There's more from the horse's mouth...

http://www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=21908

http://www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=7521

Some fun little timeline charts...

http://www.sbc.com/Common/files/pdf/logo_evolution_factsheet.pdf

http://www.sbc.com/Common/files/pdf/brand_evolution.pdf

they should have just put a swash around the whole thing and called it a day…

; )

nc

Ahh, yes, "if in doubt Brand about"

Trendy says it all (inserting finger down throat)

ChrisL

Nice beach ball. Luky me, I won't be seeing it much here in the North Europe.

mc

"beach ball"

Beach Ball madam? Why that can't possibly be a beach ball--Christmas Tree ornament maybe though :-)

ChrisL

Christmas Tree ornament..

Yes, why not! Very seasonal. ;^)

Just saw the first Christmas tree in the neighbourhood today, a few of those would look just fine in it.

"...a few of those would look just fine in it."

with out a shadow of a doubt :-)

ChrisL

gross :-/ I do like Nextel/Sprint's new identity though!

Christmas ornament aside, doesn't anyone else think the type is wonky? I can't put a finger on it, but something is wickedly icky about the 'a' and the ampersand.

i second the Nextel/Sprint ID.

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nc

Chris-
LOL!!!
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nc

Growing up, I always thought "AT&T" really said "ATAT." I figured it must have been in reference to the oh-so-wicked AT-AT (aka Imperial Walkers) in Empire Strikes Back.

yes... the entire NEXTEL/Sprint job is great... love the tv ads too... dry but not stale. Glad they kept the black/yellow. That really caught me with NEXTEL.

doesn’t anyone else think the type is wonky? I can’t put a finger on it, but something is wickedly icky about the ‘a’ and the ampersand.

Totally wonky. With all the 'humanist sans' happening these days, there sure are a whole lot of wonky curves to go around. I still cringe at Trebuchet.

There's a banner on a building across from where I work in Times Square that's literally 20 stories tall, an ad for Sprint/Nextel and I enjoy it every time I look at it!

"Growing up, I always thought “AT&T” really said “ATAT.” I figured it must have been in reference to the oh-so-wicked AT-AT (aka Imperial Walkers) in Empire Strikes Back."

Growing up, I always thought AT&T stood for " A Tin-can & Tin-can"
as in Tin-canTelephone :-)

Ahhh, generation differences :-)

ChrisL

Some* referred to the old AT&T globe as the "Death Star" so the AT-AT reference would have worked for them...

*http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/D/Death-Star.html
This usage was particularly common among partisans of BSD Unix in the 1980s, who tended to regard the AT&T versions as inferior and AT&T as a bad guy.

May the Force be with you.

ChrisL

always...

I would have done better for half the money...

Héctor

I'm not from where you's fulla's are, and I clearly have less emotional attachment to a Telco's logo. But it is worse, so much more! I think the USATODAY write up says it all:

"AT&T's logo has been rejiggered to give it a 3-D effect."

Imagine adressing a boardroom full of powersuits and selling it with that line! The actual pitch and the USATODAY write-up would be hilarious to read side by side.

"He says the pint-sized letters, reminiscent of alphabet soup, were a tough sell internally"

Man, they are really hacking in to it. Those journo's know bullshit when they see it…

In 2-D I don't mind it as much.

It still has problems (the type, that 'a' gives me the willies), but that 3-D Sphere of Mesmerizing Technology Swirls is just silly. They should have stuck with the uppercase type. No reason to stop. They're just losing some of the 'burned-in-the-mind' features of the old one.

NYT says it's Avenir - Yikes!

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/21/business/21logo.html?oref=login

It looks like they did something funny to it, or it's not Linotype's cut.

>It looks like they did something funny to it,

yes that's why I said "yikes!" No disrespect to Avenir.

>or it’s not Linotype’s cut.

I think Linotype own the TM so no other cut could use the name.

I think Cingular's brand is all Avenir, which makes the choice all the more/less interesting.

It is but a veneer of Avenir.

I love "Refreshing the brand". It is kind of like changing the Kitty-litter in reverse--it didn't used to stink but now it does.

ChrisL

I love “Refreshing the brand”. It is kind of like changing the Kitty-litter in reverse—it didn’t used to stink but now it does.

hahaha! :D!

>“AT&T’s logo has been rejiggered to give it a 3-D effect.”

Damn those Photoshop filters.
But hey, way to go, UPS.

>I would have done better for half the money…

It depends how stern a stuff you are made of, Hector.
Just how many corporate meetings and are you prepared to sit through, how many powerpoint rationales are you willing to give, before your brain turns to mush? Could you make it different, but kind of the same? Sure, give me the money, you want progressive conservative? -- no problem!

Ok, trying to look for something good...
It appears that maybe they are going to try to change over everything at once... ? That would be good. No "two logos at once" like UPS is *still* doing.

I'm surprised at the lack of craftsmanship on a lot of corporate rebrandings lately. The lines in the globe look like they're tilting counterclockwise, and they just look poorly drawn. I won't even mention the type. It looks like a cross between Avenir and Conduit.

>I’m surprised at the lack of craftsmanship

Design wanna be like art.

I don't think this is lack of good designers, as much as it is influence of the corporate higher ups and what they think is good. I see this at work sometimes (RCA Records) on the American Idol and other things that Clive Davis gets his hands on. The ADs just give up and let him do what he wants with the artwork because it's a never ending battle on certain artists.

I wouldn't give Clive Davis all the credit for that beast. Although I am well aware of the trials of a designer and the steps they have to take -- blind-fold firmly on -- sometimes the market is what drives graphics.

Have we figured out what type face this is? Is it a tweaked version of avenier? Looks like maybe a little bit of edge rounding and the like.

Tiffany: Sorry I wasn't clear...I didn't mean Clive had anything to do with the AT&T logo. I was just stating personal experience with an end product that was less than satisfactory to what original designs/options were presented.

> Christmas ornament aside, doesn’t anyone else think the type is
> wonky? I can’t put a finger on it, but something is wickedly icky
> about the ‘a’ and the ampersand.

Surely the t's are the offending characters?
(as well as the crazy 3D bauble globe thing - agree with Chris R that 2D is best).

I kinda liked the bell.

Adrian Frutiger would be very disappointed to see that described as Avenir.

Everyone liked the bell except for the anrtitrust folks who made Ma Bell get a C section. All the baby Bells were like Burnham Wood come to Dunsanane.

ChrisL

Yeah, but if they bring the bell back they can have the "ill communication" again. Though the new bell would probably be 3D as well, and have an animated clapper or something.

"The clapper represents the cutomer and we are the bell. We get to make a nice sound and you get banged around by our undersides."

I've actually been soliciting non-designer opinions on my site, to see what less finicky viewers think of the new one.

>I’ve actually been soliciting non-designer opinions on my site

linkie?

Si

Ok...When UPS rebranded, I was nowhere NEAR this offended.

Why is the globe looking down and to the left? It looks like the logo is hanging its head in shame, as should everyone involved in this process. Does anyone know who did this one?

I'd qualify it as FUGLY.

Miss Tiffany!!! That is unladylike language--but as true as true can be :-)

ChrisL

> Does anyone know who did this one?

Interbrand

There's quite a lengthy discussion of this logo going on over at Speak Up also.

My problem with the look is it looks like a plate at a fancy resturant with a T-Bone steak and Ice Cream. They don't work together. Either at&t or the globe need to be smaller. They compete for the same space with no feeling of priority. My worst fear is it looks cheap. That isn't what you want to project when you are providing service.

"My worst fear is it looks cheap."

It looks like they got it from one of those "Your own logo for $25!" web sites.

ChrisL

It really does Chris. I think they felt compelled to get to market. Why is it that companies don't test there logos at focus groups anymore? A few weeks of testing would of told them what the consumers thought were weak points about their choices.

Maybe the suits were afraid they would be told they were wrong?

ChrisL

I have an AT&T metal snow flake xmas thing from the 80's from a former girl friend... circa 1986.. I'll dig it out when we put up the tree.