Brand Logos

Canada Rebrands Walk of Fame Maple Leaf

By Delphine Hirasuna | March 6, 2011September 4, 2014

Canada’s Walk of Fame maple leaf logo has sprouted new leaves, thanks to Taxi, the creative agency that got its start in Montreal. Less stylized than the original maple leaf star logo, the rebrand looks more dynamic and less generic. This makeover extended to the stationery system and award trophy too.

A knock-off of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Canadian version is a plug for home-grown talent. Since Canada’s Walk of Fame was introduced in 1998, about 130 world-renowned Canadians, mostly in the entertainment industry, have earned a maple leaf star on the sidewalk in front of Toronto’s Metro Square, next to Roy Thomson Hall, including William Shatner, Michael J. Fox, Martin Short, Kiefer Sutherland, John Candy and Catherine O’Hara. The list of Canadian stars is quite surprising and impressive. As the civic leaders had hoped, the Wall of Fame has become a tourist attraction, provided a lot of media buzz through the inductee nomination process, and fostered national pride by reminding Canadians of all the world-class talent that come from these parts. That’s not too shabby, eh?

Humor

Branding Santa

By Delphine Hirasuna | December 20, 2010September 4, 2014

Quietroom, a London-based firm that works with clients to “develop a brand language that connects with their customers,” felt that jolly old guy up North was too busy wrapping presents for good boys and girls to focus on the effectiveness of his brand, so Quietroom did it for him…pro bono. Here’s the brand guideline they came up – hope Santa appreciates their generous effort.

Packaging

Branding a Region

By Delphine Hirasuna | December 10, 2010September 4, 2014

Monika Ostaszewska was a student at the Faculty of Industrial Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw when she focused her graduation project on a packaging concept for a region in Poland known for the quality of its food products. Her idea was to create an umbrella brand called “Flavours of Podlaskie” for the region itself and sub-brands for each category of local food producers.

Brand Language

826 National’s Unnatural Marketing Strategy

By Delphine Hirasuna | November 24, 2010September 4, 2014

Bear with me. This is hard to explain. We got interested in this story because we loved the graphics and packaging for the new Museum of Unnatural History in Washington D.C., which isn’t a museum and not a real store either. It’s the Washington D.C. location for 826 National, a nonprofit tutoring, writing and publishing organization founded to assist kids aged six to 18 with their writing skills. It got its start at 826 Valencia Street (hence the name), a storefront location in San Francisco’s Mission District. To make the place seem “cooler” to kids, the 826 founders decided to disguise it as a “Pirate Store” and stocked it with pirate supplies like peg legs, message bottles and hooks. Kids loved it and sales helped support the tutoring programs.

Design Quizzes

Quiz: The Face of a Brand

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 28, 2010October 28, 2014

About 12 years ago, we posted a quiz, called “The Human Touch,” in @Issue, challenging readers to name the face in the trademark. We are updating it here because back then, there were too many to fit on a spread, so some favorites had to be left out. Also, in the ensuing decade, new brand “people” have emerged and some have been given much-needed facelifts. The reason why companies give their brand a face hasn’t changed, however. Faces are often more memorable than an abstract mark. The right face can humanize a product and give it personality. It can imply the endorsement of an expert. Or it can just make the brand seem more likeable and fun. See if you can connect the face with the brand. The answers are on the next page.

by Corporate Design Foundation

Category: Brand Language