17 30 JULY 2010 | 19:33 GMT
On 17 June, 2010, advised by its identity consultant, Belgium’s postal service De Post renamed itself bpost. That’s right, bpost, not Bpost and not even bPost. In my Review I added the following aside:
“Bpost (and Interbrand) seem to expect us to treat its new name, in text, as bpost rather than Bpost. I don’t believe this is either realistic or desirable. It works well in the wordmark, but wordmarks are best seen as visual rather than verbal. With good reason, proper names in text should be capitalized — and will be, by The New York Times and many others, including Identityworks. Trying to enforce a lower-case ‘b’ ensures only that the name will be inconsistently treated, an identity-weakening condition. But more importantly, ‘bpost’ will forever distract and confuse readers, while trivializing Bpost in stature.”
Having cited The New York Times, I thought I’d better confirm. Here is what Philip B. Corbett, Associate Managing Editor for Standards, has to say: Continue reading this entry >>
16 28 JULY 2010 | 17:02 GMT
In a digital era — as BP attempts to shift assets, ‘cap’ expenses, restore reputation and rebuild trust — is it possible the global giant has invested enough in its brand and identity to be able to recover, without having to change face?
Following the explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil-rig in April, and the horrific and catastrophic events that have followed since, traditional media (television, radio and print) has been ablaze with condemnation, vilification and public unrest. We’ve seen world leaders take to the stage, television interviews with those who have lost their livelihood and environmentalists — condemning both industrial and commercial greed — emphasizing the impact on local wildlife, the fishing industry, regional tourism
and beyond. Continue reading this entry >>
15 14 MAY 2010 | 15:16 GMT
As it happens, I was in Turkey May 3rd, when the new United /Continental Airlines brand was launched. So I missed the debate among Identity Forum Contributors that took place May 5 and 6. The following string is too good merely to vanish into our Deleted Items bins.
Elsewhere, you can see design critiques. The Forum Contributors focus on strategy, and ask whether new United’s identity strategy was planned as the easy interim solution (or will soon prove to be so), or as a more lasting brand banner. Continue reading this entry >>
14 16 APRIL 2010 | 19:29 GMT
Forum Contributor Denis Riney (of BrandLogic) has asked this question:
“I would like to know more about differences in the level of client maturity around the world. For example are UK buyers more design savvy than US buyers? Do Asian clients more highly value identity work? If there are differences, in which countries do clients have a higher propensity to buy our services?”
Rather than simply posting Riney’s question for general comments, I decided first to find out what other Contributors think. Several among us have worked extensively across borders and cultures, and should have some useful insights to offer. Continue reading this entry >>
13 11 APRIL 2010 | 19:50 GMT
Editor’s note:
This topic began with a provocative question for the Forum, from contributor Denis Riney (of BrandLogic):
“What’s the value of identity - in other words, what are some best practices for measuring impact, ROI, etc? And how can our profession lead the way in this, to benefit all of us?”
Continue reading this entry >>
