Let the Repsol Shine in
Established in 1986, Repsol (an initialism of Refinería de Petróleos plus the word “Sol”, Sun in Enlgish) is a Spanish and Argentinian oil and gas company specializing in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, its refining, marketing, and distribution. Repsol counts with more than 25,000 employees in over 35 countries. This week, Repsol introduced an evolution to its logo as it announced a strategic plan for the next years. No design credit given other than an ambiguously worded comment that the project “was carried out by Repsol employees as well as external public, providers, image experts, investors, journalists and opinion leaders and is the result of a rigorous process which began in 2011.”
Original Repsol logo, designed by Wolff Olins in 1987.
The new mark aligns itself with the company’s new vision, without losing the essence of its original identity.
It is a more dynamic and vital expression. Volume, transparency, use of the color white and enveloping effect.
— Bullet points from the 2012-16 Strategic Plan document [PDF]
Comprehensive identity introduction video. In Spanish, but still understandable and only way to look at further ideas and applications.
I really like the original concept of the three horizon lines for earth, water/sky, and sun. Very simple and primal. The roughed-up line was the key in defining this as a logo that had to do with the earth and the terrain — it kinda sucks that it has to do with exploiting its resources, but that’s a battle for another blogger. Over the years, the logo has been simplified and this latest iteration is the most corporately correct: an abstract, swooshy globe thay may or not mean something. Strangely though, I like it. There is something nicely resolved about the two rings that give the icon an interesting perspective, depth, and dynamism that works really well. Even the typography, which is redrawn but retains the quirks of the original, has a nice personality that flows very well with the angle of the blobe — globe + blob = I coined it!.
It will be interesting to see what else comes out of this project as it is rolled out in the future, and perhaps the “image makers” alluded to in the press release will be revealed and we’ll have some additional executions to judge. In the meantime, as a global corporate logo evolution, this is a pretty decent effort.
Spotted at The Branding Source.
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Sydney Opera House Sails Become Canvases for Vivid Festival 2012 [Video]
![sydneyoperahouse01 Sydney Opera House Sails Become Canvases for Vivid Festival 2012 [Video]](http://cdn.freshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/sydneyoperahouse01.jpg "sydneyoperahouse01")
Vivid Sydney Festival is described by the organizers as a “the largest celebration of light, music and ideas in the Southern Hemisphere“. This year’s edition (taking place during 25 May and 11 June 2012) begun with no less than 60 light installations, including the “lighting” of the iconic sails defining Sydney Opera House. According to official sources, a global field of artists from countries including France, Poland, Hong Kong, Scotland, USA, Brazil, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia will use Sydney as a playground for their interactive and low-energy light art displays. The festival is expected to attract 500 000 people in the region, taking part of 100 creative industry events, from various art performances to musical concerts.The video below captures a dramatic projection on the sails of Sydney Opera House, watched by thousands of art enthusiasts, lined on the shores of Sydney Harbor. Enjoy the show!
![sydneyoperahouse02 Sydney Opera House Sails Become Canvases for Vivid Festival 2012 [Video]](http://cdn.freshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/sydneyoperahouse02.jpg "sydneyoperahouse02")
![sydneyoperahouse03 Sydney Opera House Sails Become Canvases for Vivid Festival 2012 [Video]](http://cdn.freshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/sydneyoperahouse03.jpg "sydneyoperahouse03")
![sydneyoperahouse04 Sydney Opera House Sails Become Canvases for Vivid Festival 2012 [Video]](http://cdn.freshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/sydneyoperahouse04.jpg "sydneyoperahouse04")
![sydneyoperahouse05 Sydney Opera House Sails Become Canvases for Vivid Festival 2012 [Video]](http://cdn.freshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/sydneyoperahouse05.jpg "sydneyoperahouse05")
![sydneyoperahouse06 Sydney Opera House Sails Become Canvases for Vivid Festival 2012 [Video]](http://cdn.freshome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/sydneyoperahouse06.jpg "sydneyoperahouse06")
You’re reading Sydney Opera House Sails Become Canvases for Vivid Festival 2012 [Video] originally posted on Freshome. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+
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Visualized: Sauber F1 cutaway car is half the vehicle it used to be (video)
Ever wondered what goes on inside a Formula 1 car? No, we’re not talking about Jenson Button’s delicate elbow movements, we mean inside the car. Well, it turns out that we’re not the only ones, and fortuitously for us, some people with the actual means to find out — the Sauber F1 team — have done the noble thing, and cut one in half. Yes, a real F1 car. Cut in half. It took two years to achieve, but from tip to tail, it’s all there on display. That precious steering wheel you see drivers carry with them? Halved. Clever layered fuel system for lower center of gravity? Carved open. They even bring a driver in, the only thing to remain intact. Race on past the pit stop break for the visuals.
Continue reading Visualized: Sauber F1 cutaway car is half the vehicle it used to be (video)
Visualized: Sauber F1 cutaway car is half the vehicle it used to be (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s a Man’s World
Sam’s Natural, an Etsy Store specializing in men’s hygiene products, launched these 2012 Happy Father’s Day Kits.
View full post on TheDieline.com – Package Design Blog
École Maternelle by Eva Samuel Architects and Associates
Eva Samuel Architects and Associates designed this school in Paris, France.
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Project description:
The building’s envelope is a response to several environmental aims: visual protection, increased natural light to counteract the surrounding solar screens, no thermal bridges, natural ventilation and double flux in winter. This school is the first to comply with the City of Paris’s climate plan. The result is a thick façade with varied reliefs – bay, alcove, and concave windows – which are used horizontally on the roof as skylights and to house air treatment machinery and ventilation chimneys. These multi-form strawberry-coloured elements enliven and dematerialise the façades. Their anodized aluminium cladding changes from pink to golden grey to green depending on one’s movements, point de view, the colour of the sky and reflections of nearby buildings.
The atmosphere inside the school is gentle and serene. The only colours are those of the materials themselves, such as the wood of the false ceilings and the bay windows. The façade’s thickness creates a strong sense of protection and minimises outlook from neighbouring towers. The children enjoy taking over the micro-spaces generated by the façade’s thickness, using them as mini-living rooms, for reading, tea parties, hiding, etc.
Visit the Eva Samuel Architects and Associates website – here.
Photography by Gaston Bergeret
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Noctua developing noise-cancelling PC fan, will demo at Computex
Try as we might to block it out, we just can’t stand the whirring of our PC fan when it starts to act up. There may be an end to our cringing, as Austrian company Noctua is gearing up to debut a fan with integrated noise cancellation at Computex. The cooling fan to be shown in Taipei is only a prototype, but we know it’s a Noctua NF-F12 model that uses noise-control technology from RotoSub. Luckily, Computex is less than a week away, so we’ll soon have a better idea of whether this fan can keep our PC from sounding like a 777 ready for takeoff… we’re sure our coworkers would appreciate it.
Noctua developing noise-cancelling PC fan, will demo at Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 18:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Minimal Kitchens by Piet Boon for Warendorf
Not so long ago, we featured the Tower Kitchen designed by Philippe Starck for Warendorf. With this kitchen collection the German manufacturer has once again sought to collaborate with a high profile designer, this time in the guise of world renowned Dutch designer and master craftsman Piet Boon. His collection consists of three different kitchen designs, all of which bring a sense of subdued luxury to the heart of the home.
Original is a kitchen that is functional and timeless, comfortable and pure, distinctive and harmonious. It demonstrates the effect that can be created by combining natural materials with sophisticated surfaces. Stockholm on the other hand is inspired by a variety of Scandinavian design influences, whilst London, with its conspicuously minimalist design, highlights the kitchen’s role as a living space and pushes its functional role into the background.
Piet Boon’s design philosophy is best seen in the use of a natural and subtle palette of subdued colours and materials, which marry authenticity with harmony and timelessness. He says: ”Kitchens are the heart of the home, so we design them with passion. Renowned kitchen manufacturer Warendorf has been entrusted with the production of our high quality, functional kitchen designs, which are as much an expression of traditional values and the craftsman’s skill.”
Do you have a favourite kitchen out of these three? Or do you prefer the Tower kitchen by Philippe Starck?
You’re reading Minimal Kitchens by Piet Boon for Warendorf originally posted on Freshome. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+
View full post on Freshome.com – Interior Design & Architecture Magazine
Minimal Kitchens by Piet Boon for Warendorf
Not so long ago, we featured the Tower Kitchen designed by Philippe Starck for Warendorf. With this kitchen collection the German manufacturer has once again sought to collaborate with a high profile designer, this time in the guise of world renowned Dutch designer and master craftsman Piet Boon. His collection consists of three different kitchen designs, all of which bring a sense of subdued luxury to the heart of the home.
Original is a kitchen that is functional and timeless, comfortable and pure, distinctive and harmonious. It demonstrates the effect that can be created by combining natural materials with sophisticated surfaces. Stockholm on the other hand is inspired by a variety of Scandinavian design influences, whilst London, with its conspicuously minimalist design, highlights the kitchen’s role as a living space and pushes its functional role into the background.
Piet Boon’s design philosophy is best seen in the use of a natural and subtle palette of subdued colours and materials, which marry authenticity with harmony and timelessness. He says: ”Kitchens are the heart of the home, so we design them with passion. Renowned kitchen manufacturer Warendorf has been entrusted with the production of our high quality, functional kitchen designs, which are as much an expression of traditional values and the craftsman’s skill.”
Do you have a favourite kitchen out of these three? Or do you prefer the Tower kitchen by Philippe Starck?
You’re reading Minimal Kitchens by Piet Boon for Warendorf originally posted on Freshome. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+
View full post on Freshome.com – Interior Design & Architecture Magazine
Polycom Phone Home (and Office)
Established in 1990, Polycom, with 3,800 employees in 80 offices in 36 countries, specializes in “open standards-based unified communications (UC) solutions for telepresence, video, and voice.” If that means not much to you, they make those triangle, UFO-shaped phones that people scream at during conference calls — they are as much a staple of corporate America offices as the cubicle. Simplification aside, Polycom does have quite the stronghold and edge on all kinds of conferencing platforms that go beyond the phone, offering video and mobile solutions — they have more than 800 issued or pending patents too. Last week, Polycom introduced a new logo and identity designed by San Jose, CA-based John McNeil Studio that signals a commitment to continuing its transformation to a software-led company.
One of the classic triangle speaker phones.
The new Polycom (as of May 2012) — three fluid, transparent, elliptical arcs, symbolizing connection, mobility, information sharing and collaboration.
— Polycom Brand Page
Brand video. To view bigger click here.
Unveiling the new brand in the lobby of the Company’s new headquarters in San Jose, CA.
I loved the old logo: it was striking, simple, and very corporate. The icon mimicked the shape of its famous triangle phone and even the wispy serif all caps wordmark had some gravitas to it. But I can see all the reason why Polycom wanted to move away from it: it’s not about the phone anymore, it’s not a product or service just for Fortune 500 companies, it’s not friendly enough. In exchange Polycom has gotten a logo that solves all those issues through a perfectly generic execution and ambiguously explained concept: The three rings that symbolize blah blah blah are uninspired and the Gotham book weight wordmark is one of a dozen things like it we’ve seen the past five years. For a company leading in innovation and entrenched so deeply with corporations one would hope that they would be more risky or innovative in how they portray themselves. This is just safe work at best.
Thanks to Roy Levitt for first tip.
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Polycom Phone Home (and Office)
Established in 1990, Polycom, with 3,800 employees in 80 offices in 36 countries, specializes in “open standards-based unified communications (UC) solutions for telepresence, video, and voice.” If that means not much to you, they make those triangle, UFO-shaped phones that people scream at during conference calls — they are as much a staple of corporate America offices as the cubicle. Simplification aside, Polycom does have quite the stronghold and edge on all kinds of conferencing platforms that go beyond the phone, offering video and mobile solutions — they have more than 800 issued or pending patents too. Last week, Polycom introduced a new logo and identity designed by San Jose, CA-based John McNeil Studio that signals a commitment to continuing its transformation to a software-led company.
One of the classic triangle speaker phones.
The new Polycom (as of May 2012) — three fluid, transparent, elliptical arcs, symbolizing connection, mobility, information sharing and collaboration.
— Polycom Brand Page
Brand video. To view bigger click here.
Unveiling the new brand in the lobby of the Company’s new headquarters in San Jose, CA.
I loved the old logo: it was striking, simple, and very corporate. The icon mimicked the shape of its famous triangle phone and even the wispy serif all caps wordmark had some gravitas to it. But I can see all the reason why Polycom wanted to move away from it: it’s not about the phone anymore, it’s not a product or service just for Fortune 500 companies, it’s not friendly enough. In exchange Polycom has gotten a logo that solves all those issues through a perfectly generic execution and ambiguously explained concept: The three rings that symbolize blah blah blah are uninspired and the Gotham book weight wordmark is one of a dozen things like it we’ve seen the past five years. For a company leading in innovation and entrenched so deeply with corporations one would hope that they would be more risky or innovative in how they portray themselves. This is just safe work at best.
Thanks to Roy Levitt for first tip.
Don’t forget to cast your vote about this post online
View full post on Brand New
