Back in 1999, Ruth Kedar was teaching design at Stanford University, California. While here she was introduced to two students named Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The two students were looking for a designer who could design a logo and website and Ruth was invited to attend a meeting. The first time she met with the Page and Brin they told her they were establishing a company based on internet searches and the youthful pair were planning on giving people free, instant access to information about any subject. “It’s going to be called Googol,” smiled Larry Page, “A mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeroes”.
Posts Tagged ‘logo’
“Don’t make it cute.” How Rob Janoff designed the Apple logo.
Friday, June 24th, 2011
I’m taking a punt here, but I’ve got a feeling you may be aware of the logo for Apple. It is of course one of the most recognized in the world and one that breaks away from convention because it doesn’t have the company name on it. Some say that the design was a kind of homage to Alan Turning, the father of modern computing who committed suicide using a cyanide-laced apple. But the truth is Rob Janoff, an art director, liked the idea that something as complex as a computer was named after a fruit.
Fresh air. Can we save the great radio ad?
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
One of my first jobs in the creative business was one of the most enjoyable: writing and producing radio ads. At the time, almost all advertising platforms relied on the combined skills of an art director and a copywriter, but radio was the sole preserve of the writer. It was our moment in the sun. It also gave me the opportunity to work with some fairly famous folk like Christopher Lee (Dracula) and John Hannah (now the voice of the Co-Op).
Top of The Props. Will product placement change TV advertising?
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
On June 10th 2010, legislation clearing the way for Ofcom to revise the broadcasting code was approved by Parliament. In short, this made product placement permissible on commercial U.K. television.
Inevitably these things take time to get going, so it wasn’t until 28th February this year a Nescafe coffee machine was visible on ITV’s This Morning show, exposure that cost the client over £100,000. It was speculated that Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby would be using the device to brew beverages for their guests, but in the event the kit simply sat silently in the background during the cookery segment.
So what has been achieved? Is this a ‘game changer’ for advertising, as has been claimed? I doubt it. Indeed, the non-industry people I have spoken to on the subject (yes, my social skills are so advanced) thought this was already happening and had been for years.
I do think Nescafe enjoyed a decent return on their investment, but not because their machine was on a popular magazine show, but simply thanks to the press coverage received by the U.K.’s first placed product. Something the second will not enjoy. And therein lies the problem.
Is that a pair of boobs on my macchiato? How Starbucks came up with the rudest logo on the highstreet.
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
The Starbucks logo; something most of us absentmindedly encounter on a daily basis but have you ever stopped to peer at the mermaid logo which is emblazed across your morning latte? It’s caused a fair amount of controversy since the brand launched in the 1970’s owing to its somewhat racy connotations…
Going underground
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
400 miles of track (only 150 of which are actually underground), 180 million passengers a year and one 300 foot moving walkway – in engineering terms alone, the London Underground system is a staggering achievement.
Demanding branding
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
As BP’s stricken rig barfed over 2000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico for the best part of a month, some wag suggested pouring gallons of vinegar into the ocean to create the world’s largest salad dressing. But that’s probably the extent of the levity to be drawn from the situation – because alongside the black stuff, the UK oil giant has been pumping its reputation away at a similar rate. And as any marketing professional will tell you, brand is reputation, reputation is brand.
Cash From Chaos – how a fashion label stole a logo
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012(more…)
Tags: anarchy, blog, corporate, Crass, Dave King, Hardware, logo, logos, Magnus, Magnus Shaw, music, Penny Rimbaud, politics, punk, sex pistols, stealing, theft
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