New logo: Big Sky Conference

The Big Sky Conference is a conference within US college athletics that includes colleges from the Western part of the United States. On Monday, July 16, it unveiled a new conference logo, created by SME Branding, the agency behind last year's new Miami Marlins identity.

The new logo lets the words "Big Sky" extend over a mountain range. The word "Conference" is written with Dobra Slab Bold. The blue version below is the generic version used by the conference itself, but the colleges have their own versions that use their team colors.

Mr Kipling brand history

Earlier this year, you could read about a new design for Mr. Kipling, a classic British brand for ready-made pies and cakes. The history of its conception and subsequent development in the last decade is a somewhat interesting one.

The brand was created in the 1960s by Rank Hovis McDougall who wanted revitalize their cake sales, but also wanted to utilise a new bakery. When the brand launched in 1967, the range included 20 products that were sold in premium boxes with handles.

Mr. Kipling himself never actually existed, he was an invention by marketing men who wanted to give a traditional family feel for something that is actually industrially produced. This was reinforced through ads suggesting Mr Kipling was a small shop baker, specifically in TV ads where James Hayter did the voice of Mr. Kipling. A successful example of the perhaps a bit disingenuous tactic of implying great heritage where none exists.

New logo: Polk Audio

Polk Audio is a U.S. manufacturer of audio equipment, notably speakers and headphones, particularly targeting audiophiles. This month, on July 12, it unveiled a new corporate identity that brings back a heart symbol that should promise "love of great sound". A heart was present in the company's original logo. The new identity was developed by Frog Design in San Francisco.

New logo: RTCG

Radio i Televizija Crne Gore (RTCG - "Radio and Television of Montenegro") is the national broadcaster of Montenegro, that small country on the Balkans that became independent from Serbia as late as 2006. Last month, RTCG launched a new corporate identity with a new symbol that is now used across its services.

What the winged symbol is supposed to be isn't clear, but its red and golden colours are also present in Montenegro's flag. The typeface used in all logos is DIN Medium, sometimes a bit modified. The exception is the numerals for the the two domestic TV channels that seem (very) home-made.

Logo round-up: June 2012

A mixed bag of high and low in this summary of new logos revealed in June. Although the new Twitter bird was the most discussed, there were plenty of interesting stories behind the other changes as well.

New logo: Premira

Petrolis de Barcelona is a Spanish regional hydrocarbon fuel distribution company, originally founded as a family business in 1965. Recently, the company entrusted Coleman CBX to rebrand its distribution network as it wants to communicate a focus on innovation and environment. The new consumer brand is called Premira.

The new symbol is supposed to be a combination of old and new, with the asphalt grey representing modernity and the bright hues representing sunrises and sunsets.

New logo: Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings is an American restaurant and sports bar chain, originally started in 1981 to serve Buffalo-style chicken wings. Today it is a listed company with several hundred locations around the United States and Canada. This week, it has unveiled an updated visual identity. The new logo is inspired apparently inspired by sports stadium typography, and the winged buffalo icon has been updated.