People are talking about Starbucks lately. They’re close locations, laying off staff, losing money, facing the same old sniping from labour and trade groups, and fresh whipping from coffee lovers. (no pun intended) So maybe a brand overhaul is in order.

Architect magazine this month is featuring a proposed re-design for Stabucks from Pentagram partner James Biber. The new approach is dramatic, tossing away the faux-local aura of the Starbucks chain, as well as the identity overall. Biber’s proposal includes changing the name to *$, a more symbolic, and therefore more universal metaphor, for the company’s name. It’s daring, but it could work.

It is about money as much as coffee and about abbreviation as much as leisure. And it is about recognizing that a name says something about the intentions of a brand: a reference to Moby Dick may not be as relevant a reference as text messaging.

The original post on the Pentagram blog features a more in-depth view, including architectural renderings of a new *$ interior and the strategic justifications therefor. It’s actually quite compelling, so have a read. »

And since Starbucks stock price is down 42%, now might be a good time to buy. Ironically, I truly have no money these days because the economy is in the toilet. Same reason Starbucks’ stock price is down in the first place. Then again, I did just buy a new Starbucks card.

In a matter of hours, I’ll be on my way to Puerto Rico. It’s been 4 years since my last visit to the island and more than 2 since I had a proper vacation of any sort, where the sole purpose was to relax and do vacationey stuff.

I’m looking forward to seeing family, enjoying the tropics, catching up on reading, and snapping random photos of signage and design from that strange little island.

I have a few posts scheduled for this week, so it will be like I never left! But I’ll be back in New York middle next week. In the meantime, feel free to browse the site and leave comments!

But these folks have cooked up something semi-relevant, namely a short video where Fonts come to life and enact their nature with one another. You know, a play of sorts.

Why does this deserve a WTF? Well, because most of us in the design world are going to chuckle, but ultimately roll our eyes. I’m sure tons of people find this funny, but clearly these folks have no training in typography.

This has been making the rounds on the internet pretty rapidly; I’ve already spotted it on Debbie Millman’s and Tina Eisenberg’s blogs. (although I beat them both to the punch by scheduling this post in advance last night) Leo Laporte and Amber MacArthur even chatted about it on their podcast, Net@Nite. Here’s an appropriate excerpt where the duo discuss their own typographic naïveté:

I’d have to say that if Papyrus were a person it would be these fucking douchebags:

Not because the typeface is spikey in nature, or uber-trendy, or strangely and unnaturally tanned — but because the instant I see it, I want to punch it in the face … then kick it on the ground … then push its girlfriend over in her stupid-ass stiletto heels … then punch it in the face again.

I think if Cooper Black were a person, it would be Garfield the Cat.

This is officially version 7 of perez-fox.com, which dates all the way back to March 2001. But forget that, what do you think? I’m planning to tweak and add, but it’s yours for the viewing. Please leave feedback about how you feel it works, or if you catch any glitches.

And don’t be a hater; I got no time for haters.

The 2008 political campaign has thus far been marked by all sorts of petty nonsense — everything from pantsuits to religious fervor seems to be on peoples’ minds. There is no point more sensitive than that of the lapel pin — a 5¢ piece of tin that apparently indicates one’s abilities to be President. But let’s take a design point of view:

Steven Heller, design impresario and SVA lecturer, has posed a thought to the readers of the New York Times. What should Obama be wearing if not an American flag pin?

Since Mr. Obama promotes himself as the candidate of change, maybe he should start wearing a different kind of lapel pin that signals his patriotism as well as other values he wants to communicate.

The results range from witty to lame, but worth a look.

I’d like to think I would seize at the chance to be ironic. I’ll save this one for when I run for Congress representing New York’s 13th district (Williamsburg and Greenpoint). The hipsters will love this.

Iraq is on the hunt for a new flag. That’s according to the AP, who are reporting that a design contest will be held to find a replacement for the old red, white, and green.

a committee will select three designs to be presented to the parliament, which will vote on a new flag by the end of this year.

Iraq’s Saddam-era and 2008 revised flag

So why does this get a WTF? They just changed their flag in January! Also, is a new flag the number one concern? I think most Iraqis have bigger things on the brain than the design of the flag. In fact, shows like Alive in Baghdad will illustrate that is in fact the case.

via the always-astute UnBeige »

If you’re on the hunt for packaging inspiration, as I have been lately, than head over to Veerle’s blog for the packaging inspiration series.

A number of these have been featured on The Dieline and other blogs, but if you haven’t seen ‘em, they’re brand new. Right?

And file the picture above under “I wish I’d thought of that”. Awesome.

It no longer lets me log in with Safari. What the Fuck!

If you’ve had this problem, or know where to solve it, please let me know. I’m finding the new version to be overall kinda glitchy and wish I hadn’t upgraded at the first possible instant (although that’s what WordPress recommends).

Staples is a necessary evil. They have great selection for random officey stuff, but we aren’t particularly thrilled to shop there. Whenever I shop at Staples, I always feel like I’m being ripped off. Is there someplace online that I can order my office supplies for cheaper instead?

But last month I bought some paper. I love Staples paper. It looks and feels just as good at Epson, but costs a fraction of what Epson and other branded papers cost. No brainer. And this time around, it came with a rebate.

Mail-in rebates are annoying. Not only do you have to remember to actually mail the thing in, but there’s often some old-school cutting and pasting of UPC codes involved. And who can ever find a stamp when you need one! Before you know it, the window has passed and you’re outta luck. That’s how it used to be.

But the new Staples Easy Rebates system is pretty cool. I go online, punch in the numbers, and they cut me a check (eventually). Awesome. (I should point out that it took me about 2 minutes of staring at the screen to determine which link to follow. Turns out I didn’t see the “Bought in a Store” header.)

This is probably the first time that Staples has lived up to their slogan “That Was Easy”. Usually, shopping and large-scale chain stores is a hassle marked with unskilled and belligerent staff, bad selections, untidy shelves, etc. So good on ya, Staples, you’re actually doing things right.

But to play devil’s advocate for a moment, doesn’t this destroy the economic model of rebates? After all, rebates are designed for you to make a purchase, but not to redeem. They are making it easy for customers to get back their own money. Since most decisions get made based on dollars, I’m actually a little surprised that Staples has built a system so beneficial for the customer.

Of course from a branding point of view, I’m glad they do.

The moral of the story, if you’re shopping at Staples, don’t be afraid of the rebates. They actually are quite easy.

I don’t really mind the spoof, just pointing out the speed at which Hollywood took notice of the original art. I think it’s safe to say that movie posters don’t usually spoof, or even make reference to, other design work. (with obvious exception to Scary Movie and other spoof films) If it wasn’t already, the Obama poster is now officially part of the cultural collection.

It should also be pointed out that this poster is much more striking than the previous one for Henry Poole. One gets noticed, the other, forgotten.

Original post from Movie Poster Addict »