Hi, I'm super excited to show the new logo identity I've done for Acorn Family Health and Wellness Centre.

Acorn Health and Wellness Centre is a new health care facility in Oakville, Ontario. The letters in the word ‘acorn’, represent the services offered:

A: Acupuncture, Athletic therapy

C: Chiropractic, Chiropody

O: Orthotics (and possibly osteopathy)

R: Registered massage therapy, Rehabilitation

N: Naturopath, Nutritionist

Acorn is a state of the art, eco-friendly healthcare facility featuring earth friendly features not found in any competitors, such as cork floors, LED lights, bullfrog power, low flush toilets, and a paperless office.

Acorn required a new brand identity which effectively communicated the benefits of the new facility in a meaningful way. By using the tree icon and the oak leaves, we achieved what we set out to, and created a logo identity which uniquely sets Acorn apart from competitors.

Ciao,

Robert

Here is what they are saying about the Kodak Cares brand from the Kodak website…

Kodak has a long history of commitment to environmental stewardship. That commitment is an unwavering constant in our strategy, and for more than ten years we have set aggressive, quantitative goals as a key measure of our progress.

To help our customers recognize the very best we have to offer, we've created a new environmental logo system that supports the corporate Kodak Cares umbrella mark.

When you see Kodak's new green leaf logo, you'll know you are choosing a product with unique environmental attributes, a service that will help you manage your environmental footprint, or a recycling and reuse program that leverages our commitment to environmental responsibility.

But, we won't be putting this logo just anywhere. First and foremost, we want our products to carry the recognition of objective and respected third parties like ENERGY STAR®, whenever possible. Only for those products that aren't covered by one of these programs will we consider applying our new leaf design.

You can also rest assured that the Kodak Cares mark will always be linked with measurable, proven, positive environmental activities - products, services, and programs that represent the best of our best. That's a commitment you can depend on, because Kodak Cares is more than just a mark–it's our way of doing business.

This is interesting, I'll look to see how it pans out for them.

Thanks.

Robert Scozzari RGD

Hi, I've completed a new logo identity for Caroline Family Health Team. They are a full service family health care facility in Burlington Ontario. They wanted a simple brand identity that quickly communicated health, well-being and vitality. The usage of common visual cues associated with the health care industry help this logo achieve it's goal.

Other Links:
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co.
A&P Wikipedia Link
A&P Canada Wikipedia Link

How about you? Do you have fond A&P memories? Does the sight of it's logo inspire fond memories? Let me know, leave a comment below.

Thanks,

Robert Scozzari

Here are 48 eco-related logos for review, research, inspiration and discussion. With so many environmental groups around, it's important to stand out and try to be more unique. Which ones stand out to you? Which ones inspire you? Does your organisation want to look a bit "greener"?

Thanks,

Robert Scozzari

I'm very happy to show the new logo design for Burlington Financial District. An initiative of Burlington Economic Development.

2012 Olympic Logo caused much controversy

The 2014 Winter Olympics has officially revealed it's new logo recently. The new logotype is a very simple, easy to read and identify. I have to be honest, I'm not blown away by it. I do think the play with the "hi" and the "14" is interesting. To be honest, I think its far too safe. I think they are trying desperately to not stir the pot after 2012 logo caused so much controversy.

Here is a close up of the new 2014 Olympic Logo…

What do you think? Let me know.

Ciao,

Robert Scozzari RGD

Well, that's what Kraft did with a new, more spreadable version of it's famous Vegemite. Boy, did things go wrong. I myself, have never had the pleasure of Vegemite on toast. Nor am I sure if I ever would want to. But if I were to ever find myself on a vacation in the friendly Australia, perhaps I would at least give it a try.

So here is what happened. They held this contest to name a new version of Vegemite. This new version of Vegemite is more spreadable as it is mixed with cream cheese. The contest happened. Can you guess what the winning name was? This was a name that was chosen by the fans and voted as the number one name.

The name was, "iSnack 2.0"

Wow, that name sure sucked. Mmmmm… Lets have some toast with iSnack two point-oh-on it. Yea, it bombed. The Australian media and press and blogosphere had a Field-day with it. Eventually Kraft rolled back the brand and started the whole process all over again, and rightfully so.

So what happened the second time around? The second time, I think they got it a bit better. After the epic fail, they finally came up with a new name.

Vegemite Cheesybite

Now that, is a great name. You don't get a more descriptive and easy to remember name than that. Well, OK, it's better than iSnack 2.0.

what does a business owner need to learn from this?

Well for one, It's not always a good idea to run a contest to get cheap creative work, while it may get you some publicity, you are trusting the fate or your business and brand in the hands of people who do not have a full scope if what is involved. This little adventure from Kraft, probably cost the company a few millions. I always recommend hiring a professional that is experienced in what you need, whether that's naming a product or creating a poster or what-ever you may need.

Old Williams Coffee Pub

New Williams Fresh Cafe

For those of you that are not familiar, Williams is a local cafe and eatery. I think their greatest asset is the free internet that they offer. This has allowed them to become the local meeting place for business folk all around. If you were to go into any Williams during work hours, you are always going to find countless laptops opened and numerous meetings taking place. The old branding and positioning was focussed around the cafe experience. It was important and a good strategy ten years ago, but that time has passed.

Lately, I've noticed that the food selections have been getting better, and healthier. Just the other day, I had a lunch meeting at Williams and enjoyed an excellent Minestrone Soup and California Salad. They were both excellent and I would eat there again anytime.

Focused on being a coffee pub, they were fighting with Starbucks and Tim Hortons, with coffee which was mediocre at best, that wasn't a battle that they could win.

With the rebranding and repositioning, it looks like they want to be known as a healthy food choice as well as a great place to sit and meet friends. Overall, I think the new repositioning is fantastic and believe it will help them to grow.

They should have called me first

Overall, I like the new look and the new positioning. I think it's clean and refreshing, which serves them very well if they want to now be know for fresh and healthy food. I have one critique however. That leaf that blends into the word "Fresh". Its too… too clip art. It does not serve well as an icon that only Williams can use. If you were to separate the leaf and put it beside the millions of other green leaves that are in logos all over the world, would it stand out as being Williams' leaf? I don't think so. Unfortunately, I think that leaves them with an icon that is totally dependent on being a part of the entire logo to be identified as Williams.

Had they created an icon that was theirs and theirs only, it would have been better for them. Look at other food chains, McDonalds' golden arches or East Side Mario's Statue of Liberty with the Tomato. When you see those icons, there is no disputing where they belong. Williams could have benefited with something a bit more unique. But they didn't call me, so all I can do is blog about it.

What do you think?

Do you like the new rebranding and positioning ? Do you like the new logo? Let me know.

Ciao

Millcroft Vs. Michaels logo

Recently, I was driving to go visit a client. My eye was caught by a logo on a sign for a local golf club, Millcroft Golf and Country club. So I gracefully stopped my car and snapped this photo. What caught my eye was not what it was, but what it wasn't. You see, for a split second, I thought I was looking at a sign for the retailer Michaels Arts and Craft store.

Now, as you look at the two signs below, it's obvious why, for a split second, I thought I was looking at Michaels. The two fonts are very similar. The colours are identical. The word length are similar. The shape of the word is similar. The footprint is similar. The only way to differentiate the two logos, is to read them.

What, read them. Duh. You may be thinking, that's enough to differentiate them, isn't it? After all, they say two different things. One says Millcroft and the other says Michaels. What's your problem Rob?

Oh, wait, let me add in, that the Michaels logo you see above, has actually been redesigned, here is the new logo.

The redesign for Michaels kind of helps the situation a bit. But only for Michaels, not Millcroft. Let's not forget though, in case you didn't know, that Michaels has also been very slow to change the store fronts to the new logo. So the old one is still fresh in people's minds.

You see, people don't read logos. At the blink of an eye, eyes observe the shapes, convert them into electrical data, the brain reads this data, references it's huge database of other brands, symbols, shapes and makes it's best attempt to identify the item being observed. This happens in a split second as 99% of the viewers are driving past at 90Km/h. In this case, and I believe most cases, this logo will be identified as Michaels.

You may be wondering, who has the problem? Millcroft or Michaels? Well, I think it's Millcroft that has the branding problem. And here is why…

• Michaels is a very large chain retailer. - A logo should never look similar to a highly recognized chain store's logo.
• Michaels' old logo is still very recognized. I'm not sure who exactly was here first, but the Michaels version carries more recognition, hands down.
• The font itself is a non modified type treatment. It's always a very bad idea to simply use a word, typed out in a font that anyone can purchase and use for their logo. It results in other similar logos that are very easy to duplicate
• The colour of the logo is generic. Nothing stands out about his logo
• Nothing of the Millcroft brand identity differentiates itself from anything, let alone other golf clubs. A logo identity should be the face of what differentiates you from your competitors
• This sign looks like a retail store, not a golf club

Moral # 1 of the story is never ever have a logo that is only text from a font that anyone can use.
Moral # 2 of the story is if your logo looks too much like another more recognized brand, change yours

My personal feelings are that if Millcroft were to improve it's brand/logo identity and communicate what makes it different from other golf clubs, it would greatly improve it's annual revenue. They should be able to position themselves to be one of the leading clubs in the area.

Ciao,
Robert Scozzari