Waterstone's Rebrand

Well it's what everyone's been talking about in the design world... the Waterstone's rebrand. Here is the logo before and after...

A lower case, sans serif typeface. It is still a little unclear on exactly what the brief from Waterstone's was to Venturethree, the agency behind the rebrand, however It was no doubt an attempt to update and refresh Waterstone's image, and make it more online-friendly.

Venturethree say on the project:

"We are transforming the Waterstone's brand, with an exciting new invitation to customers to "feel every word", and a new symbol that takes on the characteristics of different genres and locations."

I can certainly see where the agency has gone with the project, and I quite like the concept. I also think some of the imagery they have made using the typeface work quite well, like this one below...

I like the way they are really trying to involve the brand and logo with the different genres and themes of the books and I agree that it has produced some interesting imagery.

However... as a complete rebrand, I am not a personal fan of the logo, and much prefer the old serif. Like many people have been saying, I think the new logo has no particular link to the reputation, heritage and tradition of Waterstone's as a classic bookshop and on its own, has no visual representation or association with books. I personally think the brand could have been updated keeping the serif typeface, and find it a shame that everything is so digitally orientated these days. I think that particularly with the closure of Borders bookshop, Waterstone's really stood out as a unique breed of shop on the highstreet, however now you could mistake the look of it for a music store, as a lot of people have been noticing, from the vast similarities to the hmv logo.

I also think the promotional posters don't sit particularly well as a piece of design, with the logo in the top right looking very awkwardly placed.

So in conclusion, I'm not convinced. I can see some good ideas within the rebrand but I'm not sure it still effectively communicates the essence of the Waterstone's brand. I'll definitely be walking past Waterstones in town to see if it'll change my mind when I see it in the flesh and within the context of the high street!

x

http://venturethree.com

Topshop Make Up Packaging

Noticed this new make up range in the Leeds branch the other day. I was certainly struck by the packaging when I first saw it, good use of hand drawn type, nice colour schemes and a pinch of illustration.

Topshop says on the collection...

"Bold and innovative, Topshop Make Up combines the hottest trends and colours with the very best in quality. Applying the Topshop spirit to cosmetics, a Core collection of first class beauty essentials sits alongside a capsule Trend Collection of directional hues, which will be refreshed twice every season to keep your look hot off the catwalk!"

I think the style of this packaging is matched really well to the style and identity of Topshop-young fresh and fun. It's designed by Sarah Thorne from the store's creative department. A creative department I would certainly love to get some work experience at!

They've also nicely used social networking to raise the hype of the range where you can give yourself a virtual makeover and update your look to the Facebook group.

http://www.facebook.com/Topshop

Topshop seems to be a brand really on the pulse of their target market, and is spot on certainly with the look of this range. Will definitely be heading down and trying the products out for myself!

x

http://www.topshop.com

http://www.grafikmag.com/index.php?m=GR&sub=GRdetail&id=451

"Guaranteed NOT to pull the wool over your eyes"

These look a lot more appealing than the real candidates to me...

So cute! Politician finger puppets made by Rubbish, sold at Liberty.

x

http://www.dailyrubbish.co.uk/

http://www.liberty.co.uk

CR Annual iPhone App

Although I think a lot of iPhone apps are rubbish and pure gimmicks, I do get excited when an interesting and innovative one comes our way! Creative Review has made perfect use of what really is a wonderful and exciting new media by making their Annual into an app for just £2.99. All the work included in the Annual is available to see on the iPhone app as well as videos, extra images and links to all the websites. Users can also share their favourites using the app and tweet about what they like. This is a great tool to get people interacting and discussing the work, again perfectly manipulating the power and potential of digital and social media. I personally love the idea of having the annual at your fingertips to browse on the bus! I think apps are a great way of making design portable and accessible, and I'd certainly like to see more of them in the future. Makes me wish I had an iPhone...!

x

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog

Puma's Clever Little Bag

Nice to see big brands doing their bit for the environment. It still looks like they could cut down on cardboard a bit more, but it's definitely a step in the right direction, and the video does show that even reducing the cardboard by this amount saves a lot of energy and resources. Personally I'd much rather opt for a shoe bag than a box, so I'm sure we can just wait and see what other brands no doubt will come up with to follow in the footsteps of Puma.

x

http://www.puma.com

Music Philosophy

First saw the work of this guy on the Urban Outfitters blog and I immediately had to find more! Designer Mico Tolendo uses music lyrics to create these great typographic posters, each usually having some sort of philosophical message! Makes you definitely think and appreciate song lyrics more when they are set out this way with their meaning emphasized. Here are some of my favourites...

x

http://www.musicphilosophy.co.uk

The Girl Effect

A simple, striking piece of film using just typography to portray a charity named The Girl Effect. The campaign is encouraging viewers to donate money to various schemes aimed specifically at girls in third world countries to help them create a better life for them, their families and their community.

Shows that you don't always have to show shocking images to produce a thought provoking piece of work. A really nice well designed and usable website goes alongside the campaign designed by Wieden+Kennedy. See it here: http://www.girleffect.org/

x

http://www.wk.com/

A Love Letter For You

Here is an interesting project I saw blogged about on It's Nice That.

A Love Letter For You is a project based in Philadelphia where 50 typographic love letters are painted on the walls facing the Market elevated train line. The murals were painted by 40 local and international artists. A nice creative project which would definitely brighten up the train ride to work!

x

www.aloveletterforyou.com

www.muralarts.org

Love Magazine

This issue of Love magazine focuses on the theme of fashion icons. They have released 8 different magazine covers, each with a completely naked supermodel on, all photographed in the same pose by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Here's what editor in chief, Kate Grand had to say...

"For this issue of LOVE, we took eight women who are generally acknowledged as the most beautiful in the world, got them toshow off their bodies - widely regarded as the most beautiful in the world - and photographed them all in exactly the same position for the cover,"

"We did this to show how much they differed physically from one another, which is why we also printed their measurements. The point is that 'perfection' is not fixed, timeless or transcendent. It varies, as the measurements of our cover girls show."

The other covers feature Kate Moss, Amber Valletta, Lara Stone, Daria Werbowy, Jeneil Williams and Kristen McMenamy.

Yet more stunning design and photography from the Love Team, and a really interesting topic approached. I'll definitely be buying an issue. But which supermodel to choose....

x

http://thelovemagazineblog.wordpress.com/

http://uk.stylelist.com

Love!

Found these on Grafik's blog and instantly loved them. Created by Daniel Baer, these are paper cut invites for a fashion client in key SS10 colours. Elegant type and delicate detail, I want one!

x

www.grafikmag.com

www.danielbaer.co.uk