How much branding is too much?
June 26, 2013 5:42 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for examples, good and bad, of corporations or institutions pushing a decorative element or motif across all of their branding. Note: this decorative element must be in addition to and distinct from the expected logo/wordmark.
Also, if you have any personal experience with that sort of strategy, I wouldn't mind hearing about that as well: what worked, what didn't, what you'd do differently.
Also, if you have any personal experience with that sort of strategy, I wouldn't mind hearing about that as well: what worked, what didn't, what you'd do differently.
Doesn't BMW have a distinctive front end grill-work shape they almost always use for their cars?
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:23 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:23 PM on June 26, 2013
50 years ago, McDonalds had "the golden arches" not just as a corporate logo, but actually as part of all the franchise buildings. They were huge.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:25 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:25 PM on June 26, 2013
Chocolate Pickle, they have the 'kidney' grilles and also the Hofmeister kink.
One could also point to the distinctive shape of the glass Coke bottle.
posted by a halcyon day at 6:48 PM on June 26, 2013
One could also point to the distinctive shape of the glass Coke bottle.
posted by a halcyon day at 6:48 PM on June 26, 2013
50 years ago, McDonalds had "the golden arches" not just as a corporate logo, but actually as part of all the franchise buildings. They were huge.
The buildings came first, and the golden arches logo came to fruition because that's how the building looked from a certain angle.
Anyway, I think car grilles and "design languages" are the best examples of this.
The NFL is also pretty nuts about their colors. As are universities. And countries.
posted by gjc at 7:13 PM on June 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
The buildings came first, and the golden arches logo came to fruition because that's how the building looked from a certain angle.
Anyway, I think car grilles and "design languages" are the best examples of this.
The NFL is also pretty nuts about their colors. As are universities. And countries.
posted by gjc at 7:13 PM on June 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
In the same vein as the BMW grille, every Corvette since the 1960s has four tail lights. The most characteristic are the round tail lights but it looks like there are a lot of rectangular ones out there too.
posted by mhum at 7:23 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by mhum at 7:23 PM on June 26, 2013
Also, all (?) of Louboutin's women's shoes have red soles.
posted by mhum at 7:28 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by mhum at 7:28 PM on June 26, 2013
Do fonts count? Apple Computer, in the late 80s-early 90s, did everything in dark Garamond on a light background. Eventually you would see a manual or a poster and know it was from them.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:32 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:32 PM on June 26, 2013
One could also point to the distinctive shape of the glass Coke bottle.
Except that Pepsi used the same shape, so it isn't brand specific.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:47 PM on June 26, 2013
Except that Pepsi used the same shape, so it isn't brand specific.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:47 PM on June 26, 2013
Oh wait. Speaking of shoes, you also have the three Asics crossed, swoopy stripes and the three Adidas straight, parallel stripes. The Adidas example may be pushing it a little since the current Adidias logo is pretty much three straight, parallel lines but I'd argue that its incarnation on the shoe is not really an instance of the logo (like, say, Nike's swoosh) but a distinct design element.
On preview: If we're counting fonts, then maybe we can count Woody Allen's Windsor, Wes Anderson's Futura, and whatever it is that Quentin Tarantino uses (some say Friz Quadrata but I'm not so sure).
posted by mhum at 7:49 PM on June 26, 2013
On preview: If we're counting fonts, then maybe we can count Woody Allen's Windsor, Wes Anderson's Futura, and whatever it is that Quentin Tarantino uses (some say Friz Quadrata but I'm not so sure).
posted by mhum at 7:49 PM on June 26, 2013
The Japanese soda brand "Ramune" has a very distinctive bottle, which has a marble at the top, held in place by carbonation. To open it, you push the marble.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:49 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:49 PM on June 26, 2013
No one has mentioned any kind of alcohol bottles yet?
My favourite are the wire things you twist open before getting to remove the top from Unibroue beers.
posted by Space Coyote at 8:23 PM on June 26, 2013
My favourite are the wire things you twist open before getting to remove the top from Unibroue beers.
posted by Space Coyote at 8:23 PM on June 26, 2013
There's the Grolsh "Beugel" bottle, favorites of home brewers everywhere.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:38 PM on June 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:38 PM on June 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
Ford's racing stripes. Two thick stripes on a non-Ford car is just weirdness.
posted by pompomtom at 8:55 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by pompomtom at 8:55 PM on June 26, 2013
The Playboy "bunny" logo is hidden on every cover of the magazine.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:01 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:01 PM on June 26, 2013
I asked a similar question about non-logo identifiers.
posted by ichomp at 9:22 PM on June 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ichomp at 9:22 PM on June 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
Haig and Haig Scotch whiskey had a distinctive "pinch" bottle - basically a triangular bottle with dimpled sides. It is now collectible.
Six ounce Coca-Cola was packaged in the green " hour glass" bottle. Once Pepsi came out with a 12 ounce bottle for the same price, the Coke hour glass fell out if favor.
posted by Cranberry at 12:18 AM on June 27, 2013
Six ounce Coca-Cola was packaged in the green " hour glass" bottle. Once Pepsi came out with a 12 ounce bottle for the same price, the Coke hour glass fell out if favor.
posted by Cranberry at 12:18 AM on June 27, 2013
Abercrombie and Fitch sprays their fragrance "Fierce" through their shops and on clothing.
"They made us spray the signature scents every 20 minutes like clockwork, so the store always smells," reports a former Abercrombie & Fitch employee (who asked that she not be named). "Most stores even have scent sprayers in the ceiling. After a while, you start to get dizzy." (...) "the cologne's stench was overwhelming even from 20 feet away on the sidewalk!"
posted by iviken at 3:17 AM on June 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
"They made us spray the signature scents every 20 minutes like clockwork, so the store always smells," reports a former Abercrombie & Fitch employee (who asked that she not be named). "Most stores even have scent sprayers in the ceiling. After a while, you start to get dizzy." (...) "the cologne's stench was overwhelming even from 20 feet away on the sidewalk!"
posted by iviken at 3:17 AM on June 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
The Japanese soda brand "Ramune" has a very distinctive bottle, which has a marble at the top, held in place by carbonation. To open it, you push the marble.
That's not really unique to Ramune though -- there's a whole class of Indian sodas called goli sodas (marble sodas) that operate on the same principle.
posted by peacheater at 4:49 AM on June 27, 2013
That's not really unique to Ramune though -- there's a whole class of Indian sodas called goli sodas (marble sodas) that operate on the same principle.
posted by peacheater at 4:49 AM on June 27, 2013
Though I can hardly believe I am citing this at all, much less on Metafilter, Yeshiva University has its shield per usual, and then it has a "flame," 2 stylized tongues of flame coming out of the initials "YU." I don't have a good picture of the flame to hand, sorry, but their branding page refers me to an 11 MB pdf which contains guidelines for its use.
From street level, the "flame" seemed initially like an attempt to update (secularize?) the logo, replacing the shield entirely. Then there was a general outcry. The shield was then streamlined (that's the present form behind the link) and the flame was presented as (I think) the kind of co-logo you're describing.
posted by skbw at 5:03 AM on June 27, 2013
From street level, the "flame" seemed initially like an attempt to update (secularize?) the logo, replacing the shield entirely. Then there was a general outcry. The shield was then streamlined (that's the present form behind the link) and the flame was presented as (I think) the kind of co-logo you're describing.
posted by skbw at 5:03 AM on June 27, 2013
Ford's racing stripes. Two thick stripes on a non-Ford car is just weirdness.
Which started off as "Cunningham Stripes"...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 6:10 AM on June 27, 2013
Which started off as "Cunningham Stripes"...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 6:10 AM on June 27, 2013
General Electric uses their own font (called Inspira) in all of their materials, across every line of product or service they provide..From financial services, to medical equipment, to jet engines, to clock radios, etc.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:42 AM on June 27, 2013
posted by Thorzdad at 6:42 AM on June 27, 2013
Similarly, Yale has a signature typeface designed by Matthew Carter.
posted by a halcyon day at 9:33 AM on June 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by a halcyon day at 9:33 AM on June 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
One could also point to the distinctive shape of the glass Coke bottle.
Except that Pepsi used the same shape, so it isn't brand specific.
The US Patent and Trademark Office actually uses the Coke bottle trademark (obtained in 1960, following some 37 years of use in trade) as an example of intellectual property [pdf] protected by the office. Pepsi and Coke continue to "battle the bottle" to this day.
posted by dhartung at 4:04 AM on June 28, 2013
Except that Pepsi used the same shape, so it isn't brand specific.
The US Patent and Trademark Office actually uses the Coke bottle trademark (obtained in 1960, following some 37 years of use in trade) as an example of intellectual property [pdf] protected by the office. Pepsi and Coke continue to "battle the bottle" to this day.
posted by dhartung at 4:04 AM on June 28, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:01 PM on June 26, 2013