The Detroit area has just released the results of a branding effort whose challenge was to brand Detroit AND surrounding areas. Crain's Detroit Business has a good article on their efforts.
I think that they have done a good job and the brand logo shown here embodies Detroit nicely. I see automotive and sports culture in the image and this goes right to the soul of the motor city. Now it will be interesting to see how it is integrated in its overall marketing. The suggestion being put forth, is that Detroit is "Where cool comes from".
GO DETROIT!
6 comments:
Hi Ed,
I too see sports and the motor industry reflected in their logo. It's a nice mark. I'm not too keen on the italics for their web address but would like to see how it ties in with their other brand elements.
By the way, I like your change to black body text on a white background. It's much easier on the eye so well done.
David
David.
It is an odd choice of font considering their new logo. I'm guessing they are trying on some retro-effect with a bit of a 50's flare. I think it takes away from the effectiveness of their new image.
Check out their site at: Visit Detroit.
Thanks to the compliment on my change to a white field. From my stats, I noticed a lot of visitors didn't stick around to read anything, so with the few comments I got regarding white text, I thought I would switch to see if the stats improve. I recognized it as a classic design rule, but I was always partial to the look.
I had a look at the website. To be honest I don't think they did themselves any favours with the top left display. The logo shown on the right of the page, a little further down from the top, is much more aesthetically pleasing (even with the chosen typeface for the URL).
There's far too tight a crop on the main logo display for my liking.
I hope your change of text background works out for you. One thing I'd like to see in a prominent position is a group of categories, or recent posts. That'd give your readers an immediate snapshot of what info you're offering up.
Just a thought.
David,
I imagine you'll also agree that the logo looks out of place in that design. It looks like an add-on. If they don't change the entire culture around the new brand it is obvious they view brand as spin only. I hope it is in transition although I would not have recommended launching the new brand logo without the website to support it. (At least.)
So I'm hoping for better things to come.
I completely agree Ed. It's not a great website and there's far too much happening at once. I didn't know where to look!
I notice you've moved your archives to the top of the page. That's an improvement in my opinion. Now you need to make your text links more legible. Blue on black isn't easy to scan through.
Good luck.
David,
Yes, I forgot about those links. You're going to shame me into it. Please stand by.
Ed
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