Metro FM

Metro FM is the largest National Urban Commercial station in South Africa with around six million adult listeners tuning in from all across the nation. The station’s core genre, R&B, is the most popular music genre among South Africans between the ages of 16 and 34. Metro’s penetration within this market is 43 percent of the total market. (source)

I know next to nothing about this identity design (their marketing dept. never replied to my e-mail), other than to say that the typeface is the FF DIN family. Metro FM is an SABC radio station (SABC logo featured in Part 1) so it might be safe to assume that their design team are responsible for this one too.

I really like how the M letterform, resembling both an audio spectrum analyzer and cityscape, breathes life into the logo when animated, like the Sasol logo. Take a look at their website or TVCs to see the M in action:

Kalahari.net

Kalahari.net is the largest and most dominant e-Commerce platform in Africa offering a huge range of books, music, DVDs, games, electronics and gifts. First registered in April 1998, Kalahari.net offers top-selling products available on 24-hour delivery, various payment options, door-to-door delivery, wish list facilities, vouchers, free gift-wrapping, etc.

Kalahari.net is a division of Media24, a Naspers brand. The name links the brand to Africa by its association with the Kalahari Desert, a well-known African landmark.

Interestingly, they might have been called Kalahari.com by now, if they'd won a domain name dispute back in 2001. I really enjoyed the below extract (for context, I was employed by Electric Ocean a month before, just as they were entering a state of turmoil, so it comes as no suprise...):

On a date prior to June 9, 1999, the Complainant entered into an agreement with a company named Electric Ocean to acquire the registration of the Domain Name which was at that time held by Electric Ocean. However, before the transfer could be effected the registration of the Domain Name was cancelled on Electric Ocean’s failure to pay the fees. The Domain Name fell back into the public domain.

The logo was designed by Garth Walker of Mister Walker Design (formerly Orange Juice Design, who were later acquired by the design house of Ogilvy South Africa). Garth never responded to my e-mail either, but I had better luck contacting Kalahari.net themselves, and they had this to share:

In essence, it was our aim to capture the spirit of the organisation through the use of a 'symbol'. The 'symbol' itself is the man running with the sun/streamer and with the use of warm colours, the logo represents the spirit of our organisation. i.e. A happy, warm company within an African heritage. The logo is horizontal in format for web legibility with no use of vignettes or thin lines. Type is simple and complimentary to the logo's message.

My favourite part is the hypnotic ribbon. I'm not sure what the typeface is - the closest match I can find is Fiendstar Extended (UPDATE: it's Nimbus Sans Extended). The running man (Khoisan rock paintings figure) also features in the 2010 FIFA World Cup logo.

Kaizer Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs is a South African football club, founded 7 January 1970 in Soweto, Johannesburg, by soccer legend Kaizer Motaung shortly after his return from the USA where he played as a striker for the Atlanta Chiefs of the NASL. (How about this for a classic moment in time.)

The team is nicknamed Amakhosi which means "lords" or "chiefs" in Zulu. The club is unarguably the biggest football club in the country in terms of success and popularity, estimated to have over 16 million (very, very, very fanatical) supporters - Nelson Mandela being one of them.

Kaizer Chief's brand manager responded to my e-mail request for information on the logo with the following:

Kaizer Chiefs logo was made in 1969 and the only changes that have been made have been tiny graphic details to make it easier for embroidery etc. At one stage we were called IWISA Kaizer Chiefs after a sponsor. The Chiefs insignia has always been there and the colours have always been the same.

After some more digging around I found the Atlanta Chiefs logo (1967 - 1972, altered slightly when the club briefly reformed in 1979), and so the origins of the Kaizer Chiefs identity became clear. The chief mark underwent some small cosmetic changes, the full "Kaizer Chiefs" name was added around the mark, and two footballs were added on either side.

I feel the footballs are unnecessary and redundant though, and I'm not a fan of the arc effect on the type either (although it doesn't bother me so much in the Atlanta Chiefs logo). And I'd always thought that the Kaizer Chief's chief had a visible eye line, but it turns out to be the beginning section of his headdress!

Sasol

I fell in love with the Sasol logo the moment I first saw it, which if I remember correctly was in an animated format online. It's almost hypnotic, I can stare at it for ages, and I have to say that it's one of my top favourites of this series.

The international award-winning Sasol rebrand was launched in 2001 (I bet you don't remember their previous logo).

Sasol (originally Afrikaans for Suid-Afrikaanse Steenkool en Olie - South African Coal and Oil) is an innovative and competitive global energy company, engaged in the commercial production and marketing of chemicals and liquid fuels; with a growing interest in oil and gas exploration. Established in 1950 by the South African government, Sasol employs more than 32 000 people worldwide and remains one of South Africa’s largest investors in capital projects, skills development and technological research and development.

Via Sasol's Corporate Identity page:

Sasol's identity owes its inspiration to what is at the core of what Sasol does - chemicals. It suggests the essence of the products, and businesses working in harmony in order to create something new and dynamic. The central sphere denotes stability, while the six rotating 'business units' suggest a force greater than the sum of its parts - strength through synergy.

Well that's the short of it. Clifford Boobyer, Creative Director at Firedog (then creative lead at Trademark Design), was responsible for the Sasol global rebranding project and identity design. I exchanged a few e-mails with Clifford, who was very accommodating to share some insight into his creative processes:

It was a mammoth project, with a very simple easily sold creative burst right up front.

At this stage of my career, I had just moved on from fiddling around with an application that shipped with early Macromedia called Extreme3D onto the more serious 3D Studio Max. I thought I might try build an identity around a 3D application - this was still before the trend of 3D marks we see so readily today, and it felt kind of cool to do something different.

So I got to grips with the Sasol business and soon worked out that all their business related back to organic compounds one way or another. Whether it be oils, gas, or any other compound - they all seemed to be built from the same building blocks: Hydrocarbons. And when you start looking at modelling around hydrocarbons - you can really get to understand where the brand mark started to develop. So I guess it was the geek in me (before Wikipedia, mind you) which became fascinated behind the science of the brand.

Chemistry in Motion

I asked Cliff about the animated logo that applies to digital environments:

Coupled with the new application I was learning, this journey of discovery inspired me to create a very progressive and animated mark. So I recreated the model in 3D Studio Max, based on a very basic layout sketch that I did. I think because what I wanted to do was so singular in it's idea - I didn't spend long sketching.

I dropped in a large Silver carbon atom and created a series of coloured hydrogen atoms that rotated on paths closely around the core. I remember the mark being multiple colours, red, green, blue, yellow etc. - we changed them all to shades of blue later on client consultation. It was then just a case of bringing the hydrogen atoms to life and making them move around the core, without bumping.

Because it was early days in 3D - there was no Flash output. I laboured one of the junior designers of the time with the process of recreating all the frames of the end animation in vector Flash. It turned out nicely at least!

So, I think it was one of those rare occurences of a brand identity that started with an animation. And moved on from there. The client bought the idea and the pitch in one go.

I think it was in the studio for 18 months and the brand guidelines generated in the end topped 750 pages.

More reading: Sasol re-brand at Firedog, and Sasol's Electronic Brand Book (2.3mb SWF)

Wimpy

Up until I started this series, I'd always assumed that Wimpy is a uniquely South African brand. As it turns out, Wimpy was founded in London in 1954 while the brand (originally called Wimpy Bars) was originally created as early as the 1930s. By the early 1970s the business had expanded to over a thousand restaurants in 23 countries.

Wimpy UK, which comprises 194 outlets across England, Scotland and Wales, and operates a further 20 restaurants under a master licence arrangement in Ireland, is the largest independently owned franchised restaurant chain in the United Kingdom. The business owns the Wimpy trademark in 15 European countries.

Wimpy opened in South Africa in Durban in 1967. Today, Wimpy is one of the leading restaurant franchise groups in South Africa with more than 400 restaurants.

Famous Brands, owner of the Wimpy franchise in South Africa, acquired Wimpy UK in February 2007. Having acquired the brand, Famous Brands rebranded Wimpy in the UK to bring it in line with Wimpy South Africa.

The bun logo in use today is apparently one used by Wimpy UK from the 1960s until the 1980s. After a bit of digging on Google and Yahoo's image searches, I came across the following Wimpy logos, although I have no idea when and where they were in use.

My understanding is that the logo currently in use evolved from previous revisions and has since found its way back to the UK. So not strictly a South African logo, but a South African-owned brand and a real icon which I feel deserves some recognition. I love how the logo captures the essence of the brand with such simplicity.

Neotel

The much anticipated Second National Operator (SNO) for fixed line telecommunication services in South Africa, Neotel is licensed as South Africa's first alternative infrastructure-based telecoms provider, capable of delivering a broad range of wireline and wireless data telecoms services on a national and international level. It launched in August 2006.

The Brand Union, a global brand agency with 21 offices worldwide, were tasked with a full brand creation which began in November 2005. I hope they don't mind that I've borrowed some images from their photo journal to illustrate how the logo mark was conceptualised:

You can view a comprehensive case study on their website. What follows is a short extract:

The primary identity is composed of two points connected by the energy of communication. These "points" could represent people, places, ideas, even business opportunities. But overall, the symbol stands for Connectivity. Communication. Possibility.

This uniquely South African symbol draws from a warm, rich palette and resonates with the exuberance of a South African sunrise. The dawn of something new. Ultimately optimistic, the symbol is reflective of a future of hope. The activated orange creates a dynamic plane of colour in which the identity lives and advances. This creates the impression of the symbol living on, and beyond the page, advancing towards the customer. This upward, dynamic movement suggests aspiring to new heights.

Etc, etc, etc. See the logo in action on the Neotel website and in their first television ad:

Continued: Part 3

I've mostly sourced information online, which I've found difficult for some, so if you have anything to contribute please do so in a comment, or contact me directly if my information is incorrect, and I'll amend my post accordingly.

Which are your favourites, and why? Spend a few days thinking about it.

The logos featured are listed in no particular order. Here are the first 3:

SABC

Simple. Attractive. Brilliant Concept.

The SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations (AM/FM) as well as 4 television broadcasts to the general public.

A snippet from their downloadable Corporate Identity Usage Manual (PDF):

Our identity encapsulates the original colours of South Africa’s rich heritage and national flag. The design depicts a clean SABC font for legibility, the broadcast signal of radio and television, radiating outward is paired with the shape of the African continent.

The SABC type is based on the Frutiger typeface. It bears witness to our self-image - no frills, but by no means ordinary, state-of-the-art but not artificially claiming to be new.

And more from their full CI Manual (which I found here, 2007 version):

The pay-off line "Vuka Sizwe!" ("Nation Arise!") drives the SABC as a Public Service Broadcaster. This verbal expression informs all SABC decisions - it says: Rise South Africa! Let's build a winning nation together.

Designed by Switch Design.

Sharks Rugby

Cape Town's roads are ruled by two brands. What I mean by that is: with the exception of a few surf brands and English footy teams, you're more than likely to spot a car proudly adorned with one of two stickers. One is an apple (sometimes upside down, but always identifiable). The other is black and white, and belongs to The Sharks.

This is all the more impressive when you consider that Cape Town is home to the Stormers, whose supporters are nowhere near as passionate when it comes to showing off their team's "S" wrapped around a lightning bolt (ooohh, so intimidating).

This mascot is what sets the Sharks miles apart from their competition:

The Sharks are a South African rugby union team competing in the Super 14. They are based in Durban and centred around the Natal Sharks union, also based in Durban and drawing players from all of KwaZulu-Natal Province.

In late 1995, after being informally called the Banana Boys for a substantial amount of time, the Natal Rugby Union adopted the Shark as their official mascot and namesake for the team. The Sharks mascot was launched in 1995 but the rebranding went into full swing in 1996.

Via Sharks (rugby club) on NationMaster:

The Sharks branding was the brain child of Terry Kukle, the owner of Tag International. After assessing international marketing trends, Kukle presented this strategy to the council of the Natal Rugby Union. After many meetings a decision was finally made to go ahead with the new branding.

The local press at first were very hesitant to accept the new name and branding and fans were polarised by the radical proposed change that flew in the face of rugby tradition and convention. After much controversy in the media (which very rapidly brought the proposed brand to everyone's attention) and a very successful season supported by great products and promotions the Sharks were embraced by all.

The Sharks' marketing has been widely acknowledged in marketing and rugby circles as best practice and included as a successful case study in many marketing text books.

More reading: The Sharks Brand at sharksrugby.co.za, and The Sharks Brand at Wikipedia.

(The Sharks are one of two sports teams that I'll be featuring, try and guess the other!)

University of Johannesburg

I've featured this one on my blog previously, if you missed that post then here it is again:

Established in December 2005, the University of Johannesburg is the result of a merge between two of Gauteng's premier academic institutions - Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) and Technikon Witwatersrand (TMR) - and some Vista University campuses. With over 40 000 full-time students and 2 700 permanent employees, it's one of the largest residential universities in South Africa.

In a joint venture, Interbrand Sampson and Zanusi Brand Solutions were appointed to develop the brand. Code collaborated to design the logo as well as separate sports brands and just under 100 applications on everything from letterhead to signage and sports wear.

If you're curious you can read Interbrand Sampson's press release which goes into extreme detail regarding the design process and outcome, view more designs at Code's website, or read more on UJ's website.

My favourite part of the logo is the book. Via the press release:

In the centre of the logo, through the creative use of space, the illusion of an open book is created, representative of the book of knowledge. It is up to the beholder of the logo to notice that the space between the birds takes the shape of a book, thereby experiencing that learning and knowledge generation imply an interactive process.

The birds are unmistakably the colourful African Hoopoe, which is depicted more strongly in their Sports Bureau logo, visible in action at www.uj.ac.za/ujsport.

The typeface is Avenir.

Continued: Part 2

[Side-note: visiting their site without "www", ie. their name, takes you to a blank page with a lame "We have moved Click Here To Visit Us" message. How difficult is it to update a domain record? Or automatically redirect? It's not...]

I'm not familiar with Evolver much (first impression: a try-hard band, and I'm so over Vernon Koekemoer. Nevermind their sell-out to corporate shows. Ok, so I'm feeling cynical...), but I have been frequenting a couple of local online shopping stores (and comparison sites) looking for a good deal on a new compact digicam (I'm 90% decided on the Panasonic Lumix TZ5) so I clicked through their site until I found the relevant product page. (Sorry for all the parentheses.)

I scrolled down to their Customer Reviews, to find 5 reviews posted in the last 4 days - impressive for a local e-commerce site. After reading one or two and seeing the customer names, I became a little suspicious. So I copied some text from one of the reviews and pasted it into a Google Search, to reveal the original source: Amazon.com.

Nowhere on WantItAll's website do they say that these reviews aren't by their own customers - in fact, they state the opposite - "What Our Other Customers Had To Say...". It wouldn't bother me that much if they had the decency to cite the source of the reviews, and not falsely claim them as their own.

Now I'm guessing that Amazon provide these reviews to their partners, or maybe sell them, I don't know. I don't think WantItAll is an Amazon reseller. On WantItAll's Help page (no About page - why?), they briefly explain their business model:

We facilitate the process of purchasing items off the internet on behalf of customers and then shipping the requested items to the customer.

www.wantitall.co.za consolidates orders within the USA in order to reduce shipping costs to South Africa, and a shipment is sent to South Africa on a weekly Basis.

You can read more about them at this MoneyWeb blog post - You want it all?, by Ronnie Apteker (director and co-founder of Internet Solutions). But be sure to check out the juicy comments too.

You can also watch this video which concerns WantItAll's view on the Amazon/SAPO saga that played out a while ago (hopefully their constant and restless rocking back and forth won't annoy you as much as it did me). I'm still not really sure what the outcome of that SAPO incident was, especially since WantItAll were the ones making all the noise about it in the first place. See Muti user ApOc's submission history - specifically post #4, "Amazon.com not shipping to SA?". This post no longer exists on the WantItAll blog.

I also find it very interesting that ApOc's first post to Muti, "Finally South Africans Can Really Shop Online!", is full of user comments that sound totally contrived. Very similar to the comments on the Evolver post.

And then there is The Times' Amazon halts SA Post Office deliveries which reads like a WantItAll PR campaign.

I had no prior opinion of WantItAll. I love what they're doing and I believe they have a solid concept. Maybe I'm wrong, but for now the above trail of discovery around their practice has left a bad taste in my mouth.

And after all of that, I can get the camera from Have2Have for almost a grand cheaper anyway!

This one features Owen Reynolds and Sean Gandini of Gandini Juggling - the world's leading group of juggling specialists.

It was developed by MetropolitanRepublic and The Jupiter Drawing Room for MTN Business, like last year's catchy MTN Handclap ad.

On the Handclap ad, I enjoyed this comment:

That's cool. But seriously: what does it have to do with cellphones? Still - I guess it's nice to see MTN putting content ONTO youtube for a change - instead of just taking it off ;-)

The commenter is of course referring to MTN's confusing OK Go ad (on Cherryflava), which sparked some conversation in the comments around... what would you call it, "brand association"?

Co-branding is also an interesting concept.

Back to the juggling ad. Via BizCommunity's Greg Gray directs new MTN "Jugglers" commercial:

According to Paul Warner Executive Creative Planner for MetropolitanRepublic, "We used a visual metaphor of juggling to illustrate the power of two in business. This involved scouting the world for the top juggling duo to pull this off."

Director Greg Gray of Velocity Films and Warner then worked with the juggling duo to develop a specific sequence for the ad from the juggler's repertoire of juggling “formations” before shooting began. In the edit process an interesting sound track from RJD2's Deadringer album was secured to complement the engaging juggling routine and the result is a striking piece of film that successfully highlights the benefits of a partnership in business.

RJD2's music has been featured in a number of global advertisements - locally, you'll hear Smoke and Mirrors (also off his "Deadringer" album) in J&B's "Connect" ad (what's your 1.618?). The only version I can find of it is a small and low quality version here.

And if you're still feeling uninspired, MetropolitanRepublic have a really nice site. Execution flaws aside, it's a simple and strong concept that I've never seen before. Love it!

PnP's transformation last month generated huge interest and sparked widespread debate across the design and marketing communities and the blogosphere for many reasons: if not because they are (or were) one of South Africa's most recognizable and best loved brands, then because the job was controversially outsourced to the UK office of a global brand agency while their new brand line aims to focus on us, the customer, with "Inspired by you".

I followed much of what was said by design professionals, bloggers and the general public after the rebrand first made news, and what I found most interesting is how the general public perceived the new logo, after taking into account the poor manner in which it was launched. I say poor because I feel it suffered the same fate as the FIFA 2010 World Cup logo. None of the press releases or media coverage included a clear creative rationale from the design team involved, which excluded the usual drivel that marketers typically spew to the press, such as having undertaken "extensive strategy realignment processes" and "large-scale research and consultation exercises". And these two cases are hardly an exception to the rule.

The written word spreads much quicker on the web, so if you're going to announce something big like a brand relaunch, you'd better do it properly the first time around. Sharing the specifics of the design process and talking openly about the outsourcing of the job was never part of PnP's plan. This missed opportunity left the public to quickly derive their own (typically off-the-wall and non-factual) conclusions of and criticisms on the logo and those responsible.

Comments covered topics ranging from aesthetical: colours similar to Flickr, the typeface resembling that of Facebook, the 'P' block shapes looking like parking signs or toy building blocks - to grammatical: the axing of the apostrophe, the missing tittle on the "i" - to geographical: the Landor team having spent too much time at Tesco's and not enough time in South Africa. It was the Landor issue that fueled most of the public attack on the logo.

What was never mentioned anywhere however, comes via Johan Erasmus' comment on the Brand New post. Johan Engelbrecht (Design Director at Landor) and Andrew Sabatier (Senior Designer) - the two designers who he claims worked on the project, although based in London, are both South African. This doesn't make it any more right that the job wasn't kept local, but it does make you wonder even more about the creative process and reasoning that was followed.

Throughout all of this, traffic to their website probably doubled, which has since received a cosmetic makeover. The old design can be seen here.

It's far from a good effort. I could very easily go on a tirade about the JavaScript-reliant bouncing navigation menu in which only the text is clickable, the "Store search" drop-down menu that haphazardly combines store types and provinces with no visible distinction, the inconsistencies among all of their web sites (Home Shopping, Wine Line, etc)... and that grossly oversized tomato! But I digress.

Share your thoughts below.

I picked this up via BizCommunity who were the first to break the story as it was happening! Via 'Fresh new look for iconic Pick n Pay brand':

One of South Africa's oldest and best loved brands announced a total brand transformation - from new logo and colours, to in-store signage, uniforms, new brand lines, new media and advertising - in a dramatic visual feast of new signage and brand elements at its head office in Cape Town. In fact, the entire new brand essence has been driven by its customers, as is evidenced in the new brand line: 'Inspired by You'.

The logo has been updated using a single font: Cachet [modified slightly, I see], the black has been dropped and the elegant dark blue of 'Pick' and the warmer now cherry red of 'Pay' also includes colour block frames around the P's. The apostrophe before the 'n' has also been dropped.

Currently celebrating their 40th birthday, this is the first brand change they've made in their history, and as the country's largest supermarket chain, is also one of the largest brand changes in South Africa to date. Some other interesting tidbits:

• The entire rebranding/repackaging exercise will cost in the region of R110 million.
• Within two years all 452 of PnP's stores will be transformed.
• In a move designed to strengthen its position in the LSM 8-10 market, the company will also be launching over 450 new and repackaged lines in its "Fresh" range, followed quickly by a range of more than 50 organic products to complement its organics range, which in the last financial year grew some 60%.
• Global brand agency Landor & Associates's UK office were referred the job by Y&R South Africa, PnP's advertising agency. Both Landor and Y&R are owned by marketing conglomerate WPP.
• Already one of SA's most significant advertisers, PnP will increase its spend on electronic media in a bid to enhance and consolidate its reach. [Their web presence could do with some attention]
• According to Nielsen, PnP spends R420m on advertising.
• As part of their strategic realignment process, PnP "listened to nearly 4,000 customers in a large-scale research and consultation exercise" in an effort to become more customer-centric.

Along with their great coverage of this rebrand, BizCommunity are also running a poll: What do you think of the new Pick n Pay logo?

Majority of the user comments are against it, but I've picked a couple that stood out from the general noise, and which I also happen to agree with...

Megan Craig, Strategic Director of Joom, a multi-talented Cape Town design studio:

It's pretty good and hits a couple of good notes, but misses the opportunity to be truly great. In my opinion, moving from a serif font was a good way to feel more contemporary and current, and the new logo references the old one enough to give as smooth a transition as possible. My only real concern is the dark blue as it takes away the freshness of the pink. I'm thinking in terms of the in-store experience and wondering if a more vibrant colour wouldn't have helped convey freshness and energy. I suspect what happened here is that they were trying to stay close to the old palette, and I think it held them back.

Tamara:

The lamentable death of the apostrophe
This was one of the few brands that had actually maintained some version of correct English. Yes, I know that 'n is not great, but it's still better than the n without an apostrophe. Pick EN Pay. Ugh. Not to mention the building block capitals. I agree - looks like an inhouse job.

Mallix:

If you're going to design a new corp id based on the inspiration of the SA market, then get some South Africans to design it. Pick and pay now looks like a small website design studio based in Sea Point (Today is about strengthening our heartland. Er, what?). I would have also prepared the public a bit more for the blow - the food packaging looks a lot better than the original white and blue - but it's going to get lost on the shelf - all those years of getting accustomed the white version has just been wasted. So much for: watch out Woolies, here comes Pick 'n Pay, oh, wait, Pick n Pay. But anyway, what the hell do we know?

A comment by Timeless:

The old logo was 20 or 30yrs out of date. The new logo is 10yrs out of date. You only have to look at the work of Joe Fino to see how logos can be designed to be timeless. All Landor has done is taken an eccentrically badly designed logo (that shouldn't have been made in the first place) and turned it into a bland 80s corporate design.

The in-store experience reminds me Russia in the 70s, with their harsh lighting and dated design. The new colour choice and rebranding will not help addressing this issue, being too harsh and primary.

Lastly, the typeface choice says "Facebook meets a petrol station meets a techno house party flyer meets bland".

Average, could do better! Where is the family feel, the trusted supermarket? At least it conveys cheap prices!

And lastly, by unknown:

Can anyone explain the reasoning behing Y&R S.A referring Pick'nPay to Landor UK?? I want to cry! This really tears up the heart and soul of every proudly south african designer out there. I really would like to be informed as to why this was done in the UK? It is so so so disappointing. Anyone out there studying design - this is what you have to look forward to. A slap in the face of every South African designer working hard and making our brands beautiful and one of our biggest retailers go to the UK for a revamp.

Im sure the designers who put this lard together havent a clue what Pick 'n Pay is. Probably took them a week and charged a fortune. Who made the call to have this done in the UK!? Its sucks so much! Makes me so sad as a designer to see this happen. Its really disappointing. How on earth can they be making this public? I am truly embarrassed to be a South African in London right now. Whoever made the call to have this done in the UK -you have disapponted South Africa. How can we be proudly South African when you have no faith in local talent and hard work?

I'm also very disappointed that this job wasn't kept within the local design community, given the wealth of talent we have. And to think PnP won the 2004 Proudly South African Retailer of the Year award! What a joke.

The missing tittle of the "i" in "Pick" really bothers me. I'm indifferent to the rest of it - time will tell if the colours were the correct choice. It's also difficult to call judgement when looking at such small and poor-quality visuals, taken out of context.

And I feel the new brand line "Inspired by you" is a gimmicky attempt at making customers feel that they share some kind of emotional relationship with their supermarket. It's stupidly contrived, and it doesn't work for Standard Bank either.

As a regular PnP customer, it will be very interesting to see how these changes play out over the next few years.

More reading here:

• Pick 'n Pay revamps to regain market share (Reuters)
• Pick 'n Pay in R110M major brand, product change and innovation (BizCommunity)
• Pick 'n Pay to change its brand (iafrica.com)
• Pick n Pay takes on Woolies and all comers (Moneyweb)

UPDATE [13/11]: Maybe PnP should have looked to the future and changed their name after all. I stumbled on this today by pure coincidence and had a good chuckle at the similarities:

A perfect example of this: Vodacom Blue Bulls. If you're a fan, would you ever consider putting this on your desktop? Wow. How about this one! If that's not bad enough, they're still using an old logo on some and the new one on others, or in some instances, both at once. Also of interest, their current sponsor Vodacom's logo doesn't appear anywhere.

The only people I imagine who would want these particular Microsoft Popfly ones on their desktop is the Popfly team.

Oh, and Microsoft, since the current display trend is a screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher (80%), why are you offering these wallpapers at 800x600 only? Not that I'd use them anyway.

Some of my favourite wallpaper sites include:

• Customize.org
• deviantART (I'm a huge Jesar and CrisVector fan)
• Pixelgirl Presents
• mandolux
• Vladstudio
• depthCORE

Interesting to see that they've used the logo that I reproduced (in my original post below) throughout their document, although when they specifically mention the Official Emblem (Section 2), then they use the Wikipedia/widely distributed version. Weird.

Here's a large version of the logo that I pulled off the PDF, with the nice gradients and drop shadows.

--

When I see the 2010 FIFA World Cup logo online, which is fairly regularly, I'm curious why it's always the version that can be found on Wikipedia, which is unfortunately also the version on which the multitude of criticisms were based when the logo was unveiled last year. Wikipedia list the image with FIFA.com as the source, which I'd be willing to dispute, but you never know.

Is this poor brand management on FIFA's part?

They'd want to protect the identity of the World Cup, obviously - but given the persistent use of this version, and the unofficial vector file in the wild (which if I'm not mistaken, is mostly incorrect), are they not doing more harm by not providing a replacement or making the official version available? Hackers Hawkers will always find a way, so that can't be stopping them?

Take a look at this logo that FIFA are using on their website - notice the colours, gradients in particular, bevel on the outer green swish, etc. For comparative purposes, I roughly attempted to reproduce it using the vector EPS as a base: here's the result. Huge difference.

Switch Design could provide some insight (hey! you guys reading this?). After browsing through their impressive portfolio, I discovered they're also responsible for designing the familiar CI's of Ceres, Clover, Juicy Lucy, SAB, SABC and Steers, to name a few.

Here's another discovery I made, to further put things into perspective. The two logos on the right contained FIFA copyrights dated 2006 and 2002.

Interesting, né.

Via Mango: Ananzi searches more than just fruit:

Online marketing company Acceleration have partnered with the airline to flight online interactive advertisements on Ananzi.co.za. Since the launch of the online campaign, the keyword "mango" and derivatives thereof yielded 1,942 searches in total last month. The keyword "mango" produced 692 searches and "mango airlines" produced 486 searches within the month of November alone.

I don't know about you, but when I search for "mango" on Ananzi, the airline don't appear on the first page of 10 results. Or the second page. Or the third page. Or the fourth page... and I get the same poor result when I search for "mango airlines".

Keyword searches for "mango" and the like have skyrocketed since the beginning on November, making www.flymango.co.za one of the most sought after websites in South Africa. [...] The keyword "mango" averages 65 searches per day by Ananzi.co.za users, and this is expected to increase as visitors search for cost-effective flights to their holiday destinations.

Unfortunately for Ananzi, those visitors will very quickly turn to a different search engine. As if searching on Ananzi wasn't difficult enough to begin with!

UPDATE: Mango's vrot eMarketing at GottaQuirk.