zero brand at CES — the Saloon and the Space-Hub. Most of the coverage is focused on the futuristic looks of the concept cars. As someone who grew up going to the Chicago Auto Show and seeing the cars of the future, I’d temper any expectations that the final designs will be this radical.

But as a branding researcher, what caught my attention is that they also rolled out a new Honda “flying H” logo to be used on all new electric cars. From the official Honda press release:

The current Honda “H mark” has a long history, dating back to 1981. In launching the next-generation EVs, Honda designed a new H mark, to express the...

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How NASA Learned to Love the Worm Logo - The New York Times

Now the worm is back. And the meatball is still there too, still the official insignia for NASA.

Enjoyed this article about the two NASA logos. As designers, we typically preach consistency. But in this case, having two logos seems to work.

Barnes & Noble Undergoes a Back-to-Basics Redesign - The New York Times:

Mr. Daunt has demonstrated that consistency doesn’t rank very high on his priority list. New York City has nine Barnes & Noble stores featuring four different logos above the front doors.

I’ve reached a big milestone in my academic career: my first published research paper.

Brand new: How visual context shapes initial response to logos and corporate visual identity systems has bene published in the Journal of Product and Brand Management. It’s available now online and will eventually be assigned to an issue. If you have access to journal articles through a university or public library, you can access the article.

If you can’t access the article, here’s the abstract:

When a new logo is released, it does not have an established meaning in the mind of the viewer. As logos have become more highly scrutinized by consumers and critics, it has become more important to understand viewers’ initial response to logos. While other studies have researched the impact of aesthetic choices on viewer reaction to logos, this study aims to understand the effect of the surrounding visual identity system when a...

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