When Neenah Papers set out to revamp the look of their CLASSIC brand, they entrusted the job to one of the most amazing design firms in the U.S. - Design Army. True to form, Design Army gave them amazing results. A video diary of their design process in this venture provides wonderful insight into the kind of strategic planning that allows them to produce the caliber of work that makes the firm the success it is today.

The Best Policy: Honesty

Viktor Hertz of Uppsala, Sweden has designed some laugh-out-loud funny versions of well known logos, portraying them as if honesty, rather than seduction, is the driving force behind the company's brand.

Are We Headed in One Visual Direction?

Brand strategist and practitioner, Jamey Boiter, shares his views on the similar direction American retail brands appear to be headed in his post, American Retail Brands Are All Starting to Look the Same.

Hilton Loses its Sexiness - Again

Remember Hilton Hotels in the 70's, 80's and even 90's? Okay if you don't - they were sexy and so was the logo. Scarface was filmed at the Fontainebleau Hilton in Miami, Sinatra played at the Waldorf Astoria Hilton, and Elvis loved the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Hilton was for Players. The logo has undergone several changes over the years, and when Landor took on the re-brand, great things were expected. But part of the creative concept includes reference to "the posts of a bed" – at a Hilton? Sigh. Hilton hotels do not have beds or bed posts, they have "luxurious, cloud-like, custom-made sleeping accommodations covered in Egyptian cotton". See a full breakdown of the re-brand at Identityworks.

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.

HOPE Still in Hot Water

PDNonline.com, the New York Times, and NPR's Fresh Air feature stories on the continuing legal storm surrounding Shepard Fairey's famed "HOPE" poster featuring Barack Obama. The AP, photographer Mannie Garcia, and Fairey's attorneys are swimming in a legal soup of plagiarism, copyright infringement, and permissions. And an interesting analysis of Fairey's work can be found on Mark Vallen's Art for a Change website. Fairey has created a lucrative brand for himself - one that many people believe in. Does anyone else find it ironic that this anti-establishment artist has become a corporation himself?

Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands for 2009

When we discussed brand value last semester, several of you did searches on the top U. S. brands and their value. One of the largest brand consultancies, Interbrand, has released this report on the most valuable U. S. Retail Brands for 2009. Not surprisingly, Walmart leads the pack with over six times as much value as its closest contender, Best Buy.