From Thriftown to Japantown

Finally! I remembered to take a «before» picture of a piece before decoupaging it. I picked up this little wooden shelving unit at Thriftown (in The Mission) a little while back for 1.99$. Must of been a nano jewelry armoire in a previous life. Both drawers were missing but it was still in pretty good condition. Painted it black. Bought a small paper sample in Japantown. Cut a few shapes, applied several coats of mod podge and voilà! I give you my new ink cartridge dispenser! This is what I do between design gigs. (Please click on photo to enlarge)

Rebranding the right way

After yesterday's rant about GAP's logo gone wrong, today I needed to show an example of rebranding...gone good! Andronico's is my local supermarket. I was never a fan of their original logo (on the left) but was pleased to notice their new version. The new logo is both minimalist and elegant and has an overall upscale look. It displays the content artistically. Colorful and youthful icon with a timeless choice of font. C'est tout!

Amnesia Branding or the old vs the who?

It is one thing to refresh one's branding, it's another to changing it to the point of not recognizing it anymore. I was astounded to find that the beloved GAP logo had gone through a serious change. What's left of the old logo is the «spirit» of the blue rectangle, placed on the top right hand corner - ready to be exited in the next revamping. Just like me, GAP is getting older and is accepting to age with difficulty. But, I am not ready to give up on my personality in order to keeping up appearances. Neither should GAP. The new logo is sporting an American Apparel outfit (Helvetica, on white background). Actually, American Apparel, Crate&Barrel, and now GAP are now wearing all the same outfit. What was wrong with the previous (sniff) logo? From easily recognizable to «have we met before?». Is it a coincidence that the «new» logo came to life after Don Fisher's passing? I think not. A logo's soul is its font. And now, GAP has lost its soul...and a few sales for I would rather shop somewhere else.