Looking at the original Opera Software logo, it doesn’t take a seasoned designer to see there’s plenty wrong with it. Kinks and dents, as well as problems with lighting and shadows everywhere.

With the release of version 10 of their browser, Opera have shied away from the glossy veneer of web 2.0 and opted for a simpler ( and error free… ) design.

The new logo is simpler 3 dimensionally, sports only a mild gradient and has dropped the ridiculous shadow. A little extra time spent the first time around might have ended here in the first place.

What do you think?

The new logo is obviously much better, it just goes to show the simplest designs work best.

Well today’s the day, my partner and I are leaving Sydney and moving down to Melbourne, exciting. Less exciting is the 10 hour drive to get the car down there, but what can you do.

Obviously this is going to be a busy couple of weeks getting everything sorted out. While I won’t be available for a fortnight or so I’ll be checking messages as best I can so you’re still welcome to get in touch if you have an inquiry.

Off we go!

Until we meet again, au revoir.

Update: We’re here!

We’ll, it’s been over a week of living out of our suitcases while staying at the fabulous Chateau de Friends-Couch ( thanks Claire ) but we’ve now signed the lease to our new house and all is well.

So far Melbourne’s been great, here a quick run down:

Pros:

• Real estate prices ( the reason we moved from Sydney ).
• Traffic? What traffic.
• South Melbourne: everyone loves Century Gothic.
• The James Squire brewery, see you there!

Cons:

• East Melbourne, everyone loves Papyrus…
• Public transport leaves something to be desired I’m told.
• The James Squire brewery, I’ll have to be dragged away.

So here we are.

A few days of unpacking, 2 weeks worth of blogging to catch up on, then it’s back to work.

While any good logo design must work in black only, many brands use colour extremely effectively to uniquely identify their brand.

While you might not think simply using, in these cases, yellow, blue, pink or orange would make one brand any more memorable than the next, I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t recognize the brands from these Comex advertisements.

Continue reading...

With over a decade of successful branding in dozens of countries, Good Humour ( Streets as it’s know here in Australia ) is giving up its heartbrand mark and going back to its roots.

The new logo ( shown above/right ) features a stylized truck dating back 40 years to when their goods were delivered by fleets of vehicles like the one shown below.

From a historical point of view the logo might make sense, but what about today? Streets no longer operate the aforementioned trucks and haven’t done so since the early 70’s as I understand it. Continue reading...

Geometric shapes are often favored in logo design for their simplicity, particularly squares, circles and triangles. Squares are probably the most common shape we encounter from day to day, and are used to convey familiarity, trust and stability.

Posted here is a collection of 30 odd logo designs built around the trusty old square, starting with the Herc logo design. Enjoy.

Robert F. Russo.

Basil Price. Continue reading...