Logo Galleries*
LogoPond
Cool Homepages Logo Gallery
Vector Logo Database

Sample Logo Usage Guides
iPass (pdf) - note the section on page 6 dealing with “bling”
Napster (pdf) - another well designed document
The BIG PAGE of Branding & Corporate Identity Resources
Corporate Identity Manuals & Guides

Rebranding Processes
Carsonified
Brand New

Rants
Don’t TWEAK My Logo

Well said:

Our identity is more than the Mosaic logo. It is made up of colors, typography, images and more, so that when joined together, reflect the personality of Mosaic and its commitment to its customers, employees, investors and the community.

Consistent use and application of these elements is important. We have gathered everything you need to successfully use our identity and put it at your fingertips.

Tips*
8 Common Logo Design Mistakes (and how to fix them)
What Makes a Great Logo
What makes a great logo?

* grain of salt, people. Grain of salt.

Brand New has a writeup on the redesign of the LPGA logo. The part that was most interesting, however, deals with logo reproduction:

Speaking of reproduction issues, one of the goals of the new brand, according to Bill Susetka, the LPGA’s chief marketing officer, was to create “a logo that we could easily reproduce on merchandise, billboards and signage” — and judging from the amount of stuff in the newly minted LPGA Pro Shop (do note the These Girls Rock badge there) — then I think they picked a very difficult one (anyone who has ever sent a multicolor job like this to an embroiderer can tell you that this is no picnic to stitch onto hats, polos, etc. and if anyone is into hats, polos, etc. it’s golfers).

Give the post a read for Brand New’s insights into the new mark.

You may find Brand New an interesting source as you delve into your own logo designs. You may even want to add them to your feed reader. However, a word of caution: I don’t want you reading them word for word as gospel. Sometimes I agree with their breakdown. Sometimes I don’t. Take a look at the work and form your own opinions.

*sigh*

Like she doesn’t have enough problems right now, Ms. Britney Spears is catching heat in the design world, too, for stealing a logo design from mondonation.

Elizabeth Arden the company behind this new fragrance should be ashamed of themselves for putting out a blatant copy of another companies logo and for potentially damaging the wonderful brand mondonation has built around the i believe design. They should be coughing up some serious cash for this blunder, but the sad part about this, is that even paying a settlement doesn’t repair damage to the brand.

Give the full article a read here. What do you think? Where does this fall in terms of our conversations of late on inspiration and the creative process?

The value of a brand is created by the public that uses it, not by the company that owns it. Brands are funny things. They make us choose products out of a sense of comfort instead of an honest evaluation. They require care and feeding and nurturing. Most of all, dinking with brands is something not to be done lightly. Because, in the end, brands can work against you too.

James Duncan Davidson

Take some time to check this out:
www.okaydave.com

If you only have time for one before class, be sure to check out Mondavi wine video. But look around and notice what he takes the time to document.

Wow, this one is awesome.

If not a real estate development, then surely theoneillbuilding.com was promoting a new documentary about sick building syndrome, perhaps narrated by Al Gore.

What’s all the sickness about? Read The One Ill Building to find out.

(via)

We’ll talk more about umbrella branding later, but for now I’d like you to take a few minutes and look over the reactions for Photoshop’s new logo:

• Photoshop gets a new logo
• John Nack writes about the Photoshop logo facelift
• Photoshop 2.0: The Wrong Kind of 2.0

What are your thoughts? Does it work? Is it needed?