| Design contests are not in any form a legitimate or ethical way for a company to develop a brand. You're using the promise of exposure (and nothing more) to entice lots of entrants to produce free work, giving everyone involved (entrants, designers, sponsors, voting public) the idea that design is free. Not even cheap - FREE! Is a designer's time only worthwhile if their work is selected a winner? That's effectively what you're saying. |
| no :) |
| Agreed. BizCommunity, you are doing the design industry a disservice by publishing this. It has been proven repeatedly in the past that there are no real winners in design competitions: neither those designers foolish enough to enter nor the brand looking for free work. It is time to acknowledge this and act more responsibly. |
| Design is not a competitive sport. |
| http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1774568/news24big.png |
| All I read is "design competitions" and that was enough to stop reading. |
| Your comment really adds value to this discussion, thanks. Let's see what you can do if you're so willing to dish it out. |
I hear you Arthur. Ndebele artwork may be unique, but ask one foreigner if they're familiar with Ndebele art or its origins, and they wouldn't have a clue. Show them our flag and you're more likely to get a better response. And besides that, our flag is based on Ndebele lines and vibrant colours anyway.
We can disagree with the design, and criticise that using the flag is unoriginal, but we aren't the target market. This logo wasn't designed for South Africans.
On its own, the logo doesn't have much strength, but attached to a marketing device with more substance (product, video, print, website, whatever) it serves the purpose of creating association and familiarity, and does so without distracting from the subject matter. I feel that this is where the black and white is key, giving it the flexibility to be used on any colour or texture, without immediately distracting or detracting from the primary subject.
Unfortunately we haven't seen this logo in context yet so I could be jumping the gun, but I do think it has the potential to be effective. |
| It would be foolish to think that it's possible to capture the essence of an entire country in a single mark. Our flag comes closest. In the context of marketing South Africa overseas, it makes perfect sense because it already carries familiarity. I don't agree with the way it was applied to the logo, but I do think it was a safe choice. |
The logo attached to this article changed since it was first published, I suspected that was going to happen. The previous version had the "South Africa" type on two lines, and the ratio was off (the height was stretched). However the concept (or lack thereof) remains unchanged. I do like the choice of typeface and the white on black is very striking and will apply to all mediums well, but the use of the flag looks like a last resort at an unsuccessful attempt in trying to integrate the flag into a logo. It really lacks balance.
But, I have a strong feeling that this logo will appeal more to an international audience who aren't as familiar with our flag as we are, and that is its purpose after all. In which case it's a winner. |
Angola
Botswana
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
Zimbabwe
Cote D'Ivoire
Ghana
Nigeria
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
Mauritius
Seychelles
Algeria
Egypt
Morocco
Zambia
