Branding | Call The Serif

Lots of news lately surrounding social media platforms (both new and old). Here are some of the articles that I’ve been reading lately. Some you might have seen already and others might be completely new. I’ll try to throw some fun things in there as well!

Amazing iOS6 Maps. It’s no secret that when Apple launched their new operating system that got rid of Google Maps, people were annoyed. It’s the number one reason i have not yet switched over. As someone who uses the transportation button on there frequently, I’m quite annoyed that they would do such a thing. There is quite the amusing tumblr going on that shows all of the “amazing” new features – such as missing bridges, a “roller coaster” Hoover Dam and others.

What You Can Say to Siri. Okay, okay, everyone is hating on iOS6 maps, but they did manage to throw a few good upgrades in there. Including an improved Siri! Here are some of the things that you can now ask.

Myspace. Everyone has to remember Myspace from forever ago. Crazy flashing backgrounds, weird message boards and, of course, Tom. Myspace appears to have a new upgrade coming soon (in November) and I’m definitely interested to see what they’re going to offer. Worth a look!

Facebook publishing private messages. Remember those supposedly “private messages” you sent on Facebook, they might be public now. Apparently some Facebook messages from 2008 and earlier have been mistakenly posted publicly to your timeline – might want to go check your privacy settings.

XKCD map. For a little fun, how about a giant scrolling comic from xkcd. Kept me entertained for a good bit.

USA Today redesign. USA Today launched a redesign (done by F-I). Amazing! Definitely worth looking into. Their interface made me so happy as a UX designer.

What have you been reading lately?

Yesterday I highlighted some of the Olympic logo designs throughout the past years. We’ve determined that they’re not all exactly stunning examples of good design.

I ran across a redesign that some designers from Brooklyn United did that I absolutely loved! Not only did they redesign the logo for the London 2012 Olympics but they went ahead and brainstormed for Socchi in 2014 and Rio in 2016. Clearly the Olympic logo committee should have looked for a few more options before settling on one. There are some pretty cool options in there for Rio in 2016 as well.

source

This second is the logo design for the 2016 Olympic games in Rio. Really interesting to see their entire design process and the meaning behind the design.

“After consolidation of our findings, we selected a simple yet powerful idea as our inspiration: what distinguishes our city and makes the Olympic Games a truly grand event are the people, their nature, their feelings and dreams.

That’s why we created a truly human brand.

It’s a brand that embodies unity, transformation, passion and energy. It’s a large collective network in motion, an invitation and inspiration to Rio and the world.”