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What the Hell is this?!

dpc's picture

Can someone tell me what Animal Planet was thinking with this?

What is the point of this terrible thing?

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

natobasso's picture

Dumb

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

It looks like a grade school project!

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

dpc's picture

...

Give them some credit, it's atleast a high school project!

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

3dogmama's picture

Guess they tired of the

Guess they tired of the elephant and globe look, but this is worse. Much worse. With their budget and wide-access audience I think they could have done a hell of a lot better that this. Hopefully someone in their marketing department will find this thread and hear what real designers have to say about this.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

natobasso's picture

Wolff Olins...

Must have been Wolff Olins who designed this one (ie 2012 Olympic logo!)

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

natobasso's picture

PR article

PR Article.

Mono, based in Minneapolis, is the creative agency executing the brand campaign. Dunning, Eley and Jones, based in London, is the design agency
behind the new logo and on-air look.

Another crappy logo from a british agency. :\

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

plugz's picture

*ahem*

Watch what you're saying about crappy British agencies. ;o)

natobasso's picture

Hey, I'm sure they don't all

Hey, I'm sure they don't all suck as bad as this agency and Wolff-Olins! :)

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

dpc's picture

???

Can anyone figure out how much Animal Planet paied for this??

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

thornysarus's picture

??

Who knows what they were thinking...

Maybe their focus group was on crack that day. :)

Terrell Thornhill

e-zign Design Group

JimD's picture

Maybe they SHOULD have been on crack

Maybe their focus group was on crack that day. :)

Testing logos and ads with focus groups to begin with was most likely the problem. Nothing good ever comes out of "design by committee."

-----------
Visit The Graphic Mac for graphics and Mac OS tips, reviews, tutorials and discussion.

Kilik's picture

"Nothing good ever comes out of "design by committee."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

3dogmama's picture

As was the group that okayed

As was the group that okayed our province's (Ontario, Canada) new logo. It's been nicknamed the Jacuzzi logo because it resembles three men in a hot tub.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2006/06/23/to-trillium20060623.html

Rub a dub dub whose back is being rubbed? I'd say Bensimon Byrne's by the looks of things. It cost us taxpayers close to a quarter of a million dollars. Hmmm....do I smell another ad agency scandel in the works? I knew there was a reason I didn't vote for McGuinty!

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

thornysarus's picture

wow..

Rub-a-dub-dub is right.

They let you all vote in Canada? :)

lol

Terrell Thornhill

e-zign Design Group

Leaky Penny's picture

Good LORD....

This is enough to make me move back to Quebec! ;)

Leaky Penny
www.leakypenny.com

“What ain't no country I ever heard of. They speak English in What?”
~ Jules Winnfield

3dogmama's picture

Sacre Bleu!

Is that why you moved out of Quebec and into Ontario because of the last ad scandel involving Montréal's Groupe Everest? Are you, Art Fiend, somehow linked to these two identity scandels? Last time Liberal, this time Tory.

ARE YOU AN NDPer???!!!!!

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

Leaky Penny's picture

Sacrebleu? You mean Tabarnac! :P

That was really very messy! Needless to say, the libs lost alot of fans, only the hardcore stayed with them...including myself...well, considering the alternative, Bloc Quebecois, it was the right choice!

Leaky Penny
www.leakypenny.com

“What ain't no country I ever heard of. They speak English in What?”
~ Jules Winnfield

plugz's picture

Doesn't look that bad to me.

It's recognisable, green showing the nature side, bizarrely it reminds me a little of animal pattern stripes such as a zebra.

I'm not it's biggest fan, but I understand where they're coming from.

thornysarus's picture

Hmm...

Plugz, You're British. Right? ;)

Terrell Thornhill

e-zign Design Group

dpc's picture

Not sure.

I thought maybe it was about stripes... then I thought, no. I really don't think those are stripes. And anyway, how do stripes encompass everything about animal planet? And just because it's green doesn't mean that it stands for all animals or nature.

I didn't know a logo redesign could be worse then the xerox 'xbox' logo or Dairy Queen's stupid swooshes.

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

natobasso's picture

Plugz, you're kidding,

Plugz, you're kidding, right?!

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

plugz's picture

Yes, I'm British...

Wishing I wasn't at the moment. ;o)

The logo isn't bad.
It's just far from being good.
As an instantly identifiable channel ident, it will actually do a good job as it's using bright colours and has several easily recognisable elements to it.

I'm not praising it as a great piece of design, but I have to admit, when flicking through channels, it's an ident you'd notice due to the unconventional design.
For that reason alone, I think it's doing it's job.

The UK design market is cut throat at the moment, especially in the realm of pay-TV services that are a big market right now with the switch to digital and move to HD broadcasting.
Maybe my opinion is skewed my some of the other channel idents out there.
I'll pull together some examples later when I have a chance as a contrast and compare, perhaps that'll explain why I don't hate it.

onegirlcreative's picture

Any agencies hiring in the UK?

I'm there if they are. =P

suzanne maestri-walters :: graphic designer :: www.onegirlcreative.com

--------
"The name's Bond, James Bond."

www.onegirlcreative.com

plugz's picture

I wouldn't advise it. I'm

I wouldn't advise it.

I'm planning to decamp to the US if I can in the next few years.

3dogmama's picture

Nope. Still not seeing a

Nope. Still not seeing a professional logo here. I find it sloppy, staid and old hat. They could have done a number of things such as shaped the words into an animal, or hit the letters with stripes, leopard fur, and so forth...had some fun with it. My five year old brings home better work than this from school. Maybe I should start farming out his work to agencies.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

dpc's picture

WORST

On so many levels, this is the worst logo I have ever seen by a major company.

Does anyone know of any others that can top this one? Please post.

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

Kilik's picture

Yes, here's a horrible one...

Capital One has a redesign that makes the logo look older rather than newer. Scroll down the page a little ways. This one's pretty bad...

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/

Visual's picture

Interesting

Everyone check this out. Interesting.

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/

Strive to Thrive

onegirlcreative's picture

OMG

What was Capital One thinking??? I hate those gradients. Ugh!

suzanne maestri-walters :: graphic designer :: www.onegirlcreative.com

--------
"The name's Bond, James Bond."

www.onegirlcreative.com

caoimghgin's picture

The crappiness...

The crappiness of this logo was painfully apparent even as we all collectively gushed "Awwwwwww" at the antics of the 'Puppy Bowl' featured on Animal Planet during the SuperBowl.

While the logo must be the worst ever, you have to admire the marketing genius of Animal Planet by dedicating an entire show to puppies playing and a halftime show of kittens playing followed by more puppies playing. Pure gold!

dpc's picture

...

I have nothing against their lineup... and the Puppy Bowl and Kitten halftime show is genuis... but nothing excuses this logo.

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

3dogmama's picture

If you really want to

If you really want to stretch the reality of this logo, I think I see a large beak coming off the "I".... but, hey, now we're delving into psychology's ink blot territory.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

Visual's picture

Green = Green

I really find it hard to believe that firms actually get paid very good money to crank out this kind of stuff. It looks like animal dung.

Strive to Thrive

Apfhex's picture

While it looks like

While it looks like something a person who just learned to distort text in Illustrator might have made.... it's a lot more interesting then their old logo. In that context, I almost like it.

krisM's picture

That's a great point.

That's a great point. The new logo is less busy, more unique and might actually be recognizable. It is freakin ugly though.

JRiordan's picture

Can anyone else see...

... the bird? The A forms the body and the eye, and the lopsided M is the beak.

dpc's picture

Wow.

As much as I enjoy anyone's atempt to figure this pile of crap out, I don't see any bird.

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

ireid's picture

I knda like it . . .

I saw it on the tube last night and only glanced it and went: "What the?!?" BUT after looking at it a while online its not that bad. I guess its just different and doesn't conform to an existing 'swooshy style" It also communicates the idea of "primitive" very well. I think that's the idea: "Primate"? Hmmm Maybe you have to be like Lisa Simpson at the Jazz bar when the guy sitting next to her says:
"I dunno, doesn't sound very good. . ."
"You have to listen to the notes that she's not playing." she replied
"Hrumph, I could have done that at home"

lol

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

natobasso's picture

This logo is not worth the

This logo is not worth the money spent on it. The fonts are distorted and the M turned sideways is amateurish and silly and at best downright illegible. These things are rookie mistakes that an experienced agency just should not make. If I showed this logo to any of my clients I'd get laughed out of their offices!

This logo unequivocally sucks. However, not all of British design sucks. There's a lot of great British design out there.

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

ireid's picture

I think that was the intention

I really believe that it was supposed to LOOK like that for a reason. . . Its VERY unassuming and 'safe.' :)

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

dpc's picture

I hear ya.

I hear what you are saying about the natural / primitive feel... but they could have achived that in a different and less akward way. And really it's not natual looking, besides the green. It just looks like a highschooler was learning illustrator - not like an experienced agency was trying to be natual and animal-like.

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

ireid's picture

Ok

But WHAT is "natual [sic] and animal-like."?

It reminds me of something though. . . something I had seen before. . .

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

natobasso's picture

Um, their old logo was

Um, their old logo was closer than this one is. :)

This one is just poorly thought out. You see examples of this from beginning/student designers, you shouldn't see them from experienced agencies.

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

ireid's picture

Yes but. . .

There is something about it that on closer inspection makes you realise that its very, I dunno, free spirited. I know you guys hate it. I don;t fancy it that much myself, BUT it says something that the other logo (which u must agree is dated) didn't. Its young primal and 'free' feeling.

That's the way I see it. . . The way the 'm' is on its side looks like a beak trying to bite the tail of something. . . maybe I'm high on coffee or something. . . lol

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

natobasso's picture

I think

You are definitely high. :)

This logo took approximately 5 minutes to make; it just doesn't appear as well thought out as you are giving it credit for.

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

3dogmama's picture

Two thumbs down.

The purpose of this logo was to coerce older viewers to tune in. This "grownup" logo was supposedly meant to convey animals' primal instincts. My instinct is to block it out.

The only thing going for it is its adherence to the green, re: Animal Planet's stance on global conservation, but that's as far as I would go regarding any purported merits of it.

Another point: confusion with lettering if you weren't already familiar with it...you know, if you lived on another APLANET. Also, it reeks of Paula Scher's Public Theater Posters; not that that's a bad thing, the woman's work is phenomanal, yet please, try to come up with your own ideas. (sample: http://typophile.com/files/pub_theater_01.jpg)

I also have a feeling of being caged/boxed in with this logo, something I don't think you would like to portray for animals of the wild.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

Stack's picture

i love some of Paula Sher's

i love some of Paula Sher's work....but some of it looks like a 3rd grader's collage work. I give her credit for being a pioneer, but i think a lot of her work is composition and not ideation. For ingenuity i give credit to one of my faves Saul Bass...

3dogmama's picture

I concur

Identity, film, print...the man was amazing. His collaborations with Hitchcock, Preminger and Scorsese really set him apart. I especially like his work on Hitchcock's Vertigo...the extreme close-up on a woman’s face spiraling as a bloody red soaks the screen. Genius thought for 1958.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

spigot's picture

I kinda dig it

Unrefined... wild... something about it works for me. Especially how its presented on their website: http://animal.discovery.com/

3dogmama's picture

Cheap parlour tricks don't

Cheap parlour tricks don't hold water with me. You can Photoshop the hell out of any logo or text to give it some zing, but if you need to resort to these types of tactics to garner interest so early on in the game with a brand new logo then hasn't your design failed somehow by not being able to stand on its own?

What's next...the addition of various animals peeking around the letters? An elephant on one, a monkey another. Now wouldn't that just gum up the natural progression of a new brand recognition program?

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

plugz's picture

I disagree.

It's not going to appear on its own very often.
It doesn't represent a company, it's not going on headed paper or business cards, it's not going to appear alone on a billboard as part of a product launch.

It's a sub-brand of a larger organisation, as such it is almost always going to be used on screen in association with advertising or as part of an ident.

It doesn't need to stand alone.

ireid's picture

You're right

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken and sometimes one man's drink is another man's poison!

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

3dogmama's picture

My apologies. I hadn't

My apologies. I hadn't realized you were part of their marketing team and privy to their plans for this...now, what is the media calling it?...logo. It's good to hear that it doesn't need to stand on its own through a line of stationery or used in signage.

In regards to representation, it may very well not be the logo for the entire company, but it is still representing a segment of it. Many large corporations have subsidiary products that fall under one umbrella, each with their own logo and branding strategy. To come forth and state that it doesn't need to be strong or stand alone is a reversal of what any identification program is all about.

You like the logo, I don't. It's just a matter of opinion.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

ireid's picture

Now you're just being nasty/nusty! lol

But what we have been saying all along. . . what is the target group. Someone said earlier older people (if I'm not mistaken) and that it has failed. . .well ok how did they know that? How do we know it has failed?

We design things for use by people, but people hardly EVER use what things are designed for. lol If you can figure that out then I applaud u! What I am saying is that this 'logo' is doing something different. I applaud that, whether it works or not is not the point, it does for me what a LOT of GD's I believe are afraid to do. try something else.

We keep 'decrying' these stock logo sites because we say that they remove the designers input into the creation of a solid brand and for good reason because they are all redundant and generic and one looks just like another following the design trends of the time. This Animal Planet logo is doing something that I haven't seen before. . . its different and I think that's why I think it works. It DOES stand out and I do BELIEVE its a radical move from what they had before which is necessary. . .

The easy way out would have been to be conservative and go with the 'trend' this logo seems to do NEITHER and simply put it shows something that a lot of logos miss: Simplicity and character. If you think the character is all wrong for "Animal Planet' so be it but as the viewer I believe it gets its message across quite interestingly. . . but I may be wrong, because I may not be the target!

my two cents. . .

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

3dogmama's picture

Yeah, you're right. Sorry.

Yeah, you're right about the nastiness aspect of my post. Sorry. That wasn't necessary. I'm frustrated with another aspect of my work life and it's spilling over into everything lately.

Plugz--forgive my sarcasm. I know what you're saying; just wanted you to see my outlook when it came to identifiers.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

ireid's picture

Not to worry. . .

Don't sweat the small stuff! :)

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

plugz's picture

I can take it.

I'm man enough and more importantly, clearly more cultured than you heathens who don't appreciate good design...

*flees*

plugz's picture

Wow!

Sarcasm is positively dripping from that post. ;)

3dogmama's picture

You think that was bad? You

You think that was bad? You should have read the one I sent off to one of my clients and his new "assistant", a woman who is making my life a professional hell. Change this, change that, see that burning hoop? Jump through it. I'm just about ready to stick the hoop up her hoop! She's one of those wannabe designers and it seems her boss has given her free rein to "help me" design a cover. Thank god they're not touching the layout of the inside pages.

And it's not only me that is frustrated with them. Several of the other managers at this company have commented on these two as well. I wonder when their boss, a person who is currently submitting five of my designs into a North American competition, will realize what these two are doing.

I'm a designer. Let me do my job and I won't pretend to know how to do yours.

Hmmm....maybe I should send the assistant the ad posted for a designer up in Canada's Northwest Territories.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

ireid's picture

There's a job oppurtunity

In the northwest Territories?!

I'll take it! :)

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

onegirlcreative's picture

Northwest as in Seattle or Portland???

I'd take that, too.

suzanne maestri-walters :: graphic designer :: www.onegirlcreative.com

--------
"The name's Bond, James Bond."

www.onegirlcreative.com

3dogmama's picture

As in Canada.

It really is a beautiful region, especially the light show that the Aurora Borealis puts on. You just have to be able to handle the isolation factor and the lack of daylight hours during certain points of the year. Oh yeah, and make sure to pack a parka!

http://www.explorenwt.com/

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

onegirlcreative's picture

I LOVE Canada...

I would move there in a minute if it weren't for my husband. =P

I love your healthcare system, too. Ours sucks (obviously).

suzanne maestri-walters :: graphic designer :: www.onegirlcreative.com

--------
"The name's Bond, James Bond."

www.onegirlcreative.com

3dogmama's picture

I love the States too.

And will probably be spending more time there. My parents are retiring this year and buying a place in Arizona (my mother is half American). It should prove to be an interesting 2008 Christmas without several feet of snow to contend with.

ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

onegirlcreative's picture

I can empathize

I live in Colorado, and have been for almost 18 years. But basically grew up in Las Vegas (born in Connecticut and lived there until I was 9 though), so I can understand about not having a "white Christmas." I am not a warm weather person myself—only when I'm vacationing. LOL

suzanne maestri-walters :: graphic designer :: www.onegirlcreative.com

--------
"The name's Bond, James Bond."

www.onegirlcreative.com

dpc's picture

Let's See

Just wanna see how small we can get this box.

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

plugz's picture

I wonder...

*testing*

ireid's picture

smaller

and smaller

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

dpc's picture

even smaller

Fresh Portfolio ---> http://www.davidpcrawford.com

3dogmama's picture

tiny

tiny
ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

Stack's picture

molecular

molecular

3dogmama's picture

an ion ttfn! 3dogmama

an ion
ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

natobasso's picture

maybe it'll go inverted?

maybe it'll go inverted? :)

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

spigot's picture

Superkalafragalisticexpealadocious

Even though the sound is something quite atrocious.

~

3dogmama's picture

way to go,

way to go, julie!
ttfn!
3dogmama

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

ireid's picture

Squeeeeezeeeee

I'm
a
mime
trapped
in
a
box
. . .
help!

"Try
not,
Do!
or
do
not,
there
is
no
try."
-Yoda

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

plugz's picture

Well.

That's
Just.
SIlly.

onegirlcreative's picture

This is hilarious

Who started this anyway? Too funny.

suzanne maestri-walters :: graphic designer :: www.onegirlcreative.com

--------
"The name's Bond, James Bond."

www.onegirlcreative.com

natobasso's picture

disagree

I disagree. By its very definition a logo needs to stand alone as well as communicate.

----
Powerpoint is not a design application
My latest web design work

Stack's picture

ya know...

although i think it looks like amateur crap by itself....it is versatile and may actually look good on different media. It has borderline neutral colors and it is very unassuming. I mean, its like they got so generic that they were hoping the logo would just be a minor supplement to all their advertising campaigns. I think (for print) this could really work with some kick ass photography...

Johnny's picture

That design could work

If it was 1985. And the client was PepsiCo. And the words were changed to "Mountain Dew."

-Johnny

ireid's picture

NOW I KNOW WHERE . . .

...I've seen it before! LOL

But its not exactly what I had seen before but close.

This was the first thing that came to mind. . . but STILL not what I remembered . . .

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

thornysarus's picture

Damn, Dirty Apes.

hehe

Terrell Thornhill

e-zign Design Group

ireid's picture

Its a Mad house!

A Maaaaadddddd houuuuuussseeee!

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

plugz's picture

LOL

LOL

MixiBoi's picture

AMP

It could be worse...they could of had an AMP logo.

Now everyone fear the next new TV logo change, when National Geographic Channel, goes "natgeo".

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