Samarai Style Interactive

The web sites for Morimoto and Buddakan restaurants take Asian cuisine to a new level through their design. Buddakan elegantly joins separate images from the restaurant architecture and the cuisine to create sophisticated pairs that also feature text floating into the frame on rollovers. Morimoto, on the other hand, jumps onto the screen on entry using imagery sliced and diced like sushi with New York cabs, traffic lights and crab legs mixed in. Thanks to Gigi Gregg for these links!

Walmart Brands Makeover

I am back! After a record 20 day absence - so happy to be back blogging.

And back to more commentary on package design. From Joe Silverman, check out Walmart's redesign of its own generic/store brand. It is interesting to note the ways that the economy has affected design thinking for both of these big brands. Tropicana risks its brand value by trying to adopt a generic-influenced style, and Walmart enhances its brand value by adapting cleaner, more contemporary design. Links to articles: Reuters and North Carolina News-Record.

New & Improved Tropical Brain Farts from Pepsi

My students have actually laughed out loud over Pepsi's recent antics with rebranding. This time the Arnell Group deflates Tropicana's orange and straw logo and features Peter Arnell stammering through a justification of the new design with words like "So we thought it would..." and "to try to give a new..." Call me crazy, but when a company is spending billions on rebranding, you need to know it will be successful. The new designs will be yanked from the shelves, and the orange will be making a comeback. Thanks to Zach for contributing.

Women of Design

Inspiring web site which showcases and promotes the new book "Women of Design". The book divides women designers into three categories: Trailblazers, Pathfinders and Groudbreakers and the site features a sidebar with links to each of the designer's web sites. Also featured are a few spreads from the book.