Opinion BY Armin

Kraft Logo Gets Back in the Race

The saga of the Kraft logo continues and, possibly, ends this month. It all started on February 2009 when Kraft Foods Inc., the corporation, not Kraft, the consumer brand, redesigned its logo to this horrible thing. Five months later they flipped the starburst to the other side and changed the colors. Then, as reported here, Kraft Foods Inc. had announced in August of 2011 that it would split its company in two: (1) Mondelez, for the global snacks business and now (2) Kraft Foods Group (not Kraft Foods Inc.) for the North American grocery business, managing brands like the eponymous Kraft as well as Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Planters, and JELL-O. As of October 1, 2012, Kraft Foods Group is officially a start-up or, as they describe it, a “new company that has been around 109 years” that also happens to have revenues of approximately $19 billion in 2011. A new logo was introduced with the new company. No design credit given.

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Opinion BY Armin

AIG’s Bizarro World Logo

Established in 1919, AIG (American International Group) is an international insurance organization with commercial, institutional, and individual customers in more than 130 countries providing property-casualty insurance as well as life insurance and retirement services in the United States. AIG is best (worst?) known for its economic crisis in 2008 and being bailed out by the Federal Reserve Bank and the United States Treasury (i.e., some taxpayer money in there) to the tune of $90ish billion. With AIG gradually repaying its debt, it’s time to shed the logo that associated the firm with the financial crisis in preparation for a complete “rebrand of its property casualty and life and retirement segments later this fall.” No design credit given.

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Opinion BY Armin

Mindtree Wraps Around the Globe

Established in 1999, Mindtree is a global information technology solutions company with 11,000 employees across 24 offices around the world providing services like infrastructure management, application development, business technology consulting, and more. Last week Mindtree introduced a new identity designed by the Los Angeles, CA, office of Siegel+Gale.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Duke Energy

About: Duke Energy is “the largest electric power holding company in the United States with more than $100 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.1 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest.”

Design by: In-house.

Ed.’s Notes: Bigger view of the logo below (or after the jump) as if a bigger view explains what it is. The new logo was spurred by the merger with Progress Energy and is set to roll out in April 2013.

Relevant links: Press Release.

Quote:”The new logo depicts forward motion, representing energy for the future,” said Ginny Mackin, Duke Energy’s chief communications officer. “It draws on elements from the legacy companies’ logos: Progress Energy’s ‘star’ and the ‘swoosh’ in Duke Energy’s ‘D.’”

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Opinion BY Armin

Avis Tries Less Harder

Established in 1946, Avis is one of the biggest car rental companies in the world with approximately 5,200 locations in more than 165 countries. Founded by Warren Avis — a pilot who, NPR reports, “came up with the idea when he couldn’t find ground transportation once he landed.” — it was also the first company to provide cars directly at the airport. Late last month, Avis introduced a new slogan, “It’s Your Space”, that replaces one of the longest standing and well recognized slogans, “We try harder”, created by Doyle Dane and Bernbach (DDB) in 1963. Along with the tagline, there is a major advertising campaign that just launched, created by Leo Burnett. No acknowledgment on the new logo.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Clariant

Established in 1995 as a spin off from the Swiss chemical company Sandoz, Clariant is a specialty chemical company providing products for use in consumer care products (shampoo, lotions, etc.), industrial applications, plastics and coatings, energy, and biotech. This week, Clariant introduced a new logo that is “characterized by clarity and concentration on what is essential.” A bit more here and a slightly annoying brand video, but with a good logo animation at the very end, below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY Armin

Exelon Lacks Energy

Established in 2000 after the merger of PECO Energy and Unicom, Exelon is the leading U.S. energy provider with its family of business involved in all parts of the process, from generation to power sales to transmission to delivery. Exelon is the largest owner and operator of nuclear plants in the United States and counts with over 27,000 employees in operations and business activities in 47 states. Exelon’s retail company, Constellation, a company with which they merged in March of 2012, serves approximately 100,000 business and 1 million residential customers. This past June, Exelon introduced a new logo designed by Futurebrand.

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A B-Side BY Armin

JustGiving

Launched in 1999, JustGiving is a London-based for-profit organization that enables charities and individuals to help raise money. We covered a first logo redesign in August of 2009. Earlier this month, a new logo was introduced. No design credit given.

Thanks to Penn for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Arteche

Arteche is a global company with more than 65 years of experience in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. This past April, Arteche introduced a new identity designed by Coleman CBX. Some application images below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY Armin

Sun Rises in Hillshire

Established in 1939, Sara Lee Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of consumer brands that span coffee, tea, and meats and include the eponymous Sara Lee (deli and desserts), Jimmy Dean, Douwe Egberts, and Hillshire Farms. Earlier this month Sara Lee announced that it would be splitting the company into two “pure-play” companies — each focusing on a single category of products — the first to be renamed Hillshire Brands taking over the North America production of meat-centric food products and foodservice operations while D.E MASTER BLENDERS 1753 (all caps!) will focus on international coffee and tea. The focus of this post is on Hillshire Brands; logo for D.E is noted for reference at the end of the post. The new logo was designed by Minneapolis, MN-based Duffy & Partners.

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