Insta-logos: the trail of Instagram copycat logos

You may hate or love Instagram's new logo — there's definitely enough commentary out there from every level of expertise imaginable — or you might not care about it at all. While there is much debate as to whether it is a great, modern logo or a total design fail, one thing is for certain: Instagram is so big that it really doesn't matter. No one is going to stop using Instagram because they hate the garish, childish icon. Conversely, I doubt Instagram is picking up any new users who fell in love with the simplistic, flat, colorful bauble.

Instagram is a giant owned by the landlord of the entire land of giants, Facebook. No matter what the logo looks like, the app is already an indispensable tool for the masses. This kind of power is inevitably trend-setting and creates followers who jump on board hoping it will gain them some of the riches that flow in the wake. While imitation is a form of flattery, I say it's just unoriginal. Photo Collage Editor and Life360 followed Instagram's unveil with copycat logos. Even if they are all under the same corporate umbrella (which as far as I see, they are separate companies) they are still completely different brands.

I've spotted these "flattering imitations" because I use the apps... maybe there are more out there. Have you seen any? Post in the comments if you have!

A lesser-known founding [fonting] father

Mr. Caslon's first name isn't Adobe. It's William and he is, essentially, one of our founding fathers. Though I'm speaking for those of us in the graphic design community and not of the rest of the United States per say, William Caslon did end up influencing the image of that famous document to which we owe our freedom today.

During the last days of June 1776, the men we know as our founding fathers (Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and the rest) wrote, re-wrote and revised a document that finally became known as our official Declaration of Independence on the morning of July 4th. Later that day, Congress ordered the first printed text of the Declaration. This printed version (referred to as the "Dunlap Broadside") was set primarily in Caslon typefaces. 

William Caslon (1692-1766) created what is cited as the first original typeface of English origin. Today there are many revivals and variations of the Caslon typefaces, all of which are solid standards for designers and printers to turn to for printed communication. Personally, I find nothing better for body copy and many design choices, as exemplified in all of my Little Black Mask marketing materials being set in Adobe Caslon Pro. 

So on this 4th of July I not only honor our countries' founding fathers — who I thank for their incomparable bravery, genius, perseverace, sacrifice and vision — but I also tip my hat to William Caslon, an engraver, a craftsman, designer and artist who helped shape the way we see the printed word today.

The World Flag – from ten years ago

Without question, 911 is among the most dramatic days in our history. On this ten year anniversary, most people's reactions are similarly that of pensive, respectful remembrance. Ten years ago, however, people's reactions were not all so similar. There was anger. There was fear. There was sorrow. Support. Solidarity. Patriotism. Racism. Conflict. Bravery. Sacrifice. Unity. There were cries of nonviolence met with anger and violence. Money and blood poured into the Red Cross faster than I've seen in my life. Candles were lit. Flags were displayed. Oh, the flags!

It must have been a great time to be in the U.S. flag-making business. I wondered if they were all made in the U.S.  They were for sale on the side of roads and in gas station shops. They were hung outside of houses and stuck to sides of cars. They were everywhere. I had a few. I found comfort in our "united we stand" philosophy just like the rest of America. It wasn't enough for me though. I tend not to think as a citizen of the United States, as much as a citizen of the Earth (or even farther, the Universe, and so on). To me, the world had taken a hit, not just the United States. It was a dark day and the world would move forward together. We are interdependent. 

Since I am an artist and graphic designer, my reaction was to design a "world flag." At that point in time, just about everyone had an email address and there were chat groups and websites a-plenty, but there was no MySpace or Facebook ... in fact Google was a fledgling still in Yahoo's shadow. I designed the flag and began emailing and posting it around the internet, encouraging people to display it along with their country's flag (not instead of). It promoted true unity, recognizing that we are all citizens of this world who celebrate our differences while we stand together. 

The flag circulated and amplified in number a bit, and had some good reactions, then eventually fizzled out. Every once in a while I find my files and look at the flag that never made it to the level I envisioned. I didn't try very hard to get it to the world, after all. Maybe it was just my own personal processing of the most dramatic day in my life. I am dusting it off now, on the ten year anniversary of that day.

The World Flag – for all citizens of Earth

Meaning:

    • The circle represents Earth, Unity
    • The stem and leaf represent Life
    • Together, they form a face representing Humankind
    • The green represents land
    • The blue represents water and sky
    • The white represents Peace
    • The placement of the circle to the right represents growth and progress

d [is for divinity] • an alphabet exploration

Why the world is worth saving, one letter at a time.

A    B    C

and the winner is ...

Last week, I won seven ADDY® Awards, Best of Show and the AAF Silver Medal Award. In the wake of these wins, all of the ADDY Galas happening around the country and the Oscars, I explore: what do awards really mean, anyway? To hear many say, they don't mean a thing.

Awards are meaningless to me, and I have nothing but disdain for anyone who actively campaigns to get one. 

~Bill Murray 

Awards are only a publicity gimmick. 

Tony Randall 

Awards are so unnecessary, because I think we get so much out of our work just by doing it. The work is a reward in itself. 

~Natalie Portman

On one hand, they are totally right. After all, the work itself is satisfying. Hopefully we all have a better motive to do good work than awards. Hopefully we're saving the world one project at a time and loving the process. 

On the other seventeen hands, however, they are wrong. For entertainers, artists and designers, what we do has to be well-received or it doesn't work. Awards highlight work that works. I don't mean people's choice awards, like American Idol, I mean awards that are judged by experts. These judges have the privilege of honoring and celebrating great work. In doing this, it encourages more great work to be produced year after year. They give deserved recognition to many who are often underpaid and unsung.

“This award is meaningful because it comes from my fellow dealers in celluloid.” 

~Alfred Hitchcock 

There's more. Awards help validate a smart and talented artist's position, thereby educating clients. All too often, businesses hire creatives to do their design work but don't trust them enough to let go of the reigns. They often dictate unreasonable parameters, then make choices based on their personal taste or untrained opinion. One of the biggest challenges to creating solid, effective work can be the clients themselves. Awards can also help to get more clients, too, by increasing the credibility and visibility of the recipient.

Awards sell tickets, and they're a clever publicity stunt. 

~Tony Randall 

It's easy to say that awards don't mean anything, but if you work your ass off and are rewarded with an award, you can't honestly tell me you aren't thrilled to get it. Natalie Portman's quote above doesn't foreshadow her tearful and joyous reaction to winning the Best Actress Oscar this year.

"This is insane. I truly, sincerely wish the prize tonight was to work with my fellow nominees. I am in such awe of you."

~Natalie Portman

What I feel most for my wins this year is validated. I am especially proud that the Best of Show award was for an inexpensive yet highly conceptual, one-color piece. It demonstrates that a great concept doesn't need a giant production budget to succeed. In a town like Ocala, that's valuable because it means small businesses can have stellar creative, too.

“To those of you who received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States.” 

~George W. Bush

c [is for civil rights] • an alphabet exploration • 24/365

Why the world is worth saving, one letter at a time.

A    B

b [is for baby butt] • alphabet exploration • 21/365 •

Why the world is worth saving, one letter at a time.

a [is for arbor] • alphabet exploration • 19/365 •

Why the world is worth saving, one letter at a time.

When did kids start buying auto insurance? • 16/365 •

Did I miss where kids started buying auto insurance plans? Are they whining and asking their parents to go with the "cool" insurance agency? Just how much say do children have in the insurance buying process? None that I know of. Auto insurance is a serious business, pretty boring and mandated by law. I asked my kids which company they preferred once, and I actually got an answer. They had definite opinions. Isn't it remarkable that they even know the names of insurance companies? It's the advertising. It seems to target children and teenagers more than adults. It entertains more than it informs. Personally, I find it impossible to make a buying decision based on the advertising, fun as it is.

Have fun with these commercials from three of the top auto insurance companies. I'm waiting for them to come out with the "auto insurance happy meal deal" where they give a free toy with every purchase, and maybe a lollypop or a sticker just for getting a quote. Just don't make the free toy something distracting to Mom or Dad while they're driving, okay insurance peeps?

So, Comic Sans walks into a bar ... • 15/365 •

Comic Sans walks into a bar, bartender says, “We don’t serve your type.”

Comic Sans is so hated, it gets more press than other typefaces. Comic Sans is so annoying, I wouldn't use it in this blog about it. 

But then again...

51 reasons why typographic rules are BS

Pro white space and proud • 12/365 •

"Cool Infographic" is not an oxymoron • 10/365 •

"You might be a geek if ... " 

"...If you get excited when new infographics come out."

"...If you really wonder what Yoda would say about it."

I don't know how I ended up talking about analytics and infographics. I especially don't know how I ended up liking them! Alas, what could be more interesting to an analytical, visually creative person, than to breathe life into mountains of dry data by giving it color, form, even motion?

Infographics are da bomb. I'm going to start making some. Next week, maybe. For now, here are two of my favorite sources ... just in case you wanted to get smart and look at coolness at the same time:

Good Magazine

Since issue one, they have featured "Transparency," where not only do they shed light on important topics, make them digestible eye-candy, but they invite a guest designer to create them every month. Sigh. I love you, Good Magazine.

Fast CoDesign

Just like Fast Company, Fast CoDesign never fails to be entertaining, informative and hip. If loving them is wrong then I don't want to be right.

On a final cautionary note, as with everything in our universe, there is a dark side to infographics as well. Please don't believe everything you see/hear/read. Consider the source. A lesson can be learned from this one Sarah Palin's "target map" infographic removed from her site right after the tragedy in Arizona today. 

Yuck. Bad timing. What would Yoda say?

The lighter side of marketing • 4/365 •

After yesterday's emergency blog, I thought I would lighten things up a bit. It was fun coming up with these ... please share yours if you have some good ones!

How many graphic designers does it take to change a lightbulb?

White space signifies a working lightbulb best, so how about just the word "change" in 14 pt Helvetica Light Compressed, just right of center? 

How many social media experts does it take to change a lightbulb?

You can't expect the lightbulb to change just because you're there, you've got to have a conversation with it and develop a relationship. Then change can be allowed to happen organically.

How many Facebook users does it take to change a lightbulb?

That depends if you're talking about a lightbulb on the wall of a "fan" page, a "profile" page, or a "business" page, and you may or may not know it even needs changing, depending on your notification settings and number of friends.

How many creatives does it take to change a lightbulb?

Why does it have to be a lightbulb?

How many artists does it take to change a lightbulb?

Ooh, it's all smokey! Wait, don't change it, that's really cool. Let me photograph/paint/draw it first! 

How many art historians does it take to change a lightbulb?

Eleven: One to change the lightbulb,

five to show earlier versions that influenced it, 

and five to say the changing was actually done by the changers' apprentice.

How many SEO experts does it take to change a lightbulb?

First you have to fix the directions. They aren't labeled, tagged, coded and prioritized properly. A burned-out lightbulb in the dark will never be found otherwise.

How many PR reps does it take to change a lightbulb?

The "Sparkle in the Dark" event will be sponsored by a dozen businesses who donate their time and tools to the effort, and part of the proceeds from recycling the old bulb go to charity.

Fun with analytics!

Hello kids. Today we are going to touch on the funner points of analytics. Not finer points, funner points. Yes there are some.

I don't think I even uttered the word "analytics" before the web. In fact, it's not in my dictionary as a noun. It sounds pretty nerdy, like something the math/computing/biology/pollster guys would worry about, not me. I'm a creative, why would I want to analyze data? Sounds dry.  

Raise your hand if you think that I actually look forward to launching Google Analytics and checking on the websites I manage. Those of you with your hands down are wrong, sorry. If you never thought "fun" and "analytics" would be in the same sentence, think again.

Take my website, littleblackmask.com, for example. Hmm, I wonder what people are typing in to find me. Can you guess? How about "brainwashing design"? You didn't predict that? Okay, try "if Rip Van Winkle woke up today?" No? I didn't either. 

Okay boys and girls, let's look at another example. I design and manage Mara Rodriguez's blog, Wear in Ocala. It's an up and coming blog about fashion in Ocala, with some great advice and a spicy sense of humor. What would you guess people would have been typing in when they find it? Maybe, "can I wear velvet in puerto rico"? You didn't guess that either? What about, "lady gaga dress made from hair"? I never would have called that one. Meat, maybe, but hair? 

What can we learn from this? I'd love to say we have learned that staying on current topics is a good idea. As you can see from some of the other searches, there are some current event/famous people/on-trend searches. If your blog has content that applies, you'll be found more often. What about the others, though? How could you predict someone wants to know if they can wear velvet in Puerto Rico? You can't, but it's definitely fun to see! Never before on earth have we gotten such a peek into people's minds. This data is truly golden.

Alright. That's it for today's peek at analytics. As you can see kids, they can be fun! Kind of like a box of chocolates, if you know what I mean.

('’)

WTFacebook Ads [part 2 of the continuing saga]

Okay, it's not really a saga, but it is an advertising travesty.

In [part 1: This blog could lower your interest], I broached this topic and thought in my idealistic way that the random, meaningless, attention-getting gimmicks would phase out in favor of clear and relevant content. I was wrong (big surprise!).

They're not getting much better, in fact they might be getting worse? Not sure if they can. Here are more from my growing collection of Facebook ads that either make no sense, are stealing from a celebrity, or are misleading along the lines of snake oil salespeople of old and modern day tabloids.

Yeah, I repeated the "Scholarships For Moms" because that guy is so NOT A MOM! Does anyone know what all this means? What does it say about society? What does it say about carrot feathers?

('’)

Peek-a-boo critiques: 5-seconds can speak volumes

Hi! Tell me about yourself, about your company, what you're all about, what you do and why I should give you my time and money. Just give me a quick impression so I have an idea. You've got 5 seconds. 

Sound unreasonable? Humans now have a 7-second attention span before they lose interest if they aren't engaged. I think that's being generous. I don't give some things a glance if I'm not interested in a blink.

I play peek-a-boo with my monitor. I've been doing it for years because it's difficult to get a fresh perspective. I sit  in front of my design and cover my eyes with my hands, then I open my hands quickly and repeat as many times as needed. 

I went onto fivesecondtest last night – a website for web design feedback. You've got 5 seconds to view the art before giving your brief report. I started doing the memory-based and click-based tests and began to get a peek-a-boo fresh perspective on web design and first reactions. So I submitted the little black mask home page design as it appears here:

Feedback started within minutes, which is great because I like instant gratification. You know, short attention span and all. This morning my feedback page was full. 

The good news: I am pleased to report that the little black mask name and logo were immediately memorable, the comic-book theme is well-conveyed, my saving-the-world philosophy comes across and the design seems to be liked. 

The neutral news: my face really stands out and looks beautiful. This is flattering and does have some recognition, but doesn't sell me unless you know who I am. 

The bad news: The word "home" stands out - and that's just navigational even though decorative. Also, "mona lisa," "faces," and "b&w photos" came up a lot - which again are decorative and have an underlying meaning but on first impression don't help the brand.

The truth is, if someone goes to my site they probably do so for a reason that will keep them for more than 5 seconds, but it doesn't mean they'll ponder the meaning of it all and go in to read every page before calling me and offering me loads of money. Peek-a-boo impressions count. A change is in order.

Immediately, I changed the word "Home" to "Branding." Since that word stands out so much and it's right under "little black mask marketing" then I've fixed that association. A website "massage" has been on my to-do list anyway, so I'm going to submit it to other feedback sites for more information first instead of just plowing forward on my own. Research is good.

Check out Mashable's 10 Tools for Getting Website Feedback

I'd love to hear what kind of feedback you get, share on the little black mask Facebook page.

('’)

Thanks, original idea men!

Independence Day is, on the literal surface, about the brave men and women who founded our country and the life of freedom they gave us. As our society rapidly progresses and changes, the world of our founding fathers seems farther and farther away. It's hard to relate, I can only wonder about what it was like. I imagine the US's original creatives – brilliant and progressive thinkers who came together to create a government for an ideal society, knowing in their hearts and souls that they would NOT live any other way. 

Today we whine about how our clients want huge logos and too much copy in their ads, about how we can't get the really great ideas approved because someone's secretaries' kid doesn't get it, or about how we can't get investment for that big idea that will change the world if only it had the proper chance. The obstacles we face in the modern world can own us, making us feel anything but independent. 

Imagine these guys in the late 1700's... no electricity or bifocals yet, no cars or airplanes, no faxes, emails or cell phones. What they had was an idea. You know the one – all men are created equal, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They had to pitch this idea to not just one client, but to all "the people" - and they didn't need the people to simply approve this idea, they needed the people to give everything they had including their lives to ensure that this idea was realized.  

This July 4th, 2010, I challenge you to think about something you believe in so deeply that you would give your life for it. No, I'm not suggesting you commit hari-kari if you don't get your next best idea approved, but I am suggesting you chose some ideas you really believe in and you don't stop until you've made them happen. 

What are you doing that you are really passionate about? What do you really believe in? Let's take today as an inspiration. With gratitude for the freedom and opportunity we have, let's fight a little harder for our dreams.

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Photoshop then and now: what would Rip Van Winkle think?

20 years ago, when Apple's Macintosh and the Windows OS were just gaining prevalence in the workplace, when the internet was still in diapers, when retouchers wielded real airbrushes and cell phones were as big as bricks, a shiny new program called Photoshop hit the market. Let’s also say that Rip Van Winkle dozed off in 1990.

A year later, I enrolled at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to get my degree in Advertising Design. There were a couple of computer courses which might have included a little Photoshop, but I only remember learning Corel Draw and Aldus Pagemaker. My studies were comprised of topics like "mechanicals" (I'm not even going to explain what a mechanical is, you either already know or it will never matter to you), life drawing, anatomy, typesetting formulas, psychology, perspective, art history, advertising theory, color theory, photography, marker comps, and so on, giving us the skills necessary to go out into the 1990's world and earn a living in the field of advertising. At that time, an Associates Degree was worth much more than the paper it was printed on.

I set off with a portfolio, a serving of talent, a degree and some advice. “Don’t set your type on a computer, the kerning is never right,” one of my instructors had told me. He was already behind the times. “Press type” (rub-off letters) and hand-lettering were fine for school pieces, but the digital revolution had begun. 

I started my career in the days of film, color keys and match prints. Very expensive to fix mistakes. Photography was still shot with film and transparencies, imaging was done by pricey drum scans and “sytech machines.” Even though the “computer workstation” had become the official seat for a designer, it would be years before everything we output was digital. 

Photoshop quickly infiltrated the creative workplace, I can’t remember working a day without it. It was super cool but you only had ONE undo and no layers, so you had to work very carefully and save lots of versions. Oh, and was it ever a memory hog! It used up all of your available RAM (as much as 4 megabytes!) and would crash your Mac (as indicated by a bomb on your screen) unless you had allocated the right amount of memory each program could use. Sound complicated? It was. It wasn’t enough to have talent, a good designer needed to be a little bit techie, too.

The details are fun to hash over, like an old man who had to walk up-hill both ways in the snow to get to the electronics shop to buy a pack of syquest cartridges. Life has changed dramatically since then. If Rip Van Winkle woke up today, he might be surprised that he wouldn’t have to explain to anyone what a “graphic designer” does and he might marvel at the number of designers out there who have an education centered purely around the software on a computer. I think old Rip would feel like a magician at the least, maybe even Godlike, if he sat down at the computer and fired up Photoshop today. 

Thank you, Photoshop, for being an indispensable assistant during the past 20 years. I can only imagine what’s in store for the next 20.

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Brainwashing 101: Graphic Design, or Logo Parody Fun!

Graphic design shapes the world so much more than most people realize. Think visual communication. Think propaganda. Think of symbols and the archetypal images and meaning we attach to them. We're being brainwashed constantly.

When BP unveiled their new logo in 2000, I was impressed and dumbfounded. I was impressed because they used such powerfully clear imagery to evoke an image of "Green."  I was dumbfounded because the image was almost the opposite of what the company actually is. 

Graphic designers are powerful commentators, too. The current oil spill nightmare in the Gulf inspired an AdFed-mate of mine, Joe Vinson, to create this logo parody:

Here are some other logo parodies lurking around the net. Poignant , humorous, whatever emotion the designer is after, isn't it amazing what one single image can do?

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