Brand Logos

Cricket World Cup Logo – Rich with Cultural Meaning

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

There is more than eye-catching design to the ICC Cricket World Cup logo created for the matches to be held in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. When invited to produce the logo for the 2015 match, the international agency, FutureBrand, turned to the Australian graphic consultancy, Jumbana Group, Balarinji, to imbue it with cultural motifs significant to the indigenous people of the two neighboring countries. The result was the player’s torso made of the Maori Infinity Twist pattern representing the joining together of peoples and cultures in bonds of friendship and loyalty, and the legs and bat incorporating a familiar Aboriginal motif. Together the logo design is meant to symbolize toughness, glory, resilience and connection. And it was meant to be memorable, which it is.

Typography

Typography Comes of Age

By Delphine Hirasuna | September 2, 2011September 4, 2014

“Enough with the typography already!” My complaint to Kit is that every other story he wants to post in @Issue has to do with type. So, I’m writing this somewhat under duress.

“Humor me,” Kit says.

But the truth is that perhaps more than any time in history, the average person on the street is acutely aware of the differences in typefaces. Thanks to the computer, we can pick the digital font that suits our mood and voice. As a culture, we have become type snobs, sneering at Comic Sans, forming snap opinions about people who make Arial their default font, arguing over whether Helvetica is deserving of its popularity, and ridiculing some faces as “so last century.”

Advertising

Volkswagen Phaeton Elevates Ads to Fine Art

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 31, 2011September 4, 2014

When you consider standard car ads, you can pretty much imagine the scenario – beautiful young couple driving over curvy scenic roads or attracting envious stares from suburban neighbors as the car pulls into the driveway. So it is refreshing to see how Volkswagen Phaeton has elevated its ads to fine art in order to convey the handmade quality of the luxury sedan. In India, DDB Mudra Group in Mumbai suggested the artisan’s pride of craftsmanship and attention to intricate details through the use of a traditional Indian art form. The way the Phaeton is integrated into the art is both surprising and memorable. More importantly, this isn’t a “foreign” ad jarringly adapted to an Indian audience. It speaks directly to India’s rich aesthetic heritage.

Photography

Making the Plunge

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 25, 2011September 4, 2014

San Francisco-based photographer Ryan Heffernan took these dramatic shots for a Japan Rags ad campaign. What looks like a freeze-frame photograph captured with split-second timing is actually a composite of three different stills.

Information Graphics

San Francisco’s Graphic Parking Advice

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 22, 2011September 4, 2014

Anyone who has ever driven in San Francisco knows how hard it is to find parking, metered or otherwise. San Francisco drivers regularly pray to the “parking gods” and sometimes feel obligated to eat at a certain restaurant — “the food is so-so, but the parking is good” — simply because there’s an open spot nearby. This situation is exacerbated because the hills are so steep that it’s preferable to use a quarter tank of gas looking for parking than having to walk up or down hill. Now the city is trying to guide drivers to open spots by graphically showing them open spaces on their mobile phones. They claim that the parking map is updated every five minutes. Ha! Since when did a parking space stay open for a full five minutes in San Francisco! Many of us are beyond skeptical, but a designer in Kit’s office says that he has tried SFPark and it works.