Year in review 2016

To round off another year, here's the year in review round-up for 2016. The summary includes more than 100 of the year's most interesting projects. As usual, the selection is a mix of high profile clients and distinctive designs.

Mövenpick flies new logo

Mövenpick is a Swiss hotel group with locations around the world. The group is also involved in restaurants, wines, coffee and fine foods (although the ice cream business was sold off some years ago). Yesterday, the group unveiled a new logo designed by London-based agency Bulletproof.

According to a press release, the more contemporary logo reflects "warmth, self-assurance and characteristic ‘Swissness’ that shines through the forward-looking company’s properties, and staff, across the globe".

The new wordmark is cleaner, with the seagull redesigned to more clearly "soar" over it. Just like its predecessor, the wordmark will work as a masterbrand for Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, the various hotels and the other businesses.

Google's self-driving car becomes Waymo

Google has been developing the technology to create a self-driving car for some time now and yesterday they took another step by spinning off this business off into a separate company within the Alphabet group. The new company is called Waymo, which stands for "a new way forward in mobility". The logo above was revealed at the same time.

There's not much information available on the logo, but it wouldn't be stretch to guess that the interlocking lines in the W are supposed to represent a journey and its location, or something like that.

Logo round-up: November 2016

Taco Bell's simplified logo was easily the biggest news in November, but we also got a lovely and striking symbol from Pentagram, some redesigned food brands and around thirty other new logos from around the world.

Designworks links new logo for Vision Australia

Vision Australia is a non-profit that provides services to blind people in Australia. On December 1, it launched a new corporate identity, reportedly developed by Designworks.

The refreshed brand should put the organisation's commitment to its clients at the centre. A new symbol made up of three interlinked ovals represents how the organisation cooperates with its clients and other organisations.

From the 80s: Incomplete logo for The Complete PC

The Complete PC, Inc. was a computer peripherals maker in Milpitas, California in the late 80s. Their first product was a board that you could stick into your computer to turn it into an advanced answering machine. It was called the "Complete Answering Machine" and came out in 1987, followed by a fax board, a scanner and other products.

The company's logo was designed by Margaret Hellman of Lawrence Bender & Associates, a Palo Alto-based agency with many high-tech clients. The stencil letterforms were "completed" by coloured bars when the logo was printed in colour, which was probably part of the rationale behind the design.

It may have been introduced with the launch of the answering machine in 1987. It didn't survive long, being replaced by a more sober serif logo by the end of 1988, but it did nonetheless get featured in a few design publications over the following years.

ConAgra launches leafy logo after spinoff

ConAgra Foods, one of the larger owners of consumer food brands in the United States, changed its name to ConAgra brands last month (November 10). This marked its spin-off of the potato business Lamb Weston. Remaining with ConAgra are most of its famous brands including Hunt's, Reddi Wip, Slim Jim and Swiss Miss.

The logo above was launched with the new name, featuring a multicoloured leafy symbol, presumably representing different elements or ingredients.

Belgian town Verviers weaves new logos

Verviers is a town in Belgium with a history dating back a millennium and about 50,000 current inhabitants. Last week, on November 29, the town revealed a new visual identity created by Liège-based agency Synthèse.

Logos for smaller towns and municipalities tend to fall somewhere between the mediocre and the awful. This one is remarkably more interesting as it manages to carry out one idea coherently with a variety of applications.

In addition to the main town symbol, there are variations for its three districts. They all feature a green V and a woven pattern.

CBA brands cultural centre in Milano

Centro Culturale di Milano is, to translate, a cultural centre in Milano. Formed in 1981 it strives to "bring together different stories, people, experiences and cultures". In October it launched a new visual identity, developed by CBA.

Built around the letter C, most collateral features concentric circles, showing how culture spreads from the central point that is the cultural centre.

Fazer Marianne shows its stripes

Marianne is a variety of mint candies filled with either toffee or chocolate manufactured by Finnish confectionery maker Fazer. This autumn the brand was given a refreshed look, designed by Finnish agency Pentagon Design.

Overall, the packaging has been purified with simpler graphics. The traditional red or blue stripes have been emphasised, with a simple white circle in the centre to hold the logo and a product shot.

DesignStudio brands art service Artfinder

Artfinder is a new service that represents artists and helps them gets in touch with costumers by also helping other people find these artists and their work. Its corporate identity has been developed by DesignStudio.

The strategy is built on the idea of "Making Art Work", making art accessible for all. This is expressed through a clear and unencumbered way of communicating. Central to the branding programme is a red dot, similar to the one used to mark a sold piece of art.

Just letters for new SVT logo

SVT is Sweden's national television broadcaster, providing five TV channels and a bunch of interactive services. Launched in 1956, it celebrated its 60th anniversary last Friday. At the same time, they took the opportunity to launch a new corporate logo.

SVT has been using a "starflower" as its symbol since 2001, originally for all services but later limiting it to represent the company as a whole. This rebrand sheds to symbol completely. The remaining letters where presumably not distinctive enough and have been replaced by letters of similar size but with a bit more character.

New digits have been designed for the main channels, SVT1 and SVT2, but other than that the graphics packages are built largely on foundations laid back in 2012.

New swan for the Nordic Council

The Nordic Council is an organisation set up in 1952 to promote co-operation between the Nordic countries. The organisation's symbol has long been a swan in a blue circle and at the end of October they introduced a new version of this symbol. The new swan is designed by Danish designer Bo Linnemann of Kontrapunkt.

The new swan is more legible and digitally appropriate than its predecessor. The primary versions of the logo are coloured blue, but they can also take on any of the five colours used in the Nordic flags when variations is required. The typeface used is Mark Pro.

Gridded knit man for Smartwool

Smartwool makes wool clothing based on various smart techniques that attract certain discerning costumers who love the outdoors. This year, the company has launched a new visual identity, designed by Solidarity of Unbridled Labour. While it was revealed at a trade show back in January, it doesn't appear t have been launched in full until June this year.

The old logo dated back to the 1990s when Smartwool was just starting out. It was designed by Duffy Design and is nice example of that era's ground-breaking identity design with its quirky down-to-earth feel. The new mark is designed to keep some of the friendliness of the original design, while making it more legible and contemporary.

Central to the new look is a coloured grid inspired by knitting and this includes the wool man from the old logo who has been transformed by the grid.

TV channel Encuentro meets dimensional logo

Encuentro is an educational TV channel operated by the government of Argentina. Earlier this month, the channel launched a new look with a new logo.

Apparently starting with the old logo, the new one is extended and with a more three-dimensional look. The graphics package extends the isometric look further with different visuals in bright colours.

Glowing graphics package for Greek pay TV platform Cosmote TV

Cosmote TV is the new name for the pay TV service from the dominant telecommunications company in Greece, OTE. It was known as OTE TV until this week when it was rebranded under the company's new consumer brand Cosmote. A new graphics package was created by Munich-based motion branding agency UnitedSenses. (The new Cosmote TV logo is a simple adaptation of the existing Cosmote logo.)

UnitedSenses created a wide-ranging graphics toolkit for Cosmote's varying needs, including idents, trailers and sports graphics. The dominant theme is glowing streams of light that flow through all graphics to create seamless transitions.

FutureBrand weaves welcoming identity for the South Pacific Islands

The South Pacific Tourism Organisation markets the islands of the southern Pacific Ocean to potential tourists. Although based on Fiji, the organisation is made up of eighteen government members. In October, the organisation revealed a new brand identity, created by Futurebrand.

Futurebrand set out to develop an identity that could be used by the organisation's diverse membership, while also thinking about how to sustain both tourism and the islands themselves. The new grid-based logos are inspired by weaving represent the diversity of the islands. It is supported by a set of bright colours and a human-centered imagery.

Troika creates natural look for Sundance Cinemas

Sundance Cinemas is a small but high profile American cinema chain. Originally established by Robert Redford's Sundance Group, it was sold to Carmike Cinemas last year. Recently, it launched a new brand identity, created by Hollywood-based Troika that includes a new logo, posters, animations and environmental design.

The cinemas have been rebranded to fit better with the overall Sundance brand and its intimate and less commercial profile. Graphically, this was achieved through use of earth tones and different patterns inspired by nature.

Axway transforms with Landor-designed identity

Axway is a French enterprise software company. Earlier this month, on November 3, it launched a new corporate identity, created by Landor Associates.

The company brands itself as "a catalyst for transformation", highlighting how its solutions help companies develop. This is expressed through the new tagline "Imagination takes shape" and a new symbol, which is an abstract interpretation of a griffin.

Simpler logo for Taco Bell

Taco Bell is one of the larger fast food chains, serving a variety of Tex-Mex food. Today, they introduced a new logo as part of a brand evolution. It launches with the opening of the chain's 7000th restaurant in Las Vegas and was designed by Lippincott and Taco Bell's internal design agency, TBD.

The new logo is simpler than its predecessor and it is hinted that it will be customised through use of different patterns and colours.

FutureBrand brands automotive spin-off Adient 'precisely right'

At the end of last month electronics conglomerate Johnson Controls spun off its automotive interior division Johnson Controls Automotive Experience. Now known as Adient, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on October 31. The new corporate identity, developed by FutureBrand, was launched a few days before that.

To differentiate Adient from the competition, FutureBrand chose to focus less on the technical and functional and more on how the company's fine-tuned solutions bring value to costumers. This is summed up by a brand platform named 'Precisely Right'. The logo is inspired by lane markings.

Cape Rock brands new Belgian TV channel Caz

Caz is a new Belgian TV channel and media brand launched on October 1 by Medialaan, one of Belgium's leading broadcasters. It caters a male audience with action, adventure and football. Its brand identity was developed by Cape Rock.

The identity is designed to be vigourous with a bold and simple logo that can appear in a few different colour. Parts of the logo can be blown up to screen size in ads and on-air graphics.

Tamedia updates old T for new digital logo

Tamedia is the largest newspaper publisher in Switzerland. At the beginning of this week it revealed a new visual identity, developed by Zurich-based agency Made Identity.

The group's most important publication is the Tages-Anzeiger from which its name is derived and the new logo is based on the typeface used in that newspaper's nameplate. The complex T has been simplified into a monoline figure with bright colours in a style associated with digital media.

Breathing identity for Eastbourne

Eastbourne is a town on England's southeastern coast and a traditional seaside resort. It was recently given a new visual identity that it hopes will lure more visitors. It was developed by Bath-based agency Mr B & Friends.

With Visit Eastbourne representing the client, the agency consulted many stakeholders to develop a complete identity programme. It is based on Eastbourne's "breathtaking" qualities and built around a concept called 'Breathe it in.'

Logo round-up: October 2016

October brought us a refreshed Qantas airline, a nostalgic return for Kodak, the new Nintendo box and several other rebrands from around the world. This round-up includes about 40 of them.

Peter Schmidt Group brands new art award

The Rosa-Schapire-Kunstpreis is a new art award set up by friends of the Hamburg Kunsthalle, named after art historian and collector Rosa Schapire (1874-1954). Rather than having a special awarding committee, the organisation will invite a guest to decide who the winner will be each year. The visual identity for the award was developed by Peter Schmidt Group.

Overall, the look is signified by a dominant pink colour on an otherwise reduced range of colours. The symbol, an upside down 'R' with a thorny serif, refers to the rebellious alternative thinking of Rosa Shapire herself.

Zendesk puts together new identity

Zendesk is a company that provider costumer support software and cloud services. You may well have used a Zendesk product if you've used online costumer support. Over time, the company has expanded into other costumer relations products. Last week, the company launched a new corporate identity.

The old look visually embraced "zen" with a lotus flower/heart symbol and a Buddha mascot. The new logo is made up "relationshapes", different shapes representing clients and costumers fitting together. Each product has been given its own icon, with the main symbol representing the whole offering.

Refresh for the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange

A short visit to Kazakhstan now, where the stock exchange launched a new visual identity on October 11. The old logo had reportedly been used since the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange opened in 1993 as was in desperate need of a refresh. The new logo is more appropriate for the leading stock exchange in the region.

Landor brands Italian wealth manager Cordusio

Cordusio is an Italian wealth management company, part of the Unicredit. Landor Associates recently concluded a rebranding project for the company.

The company mainly deals with select high net worth individuals, but the market for such services is crowded. Landor hopes their "innovative, yet elegant" identity will stand out.

Branson rebrands cruise line Virgin Voyages

The Virgin brand has been used for a lot of enterprises, one of the latest being a cruise line. The yet to launch cruise line recently changed its name from Virgin Cruises to the more evocative Virgin Voyages. The announcement was made by Richard Branson at an event in Miami on October 18.

The first ship is under construction, but is set to take off in 2020. The cruise line targets a younger market.

Solid identity for Banka Creditas

Banka Creditas is a new Czech bank, due to go into operation in January 2017. It is operated by the credit union Záložna Creditas. The visual identity was developed by Prague-based Dynamo Branding & Design.

The logo, a combination of the letters C and B in blue colours, stands for stability and rationality. It should underline the bank's clear and conservative foundation.

Landor brands flight management company Navblue

Navblue is a new flight operations management company that launched in July this year. It was based on Airbus' earlier purchase of Navtech. The new identity was developed by Landor Associates.

The new brand has been designed to highlight how Navtech's advanced technology simplifies work life for its users. The logo is augmented by gradients that showcase the variable colours of the Sky. As a neat gimmick, Landor has also created a Sky Generator app that allows to users to create their own personal sky.

Interbrand emboldens itself

Interbrand is one of the world's leading brand consultancy networks. Their work is frequently covered here, but in late September they made new themselves as they launched a new logo.

Branding agencies help others stand out in the crowd, but their own identities may be more austere and unassuming. The new wordmark goes for an even bolder simplicity with Helvetica Bold. Other aspects of the new look, including the website, make heavy use of the same typeface as the logo and the colours red, black and white to create a clean digital look.

Unified flash for Albelli photo services

Albumprinter is a company that allows people to turn their cherished photographs into physical objects, such as photo books or mugs. Earlier this month, it launched a new visual identity, created by Amsterdam-based VBAT.

Previously, the company had a fragmented identity as it had grown through acquisition and was available in different companies under different names, with Albelli being the most common. With this rebrand, the names are kept but given a common look. A unifying symbol called the "brighter flash" was developed to work as a brand signature.

Mr B & Friends create hassle free student housing brand Host

Victoria Hall Management, a British company that provides student accommodation was rebranded earlier this month as Host. The new identity – including name, positioning, visuals and website – was developed by Mr B & Friends.

The new brand should be more clearer and more functional, with a focus on its core mission of providing housing to students. In addition to the simple logo, the agency also developed the letter H into a pause sign that is filled with fun and appropriate images.

Clean look for Fortune

Fortune is an esteemed monthly business magazine, well known for its list of the 500 biggest companies in America. In recent years it has also become a website with articles on important-y subjects. Last week, the magazine unveiled a redesigned nameplate which will appear in print on November 1 when the next edition hits news stands.

The redesign appears to have been lead by Fortune's creative director Paul Martinez. Appointed as late as March this year, he has been quick to put his mark on the publication. He described the redesigned magazine as "clean, modern, approachable, and clutter-free", having taken inspiration from the its modernist heritage.

Logo round-up: September 2016

Once again, September has been a very active months for notable rebrands. Some major refreshes were launched, including AEG's century old word mark, Dell's slanted E and the clarified NatWest cubes. And there were several completely new brands or designs launched.

It should also be mentioned that it has now been five years since the first edition of the Logo round-up was published. Many thanks for all the suggestions and comments through the years!

W refreshes French gas distributor GRFgaz

GRTgaz is a French public utility that operates the country's national gas distribution network. Last week, it launched a new visual identity with a refreshed logo, designed by the agency W. This is reportedly part of a plan for renewal within the company to position it as a leader in gas infrastructure and the energy transition.

The logo has been refreshed so that the different element work better together. The new look includes pictograms and a typeface.

Gédéon puts pin on new look for French travel channel Voyage

Voyage is a French thematic TV channel owned by the Fox Networks Group and dedicated to travel programming. This month they launched a new look with a new logo, created by French motion brand agency Gédéon.

Gédéon quickly came up with he idea of using a map pin as a central symbol and incorporated that into the logo. Most of the graphics feature the map pin, while idents are built around holiday photos.

Red Antler fetch identity for insurance platform Embroker

Embroker is a new fintech company that has created an insurance management platform, dubbed the "first digital brokerage for business insurance". After some time in beta, it launched this week. The visual identity was developed by Red Antler.

According to Red Antler, the agency wanted to create an "experience that's lightyears ahead of the rest of the enterprise insurance industry". In addition to a bold purple logotype, they also created an agile dog mascot, named 'Shotwell'.

Contemporary traditional look for Norway's Stortinget

Last month, on September 22, the Norwegian parliament – Stortinget – revealed a new visual identity. The old minimalist logo has been replaced by a more traditional combination of coat of arms and a serif wordmark. At the launch, it was said this would link the past to the future, representing both continuity and renewal.

Norwegian media are reporting that the new identity was developed by design agency Uniform. Other parts of the design programme use colours inspired by Norway's heraldic red and patterns based on architecture around the Stortinget building. The new typeface is Berlingske.

Neumeister creates world class identity for Swedish brewery Spendrups

Founded in 1897, Spendrups is one of the larger breweries in Sweden. Last week, they launched a new corporate identity, developed by Swedish design agency Neumeister.

The new logo is more contemporary with a modern sans serif and year of establishment displayed prominently. According to Neumeister, it supports Spendrups' vision of being a world class brewery.

Structurally creative identity for Xinova by Futurebrand

Xinova is the new name for the Invention Development Fund, an investment fund targeted on R&D. The identity was developed by Futurebrand and launched last week.

The name combines two words that both mean "new", one Asian and one European, thereby conveying the "concept of a global innovation partner". The visual part reflects the idea of "structured creativity", with one solid half of a hexagon that can be completed in different creative ways.

AIB gives its logo a modern Celtic update

Allied Irish Banks, or AIB, is one of Ireland's four major banks. In September, it launched a new logo.

AIB has been using a bright purple-pink as its primary colour recently and the old logo was looking increasingly out of place. The new version is a straight-forward update, giving a new contemporary take on the traditional Celtic motif. It is seen as more appropriate for a digital world.

From the 70s: Autoroutes du Sud de la France

Anyone who has driven a car in France is familiar with their extensive system of toll roads. These are called ''autoroutes'' and include most motorways in the country. These are usually built and operated by companies that become highly visible to motorists as they pay the required tolls. One of the the largest autoroute operators is Autoroutes du Sud de la France (ASF, "Autoroutes in southern France"), which operates about 2,500 kilometers of motorways.

ASF was founded in 1957 as Autoroute de la Vallée du Rhône (SAVR), becoming Autoroutes du Sud de la France in 1973. This necessitated a new trademark, and one was commissioned from Adrian Frutiger's studio Atelier Frutiger. It was introduced at some point in the 1970s and nicely combines the curvatures of ramps joining a motorway to form the letter S. According to a contemporary book, it was designed by Brigitte Rousset, who was in Frutiger's employ.

New look CW defies green

America's fifth broadcast network, The CW, celebrated ten years on TV screens this month. Back then, the launch identity was developed by Hollywood-based Troika. This season, they once again turned to Troika once again to "elevate the brand experience for 2016".

Troika developed toolkits and elements for both the network and affiliates. The new look clearly deviates from the green shades used since the network launched. Instead, the logo takes on different textures and colours in graphics relating to different shows. The idea of giving each show its own icon, first introduced with the 2012 rebrand, is developed further.

UKCloud commits to new name

UKCloud is a cloud computing service focused on the public sector in Britain. It was known as Skyscape Cloud Services until August 1 when it relaunched under the present name. The new identity was developed by digital and brand agency Mr B & Friends.

Snapchat snaps off its company name

At the end of last week, Snapchat launched its first physical product. It is called Spectacles and is a pair of glasses with a camera, similar to Google Glass, except stylish, affordable and purchasable. At the same time, company behind Snapchat changed its name. It is now simply "Snap Inc."

Keeping 'Snap' in the name maintains some familiarity, but enables the company to be about more than one product, as explained by a blog post. Visually, corporate seriousness is expressed through a serif wordmark, with Snapchat's vibrant yellow still dominating the austere website.

Troika creates 'Pure Energy' look for ABC

The big American networks are still in the habit of introducing new graphics packages more or less annually. ABC turned to their long-time partner Troika to produce a graphics package for the 2016-17 TV season.

Building on the logo and colour schemes established by the 2013 rebrand, the new look has been dubbed "Pure Energy". It gets more three-dimensional with a wavy piece of three-dimensional 'smoky' cloth as a key element in animated transitions.

Logo round-up: August 2016

Subway launched its funky new logo at the start of the Olympics, but other than that companies mostly held off launching new identities during the games. Once the fire had been put out, several companies launched new logos, including Sears Canada and a bunch of TV channels around the world.