Identity of My Choice

Adidas

Adidas is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second largest in the entire world. Adidas AG , though, specializes in quality sportswear, it also manufactures a few other products such as shoes, clothes, bags and shirts to give their customers a wide variety of goods to choose from.

In 1967 the three striped symbol was only engraved on shoes, but gradually, as the brand gained worldwide popularity by 1971, it altered to the Trefoil logo. After a few years, the company merged with Salomon and came up with a new design, which featured two colors. The blue color represented Adidas, while the red color signified Salomon. In 2005, the Adidas logo was further modified to the “World Mark" which was simpler, clearer and more visually distinctive.

The three parallel stripes of the Adidas logo embody the exceptional performance of the athletes and the undying efforts they make to achieve their set goals. It also signifies the well being and goodwill of the Adidas Company.

The purpose behind the colour of the logo being black is not a mere coincidence; its motif is to motivate the youth to engage themselves in athletics and to encourage the ones who are striving to be athletes. According to the Adidas design guidelines the logo must always be in either the standard black or white, while specific accent colours must also be used; Adidas Blue, Adidas Yellow, Adidas Green and Adidas Red, similar to the Olympic rings. Adidas state that accent colours should only be used in corporate communications when necessary to distinguish chapter headings, powerpoint bars, etc.

Adidas is still engaged in motivating and energizing the youth of every nation and stands proudly as one of the best companies of the world. The current logo represents some of the finest equipment that Adidas sells. This logo more than the others is supposed to have a lot of meaning. The company wanted to keep the three stripes that they were known for, but also add something to give the logo some power. This current logo is supposed to resemble a mountain, like it is challenging the people who buy Adidas products to push themselves to their limits.

According to the Adidas design guidelines the primary typeface for the Adidas brand is the specially designed typeface; adiHaus, which features twelve different weights. The guidelines state that only the adiHaus typeface can be used for all internet and external corporate communications.

Brand Guidelines:

https://issuu.com/janjaneczek/docs/adidas

An Identity That Went Through a Major Rebrand in The Last Decade

Wal-mart

Wal-Mart began its operations as a chain of superstores in 1962. Since its inception, the Wal-Mart logo underwent a unique transformation and conceited on many different ideas. Sam Walton , the founder, started the business with a very simple logo and did not go into the specifics of the font as well as its style. The Wal-Mart logo witnessed some changes from 1964 to 1981 and sported a hyphen with fonts giving the logo a less fanciful look. Noticeable change were made in 1968, when the motif underwent slight modifications. However, this Wal-Mart logo failed to win support and was never published on any of the annual reports. In 1992, the Wal-Mart logo embraced new changes. The star replaced the hyphen initially but later an asterisk substituted the star at the end of the logo. This is the same logo we see today. Today’s Wal-Mart is immensely popular among its customers.

The Wal-Mart corporate logo features an asterisk or flower, symbolizing the friendliness and outstanding quality of the brand. The simplicity of Wal-Mart logo design attracts the customers and is popular for its intriguing concept and design.

The Wal-Mart logo stands for the ‘organic’ nature of its business and is a symbol of its environmental-friendly business. Moreover, the motif brings added charm to the Wal-Mart logo appearance.

The careful branding of the Wal-Mart logo underlines the nature of the business as well as its commitment to quality and service to its customers. The use of simple colors like yellow and blue depicts the passion and the basic nature of the business. The Walmart primary colour palette includes seven signature colours; Walmart Dark Blue, Walmart Medium Blue, Walmart Light Blue, Walmart Orange, Walmart Yellow, Fresh Product Dark Green and Fresh Product Light Green.

The typeface of Wal-Mart is written in Myriad Pro, a rounded, fashionable style and uses lower case letters. The font selection shows Walmart’s simplicity and clarity. The bold weight catches the attention of a viewer at first sight. Myriad Pro is used in all of Walmart’s communication materials and cannot be substituted for any other.

Brand Guidelines:

http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-history

An Identity Based on a Combination of Text & Graphical Elements

Heineken

Heineken International has two logos, namely the “Authenticity logo” and the “Star-Heineken logo”. The “Authenticity logo” has been particularly designed to correspond and strengthen the brand’s brewing quality, legacy and reliability. Its major creations are related to beer items only. On the other hand, “Star-Heineken logo” has been uniquely created to communicate and make prominent the modernism and originality of the brand. It is functional in areas of communication, sponsorships, merchandise and packaging. Star-Heineken on a Heineken green backdrop is favored more than a white background as it projects the features of the brand at its best.

The three Es on the Heineken logo are slightly slanted backwards, giving it a smiling effect. The innovative smiling Es in the label were assumed to be too formal for the brand. The racetrack labeled green bottle is the source of the brand’s visual recognition.

According to the Heineken design guidelines the primary typefaces for the Heineken brand are three specially designed typefaces; Heineken Serif typeface, Heineken Sans typeface and the “Heineken, meet you there” (MYT) typeface. As for secondary typefaces Heineken strongly recommends using the Futura typeface to avoid less brand recognition, but other typefaces are also allowed.

According to the Heineken design guidelines the objective of Heineken Green is to reinforce green's association with the brand and to ascertain it as the brand's primary colour, also stating that it should be a fundamental part of every visual expression of the brand be it print or digital. The main colour scheme for Heineken consists of very specific colours, these being, Heineken Green, Heineken Red, Heineken Grey and Heineken Silver.

Brand Guidelines:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69182524/Heineken-Identidad-Visual-Corporativa

An Identity Based on a Brand Mark

Channel 4

Since it’s inception in 1982 Channel 4 has gone through a number of logo/brand design changes. This colourful logo was used by Channel 4 from its launch on November 2, 1982. On screen, the symbol would appear as computer animated blocks hurled onto the screen. It was designed by Lambie-Nairn. In October 1996, Channel 4 launched a new identity which was created in-house by the television channel. The new identity was called "Connections" and was based on four circles, one of which included the Channel 4 figure. Easter 1999 saw channel 4 introduce a new logo featured in a square usually shown on the right hand side of TV screens until 30 December 2004. Channel 4 introduced a new identity on New Year's Eve 2004. The new identity was conceived in-house by 4Creative and allows the blocks in the logo to break apart. In most graphics, the logo appears as above, white on white, with darker "shadowed" areas on the sides.

In September 2015, Channel 4 updated their logo to a variant of the 1982, 1996 and 1999 logos. No logo appears on new idents, bumpers, and on promos and end-boards as the nine blocks that make up the logo appear separately on new idents, bumpers, and on promos and end-boards instead. Two fonts were also created for the channel; Horseferry and Chadwick.

Horseferry is designed to reflect on Channel 4’s sharp, disruptive, cutting edge, challenging personality as a unique British institution. Chadwick reflects the modern, clean, functional and informative nature of their work as a public service broadcaster. The two fonts have been created to work hand-in-hand across print, digital and broadcast environments. Both typefaces were designed by Brody Associates

Channel 4 uses a basic colour palette to avoid using different versions of the same colour. Percentage tints can be used in any of these colours. Other colours may be used where appropriate.

At the heart of the Channel 4 visual identity is the belief that writing and design must work together. Channel 4 is innovative, independent and irreverent. Therefore, the tone of voice needs to be bold, surprising and challenging. Sound bites work well on posters and in advertising. They keep communication clear and simple. Below are examples of the headlines from successful campaigns.

Programme: Dying for Drugs

Drug companies are making a killing

Programme: 4 Music, Mobo Awards

Listen to your television

Programme: Nigella Bites

Nigella sucks

Programme: Six Feet Under

Skin to die for

Programme: Derren Brown plays Russian roulette live

Magic is dead

Programme: Big Brother

View, vote, control

Brand Guidelines:

http://www.channel4.com/about_c4/styleguide/downloads/C4StyleGuide1.1.pdf

An Identity Based on a Word or Words

NYU

The university logo, the upheld torch, is derived from the Statue of Liberty, signifying NYU's service to the city of New York. The torch is depicted on both the NYU seal and the more abstract NYU logo, designed in 1965 by renowned graphic designer Tom Geismar of the branding and design firm Chermayeff & Geismar.

There are at least two versions of the possible origin of the university colour, violet. Some believe that it may have been chosen because violets are said to have grown abundantly in Washington Square and around the buttresses of the Old University Building. Others argue that the colour may have been adopted because the violet was the flower associated with Athens, the center of learning in ancient Greece.

According to the NYU brand guidelines, Gotham is the only font used in the logo and all secondary-level logotypes, stating that it is “a prominent aspect of the NYU mission—it suggests the energy and exuberance of NYU and New York City”. Gotham can be used in conjunction with other fonts but should be the primary font for units within the central administration of NYU. When using a typeface for copy in a publication, NYU states that the typeface Mercury Text should be used; stating “Mercury Text is a family of high-performance text faces designed to thrive under the most adverse conditions”.

The official colour of NYU is the NYU Purple, NYU states that this specific colour should not be modified in any way. Along with the NYU purple, the brand guidelines suggest a number of specific colours to use in conjunction with the purple colour.

Brand Guidelines:

http://www.nyu.edu/employees/resources-and-services/media-and-communications/styleguide.html

An Identity Based on Emblems

NFL

The shield-like NFL logo is a depiction of the proud identity of the American Football league. It is the classical embodiment of the league’s promise to high-octane sporting entertainment. The NFL shield logo helps identify the organization’s prowess with a superior view.

The NFL logo comprises of blue, red and white hues. The NFL font is engraved with glowing red colour that depicts the superiority of the emblem. The football and stars in the logo are white coloured, promoting the authority of the NFL logo. The shield background is painted a shade of blue that brings a bolder appearance.

The last changes to the NFL logo were made in 1980 when the shield adopted four stars along with a new football and a slightly stretched but lean shield. The colours also got a dim touch.

As stated in their brand guidelines the NFL exclusively use the typeface Endzone and its various weights. The NFL Endzone typeface is a proprietary font unique to the NFL. Drawn specifically for NFL communications, Endzone is intended for use in headlines, titles, primary messaging and other principle text applications.

The principle colours stated in the NFL brand guidelines are NFL Blue and NFL Red. Both colours feature three tones to allow for the development of tone-on-tone design layouts. The secondary colours in brand guidelines are NFL Green and NFL Brown; these reference the field of play and the game’s most basic instrument, the football. NFL Black is included as it is a versatile design colour. Each of these colours is available in three tones. The guidelines state that these secondary colours should be used with restraint.

Brand Guidelines:

https://sign2esymbol.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/nflbrandingguidelines.pdf

An Identity Based On Letter Making Up The Company’s Initials

IBM -

In 1972, IBM introduced the current version of the logotype. Designed by Paul Rand, horizontal stripes now replaced the solid letters to suggest "speed and dynamism." In the intervening quarter-century, the basic design has remained constant, one of the most recognized logotypes in the world, and a design that has been widely imitated by others.

The IBM logo consists of horizontal stripes which are representative of the speed and dynamism, the esteemed corporate image and goodwill of the company. The company name ‘IBM’ is highlighted fashionably, using capitalized block lettering to demonstrate authority.

The blue shade is used in the IBM logo. Blue, is often used for corporate logos, as it projects the strength and dominance of the company and gives a distinctive quality to the logo.

The IBM logo consists of a simple but unforgettable font style. The letters are inscribed in a bold font which is a depiction the decent attribute of the company and its products. The letters in the logo are formed with horizontal bars which enhance the beauty of the logo.

As stated in their brand guidelines IBM exclusively use the typeface Helvetica Neue claiming “It never attempts to outshine the content; instead it holds, displays and organizes information with intentional neutrality. It is a typeface that doesn’t just say one thing, it says everything.”

IBM colours are vibrant and optimistic, the palette consists of eight core colours, 80 full-spectrum colours and an array of neutrals. The colours support digital displays and maximum colour contrast. According to the IBM brand guidelines one of their most important elements is using contract is type, colour, etc.

Brand Guidelines:

https://www.ibm.com/design/language/framework/visual/typography