Emily Tobias

Logo 1: Asprey
I spent a lot of time thinking about this post, hence the lateness! My first stop was not the web but rather my library. I poured through my copies of Logo Design and Logo Design 2, however unfortunately I did not come across anything that really caught me.
Next, I ventured over to the Pentagram website because I have such admiration for their marks. To my surprise, and I had not even thought about this before I realized that all the logos on the Pentagram site are in their stripped down B&W version. None the less I continued flipping through some and I came across this logo:

My eyes immediately fixated on the word luxury and on a whim I thought I would check the company’s website to see how they treated the logo. Well, my hunch was correct, look how the logo appeared on the Asprey site:

Look at the beautiful violet texture that is the background of the site! This must mean that violet is really another word for luxury! Research done! No, not really, but this was a nice discovery.

Logo 2: The National Aquarium (in Baltimore)

To me, some of the best logos require no words at all and simply rely on color and form to communicate their message. Being from Baltimore I had to highlight one of our famous logos… famous in the sense that the world renowned firm Chermayeff & Geismar are the brains behind this logo.

I love the use of negative space, and the sense of movement that the fish have. The logo is nicely packaged in a cool blue making it perfect!

3. Coolo Frozen Yogurt

Lastly, I wanted to find a logo that used color in a clever way to highlight the brand. This mark comes from the Deborah Adler Design Studio. She became famous in the design world for her re-design of the medicine bottle known as the ClearRx system. With this logo for Coolo Frozen Yogurt the way in which pastels are used and the letters make up the contents of the cone is super clever.

I guess I am still getting used to being a real graphic designer because visiting the Jonathan Adler store for class is such a surreal idea that I am continuing to convince myself that we actually went here for a field trip! I can say for certain that a trip to Jonathan Adler would not be part of the curriculum had I decided to stay in Political Science! We met with Ben Brougham, who is one of Jonathan’s stylists, and he works on special projects as well. Aside from the fact that Ben had impeccable fashion and a glorious British accent, he has some real insight into the company and the genius of Jonathan Adler.

He began by explaining that Adler’s items can be separated into three categories:

1. Pop – referring to pop culture, the 1960s mod era, and the use of white and color.

2. Deluxe – luxurious items, old Hollywood Glam and such

3. Natural/Modern Rustic – natural wood tones and inspiration from (in my opinion the best furniture ever) mid-century modern design.

With these three categories Ben went on to emphasize that the overarching theme that Jonathan abides by is called “Happy Chic.” This idea is really hard to argue with… maybe it is because I am in the demographic that gets his tongue and cheek attitude, but it seems almost impossible not to laugh and smile when in the store. One of my favorite things that I noticed was an advertisement for jonathanadler.com painted on the wall inside the store that said: “your 24-hour pot dealer www.jonathanadler.com.” It was these little details that I noticed which made me smile and think “wow, what a great idea” at the same time.

(I found the above mentioned slogan on the website… here is a screen shot!)

For me, the only disappointing aspect of the store is that there was a complete absence of Violet, almost as if it had been excluded from the color party that is Adler. I could not think of a clever way to ask where my color (I feel almost defensive of Violet now!) was but I guess that means I will just have to keep returning to the store to seek it out… that should not be a problem!

One other note… if you only click once on jonathanadler.com, make sure you read his about page!

After reading his Bio (besides the fact that it is in list form which is fantastic) if you are not on the floor laughing, then there is something seriously wrong with you!

The other week our class was extremely fortunate to have Giovanni Marra, Director of Corporate Marketing for Pantone as a guest Lecturer. In the first part of the lecture, Mr. Marra took the time to explain the new Plus Series. The Plus Series is a new take on the Pantone Matching System in that the color books have been reorganized (with the designer in mind) so that they are organized by color. To me this is a huge leap forward and gives me even more incentive to invest in more Pantone Books. Additionally, he spoke about the history of the company and he showed one of the newest products in the Pantone line: The Capsure. Although I will not be purchasing one anytime soon (it is $649.00!) just knowing that this kind of technology exists is inspiring.

Another aspect of Mr. Marra’s lecture that I found to be particularly interesting was the portion involving color trending. As he was explaining the notion of color trending and forecasting I immediately had a daydream involving an elete group of Pantone color trenders meeting in some secret war-room deep underground, making decisions about which colors would matter 24 months in advance. OK, so there probably is no “secret Pantone war-room,” it is still fascinating when you think about the fact that very few people have a huge influence on the global climate regarding fashion, interior and graphic design.

The real “meat” of his lecture was a beautiful interactive presentation that showed how color communicates emotion and affects all around it. Just thinking about the lecture (combined with Michelle’s lectures on color) is helping me to really consider all of my color choices as a designer. Overall, I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to get that close to the world that is Pantone!