New logo: Goobay

Goobay is a German brand for discount electronics accessories. Earlier this spring it launched a new look, created by KW43 Branddesign in Düsseldorf.

With 8,000 products to label, KW43 developed the brand promise "simple, everything, appropriate". The two o's in the logo become a sort of character that can take on different forms. The packaging is clean and autonomous, with several simple visual cues and elements used to convey positive aspects of the product.

New look: Xtrm

Xtrm is a Spanish thematic channel dedicated to action, horror and martial arts movies. Back in June it introduced a new look to coincide with the launch of a high-definition simulcast channel. The new look was created by Argentinian broadcast design agency Lumbre, who revealed their project this week.

The graphics package reflect Xtrm's tough programming with a rugged look. New idents feature an extremely durable iteration of the Xtrm logo that various machines and individuals try to destroy, at their peril.

New logo: Nixon Peabody

Nixon Peabody (NP) is an American law firm with offices in America, Europe and Asia that numbers several major companies across many industries among its clients. Yesterday, it unveiled a new corporate identity, created by Wolff Olins.

A research project concluded that in addition to traditional legal counsel, clients appreciated a law firm that helped them grow their businesses. The result is a brand strategy focused on NP's ability provide growth to their clients. The new logo is a "dynamic spark", symbolising "innovative ideas and actions" as well as the "collective intelligence" of a firm thinking ahead of its clients.

New look: Alpha TV

Alpha TV is one of the larger television networks in Greece, airing a mainstream mix of home-grown programming and imported series. At the end of September, the network introduced a new on-air graphics package, produced by Greek production company Nomint and directed by Tony Zagoraios.

The slick new look makes use of bright colours, simple typography and flat shapes to "express a fresh, optimistic and contemporary identity".

New logo: Moscow Zoo

The Moscow Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in Europe, founded in 1864. As the zoo gears up for its 150th anniversary, a new visual identity system was unveiled last week, on October 17. It was developed by RIA Novosti, the country's leading news agency.

The new system introduces bright new graphics and logos. The logo comes in four variations with different colours and patterns made up of animals – a pelican, a pheasant, a dolphin and a squirrel in green, purple, blue and yellow. The agency also worked on new signage. The Museo typeface is used heavily in all applications.

New logo: Kaktus

This month, the a new mobile telecommunication brand was introduced in the Czech Republic by the Czech brand of T-Mobile. It is called Kaktus and targets young people by offering different prepaid plans that all offer free use of Facebook.

Visually, the brand appears a spontaneous and bit messy with a cartoon cactus as a logo and the extensive use of a free font called Akbar.

United States Postal Service (1993)

Twenty years ago this month, on October 12, 1993, the United States Postal Service introduced a new identity. The bureaucratic organisation was facing stiff competition from the likes of FedEx and UPS and needed to be run more like a business to survive.

The task of rebranding this huge organisation was assigned to CYB Yasumura Design, lnc., a New York subsidiary of Young & Rubicam, who were the postal service's ad agency at the time. CYB Yasumura was founded in 1981 and headed by Matsuo Yasumura who had a background as an art director within Y&R. The firm's handling of the account was later investigated for improprieties, which caused Mr. Yasamura to resign.

The design itself wasn't that well received either. The previous symbol was a classic, designed by Raymond Loewy and introduced in 1970. Its replacement was much more corporate, with all the letters in the full name crammed into a unwieldy wordmark. It is also one of very few logos to be ridiculed on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update. Reporting on the new logo, anchor Kevin Nealon explained that "the eagle depicted is a special breed known for its incompetence, slow flight and sudden bursts of violent behaviour against former co-eagles".

Nonetheless, this identity has survived more or less intact for twenty years. Meanwhile, the Internet has had the net effect of fewer letters being sent, and the USPS continues to manage its inevitable decline.