The Multipack site has been in need of some attention for a while, and although we often discuss it at meetings, not much ever seems to change – we’re all too busy to do anything about it.

It took most of Saturday, a pub lunch, plenty of peanuts, quavers, beer and diet coke, but we’ve made some in roads into the code side of things. Tasked with design, Gaz, Owen and myself got the basics nailed down pretty quickly, but the final design was a little less forthcoming.

Despite having the whole day to take photos, I totally forgot, so you’ll have to rely on everyone else. We were based up in the Custard Factory at the new offices of One Black Bear and spent a lot of time swimming in mac paraphernalia – there isn’t much else in there.

Anyway, there is progress, as yet not that tangible, but it’s a good start.

With regard to the rest of the weekend – I went for a drink with Jon and Rosie on Friday in a pub I didn’t know existed, then on Saturday bumped into another John back from university while getting onto the train.

I got asked to be in a TV documentary this week, but have turned it down. Such are the pressures of life on the famous and well-loved.

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OK, so you’ll have to work out whether this list is chicken-and-egg; based only on my biased opinion of brands because they are the ones I have come to trust most out of those I use on a day-to-day basis, or whether I am attracted them on a day to day basis because they are great brands.

Transport For London

The quintessential transport brand. I love the level of detail exercised by the designers at TfL as they constantly keep the bar as high if not higher than similar organisation. It always amazes me how much money and time is injected into making you feel like you are being looked after. Even the temporary signage is finished immaculately.

Living in an area where public transport has suffered tremendously from a lack of cohesion until recently, London’s beautifully simple signage, typography, subtle individuality (the slight differences in the application of the logo at each Underground station) and seamless link between all forms of travel just oozes the best of what can be achieved with great design.

I’ve travelled on some pretty impressive, heavily funded public transport in a number of countries in recent years, and nowhere have I found anything that rivals this London classic.

BBC

In my mind the BBC still manages to maintain a record of getting it right. It’s not even down to the individual details in their design output – as recently I wrote – but in the overall feeling that the brand exudes in total.

The BBC has managed to remain without external advertising for over 80 years now, and the auxilliary benefit of this (especially in this market/advertising led world) is that it remains solely responsible for it’s own image. It’s level of self-checking is higher than probably any other media organisation in the world, and so the brand is bolstered by a feeling of superiority over the competition, worldwide.

It’s not that other broadcasters haven’t achieved something spectacular with their identity. Channel 4 has generated an outstanding brand – but the BBC remains like solid granite and consistently successfully manages to stay up-to-date without damaging it’s overall image of credibility.

Virgin

Virgin’s proliferation of business interests doesn’t seem to dilute it’s highly individual style (what other company is bold enough to choose a sexually-related phrase as it’s identity, and write only in white on red?).

Admittedly, some of the enterprises listed on the Virgin Website seem a little bit like the usual resources were not allocated, but on the whole this has got to be one of the most instantly recognisable cross-branding exercises known.

Virgin’s strongest coups are made in media advertisments both print and screen. They were one of the first to start using ‘speak to me’ style language and have continued to provide laterally-generated solutions that aren’t always the most successful, and aren’t always the most obvious, but generally are eye catching.

Even though Virgin Trains is a by-word for inefficiency, and Virgin Mobile always looked like the runt of the pack, overall they manage to maintain a very strong identity across the field.

Current.tv

The youngest of my choices, Current is a magazine channel bringing the best of what YouTube style journalism could bring to the screen and pushing the envelope in creative broadcasting.

Although most people don’t necesserily know what Current is, or recognise the brand, I still think it’s amorphous nature (apart from the logo, very little remains similar from one ident to the next) makes it one of the most interesting and devious ones about – especially in traditional screen media.

I’m not entirely sure the channel has got it quite right throughout. The young and often clumsy presenting sometimes look like the pioneering style of Channel 4’s T4 gone wrong, but it’s the combination of new approaches of mixing media with technology, and showcasing raw, highly creative talent that give it a feel good factor.

The Guardian

I’m not a regular newspaper junkie anymore, and never have been a devoted Guardian reader (though I rarely read any other). The thing is though, out of all the newspapers, The Guardian seems to have made the transition from traditional-to-modern broadsheet without sacrificing integrity or layout.

The introduction of the miniature Times and Independent were great moves, but I don’t think it had anywhere near the level of impact that refreshed Guardian had on making a broadsheet digestible.

Firstly, the new typography is stunning, and the use of colour, space and layout makes this still supersized paper a joy to open up. Until the design refresh, I couldn’t have really told the difference between many of these papers. The Times maybe slipped a couple of extra columns to every page, and The Independent had some very large percentages in a serif font splashed across the front, but it was the bold strap of colour and highly readable type that really made me sit up and notice that one paper was now leading the eye-catchability war.

Politically of course the Guardian represents a certain route, but with or without a political motive, this paper delivers the news in the most affable way of all the heavy-texters.

Overview

There are of course many other brands I put up as contenders for the five spaces I have filled here, but I think I’ll revisit this sometime in the future and add some more then. If you have suggestions for brands that really impress, I’d like to hear about them.

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With rumblings in the pipework of Ford parting with the British based firm Jaguar, the designers appear to have finally upped their game and are showing their newest and far more aggressive looking car, the XF, at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

My view on Jaguar over the past few years has been mixed. I initially loved the shape of the XK8/R/RR, but after a few years came to realise that it seems to be firmly stuck in the 1990’s – along with their other offerings of the S- and X-types which both seemed to become more and more ‘weak-nosed’ (a thing that I really dislike – the effect that the car is dipping into the road – a common feature in Mercedes styling also).

But finally I think we’re seeing a change, and it is a most definite departure from the traditional Jaguar line.

The reason that Jaguar appears to have stayed with smoother curves on it’s previous models is down to pedigree. The Mk2, the E-Type, the Sovereign – each was made from a number of sweeping surfaces. But by the time we got to the early 00s, demand for this styling had dwindled.

Jaguar’s tightened curved styling is often tagged as effeminate and lacklustre – with such plain uninteresting panels (present on such cars at the MGF, Jag XK8, Mazda MX5) all looking tired and uninspiring.

I’ve believed that we needed something more aggressive injected back into car design for a number of years now. Until the launch of the BMW Z4, I hadn’t seen any ‘new’ car that really impressed me.

What arrived with the Z4 was ‘slash styling’ – broken surfaces which have been carried through the BMW range and I think really add interest to the new models. Ford, Renault and Vauxhall have all adopted sharper and edgier details over the past ten years, as have the premium manufacturers (Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Bentley), but I still think BMW is leading the way.

Finally, a decade after everyone else started doing it, Jaguar have stepped into line. The new XF looks like it carries something from the Aston Martin gene-pool (especially from the rear) – I wouldn’t be surprised if the design team shared designers. It looks slightly like it’s slightly stockier though – borrowing the Bentley’s chunky and solid midriff. Is it simply a hybrid of existing ideas?

Well yes, at least partly. There are some more original elements (the chrome flashing on the windows and the sculpted hub caps), though I’m not entirely convinced by the pursed grill on the front, but it is an improvement on the previously tame front end of it’s predecessors.

It’s not just the outside that is impressive. The console looks beautifully executed, using interesting veneers and subtly textured metals to create a very clean space, though I’m not sure about the way a number of the controls have been resolved. That said, the air vents, the radio, fan and rotary gear change dials are sublime.

The aggression of modern car styling is present throughout, and I think they will have widened their appeal with this model. From the photos, the Jaguar XF really looks like it carries some of the pedigree of �110,000 car. I think it will be a success, but I do think there has been some significant compromise here – it leans heavily on styling of existing luxury models and I don’t think it sets itself as a brand apart.

It certainly will appeal to anyone who would love to own a more expensive car, but hasn’t quite got the means to buy one. Cynical pandering to the markets to make sales and salvage the company, or a genuine to attempt to reinstate Jaguar as a world leader in cutting edge design? I think I know where I’d put my money.

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The week gone by has been pretty good for catching up, as weeks for catching up go. What with the London visit at the weekend, I followed it all with a curry and drinks with Jon on Tuesday (trying out the Z4 – nice), then a pub run with Tom last night, though my scheduled housewarming with Will and Charlotte was postponed.

I also heard from yet another Tom from the old skool, who has passed some work my way. I think I’ve managed to salvage a pretty good social calendar for the past sever days considering how despondent I was becoming two weeks ago. Such is the life of a busy freelancer.

I read an article this week that Mark Boulton mentioned and was motivated to do something with my creativity. As a result, I think my output that day improved and I managed to tackle a couple of design problems that I had been stumbling to resolve for sometime – I even got all ‘modern’ with a brand wheel I’ve been working on as part of a collaboration with Rattle. Different, but very enjoyable.

I’ve been really impressed with new TV comedy Outnumbered on BBC One. Definitely my One to Watch at the moment.

Finally, and on a hopeful note, I wish adventurer Steve Fossett the best of luck wherever he is. Hopefully the search and rescue operation will soon conclude with him being found safe and well.

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It may have escaped your notice that the BBC have quietly updated their radio station logos.

It’s been six years since the last major overhaul, and this attempt has been along the same lines as the TV logos – to standardise the format.

The first I noticed of the change was an advert for the Asian Network revealed a new “wavy A” in a circle. I just assumed a rebrand of the one logo until I spotted a new look on the Russell Howard/Jon Richardson podcast on 6 Music.

The new logos haven’t been fully rolled out yet, but the designs have been disclosed.

Radio 1

As you can see, Radio One has seen little in the way of a change. The black sticks, and the only addition is the serif ascender to the top of the number one. Smart and minimally altered. I still like it, and probably still the strongest radio brand.

Radio 1Xtra

Being Radio 1’s sister station, the redesign has keeps the two brands close, and 1X adopts a slightly thicker font to match the Radio 1 branding. Minimal change and understandable, although should 1Xtra be attempting to differentiate itself from Radio 1 more? There has been a paradigm shift over the past few years which has driven the focus of each station further apart – and now 1Xtra pretty much covers all RnB, HipHop and Urban where Radio 1 almost exclusively has removed those genres from it’s playlists since it’s launch. I suppose it is the age of the demographic that still keeps these two stations ‘linked’.

Radio 2

In my opinion, a backward step for Radio 2. For the most popular station in the UK, the logo should have reflected something more exciting than a version of the Radio 1 logo, and in a colour that doesn’t seem to have related particularly with the station in the past. Even if the colour were to stick, I think they have been far too cautious here with a design that could have afforded to be one of the more exciting departures.

Radio 3

Radio 3 provided probably the most interesting and different logo before the revamp. There was something Matisse and incredibly arty about it. I don’t know any Radio 3 listeners, but I always thought it suited the sort of person who would listen to it.

The new look is tamer, based on a clef mark, and is more obvious than the previous incarnation. However, like Radio 2, I think they could have afforded to be a little more avant-garde with this one too. I’m not entirely convinced about the lower part of the number either – it looks like it has been drawn on, where as the upper part has been typographically balanced.

Radio 4

Maybe the one with the least flexibility, Radio 4 listeners are notoriously resistant to change. I really like the colour used here, and it does echo of the previous version. The form of the number is good too, but although the use of the quote mark is in line with the application of motifs in the other logos, it doesn’t feel like it was designed in – much like my issue with the Radio 3 logo. I just feels like it was ‘dropped’ in. It might have sat in better if it had a thicker tail.

Radio 5 Live

I can’t help thinking this is slightly imbalanced. Although the number is very strong, the addition of live makes me see the word Olive which is not intentional and distracting. Perhaps this would have been better below, or within the circle?

Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

Much like it’s sister station, the five branding is strong and the colour completementary, but the positioning of the ‘sports extra’ text this time appears unbalanced – offset oddly from the circle.

Radio 6 Music

From what I have read, the new 6music logo is meant to represent a turntable and stylus, or an iPod clickwheel – playing on the strong music focus and technical-interest nature of the audience. I like the logo, more so than the old one, and the colour also seems a sensible progression.

The inset sans serif typography might have also worked well on the other rebrands too. Despite the musical allusions, I think it would have been better if the hole in the 6 had been truly centred – another case of slight adjustment that could have made it more eye-easy.

Radio 7

The change at Radio 7 is a little more than the logo. Previously BBC 7, Radio 7 is a much more sensible name for this station and reflects it nature as a radio station and not so likely to be confused with the BBC 1, 2, 3 and 4 television services.

I always thought the prior logo for seven was as best quirky and at worst weak when compared to it’s counterparts. The new one strikes me as similarly odd, but therefore maybe fitting of a station I find hard to understand – providing little in the way of new material and mainly a place for repeats of old BBC radio productions and comedies.

The seven has been rounded, unlike with any other of the logo numbers and the colour has pretty much stuck. If you know what Radio 7 is about, you’d probably guess the relevance of the smile but maybe not otherwise. Even so I think it a sensible even obvious step forward.

Radio Asian Network

My favourite of all the logos is this one, although I’m not entirely convinced by the lettering reading top to bottom, at least, not on one line. I always liked the old logo too, and this seems probably the most radical but also most appropriate update.

Overall

Clearly the BBC has attempted to consolidate an eclectic mix of logos. When the last lot were devised in 2001, I did wonder why they had chosen to synchronise the look of the television channel brandings yet set apart the brandings of the radio counterparts.

Whether is this a good thing, I’m undecided, as I think this very much echos of the direction of the BBC branding devised nearly a decade ago. It may have been better to have been more forward-thinking with the designs. I’m also unsure of the timeless nature of these – for me I’m struggling to place them as a reflection of the past, or as forward looking.

Quirkiness is a clear thread that runs through all these logos. Radio 1 and 1Xtra are the least affected in the changes building on their existing already strong brand. Radio 3, 4, 7 and to some extent 6 make literal descriptions of their content with varying degrees of success. 5 Live, Sports Extra and the Asian Network have made the most significant departures from their prior design

The launch of the new identities has one more final but subtle change attached – several of the stations have been renamed. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra have ditched the word ‘Five’ in place of the numeral to match the existing lineup of stations, and all the stations are now prefixed BBC Radio, meaning a change in name for 1Xtra, 6music, BBC 7and Asian Network also.

Although I’ve levelled criticism at most of these designs, I think overall they do work and will enhance the strength of the BBC brand umbrella. Whether it is progressive enough shift or whether it really shows the truly diverse range of content on offer, I’m not entirely convinced.

(Also, it might be worth noting, I think the overall impact is enhanced when they are displayed together as above – I reviewed each one individually with the others removed).

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