LOGO DESIGN BLOG   LOGO DESIGN REVIEW

NASA has officially unveiled the logo for its next generation exploration vehicle, Orion. Perhaps the most interesting part of the unveiling: It was designed by Michael Okuda, best known for his work designing the alien languages and computer displays on the Star Trek Enterprise.

Though it won’t likely receive any design awards, the mark was created thoughtfully, and visually, the message comes across easily enough.

collectSPACE summarized Orion Project Manager Skip Hatfield’s remarks on the symbolism of the logo. Here are the basics:

• “O” represents earth
• 3 Stars in foreground represent Orion’s Belt
• Red vector represents the explorer’s path to outer destinations
• 10 stars in background represent the 10 NASA centers working on the project (which one is Houston?)

You can see the animated version of the logo here (QT, 2.3mb).

Orion is the next generation manned space vehicle and the planned replacement for NASA’s outdated Space Shuttle fleet. More information on the Orion project is available here and here.

Logoworks’ billboard campaign - “Your Logo Stinks” - went awry when unknown vandals spray painted the billboard so it read: Your Log Stinks! right next to the image of an old man turning up his nose. Hundreds of commuters saw the altered billboard, which appeared along I-15 in Salt Lake City, prompting unexpected attention and publicity. The billboard was even talked about on SLC’s local alternative radio station, 101.9 The End. -

The ad was not easy to vandalize, according to Logoworks. It is located in a secured parking lot with 24 hour security and surveillance (see the security camera on the lower right side?). The vandals also had to climb a 30-foot ladder while holding paint and another ladder so they could reach the lettering, which is about 10 or so feet further up. And they had to do all this at night, because they billboard sits right next to SLC’s main freeway. These were some determined pranksters. You can see from the photos the paint even matches.

It’s amazing what some people will do for a laugh.

Wonder Bread’s parent company, Interstate Bakeries, may have made a brand-saving move when it landed a major role in what could be this summer’s hottest movie, Talladega Nights. If Will Farrell’s other recent movies are any indication, Talladega will expose tens of millions to the Wonder Bread logo (updated just in time for the movie).

With product placement becoming ever more prevalent in TV and movies, one has to wonder how much the placement cost. According to an article on MSNBC.com, it cost nothing. The still bankrupt company simple gave over the rights to use the logo in the movie. Quoted in the MSNBC article, Tom Meyer, President of Davie-Brown Entertainment, said it best:

“For them to have gone out, if they could buy this level of media, I mean what would that be? I’m going to guess tens of millions of dollars if not $100 million of media value. Then when you add on top of that, the relevance that you get from being connected to such a popular guy like Will Ferrell, the value is almost limitless.”

As for the logo design, it’s a mild update, but was it even necessary?