Logo-a-Gogo

So I've been thinking a lot about logos lately. Big logos, small logos, even medium-sized logos. 

Whatever size they come in, I find that the best logos add to the company name. They don't just sit beside it or distract, they're seamlessly blended together whereby the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. 

If you plan on designing a logo for yourself, Logofaves.com has a wonderful gallery of some of the best logos around. They even categorize it into Highest Rated and Most Favorited, and give you the option to Pin It onto your pinterest board.

Here are some of my favorite examples:

These are all fantastic, amazing and hilarious. They worked with what they were given to make something clever and awesome, and they make me want to buy their products, whatever these products may be. (Elephant combs?)

Recently I designed a logo for local Winnipeg LGBT* bar. I had a long conversation with the President of the Board of Directors to figure out what direction the company wanted to rebrand themselves with.

In the end I gave them some samples of my final design, which included a version for their signage and for their communications.

This is what I came up with:

Their tag line is "The Heart of the Community", so we decided together to incorporate the heart into the logo design. It'll be displayed on the signage in 2013, so look out for my baby if you're ever in hankering for a gay old time in Winnipeg!

Helloooo Handsome

Love love love this cute little retro YouTube commercial for a Los Angeles coffee shop Handsome Coffee Roasters. 
Is there a word for YouTube commercials yet? Ones that are three minutes long and get away with saying stuff like "I love flicking beans!"

YouTubettes? YouToots? YouMercials?

Anyways... Watch it if only to see an old school commercial in 1080p.

It's Arrested Development (omgomgomg!)

The moment we've all been praying for has finally come! The Bluths of Arrested Development have snapped some promo shots together for Entertainment Weekly, so this means that a reunion season/movie is coming our way faster than a runaway stair car!

The cast is so amazingly funny that even a few still frames of them are hilarious, and they don't look like they've aged at all since the show ended, though Tobias is looking a little chunkier. But the prospect of chunky Tobias in cutoffs makes me want to blue myself. 

For those of you that aren't familiar with the show, I ask you... "WHY NOT!?!?!" Anyone who has watched it loves it, and the episodes just keep getting funnier. It was cancelled in 2006 despite winning dumptrucks of awards and being named by IGN as the funniest show of all time. It also has a huge cult following, so fans have been waiting for a reunion for the last 6 years, and it looks like the wait will soon be over. 

I personally can't wait to see what they do with the Bluths, but there are 6 years worth of pressure on the writers to knock it out of the park (like the baseball episode). Looks like ten to thirteen episodes will be released on Netflix on the same day sometime in 2013. Leave it to A.D. to do something totally weird like that. Now, I'm off to buy all the Netflix.

In case the promos are not enough, here's a YouTube clip of George Michael (no, not the singer) in front of the stair car, keeping an eye out for hop-ons.

Plus an extra-special top-secret bonus of what appears to be Buster Bluth running around in a lovely blue peacoat. Taste the happy!

Via Link

Mrs. Dress-Up aka Hallowheee

Here at the Milk Bar, sometimes I go off track. But as Lady Gaga says "Right track blah blah blah."

Basically I'm really excited because Hallowe'en is a-comin' yet again! In my opinion Halloween > Christmas on so many levels... Mostly because I'm Jewish. Just kidding, I just play a jew on T.V.

Moving right along, Hallowe'en is fast approaching and I've already started the construction of my costume. Wanna know what it is?

First, let's take a moment to reflect upon Hallowe'ens of yore, and share together in the "colourful" history that is my love of making costumes. It all started when I was but a wee tot and I accidentally sewed myself to a piece of fabric. You could say I got "hooked" (pardon the pun). These days I'll usually make 2 decently elaborate costumes. 

Like last year when I was a Human Centi-Pad (from T.V.'s South Park)

via Link

Classic. This same year I was also Ezio from Assassin's Creed. Here I am killing another Ezio who dared try and assassinate me at Comic Con.

Here's me as an Avatar. Too much fun until someone burnt down my hometree.

This is when I was just Joanne Mcleod. Hal Johnson ditched at the last minute. Awkward!

Here's me as Waldo from a b-day party. 

And as a zombie doctor. Zombies need to be financially secure too. 

And as Fiona from Shrek. 

And as Freddie Mercury. 

And as Lindsay Lohan.

And as a Ghostbuster.

My go-to weekend outfit is usually a sailor. Here are some seamen by a toilet.

No idea what we were supposed to be here.

As Alexander DeLarge. He is an inspiration for life and for my blog.

There is but a snippet of some of the kooky characters I've decided to emulate at some point. Needless to say I love this and I'm so so so excited to officially announce on this blog right here that this Hallowe'en I'll be dressing up as Loki from The Avengers/Thor. 

via Link

I just think he's so cool and brooding for a villain. I've already started building his awesome helmet out of some wire and paper mache, stay tuned for pictures of the finished version.

Absolut Spotlight

So basically my dream in life is to work in advertising or marketing for a booze company. Any booze company. I can sell what I know, and I know booze. Plus it's really easy to make people buy it right? 

WRONG-O!

Here in Canada there are sooooooo many restrictions that you have to consider when making an advertisement for alcohol. You can't make it look like a fun time in any way shape or form. That's why I admire this type of advertising when it's done really well. 

Today I wanted to shine a spotlight on the lovely print ads for Absolut Vodka. They're simple, clean and effective, and very modifiable. I think their strength lies in their simplicity, and they stand out in a magazine based on the one crisp image of the bottle and the unmistakable font. 

This is a little spin-off series they had with the tagline "In an Absolut world".

This last one has an invisible caption that reads "In an Absolut world there are no labels".

Cheers to you Absolut Vodka! You make me want to drink you.

via link

Bad Ad: The Canadian Tire Guy

We all know him, we all hate him. He is... The Canadian Tire Guy.

He is played by Canadian actor Ted Simonett, but details, photos, and available videos of the old commercials are almost impossible to find on the whole internet.

I checked everywhere.

Basically this dude was the bane of my existence for the 8 YEARS that he was the Canadian Tire spokesperson. It seems like all the money they saved on paying this terrible actor was spent to ensure that his commercials ran practically 24/7.

He is coined "the Ned Flanders" of commercials, always popping up at his neighbour's houses with the perfect tool for their really specific-tool-needing situation. He was ugly and chipper, two qualities I hate in an unattractive old man, but yet he continues popping up at his neighbours, and on our televisions incessantly.

I did a longer search than I usually would to try and track down even ONE of this endless list of crappy commercials, but I guess Canadian Tire was embarassed about them and pulled them all from the internet somehow. They finally figured out that no one wanted to see them.

Macleans posted a delightfully mean article about him, delightfully called "What a tool" back in 2005.

In case you're unsure about what I'm talking about (comeon... you're not), here's a clip of the neighbour we love to hate aka the Canadian Ned Flanders from the Rick Mercer Report.

 

Screw that guy.

Conan's Just Not That India

This is an amazing commercial from last year. It's super long for an ad (two whole minutes), but the shots are gorgeous, and there's a delightful little punch at the end.
Much more delightful than a regular punch.

Plus what's funnier than a 6-foot tall redhead in India?

Amazing what a huge budget can do for you.