Target - What Everyone is Aiming For

By now, the Target bullseye logo is synonymous with a good, clean, simple design. The logo has been voted as a top design numerous times, and routinely is used as an example for what all logo designs should target (pun intended).
You can almost picture a stamp of this logo, that's how simple it is. Without needing any words, or even the company name, this logo immediately tells a consumer what store they are entering.

What I never realized was that this design was actually a simplified version of an original, bigger logo which was used until 1968 (pictured to the right). This is where you can see the genius of the Target Corporation. The original logo is much to big..too many circles and too complicated. By simplifying things and removing the two outer red circles, the logo becomes cleaner and easier to copy. This is a logo which a kindergartner can easily draw, something which cannot be said by many companies. By moving to the current logo, the company ensured that everyone is capable of instantly not only understanding the logo, but also that anyone can easily replicate it.

Proof of the success of the design: Fortune magazine compared 16 of the top logo designs in a tournament to decide which was the top logo design. In the final, Target was able to win over he CBS eye logo. Fortune described the logo as an event, containing witty simplicity, and as being more distinct. If you want to check out the final 16, you can click here.

Big Ten Redesign

The Big Ten (Big 12?) recently redesigned its logo after adding Nebraska to the 11 teams that were already in the Big Ten: Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, and Penn State.

What I like about the new logo is that it included '10' hidden within 'BIG', similar to how '11' used to be hidden in the old logo. However, having the 'TEN' written below is almost redundant. With the '10' already hidden within 'BIG,' why would you write it out again below? It would make more sense if they cut out the bottom half, as is illustrated to the left.

This is a solid logo redesign, especially since the previous one was made irrelevant with the addition of the 12th team. The big, bold lettering will easily be transferable across multiple mediums and provides a simple brand element.

Now, if only they could have hidden '12' instead of '10' I'd be more impressed..

The Mercedes logo is classic, not good

Everyone knows what the logo to the left is...it's clearly the Mercedes Benz logo. No doubt about it. It is an unmistakable logo which has stood the test of time. So, what's wrong with it?

First, what does this logo mean to you? If I were to show you this logo, you would say "Mercedes" and little else. A logo should arouse feelings and emotions within a consumer, not simply the brand. That is where this logo fails to compete with other classic logos.

Originally featured in 1909, the three pointed star represents the company's "domination of the land, the sea, and the air." I wonder, how many people would have guessed that? Not many. This is a logo that is known across the world, but only as the Mercedes logo, not as anything else. The meaning behind the logo is unclear, and not necessarily representative of what the Mercedes Benz brand stands for.

Now, by no means am I suggesting the company change the logo. We have all seen what can happen when a brand decides to mess with a logo; usually there is public outcry, since humans are resistant to change. I am simply demonstrating that the logo fails to compete with the other classic brands because it does not arouse emotions within the consumer.

Comedy Central Moves to the Digital Logo

By now everyone is aware that Comedy Central has introduced a new logo. I am probably the 50,000th blogger to comment on this fact. However, it seems as though most people are having a negative reaction to the logo. Why? What's wrong with it? If anything, the new logo is better suited for the modern era than the old one. The new design, which obviously resembles the copyright mark, can easily be reproduced across multiple mediums, something which the old logo could not. If the company chooses, it can simply drop the writing at the bottom and only use the two C's.

I would imagine that Comedy Central has already made the same conclusion, but this is a great way to "copyright" all of their products. Simply place the logo at the upper right of a product, the same way the copyright symbol is placed, and it is immediately branded in an ironic way. The design is certainly not boring, as many people have commented, but it is brilliantly simple. This is a logo which can be easily replicated, enlarged or shrunk to fit the different mediums, and used ironically for humor. Of all the logo designs this year which have gone wrong (think Gap, MySpace, or OWN) this is an example of a company who got things right.

Milwaukee Brewers Retro Design

Although the logo is only used as a throwback, no one can forget the old school Brewers logo. At first glance, the yellow and blue baseball mitt with a baseball inside is just a simple design for a baseball team. However, what makes it so unique is that the artist, Tom Meindel, an Art History student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, incorporated the "m" and the "b" into the mitt.

Introduced in 1977, the logo lasted for 16 seasons with Milwaukee before being replaced in January of 1994. I still remember walking around campus as an undergrad and seeing a throwback Brewers hat and thinking it had to be one of the simplest designs ever. For some reason, maybe I'm just slow when it comes to design, it took me until then to notice the "m" and the "b" hidden inside the mitt! At this point, it became one of my favorite sports logos of all time. If for no other reason, then appreciate the logo because it replaced this:

I may be biased in evaluating this logo, but I love when a company (or a team) can hide something within a logo. I doubt this was the first, but it definitely helped lead the way for logos such as the Amazon "smile" or the FedEx "arrow."

If you want to see more about the history of the logo, check this out.

PwC and the...flower?

For this post, I wanted to look at a company which recently redesigned its logo. The obvious choice would have been Gap, which we all know made a drastic mistake and quickly caved to consumer pressure to switch back to the original logo. Another company has decided it was time for a makeover, and it again has mixed reviews.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the Big Four global professional services organizations, renovated the logo to be "better suited to digital and online use." The new design, which was officially rolled out on September 20th, simply contains the lowercase "pwc" and an object which looks like a colorful flower. However, if this logo gets printed in black and white...it turns into a random collection of boxes which makes no sense at all.
So why the switch? Quite frankly, I think the company needed to change to something. It may just be me, but the old font made the logo look like something out of Nightmare Before Christmas. It definitely was not representative of what the company is, and it needed a change. A company like this needs a strong, simple, professional logo. Even if the new logo was simply "pwc," I feel like that would be better than the new flower design or the older one.

I still have not figured out why companies feel the need to tinker with logos, and how they come up with some of these designs. Maybe one day it will make sense, but until then, companies like Gap and PwC will continue to pay designers to come up with these logos which "embody" the brand. Maybe they should take a note from Target, one of the companies which got it right.

The Verizon Logo Needs Work

Chances are that you either use AT&T or Verizon as your cellphone provider. Sure, there are other companies out there like T-Mobile, metroPCS, Sprint, and Virgin Mobile, but most people use one of the main two. Although I'm not crazy about AT&T's logo either, it at least makes sense. The logo symbolizes a globe and represents the world being circled by electronic communications. Again, this makes perfect sense. It is a smooth logo that almost makes you feel comforted when you look at the 3D design. It certainly does not have the sharp and jagged edges of the 2012 Olympics logo.

Now, when looking at the Verizon logo, it makes me cringe. It certainly does not have the smooth feel that the AT&T logo has, and the choice of red and black colors reminds you of a villain, not a cellphone provider. The name Verizon comes from the combination of two words: "veritas", a latin word meaning truth, and "horizon."

The "V" on top of the logo is off kilter and does not match the angles presented in the rest of the design. Then, there's the red Z which does not belong in this design. I'm honestly not sure of what the extended bottom of the Z stands for, but I assume it is representative of a "horizon" somewhere at the end.

Although the Verizon logo is not nearly as bad as others, it still ranks as one of the worst. There is an argument that it clearly does not matter, especially considering how dominate Verizon is, but the logo needs to change. It is gaudy and does not, in any way, represent what thoughts come to mind when a customer thinks of Verizon.

2012 Olympics - London

After looking at a good logo yesterday (Amazon) I thought it would be good to evaluate a terrible logo. I'm not really sure what the Olympic Committee was thinking (are they the ones who pick the logo?) but this is just a terrible excuse for a logo. The London 2012 Olympics should, and will be, an incredible event based upon uniting the world through sports. It is reported that the logo, designed by Wolff Olins, cost around $400,000. So what's wrong with the logo? There are quite a few things...
1) The share edges give the image a hostile feel. Rather than being a warm or inviting design, this is rough and mean.
2) It slightly resembles a neon billboard for an adult store.
3) I am still perplexed about the color choice. I mean, why not use the colors associated with the Olympic rings (blue, yellow, black, green, red)?

To me, this logo is a perfect example of how things can go poorly when you pay an exorbitant amount of money to a design firm. No logo design is worth that kind of money, and you often will end up with junk like this.

Amazon

I decided that I wanted to take a look at company logos and begin evaluating them based upon design, meaning, etc. Seeing as how it is Cyber Monday, I figured that there would be no better place to start than with Amazon. For those of you who do not know the meaning behind the logo, here it is...The yellow line is to indicate the fact that Amazon brings smiles to customers. The arrow goes from A to Z, meaning that Amazon carries and sells everything from A to Z.

Although this logo is incredibly well known, I still can't get past the '.com' at the end. At this point in time, everyone knows that Amazon is an online destination, so why not remove the '.com' and simplify the logo? Also, I dislike the fact that the 'z' is curved at the bottom (where the arrow smile is) but not on the top. Use the same font, and don't try to get fancy.

Overall, I still think that the logo is brilliant in the simplicity and the fact that the smile is evident almost instantaneously. The arrow in this logo goes up there with the arrow in the FedEx logo (between the E and the X). Few people notice it until it is pointed out, but it carries an importance which makes the logo stand out above the rest.

PSU is Top School for Job Recruitment

I must admit, I was shocked when I read the story in the Wall Street Journal. Penn State is the top school for job recruitment?? I figured it would have to be the Ivy schools, but apparently I am wrong in thinking that.

After reading through the article, I suppose it makes sense. With the economy still not in the best shape, companies must begin to focus on forming deeper connections with key schools rather than simply having a presence in many schools. As a recruiter, would you rather have a strong presence at a large or a small school? It's a no brainer.

This is definitely good news for the state funded schools as many of the best students will now consider attending these schools rather than focusing solely on the Ivy league. What does this mean for the Ivy league? Honestly, probably not much. Their reputation and branding is so strong, and supported by so much history, that it should not take a hit in the upcoming years. It will definitely be interesting to follow the enrollment statistics for the next few years though to see if there is any change based upon these ratings.

The top five schools...
1. Penn State
2. Texas A&M
3. Illinois
4. Purdue
5. Arizona State

Starting Something

"A company's ultimate product is its culture."

I just finished reading an incredible book detailing entrepreneurship and the roller coaster ride that comes with the struggles and successes. "Starting Something" by Wayne McVicker is "an entrepreneur's tale of control, confrontation & corporate culture," but it is so much more...

It is a tale of how Wayne, along with his friend and co-founder Jeff Kleck, started a company named Neoforma. The two were able to create an internet healthcare company which eventually became a $3 billion publicly traded business. What started out as a side project for Wayne and Jeff eventually led to something bigger than either could possibly imagine, or manage.

The book reads almost like a "Dear Diary" journal and Wayne allows the reader to enter his mind, offering up his personal stories and insecurities along the way. Although the story may seem a little outdated, Neoforma was founded in 1996 and much of the story centers around the dot com era, the lessons are timeless.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering starting a business or who has any interest in entrepreneurship. It is a quick read, and Wayne certainly changed how I view many things, including the importance of corporate culture.

TED and TEDxPSU

One of my favorite professors at Penn State, Dr. Warren, spent a long time recently discussing TED. Although I had previously spent time on the site and looked at a few videos, I had never bothered to really search and find all the treasures that were available. For those of us nerds who like watching speeches about a variety of topics, this is certainly a dream come true.

What is even better, at least for those of us at Penn State, is that TEDx is hosting an event locally! TEDxPSU will occur on 10/10/10 and host some amazing speakers. Bruce Schneier is a genius in all things "security" and is a great writer. I'm really excited to see the man behind the words that I've read! The other speaker I can't wait to see is Sam Richards, a professor here at PSU. Although I've seen him speak a few other times, I always come away with a few new nuggets of information that change how I view things.

The two links below are probably my two favorite speeches on the site. Although they are both quite popular, there are reasons for this.

I truthfully never thought I would enjoy statistics as much as this...
Hans Rosling shows the best stats you've ever seen

For those of you who are miserable at your jobs, I beg you, please watch this video.
Do what you love (no excuses!)

I hope you enjoy the website as much as I do!

New Business Idea Already Taken

For the past two years my friend and I had been throwing around business ideas, hoping that finally one would stick. About two weeks ago, we finally came up with an idea we thought had true potential. After a little research to find if our idea already existed, we began fully developing the idea. During this time, I happened to stumble across a new company, about 2 months old, that was doing the same thing. And, to top it all off, they just received $4 million in VC money for the idea...

This was a disappointing but also promising event. This has given me hope that I can think of an idea worth developing, and which VC's will find appealing, but it was also the first time I was truly excited to start working on something. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, but I want to create something. I want to create something which will transform the world for the better. Sure, it would be nice to make some money along the way, but it really comes down to doing good for humanity. If I can do that, then I will be able to look back on my life when I'm old and smile.

Startups Geography

A recent study by ZoomProspector ranked the top 10 cities for startups in the United States. The shorter version can be found below:

1. Boulder, CO
2. Boca Raton, FL
3. Santa Monica, CA
4. Bend, OR
5. Irvine, CA
6. Cambridge, MA
7. Bellevue, WA
8. Franklin, TN
9. San Francisco, CA
10. Rockville, MD

I honestly can't say I'm all that surprised with this list. Some of them clearly make sense. Cambridge is lucky enough to have Harvard and MIT in the backyard, providing some of the best and brightest every year. Florida has the draw of the beach and California is essentially the tech hub of the world (Yes, I know CA is a big state).

The big thing of note that did not surprise me but is still troubling, is the neglect of the midwest. I have talked with a few people involved in high tech startups outside of Silicon Valley, and they have all stated how hard it is when you're outside the "tech bubble." Although it is definitely possible to create a successful tech startup elsewhere, it becomes more difficult when you're not close to the area. There are talks that Cincinnati will become the CPG Silicon Valley, but will it ever actually occur? And if it does, will it draw more resources to the surrounding areas? Will this enable new companies to sprout up?

The midwest cities are always trying to lure entrepreneurs, but is any of it working? It will be interesting to see the list of top 10 cities for startups in the next couple years. Do you think it will differ much? Personally, I hope to see more major college towns on there. Entrepreneurship is slowly becoming a more common topic in the classroom, and I hope it leads to more young people creating companies on their own.