Opinion BY Armin

Town & Country Goes Back to the Future

First published in 1846 — eighteen forty-six, people! — Town & Country (T&C) is officially described as “America’s premier lifestyle magazine for the affluent.” Thankfully that’s at least not in its tagline, like Petco, “where the rich people go.” But I digress. Published by Hearst Corporation, T&C covers fashion, travel, design, beauty, health, the arts and antiques and has a circulation of more than 450,000. T&C has been going through some changes this year with a new Editor-in-Chief, Jay Fielden, named in January and a new Design Director, Edward Leida, last month. With the release of the September issue, T&C is introducing a new logo and a redesign of the magazine.

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The B-Side BY cole

Blurb

The “make your own book” company Blurb, established in 2005, has undertaken a promotional campaign and had their identity refreshed by San Francisco based Duncan/Channon. More can be found here.

Thanks to Michael Lemme for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Pinterest

Pinterest is a handy bookmarking site that allows you to “pin” things on your very own personal cloud board. A new logo has been designed by Brooklyn-based Michael Deal and Juan Carlos Pagan. A fun, in-depth making-of-the-logo post by the Pinterest team can be found here.

Thanks to Cole Imperi for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Newsday

Founded in 1940, Newsday is a local newspaper primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, and it is a staple of the New York visual landscape. In March Newsday introduced a new logo, here is how it looks on the paper.

Thanks to Geoffrey Sorensen for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Yellow Pages Association

Originally founded in 1975 and known as the Yellow Pages Association, the newly named Local Search Association is the “largest trade organization of print, digital, mobile and social media that help local businesses get found and selected by ready-to-buy consumers.” From the press release: “The Association’s new logo incorporates a clean and modern design with a nod to the strong connection advertisers and consumers have with the Yellow Pages’ iconic walking fingers. The fingers have been given a more movement-oriented touch and dropped into the Local Search Association name, signifying Yellow Pages’ integral role as part of local search.” Brand launch video below (or after the jump).

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A B-Side BY Armin

Ebony

First published in 1945, Ebony magazine “profiles successful African-American role models; discusses the issues that our community faces today; goes one-on-one with the hottest celebrities and community leaders; and brings you tips on career, relationships, health, parenting, personal finance and much more.” Earlier this month the magazine introduced a cover to cover redesign, including the logo, all done internally. For a full look at the redesign cover and interiors see here.

Thanks to Craig Brimm for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Hatier

Established in 1880, Hatier is a publishing company specializing in school textbooks. They are part of publishing giant Hachette. The new logo, designed by Brandimage, “projects the brand into the future by reaffirming its values of accessibility, dynamism and innovation.”

Thanks to Shawn Schrader for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

Gannett Loses Globe, Wins Little

Founded in 1923 by Frank Gannett, Virginia-based Gannett is a holding company that has one of the largest volumes of daily newspaper circulation in the U.S. with USA Today and over 80 local newspapers. Its broadcast division owns over 20 local television stations and its digital division owns websites like CareerBuilder.com, MetroMix.com, and MomsLikeMe.com. Earlier this week, Gannett announced a new identity designed by The Farm to replace the 30-year-old logo they had been using. The redesign has attracted some media attention because, besides being a media company itself, people are dumbfounded that the new identity comes with a 100-page guideline document. The horror! Oddly enough the whole document is available publicly on Google Docs. And for some reason, someone started a Gannett logo Twitter account @gannettlogo. Yawn. This page has a couple of brand videos and additional information.

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Opinion BY Clinton Duncan

W’s New W

W magazine, first published in 1971, is a monthly American fashion magazine, published by Condé Nast. Its average reader is female, mature and lives in a household with yearly income of $135,840. In response to declining circulation figures, Condé Nast hired Stefano Tonchi creator and editor of the highly regarded T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Tonchi’s first task was to relaunch the magazine, and the logical starting point was the logo or, to use publishing speak, the masthead.

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Opinion BY Armin

Step-by-Step Bunny

I’m one of those stubborn people that upon installing a new piece of equipment or software I skip the instructions and assume right away that I can make things work without some kind of manual telling me how to do things. More stupid than stubborn I guess. But I also guess that it has to do with the fact that most manuals are a pain to follow or just go around in too many circles before getting to the point. Heck, sometimes there is no manual to begin with. And that’s where books like Peachpit Press’ Visual QuickStart Guides Series come in: with easy to follow, streamlined, step-by-step instructions for how to do things for those of us who are stubborn, stupid or, less self-deprecatingly, simply need an amicable hand to learn how to do things. With 276 titles listed on their web site, the QuickStart Guides cover everything from learning CSS to Photoshop CS5. With a 15-year-old logo identifying the series, it was a time for a redesign, courtesy of San Francisco-based Mine™.

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