Cape Rock redesigns two magazine shows for Deutsche Welle

Dutch design studio Cape Rock has delivered redesigns for magazine programs from German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The first is Made, "the business magazine", which launched a new look in mid-May. A few weeks later, on June 2, the science magazine "Tomorrow Today" also introduced a new graphics package.

Even though the redesigns were made by the same company for the same broadcaster, there's nothing to intentionally unite them visually. They do however share the fact that they need to work in the many languages that DW is available in.

Tomorrow Today's graphics are inspired by light, "reflecting a modern conception of science: a force that enables us to develop and renew ourselves, creating a world that is more refined and colorful".

Logo round-up: June 2018

June saw the once towering TimeWarner retreating into the more anonymous Warner Media, now being a subsidiary of telephone company AT&T. That was probably the most notable of the 40+ rebrands presented below.

Updated logo for Nordic travel company Apollo

Apollo is one of the leading travel operators in the Nordic countries. It originally offered trips to Greece, which gave it its name, but nowadays operates tours to many destinations in Europe and Asia. On June 19, it launched a refreshed logo as part of a new identity programme by Essen International.

The refreshed identity is said to reflect the company's expansion from mainly offering trips to sunny beaches to also including adventure, city discovery and cruises. The existing logo was well-known in the Nordics and the new one is a careful update, clarifying the symbol and updating the colours.

One brand for Rakuten

Rakuten is Japan's leading e-commerce company, but has developed into a diversified Internet giant with multiple businesses around the world. If you are on Honshu, it is effectively the equivalent of Amazon.com. On July 2, the company launched a company-wide rebrand with a new logo.

Rakuten adopted its distinctive symbol featuring an R in circle in 2005, later adopting a version in the Roman alphabet. The new one features an underline, derived from the Japanese letter ichi, which means "one". The wordmark from the old logo has been reused and made somewhat taller. The "circle R" takes a back seat, but is still used in certain situations when an icon is needed.

Time is money for new mobile bank identity by Hulsbosch

86 400 is a new mobile banking company, recently launched in Australia. The idea is to offer the full capacity of regular bank in a mobile phone round-the-clock. Its launch identity was developed by Hulsbosch.

The name isn't a phone number; it comes from the number of seconds in a day. The core of the brand is to "value every second", expressed by blinking dots at the beginning of the logo.

MTV lanches music channel with graphics from WeAreSeventeen

MTV OMG is a new music channel from MTV in the UK, launched on March 1 this year to replace another channel called Viva. It offers "the biggest party tunes, most nostalgic throwbacks, cheesiest guilty pleasures, and the hottest celebrities".

MTV's music channels typically have a heavily templated look with a common logo design. Unusually, this new channel has been allowed a bit more freedom with a differing logo design. The idents are produced by WeAreSeventeen and feature themed objects in a distinctive pink-yellow colour scheme.

Pentagram gives the Electronic Frontier Foundation a bold new look

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an American non-profit that has been set up to preserve civil liberties on the Internet. Last week, it launched a new visual identity, replacing mark that had been with the foundation since the '90s. The new mark is designed by Michael Bierut of Pentagram, who came in contact with the EFF around the farcical copyright claims against the blog McMansion Hell. He noticed the sub-par EFF logo and offered to create a new one pro bono.

The EFF wanted something that represnted "the boldness of their vision for the Internet". Based around the uniformity of the letters E, F and F, the new logo is highly modular and can be stacked and/or abbreviated as needed.

e-Types creates traveling identity for Kilroy

Kilroy is a Nordic travel group, mainly serving the niche expectations of students and other young people, such as backpacking and study tours. It has a history stretching back to 1946, but has been known as Kilroy since 1991. It is named after the "Kilroy was here" phenomenon.

Last autumn, Kilroy launched a new brand identity, created by e-Types in Copenhagen. The new logo is simply the name set in "Italian Plate n°2", a typeface developed by e-Types' type foundry Playtype. To bring a sense a movement and exploration to the logo, it features a "traveling I"; whenever possible the letter "I" will travel from the logo to another place. With the slogan "Keep Going", the theme of movement is also seen in imagery and other aspects of Kilroy's communication.

Revealing new look for German consumer programme by Cape Rock

Dutch design studio Cape Rock has delivered a few project for Germany's public broadcaster ZDF recently. One of these is for Wiso, the channel's consumer magazine, which launched a new look on May 28.

Wiso has been on the air since 1984. The previous look was somewhat integrated into ZDF's corporate look, where the new one allows the programme to become its own brand, working across different platforms.

Cape Rock's on-screen graphics are heavily influenced by the diagonals in the letter W which are used as a metaphor for revelation and clarification. The triangular whitespace in the W gives inspiration to pointers that can be used when needed.

A fruitier A for Appelsientje

Appelsientje is leading brand of fruit juice in the Netherlands. Late last month, it introduced a fresh new look, created by Millford Brand Identity.

Appelsientje's distinctive big A logo is a mainstay in Dutch supermarkets and gets only a cosmetic refresh with a cleaner and flatter look. It is however noticeably smaller on the new packaging. Instead, it gives way to "fruity" tree illustrations to highlight the fact that Appelsientje is made from natural fruit.

Cleaner kids TV from Zapp and Zappelin

The Dutch public broadcaster NPO has two brands for its children's TV programmes, NPO Zappelin for those under six and NPO Zapp for those over six. These brands are used for children's programmes when broadcast as slots on NPO3, on their own dedicated channel and on the web. Last month, On June 26, the brands were given a refresh by motion brading agency Terra Lemon.

Terra Lemon were also behind the previous design for these two brands, introduced in 2012 and covered here. Building on the green theme that was reinforced then, the Zapp logo has been cleaned up with a tightened wordmark. It now lives in an energetic world full of sparkling colours. The green is supported by a purple accent colour. The new Zappelin world is filled with round animals and a handmade feel.

Hulsbosch rebrands arts supplier Mont Marte

Mont Marte is an Australian arts supplier that has seen rapid expansion and growth to become available in over 80 countries. Last week, it introduced a refreshed brand identity, created by Hulsbosch.

The new brand platform sets out to clarify Mont Marte's offerings for a global audience. Using the new tagline "I Can Create!" as starting point, the new packaging wants to be inclusive and accessible to artists at all stages.