Inspiration: New Wendy's Logo

Wendy's recently revealed a new logo update that will hit their stores in March 2013. Wendy's is one of my favorite fast-food places because the quality feels so much better than other fast-food restaurants...and supposedly that is the driving force behind this re-brand. Wendy's wants their logo to be indicative of a more high-end hamburger joint.

But does the re-brand work?

My initial reaction was one of extreme dislike. This logo is so different than the logo I have known my whole life (Wendy's has had the same logo since 1983). Gone is the classic, old-style red box, old-style letterforms, and the 8-year old girl has been given a face-lift. It was hard for me to picture this new image on the restaurant.

After a little time of looking at it, I see that the illustration of the girl really is a big improvement. Much more detail, the pigtails look much more natural, and she looks friendly and cute. She has been moved into a real circle (no longer a slight oval) and she is free and has room to breathe now. I would give the illustration re-design a 9/10 and call it a success.

The type is still the area I am not a fan of. I just feel like this type design is pretty lazy and not very interesting. It has kept the trademark Wendy's "wave", but the style is all new. It does stand out as different from most of the other fast-food hamburger chains, so I will give them that, but gone is the look of a classic hamburger chain! I would have been totally happy if they made just slight tweaks to the original type, and then gave it the same treatment of moving it out of the box and into whitespace. I think it would have made the logo feel fresh, but still keep it familiar. It also really bugs me that the apostrophe is a different color than the rest of the letterforms (it has the same red color as the highlights of her hair). Why? I have no idea. And to be fair, this may just be a result of this image that is circulating the internet. On Wendy's official site, the apostrophe does look like the same color as the rest. I would give the type a 6/10.

So after some time, I feel like I can accept this new Wendy's logo (as if I had a choice). I am not in love with the type treatment, but I do think the new logo overall feels fresh and inviting and I will keep eating at Wendy's. I think I am addicted to the Baconator anyway. I would probably give the overall logo 8/10, which I would consider a success.

Hebrews Theme Poster

This is the theme promo poster for Kairos' current series on the book of Hebrews. The theme is called Christ: The Better Way, and the imagery was designed to emphasize the analogy Jesus created of the broad vs. narrow way to the Kingdom of God. One leads to destruction, and one leads to life. This was a pretty ambitious Photoshop project for me, as I am not a big Photoshop guy, so I got some help from some tutorials and had a lot of fun experimenting to get the final result.

Project: Christ: The Better Way, Hebrews Theme Poster
Client: Kairos, GHCC Young Adult Ministry
Details: 17x11" Poster

Identity Design: Empty

Here is the identity design for the GHCC Student Ministries theme for 2012–2013, Empty. I had some fun with the letterforms for this logotype, removing the tops and hollowing out the letters to make them resemble empty drinking glasses. The posters (see after the jump) are images that convey a feeling of emptiness, edited to fit in with the theme colors.

Inspiration: New Microsoft Logo

"Too simple." That's the main complaint that I have heard about Microsoft's new logo. However, I personally think this logo is a step up from their previous version. They have gotten rid of the big bold italic letters and used a simple, clean typeface that is similar to—but not the same as—the one used in their Windows brand (a typeface called Segoe UI). Yes, it is simple. Yes, it is "boring". But you know exactly who this is when you see it. And boring logos are not necessarily bad if they are used properly. There are plenty of logos that are very simple that are used in unique and classy ways, and we will not know if Microsoft plans to achieve this until they attempt to.

But overall, I would say that this logo is a step up visually and does a good job of capturing the same look that Microsoft has been implementing in their materials for some time.

What do you think?

Receiving the Blessing Poster

This is the poster for the upcoming Men's Breakfast at GHCC. The theme is based around Genesis 32, specifically the portion where Jacob wrestles with an angel from God and refuses to quit until God blesses him. It is a very strange story, but one that is also very interesting and that can apply to us today. I found this great illustration of the story and played around with it and roughed it up to give it a worn old illustration look.

Client: Core, GHCC Men's Ministries
Details: 11x17" Poster

Saint K Album Art

Today is the release date for Saint K's debut, full-length album, Why I'm Here. I was privileged to be able to work on the album art. You can download this album for FREE for a limited time by visiting saintk.com, Amazon, or iTunes.

Project: Album Art
Client: Saint K
Details: 4.75x4.75" CD insert sleeve

Backpacking Trip Flyer & Poster

This is the promotion for the upcoming Kairos Guy's Backpacking Trip. I wanted to give this flyer and poster a similar look and feel to the Kairos Coloma Camping promo stuff, since it falls under the same category. Wish I could go!

Client: Kairos, GHCC Young Adult Ministry
Details: 4x10" Flyer and 11x17" Poster