Update: The Damn Good call for entries deadline has been extended to Monday, February 28th, 2011. More info here.
We are super excited to announce the official call for entries to our upcoming book, Damn Good: Top Designers Discuss Their All-Time Favorite Projects. Hexanine has partnered with HOW Design Books and Crescent Hill Books to deliver this design inspiration book, our very first!
We’re sure this has never happened to you, but sometimes brands misstep and the results aren’t pretty. Whether it’s because of bizarre weather patterns, changing stylistic trends, the rise of American Idol style voting, or slow news cycles, some logos just aren’t well-received. And to be fair, some logos are crappy, objectively. But assuming the work you and your team have launched isn’t a horror show, chances are that it’s decent, solid and professional. But that doesn’t mean everyone will like it. Sometimes the Internet brings the hate.
Our logo design work for First ARP is now live on the Hexanine site. A website redesign is coming after the holidays as well.
Our identity work for the online news site, Green Energy Reporter, is now live on the Hexanine site. Project details are here. The identity will go live (along with more of our work) at Green Energy Reporter soon, so stay tuned.
It’s always nice to feel “essential”. That’s exactly how we feel after being included in the recently-released design volume, Brand Identity Essentials. This excellent book by Rockport Publishers showcases our work with Nerdcore and highlights the principles that make up successful identity programs. It’s definitely worth the read.
We are big fans of Steve Zelle’s design blog, Processed Identity. He digs in deep with identity designers on how they strategically solve clients’ logo issues, highlighting the inherent value of custom logo design. It’s all about the process, and we’re excited to once again be featured on PI, with a case study of our work with BevReview.
Thanks to Steve for his great continuing work.
At Hexanine, we believe it’s important to give back to the profession that has given us so much, whether it’s volunteering as part of AIGA, or teaching the next generation of designers. We are committed to engaging with future creative professionals, and are excited to showcase some of their work on our site.
This time, we’re featuring the work of Matt Whiting, with his redesign of the Criterion identity. Matt attends Chicago Portfolio School, and one of Tim’s students in Brand Standards Manuals. His clever, conceptually-sharp Criterion logo and brand book demand a second look. Nice job, Matt.
Just released is Peleg Top’s powerful, pint-sized logo volume, Logolicious! With more than 1,000 inspiring logo examples within its pages, we’re proud to have five of our projects represented, including work for Geek Monthly, Prominic.NET, Park Community Church, Nerdcore, and our own Hexanine logo. Thanks to Collins Design for putting out another great design book.
We’ve drooled over the Los Logos series since it’s debut in 2002, so we’re thrilled to announce that the new Los Logos: Compass features five Hexanine pieces — our Compulsions, Nerdcore, Ocean Dawn, Park Community Church logos, as well as our type-treatment for last year’s Nerdcore calendar, “Horror”. This fifth book in the series sports a new look and editorial approach, but don’t be fooled; Berlin-based Gestalten still dishes out the same cutting-edge, international identity design we’ve come to expect.
A Gap In Understanding
By now you’ve heard from many corners of the Internet about Gap’s failed rebranding effort, their response, and eventual recanting. Large corporate rebrandings, their challenges, and failures are nothing new. But the particular way in which Gap presented, backpedaled and reversed leaves our heads spinning. The drama has played out in the blogosphere, on Facebook and in the media. Hopefully Gap has learned something and closed what seems to be a (pardon the pun) gap in the understanding of their own brand.
Read on…