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No one has really asked, but given that my brandnew@ e-mail account is swelling with unanswered e-mails about tips and suggestions, I feel a self-imposed burden to explain a little bit of how I choose which identities we review here on Brand New.
Replying
First things first: I have found it impossible to reply to every single e-mail that comes in. Since I started Speak Up back in 2002 I made it a point to answer every conceivable question or inquiry that came through my inbox as a way of paying back the attention that people have paid to our web sites. But I never expected to get up to 15 or 20 e-mails a day just for Brand New. Which is undeniably great, because those e-mails become the main source of our content. But let’s all agree that unless you are asking a specific question or have some concerns or feedback I will not be able to reply to all tips sent in. Consider this paragraph my eternal reply button extending my gratitude.
Tips
Keep them coming at brandnew [@] underconsideration [.] com. I receive everything from “I was driving down the road and saw a new logo on this building” to fully researched e-mails. They are all welcome. You send them in, we will do the hard work.
Mainstream
Okay, so on to some criteria. One of the first things I try to look at is if the product, service or corporation is relevant to a large number of people. Is it well known? Does it have history? Why should we care? If it’s a well known brand, chances are we will put it up.
Not so mainstream
For every major brand, there are a handful of lesser known identities that we have posted. Whether they are corporations that we may have never heard of but that have 10,000 employees worldwide or whether it’s product only sold regionally, we will review it if it’s an interesting story and there is something to learn from it.
Not mainstream at all
If I have never ever heard of the corporation, product or service and further Google-ing reveals that it is small or very local, we will not post it. There is nothing wrong with that kind of work and I do it myself all the time, but as far as Brand New content, it doesn’t work. It has to be a very compelling design story for us to post something very small.
International
Most of the identities we review are American. That’s because, the majority of our readers are in the U.S., but we have an increasingly international audience and I really enjoy posting work from around the world. If you are tipping us from afar, please let us know what kind of relevance any given identity would have in your motherland, so that we can have a better understanding of it.
Timeliness
I have broken this rule a few times, but anything that is more than three or six months old will not be posted.
Packaging
This year, I think we have already shown more packaging than last year. There is no plan to turn into a packaging-heavy web site, I do want to keep it focused on the identity aspect. But there are some products that are so defined by their label and packaging, beyond just their logo, that it’s very interesting for discussion. So we will post packaging somewhat selectively and not every box of crackers that redesigns will be posted.
General discussions
Every now and then I get e-mails with suggestions of broader discussions about logo and identity topics. Nothing wrong with those, but Brand New is not the place for them. It’s either a Before/After post or New or an In Brief.
Summing up
The identities we review most be interesting and relevant, something that we care to see discussed whether it’s because we are familiar with the brand or because we are interested in the visual result. There is no real formula for selecting and, at the end of the day, it all comes down to my whims — for example, I know Healthy Choice redesigned, but I just don’t feel like posting it for some reason. So, that’s it, nothing else to report, I just wanted to get this all off my chest assuming someone might be curious.
Jump to Most Recent Comment
Josh’s comment is:
But Armin! The Healthy Choice logo is just begging to be posted for the full onslaught of spec work hate!
On Apr.08.2009 at 09:02 AM
Efren’s comment is:
Thanks for letting us now about the process. Very interesting!
On Apr.08.2009 at 09:04 AM
Philip’s comment is:
Yes, very interesting indeed.
On Apr.08.2009 at 09:19 AM
jRod’s comment is:
it actually might have been a healthy choice not to post Healthy Choice.
On Apr.08.2009 at 10:36 AM
LL’s comment is:
I have no opinion on this. I just like to comment on the internets.
On Apr.08.2009 at 10:43 AM
Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:
Thank you for sharing your selection process. Keep up the good work!
On Apr.08.2009 at 11:33 AM
Pace’s comment is:
This actually helps quite a bit. A little checklist before I would ever submit anything. Thanks!
On Apr.08.2009 at 11:49 AM
lucid’s comment is:
B+/A-
On Apr.08.2009 at 12:10 PM
Chad Kaufman’s comment is:
Thanks, as always Armin, for you transparency. This along with the comment post ("this sucks", etc.) a few back is great to hear and shows your dedication / passion about your site. Keep up the great work.
On Apr.08.2009 at 12:18 PM
Cameron’s comment is:
Thank you for the post! It definitely clarifies submissions!
On Apr.08.2009 at 01:37 PM
Tim W’s comment is:
I thought my submission a while back got snubbed because of who I am. Turns out it was because it wasn't interesting! That makes me feel better!
On Apr.08.2009 at 02:11 PM
Ryan Adair’s comment is:
I much prefer the blue "process" to the red "explained". I have never cared much for the word explain.
On Apr.08.2009 at 02:41 PM
designscene’s comment is:
Thanks for explaining the process. Hope to see more international logos in the future.
On Apr.08.2009 at 02:52 PM
J.L.’s comment is:
I love this blog and all, but sometimes you folks miss really good redesigns that people could totally relate to. I know that Lance (makers of various snacks, crackers, etc.) did a redesign and it was never blogged about on here. It was actually a pretty well redesigned piece too. I have e-mailed a suggestion before (which to me was a really big time change) for Darden's Smokey Bones restaurant and I never saw/heard anything back. It was a very drastic identity change and I knew the loyal readers of this site would enjoy commenting on it. I'll continue to enjoy this site, but don't plan on submitting ideas anymore for fear of wasting my time.
On Apr.08.2009 at 05:37 PM
Chuck Spidell’s comment is:
YAR!
On Apr.08.2009 at 06:04 PM
Chuck Spidell’s comment is:
I meant ... well said Armin. J.L., I'm not sure about that Lance redesign. It seems too all American and very text heavy for a consumer product website.
On Apr.08.2009 at 06:12 PM
Chuck Spidell’s comment is:
Smokey Bones for J.L.
On Apr.08.2009 at 06:18 PM
Mongoose’s comment is:
That's just about how I thought the process worked, and it's about how I want the process to work. Keep up the good show, Armin.
I'm glad you skipped Healthy Choice, too. It might just end up as an "Ugh"fest.
--Mongoose
On Apr.08.2009 at 07:00 PM
Mark’s comment is:
fascinating read...
About Healthy Choice it looks okay, but it really has some problems. Like for example the "l" being an exclamation point. That's all I'm saying about THAT. It would truly be a roasting here if that were to be posted,I'm okay with skipping it, there's got be a 100 more interesting brands out there to review.
On Apr.08.2009 at 09:46 PM
Jeff Peppers’s comment is:
If it weren't for blog comments I wouldnt have probably heard of the Lance or Healthy Choice rebrands.
I *would* be interested in other reader comments regarding the Lance rebrand. It seems as if it was an admirable enough effort to receive negative AND positive responses.When things are really bad/mediocre its too easy to pick at the problems.
The Lance rebrand looks somewhat mundane, but that seems like a response after we've decided its good. How could we perfect the rebrand effort if we were given the chance?
On Apr.09.2009 at 02:10 AM
Josh’s comment is:
That Smokey Bones sign is so awkward.... but the rebrand could be nice...
On Apr.09.2009 at 07:07 AM
John’s comment is:
JL:
Sometimes when you submit new identities on here, it is hard to gather privy information on redesigns. To write full, in-depth articles takes some researching and inside connections most of the time. I don't know if Armin wants to just put up In Brief's for every redesign he receives.
With that said, I think Armin is grateful for the submissions so he is aware of rebrands that occurred. And I wouldn't ever say you wasted your time submitting. Nothing in life is a waste of time if you think about it. Cheers.
On Apr.09.2009 at 02:40 PM
Michelle Lynn’s comment is:
Thank you for this post. I personally have discovered this site in the past week and have really appreciated all of the items that you do discuss and talk about. I think you do fine work.
On Apr.09.2009 at 03:59 PM
Judy Sunu Lee’s comment is:
I don't know how I found this site, but it's immensely amusing and reading the comments are a riot!!! It literally makes me laugh out loud (well some of the comments).
It's good to know that I am not the only obsessive compulsive designer that gawks or winces at bad logos.
Thanks for all your hard work and time spent.
On Apr.09.2009 at 05:40 PM
kirk’s comment is:
so when are you gonna post about that KwikStop gas station by my house I emailed you?
On Apr.10.2009 at 12:58 PM
Umar’s comment is:
@gak:
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/just_jack.php
Ben Weeks’s comment is:
good criteria!
On Apr.13.2009 at 11:46 PM
Matt Fouty’s comment is:
Summing up section, last line: most > must ... typo?
On Apr.16.2009 at 12:21 PM
Matt Fouty’s comment is:
Ooops, I meant "first line"
On Apr.16.2009 at 12:22 PM
Bobby Placebo’s comment is:
Love—and bows too of course—from China for this splendid site!
On Apr.20.2009 at 01:42 PM
MILKROW’s comment is:
Did you ever do an analysis of the Ninety-Nine restaurant rebrand (New England chain)? I'm pretty sure it was done over a year ago, but an interesting one for watching the family restaurants battle it out on the highways and byways of Massachusetts and beyond.
On Apr.24.2009 at 10:16 PM
Comments in Brand New, V1.0 have been closed.
