As major rebranding efforts receive large-scale public pushback, we question the role of the punditry in brand decision-making. Should we really have a say in these matters?

In modern society, brands have become a huge part of our daily life, to the extent that we see something like 8,000 logos every day. Naturally, when one of those change, we experience a reaction — for better or for worse.

Lately, a few big brands have experienced major pushback from the public after changing their logotypes. But is it really up to us to decide what direction is right for a company or organization?

American Airlines branding, before and after

According to Wikipedia, “Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, and competitors. Often times, this involves radical changes to a brand’s logo, name, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. Such changes typically aim to reposition the brand/company, occasionally to distance itself from negative connotations of the previous branding, or to move the brand upmarket; they may also communicate a new message a new board of directors wishes to communicate.”

UPS branding, before and after

When introducing a completely new look, American Airlines issued this statement: “We’ve changed our look on the outside to reflect the progress we’ve made on the inside, revealing our new logo and the refreshed exterior of our planes. Now, we’re taking the next step in our journey to create the new American.” This rebrand was brought on in much part due to AA’s merger with US Airways, but was a particularly hard one for the design community to accept since the previous American Airlines logo, which has been around since the ’60s, was designed by Massimo Vignelli, a design world icon in his own right. Much like the UPS logo, which was originally designed by the great Paul Rand and redone by Futurebrand (who also did the American Airlines rebrand and recently also rebranded themselves) in 2003, these are marks that designers have all studied in school, putting them in some kind of untouchable brand-pantheon. But, we have to stop and ask ourselves, are they still relevant in the 21st century? Was there something wrong with the old logos? Not really, but as times change, brands often choose to change with them; and instead of being overly nostalgic we can also choose to embrace that change with open arms.

The University of California branding, the real before and after

A few months ago, the University of California introduced a new branding system that stirred up serious emotions among university students, alumni and beyond. Although the system was (in my opinion) wonderfully executed (by the university’s in-house design team) the logo received an unfair amount of attention. Due to misinformation in the press, it was assumed that the newly introduced logo would replace the old (and seemingly beloved) seal. This was not the case; the logo was simply an addition to the system, introduced mainly to protect the integrity and value of the seal and ensure that it only be used in very special situations (think diplomas and official letters).

University of California Identity from University of California on Vimeo.

After a petition started by a student managed to get more than 54,000 signatures protesting the new logo, the University of California submitted to the pressure and withdrew it, and shortly thereafter, the entire visual identity system. The same thing happened to the a new logo for the GAP, which was introduced in 2010 and then, just 8 days later, quickly retired. Signing a petition, or posting critical blog commentary on a split-second reaction to something new is easy, but what we forget to consider is all the work that went into these rebrands.

GAP branding, before and after

We are used to having opinions about everything beneath the sky these days, but this becomes dangerous when we allow a mob of pundits to influence informed decisions made by professionals after months (sometimes years) of hard work. “To be perfectly honest, writes Armin Vit of the UC logo on his highly popular blog Brand New, “I don’t care if this logo withers and dies or if it survives and prospers. I have no vested interested in it. And I don’t know the designers behind it. What I do care about, deeply, is the danger this mob mentality poses to the practice of logo and identity design, which is, in no way, a democratic process: People in leadership positions make these decisions; it’s their responsibility to get buy-in from whatever number of people they feel is required to push their decision forward — sometimes it’s five people, sometimes it’s endless focus groups. But the process and the final decision is between client and designer. Not between mob and online petitions.”

It’s about time we step away from the snobbery and status quo. Things change, and, like in all other parts of life, we have to deal with it. It’s a brave new world, and if that world requires gradients and nondescript sans serif type, then so be it.

Images courtesy of the brands featured.

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Feel good package design that hooks consumers where it matters most: in the shower.

When you found your perfect shower gel, was it love at first sniff? Probably not. When it comes to shower products – be it for cleansing your body or eradicating mildew – packaging is everything. You’d think that social responsibility starts with a good scrub down, but the eco innards are almost secondary to a product’s efficient, streamlined, biodegradable, recyclable, reusable or otherwise feel-good skin.

Take, for example, the German brand Stop the Water While Using Me!, designed by award-winning agency KOREFE. The brief was: “develop a brand for a high-quality range of cosmetics that meet the increasing requirements of an ecologically aware society and set new standards in environmental protection.” The innovation being, “the message is the brand.”

Clean black and white packaging with a casual font (Ana Regular), plus clever copy about not wasting water equals one tempting purchase. Never mind that the product range does, in fact, require water for use and that the country of origin does not actually have a water issue. It’s an international branding exercise at the source – and the package is all that counts.

Two other eco, organic or otherwise “feel good” shower products that rely on a similarly sleek sell?

Philosophy, “a brand that approaches personal care from a skin care point of view, while celebrating the beauty of the human spirit.” they also employ the use of lowercase letters, exclusively, to drive their point into your homes and bathrooms. the point being: there is no “i” in buy me.

And the Estée Lauder eco-brand Origins, founded in 1990 as a botanical treatment line designed for the environmentally conscious consumer who doesn’t mind spending $13 on a bar of bath soap. The company also owns Prescriptives and Clinique demonstrating that personal care relies not only on fabulous packaging, but on a really good name – and potential medical intervention, too.

That’s not to say that the shower and beauty products mentioned above aren’t what they portend to be, or that their core messages aren’t good for humanity. Simply consider their inclusion here as another branding exercise, one that proves eco is still a big sell and that altruism reigns when we’re at our most vulnerable: naked and dirty.

That being said, we really like this vegan, handmade, cold-pressed soap operation run out of Oregon – and their excellent packaging.

Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before Prunella gets picked up by eco-branding company extraordinaire Hain Celestial Group and marketed on the shelves of a Whole Foods near you.

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Don’t believe the hype.

These days, big brands are falling over themselves to prove they are toeing the planet-friendly line and sticking to wholesome products – and that’s good for everyone (when it’s not a lie, of course). Over the last 4 years we’ve been keen to champion the companies choosing the natural and sustainable over the artificial & toxic. Here are 6 posts from our archives where we ask – is it natural?

I purposely put all of the prominent, still-independent brands in this list because I want to tell their stories. But this isn’t a story about small vs. big, small being good and big being bad.

All the independents listed below are big companies, but they have the ability to uphold higher standards and work within their missions because they aren’t beholden to the intense scrutiny of the money managers.

Just for fun, can you guess which ones they are?

The Stories (And Money) Behind 10 Of Your Favorite Organic And Natural Brands

We use conditioners to keep our hair healthy, sleek and shiny. Or just to avoid looking like the Scarecrow from Oz.  Whether you’re a daily conditionista or someone who simply smooths it on once or twice a week, you’re going to want to keep it organic.

Why? To avoid the common ingredient in conventional conditioners called Lauramide DEA. It strips away important amino acids like serine, histamine and other hair and skin proteins. This can leave hair feeling dry and unmanageable – creating the need to use more conditioner. Who knew hair conditioner could be so conspiracy-theory! While the debate continues to rage about how conditioners will eventually destroy us all, we’ve got you covered with products that won’t.

6 Best Organic Hair Conditioners

Greenpeace recently reported that clothing items bearing the logos of 14 global brands – including Adidas, H&M, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch – have been found to contain nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), chemicals that can break down to form the hormone-disrupting substance nonylphenol (NP). Just this morning, Reuters released the news that Nearly 300 Cambodian workers fell sick this week at a garment factory producing goods for Swedish fashion brand H&M.

14 Fashion Brands Test Positive For Hormone Disrupting Chemicals

A Perfume Organic offers four scents, each for $65: Green, Urban Organic, Perfumed Wine-Rose and White Magik. Green is rose with hint of chamomile; Urban Organic is lemon with ginger and grapefruit; White Magik has white flowers with spearmint; and Perfumed Wine-Rose is berry, crisp apple and peppers. I have to be honest – with my history of fragrance headaches, I approached these perfumes as one might approach a root canal. You know you gotta do it, but you just want it to be over with. Commence crushing headache, right?

Cue the ringing of church bells and throwing of confetti! Nary a headache did I have with these scents. They smelled fresh and botanical. If you want to smell like fruit, you smell like fruit. If you want a hint of floral, it’s there. My favorite was White Magik for its sage and spearmint “aftersmell.”

A Fragrance Without The Fragrance: Organic Perfume Review

There are a lot of eyeliners on the market, with pencil, liquid and cake eyeliners being the most popular. The only true skill you need is a steady hand, and what I mean by that is the steadiness it takes to make your eyes look superbly lined and cat-like, without appearing like something The Joker may have applied!

The trick to lining your eyes is to start small. Do little dashes along your lid and then blend with a brush to avoid that weird eyeliner strip of flesh – you know, when there is a space of flesh between your eyeliner and your actual eye. Start from the middle and do small strokes, front to back. Short strokes, small dots even, can help you look more Catwoman than Scary Makeup Clown.

Five Of The Best Natural And Organic Eyeliners

Take a stroll through the cereal aisle and you’ll see box after box of sugary confections that look more like desserts than breakfast. Of course, all of those glazed mini cinna-buns and marshmallows are clearly not healthy, but what about the whole grain oats, shredded wheat and flax flakes? General Mills’ Oatmeal Crisp Crunchy Almond is “whole grain guaranteed,” but the ingredients include brown sugar, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and honey, making it 27% sugar. Kellogg’s Raisin Bran may be mostly wheat flakes, but it still has just as much sugar as Lucky Charms at 19 grams. In contrast, Kashi 7 Grain Whole Puffs has zero grams of sugar, and Cheerios have just 1. Check out this chart at Harvard School of Public Health to compare dozens of varieties.

10 Health Foods With More Sugar Than A Coke

Images: stublog, kaibara, kaibara87 and

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Who are the big corporations really looking out for?

In an increasingly consumer-aware world, it’s a necessity for the big labels and corporations to be participating in sustainable as well as ethical initiatives. But when you look behind the scenes (as we did with The Body Shop this week), how clean is their act? Here are 7 posts from our archives that peek behind the curtain to ask what the big names are really up to.

Eating your politics isn’t for everyone and it’s easy to go overboard with the food thing (see the Portlandia episode featuring Colin, the chicken), but there are some companies with politics so against everything I believe in that I simply can’t give them my money. Remember back in the day when Domino’s founder Tom Monaghan started donating to Operation Rescue and a bunch of doctors who provided abortions were killed? Chick-fil-A is one of these companies for me.

Jesus, Enough With The Chicken

Mega packaged food companies and investor groups buy successful organic brands that were started by visionaries who began the companies with a commitment to the organic ideal of family farms, a clean environment, and simple food without additives. But often, when the big companies buy in, this ideal flies out the window.

I’ve chosen ten of the more prominent organic and natural brands to survey. I’m comparing the stories they tell their customers to the likely (and often proven) reality, based on who owns them. Most of the company websites don’t clearly state that a huge global conglomerate runs them, but that’s when the chart above comes in handy.

The Stories (And Money) Behind 10 Of Your Favorite Organic Brands

Brazil had a ban on planting of GM seeds in effect since 1998, but it was one of the only holdouts in South America. Brazil’s neighbor, Argentina, was a large producer of GM soy. Monsanto encouraged farmers in Brazil to plant its “roundup ready” GM soybeans that were illegally imported from Argentina in defiance of the ban. Monsanto knew that once its seeds were in the ground they would be able to make a case for intellectual property rights. Armed with their patents, the company’s lawyers went to the courts to solidify its new Brazilian market.

By arguing that Brazil was impeding its legal right to collect royalties on its intellectual property (the seeds), Monsanto made its case and GM soy was legalized in Brazil in 2003. Still, the essential companion to Monsanto’s Roundup-ready GM soy, the herbicide Roundup, was not legal yet. In 2004, a congressman from southern Brazil pushed through a series of federal amendments legalizing the herbicide. This same congressman purchased a large farm from Monsanto for one-third of the market price. The Brazilian government is investigating the congressman for corruption.

Soy Powerful: How Monsanto Pushes Genetically Modified Soybeans On Unwilling Consumers

KFC vs. PETA: Flaming Silly to Monumentally Daft

As we’ve noted before, there’s nothing that PETA enjoys more than the smell of roasting Kentucky Fried Chicken – the company, that is. Their latest attempts to haul this fast food corporation over the coals? Firstly, PETA wants Indianapolis fire trucks to sign an advertising deal, the same way the fire department has with the finger-lickin’ folk – and secondly, a 5.5 foot tall statue of a gory chicken on crutches, artfully monikered “KFC Cripples Chickens.”

In both cases, local officials denied the requests, citing inappropriate context and legislation and, in the former case, the fact that “advertising on a fire truck could even lead motorists to believe a truck heading for an emergency was just performing a stunt.” Quite.

Oh For PETA’s Sake: 7 (More) Crazy Stunts

After putting its less well-capitalized and often more quirkily authentic brethren out of business, sucking the soul out of the neighborhood coffee house, and commoditizing coffee to the point where consumers couldn’t see the difference between a $4.00 latte at Starbucks and a $2.00 latte from McDonalds, Starbucks was hurting. The company’s latest strategy involves “Unbranding” a few select stores by taking away the Starbuck’s look and logo and instead naming the stores after the neighborhoods that surround them. They are also sending spotters into independently owned shops and copying the look and feel, as well as sourcing the décor items locally. If it works, they’ll roll it out all over the country. Oh Goody. This one makes me want to choke on my home-brewed, fair trade, organic blend.

Marketing Authenticity: 7 Corporations Riding On The Coattails Of A Movement

According to Change.org, opening Walmarts in areas known as “food deserts” is really just a band-aid that masks the underlying causes of poverty and inequality. This is true and there’s no doubt it is a complicated issue. Similarly, many commenters pointed out in this article by Marc Gunther that the entire model of how Walmart builds and spreads across the landscape is flawed. Again, indisputably true.

But Walmart isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Is it possible to look at some of their initiatives in a positive light?

The Mixed Grocery Bag That Is Walmart

It is well enough that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning. -Henry Ford

25 Quotes On Who Really Runs America

Images: stublog, iheartmacaroni, Nicola Romagna, Monochrome, ginnerobot, SqueakyMarmot and Mike138.

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