Pinyin Magazine Summer 2012

7/31/2019 Pinyin Magazine Summer 2012

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the logos of the future Raymond Loewy Simple ideas are always the best The MP 4/5 Plain Packaging

SUMMER NEWS MAGAZINE

PINYIN STUDIO


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With so many things to cele-

brate, we wish to share some of

our thoughts and interests with

you in the form of this news-

letter. In the pages below, you

will nd some short comments

about graphic-design related

topics, spotlights on brand-rel-

evant events and some other

digressions and opinions that

we cant help ourselves from

sharing.

Live long and prosper,

The Pinyin team

Pinyin Studio is approaching its

one-year anniversary. Creating a

new company is a challenging taskin any environment and especially

in one as competitive as the Chinese

graphic design market. Although

our frst ten months have been

marked by many challenges, the pos-

itive things far outweigh the nega-

tive and we are looking to the fu-

ture with both hope and confdence.

Apart the fact that we have a

solid and reliable team to rely

on; that we have managed to es-

tablish our WOFE after months

of tenacious work and persever-

ance; and that we have loyal and

valued clients who constantly

push us to excellence, our con-

dence also stems from the ex-

pansion of our ser vice offer.

We have already cemented our

capabilities within web devel-

opment, allowing us to handle

virtually any demand within the

area of web design irrespective

of the projects technical com-

plexity.

Similarly, we are now also able

to assist our clients within mar-

keting research and also offer

services from the technological

forefront of graphic design, such

as the generative logos de-

scribed in this newsletter.

Finally, we have already taken

our rst steps into the domain

of interior architecture and de-

sign and are looking forward to

strengthening our competence

within this area within the com-

ing months.


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4

Often referred to as the father of

industrial design, Raymond Loewy

truly deserves his place among

the most inuential and celebrateddesigners of all time. In his lifetime,

the French-born Daiquiri enthusiast

worked as a consultant for more

than 200 companies and designed

everything from cigarette packs

to cars and spacecrafts. As New

York Times reporter Susan Heller

remarked at the time of his death,

One can hardly open a beer ora soft drink, x breakfast, board a

plane, buy gas, mail a letter or shop

for an appliance without encounter-

ing a Loewy creation.

Born in Paris in 1893, Raymond

Loewy left France for America

in 1919 after having fought in

World War I. He found workas a window designer for de-

partment stores and worked as

a fashion illustrator for various

magazines before starting his

own design rm. His career as

an industrial designer took off

when he designed a duplicating

machine for Gestetner in 1929

and he then soon found himself

providing designs for a range of

products including cars, refrig-

erators and trains. Through useof a technique called streamlin-

ing, Loewy gave the objects he

designed modern and efcient

forms that suggest speed and

dynamism.

The attitude Loewy expressed

towards design was one root-

ed in an economic rationality.He described design as a means

to achieve better results rather

than an effort of art for arts

sake. Design was a way to in-

crease efciency and boost sales.

As Loewy put it: Between two

products equal in pr ice, function

and quality, the better looking

one will outsell the other.

It is thus little surprising that vi-

sual retention was Loewys focuswhen he designed a logo, which

he did on many occasions. Exx-

on, the US Postal Service, Stude-

baker, Greyhound, Nabisco and

Spar are just a few examples

of logos of his pen. Perhaps the

most famous logo of his cre-

ation remains that of Shell.

In the days before fax machines,

many logos included small, sub-

tle details. From the 1950s, the

icons became increasingly sim-

plied, improving recognition

and memorability. Loewy con-

tributed to this change. Having

originally featured a realistically

Designer spotlight:Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy gave the Shell logo its

modern appearance in 1971 and it has

remained virtually unchanged since.


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drawn shell, Loewy redesigned

Shells logo in 1971 in order to

make it more visible from a dis-

tance. One of the tests involved

hanging various prototype de-

signs on poles where drivers

passing on a nearby motorway

could view them. The driv-

ers were then asked for their

opinions on the prototypes.

The tests seem to have been

fruitful the logo has become

so recognizable that it oftenappears without the companys

name to identify it.

Lucky Raimon, as he was al-

legedly nicknamed, also worked

as a packaging designer. His

arguably most famous contribu-

tion within this eld was to re-

design the Lucky Strike package.In 1940, the president of the

American Tobacco Company,

challenged him to improve the

existing green and red Lucky

Strike package with a $50,000

bet at stake. Loewys replaced

the green background with

white, sharpened up the typog-

raphy and reworked the logoby emphasizing its target-like

aspect. He also placed the logo

on both sides of the package,

increasing product visibility and

ultimately product sales. More-

over, the changes reduced print-

ing costs as the need for green

dye was eliminated. In a famous

advertising campaign that usedthe slogan Lucky Strike Green

has gone to war, the company

claimed the change was made

because the copper used in

the green color was needed for

World War II. In fact, however,

the white package was really

introduced to modernize the

label and to increase the appeal

of the package among female

smokers. The war effor t became

a convenient way to do so while

appearing patriotic at the same

time. Needless to say, the com-

pany president paid off the bet.

Raymond Loewy duly retired

in 1980 at the aged 87 and, like

most sensible people with taste

and money, moved to Mona-

co where he died in his Monte

Carlo residence six years later.

Having remained a legend and

immensely popular, neither his

exile nor his death prevented

him from becoming a Citizen of

Honor of Palm Springs in 2001.


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6

These logos have gone through

very few changes since they

were frst created

WHY?

Because the simplicity of their

shapes and concepts gives them

an iconic status.

Because, through the rigor of their

design, they manage to blend im-pact and versatility while also con-

veying a feeling of quality to the

consumer.

Because numerous and excessive

modernizations based on trends

and fads constitute a rejection of

the brand and of its history.

A simple logo is easy to recog-

nize, understand and memorize.

It is when a logo is simple and

possesses the immediate obvi-ousness of a given fact that it has

the potential of becoming iconic.

A logo doesnt have to tell what

products the brand offers. Instead

its key mission is to capture the

attention of the consumer and ef-

fectively communicate the identity

of the brand.

While in college in the mid-70s

an instructor introduced me to the

K.I.S.S. Principle of design; which

translates to: Keep It Simple, Stu-

pid. It does convey a very import-

ant design consideration. Simple

logos are often easily recognized,

incredibly memorable and the

most effective in conveying the re-

quirements of the client. A rened

and distilled identity will also catch

the attention of a viewer zippingby signage at 70 miles per hour,

on packaging on the crowded

shelves of a store, or in any other

vehicle used for advertising, mar-

keting and promotion. Remember,

the basis of the hugely effective

international branding for the

worlds largest shoe manufacturer

is a very simple graphic swoosh.~ Jeff Fisher

A logo needs to be well-con-

structed and functional in order

to remain pertinent 20 or 30

years after its creation. Focus

should thus be placed on sim-

plicity and versatility rather than

SIMPLE IDEAS ARE

ALWAYS THE BEST

visual effects and add-ons in-

tended to make it more appeal-

ing at a given and brief period

of time.


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A simple and well-designed logo can easily go through minor alter-

ations without losing its identity.

If a logo looks good in black and white then it will look good withany type of color and visual effects added to it (within the limits of

good taste of course).

I like to work rst in black and white to ensure that the logo will look

good in its simplest form. Color is very subjective and emotional. This can

distract from the overall design say if you saw your logo in all red, that

color may be the rst thing that you respond to and not the composition

of the design elements. I will not even consider submitting color sugges -

tions to a client for review until they have signed off on a nal black andwhite logo.

~ Patrick Wineld

It is highly unwise to replace or profoundly alter a logo according to

the latest trends if the ambition is to develop a brand that remains

strong through time. A good example is provided by Pepsi and

Coke.

Leave trends to the fashion industry Trends come and go,and when youre talking about changing a pair of jeans, or buying a new

dress, thats ne, but where your brand identity is concerned, longevity is

key. Dont follow the pack. Stand out.

~ David Airey

Logos must remain themselves and true to their history. It is a sign

of strength and of condence in the brand, and will be viewed by

such by the consumer.

The Nike logo, designed in 1971

by Carolyn Davison for the modest

sum of $35, is the perfect proof

that a simple logo can easily stay

relevant and modern after 40years of without changes to its

design.


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8

Less than half a year now

remains until when plain

cigarette packaging will

become compulsory in

Australia and the countrys

cigarette packages will be

forced to don the brownish-

green uniform decreed by law.

Plain packaging being seen as

a major industry threat, the

main tobacco companies have

done their best to stop or at

least slow its implementation

but are now preparing to facethe music.

The worlds rst move to plain

packaging which requires the

removal of all branding such as

colors, imagery, logos and trade-

marks will take effect on De-

cember 1st 2012. From then on,

Australian cigarette packs will

only feature the brand name in

a mandated size, font and place

on the pack in addition to the

compulsory health warnings.

The color of the packs will also

be standardized as all packs will

be of a dark brown dye found

by research to be the least at-

tractive of all colors, particularly

among young people.

Naturally, the tobacco industry

has mobilized in opposition.

After having joined together

under the name of the Alliance

of Australian Retailers an or-

ganization working against plain

cigarette packaging by means

of multimillion dollar campaigns

Br itish American Tobacco, Im-

perial Tobacco and Philip Morr is

International have all done their

best to rally the public to their

cause and prevent the legislation

from being passed. But in vain,

as their fears materialized in No-

vember 2011.

The strong reluctance of the

tobacco industr y is understand-

able and goes well beyond the

considerable logistic hassle of

replacing the packaging of all

the brands on the market. Even

though the industry claims the

opposite, there is in fact research

conrming that plain packaging

increases the negative feelings

about the pack and about smok-

ing and ultimately is likely to lead

to reduced consumption. The

tobacco manufacturers are of

course well aware of the impact

packaging has on consumers,

and they have been so for a very

long time as shown by Raymond

Loewys female-oriented rede-

sign of the Lucky Strike pack in

the early 1940s.

Branding focus:

Australia leadsthe way to

plain packaging


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Moreover, there is a fear among

smaller producers that plain

packaging will benet big, well-

known brands at expense of

smaller ones, the underlying rea-

soning being that consumers will

choose to buy brands they recall

from their top of mind aware-ness when specic brands are

hard to identify.

Australia isnt one of the worlds

most interesting tobacco mar-

kets in terms of size or revenues

but should rather be seen as the

rst brick to fall in a potential

domino race leading the to-

bacco industry into a bleak and

uncertain future. This follows a

pattern often observed in the

past: once one country adopts

an anti-tobacconist piece of

regulation then others are like-

ly to follow suit, as exemplied

by the pictorial health warnings

or Low Ignition Propensity (LIP)

cigarettes. Simply put, the tobac-

co manufacturers need to take

the ght as far as they possibly

can since Australia is likely to set

a global precedent New Zea-

land and the UK are among thecountries already considering plain

packaging at this date.

From a purely brand-focused per-

spective, many designers probably

agree that the reform will bring a

certain regret. It is very possible

that we are currently witnessing

the beginning of the end of some

of the most iconic brands and

brand attributes in the history of

graphic design. Nevertheless, most

would probably also agree that

the ends justify the means.

Still, what is about to happen to

the cigarette brands is rather

unique. Indeed, cigarettes are

legal products, yet they have to

conform to special rules that

arent applied to any other con-

sumer goods. From a logical

point of view, it might actually

be considered hypocritical that

these dangerous products arentsimply banned altogether, but of

course that would mean missing

out on some very considerable

tax revenues (for instance, to-

bacco represents the 4th largest

tax income for the French state,

amounting to 13 billion euros).

The implications of plain packag-

ing for the industry will be sig-

nicant also from an operational

point of view. The tobacco com-

panies, which used to be (brand)

marketing driven organizations,

will now have to nd new sourc-

es of competitive advantage. For

instance, the implementation of

plain packaging in a dark market

such as France where the pro-

motion of cigarettes is already

very limited would make all

types of advertising impossible

and render 90% of trade mar-

keting initiatives ineffective. In-

terestingly, focus would thus belikely to shift from marketing and

sales to the back ofce as sup-

ply chain and stock management

will become the new order-win-

ners. Regardless of the aesthetic

considerations, things are about

to change on the tobacco mar-

ket and a very interesting time

lies ahead.

The Australian packs will be designed to repel


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10

Few things embody speed and direction as vehemently

as a Formula 1 car. More than objects of speed, they are

also objects of great design, and the McLaren MP4/5is a good example of this.

Design spotlight:the McLaren MP4/5

The McLaren MP4/5 at the hands of the great Ayrton Senna


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The McLaren MP4/5, which was

driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain

Prost during the 1989 Formula 1

season, is one of the most suc-

cessful racing cars ever built. It was

designed by Neil Oatley under

the supervision of Technical Direc-

tor Steve Nichols and allowed the

McLaren team to clinch both the

drivers and constructors world

titles with 6 wins for Senna and

4 for Prost. The MP4/5 also con-

quered 15 pole positions out of

a possible 16. 13 of these were

scored by Senna, who is widely

regarded as the greatest qualier

in the history of Formula 1.

The MP4/5 hasnt earned its place

in history only due to its results

but also due to its looks, and often

appears at the top of lists ranking

the most beautiful Formula 1 cars

of all time. A remarkable blend of

robustness and elegance, the de-

sign combines angular shapes and

somewhat bulky, almost rudimen-

tary appendices with elongated,

graceful lines.

As opposed to the F1 cars of to-

day, the smooth-owing design of

the MP4/5 is clear of ticks, twitches

and protuberances and has aged

well thanks to its simplicity and pu-

rity: 23 years after its conception,

the car still exudes power and

elegance and has also acquired a

retro-futuristic quality. The iconic

livery, with its simple yet forceful

red and white paint scheme also

contributes to the impacting ap-

pearance.

Just like the trains of Raymond

Loewy and the Concorde aircraft,

the McLaren MP4/5 is a great ex-

ample of how beauty and efcien-

cy often go hand in hand.

COMINGSOON

TOYOU

R

LOCAL

PINYIN

STUDIO

:

INTERIO

RARCH

ITECTUR

E


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In his paper What is Genera-

tive Art?, American artist Phil-

ip Galanter offers the following

denition as an answer to the

question asked by the papers

title:

Generative art refers to any ar tpractice where the artist uses a

system, such as a set of natural

language rules, a computer pro-

gram, a machine, or other pro-

cedural invention, which is set

into motion with some degree

of autonomy contributing to or

resulting in a completed work of

art

By applying the techniques of gen-

erative art to the visual toolkit of the

corporate world, it is now possible

to create a new generation of visual

identity elements. One example of

this is what is sometimes referred to

as generative logos.

A generative logo is an assem-

bly of shapes, colors and move-

ments which evolve in a seem-

ingly random manner while in

fact following a specic mathe-

matical or geometrical scheme.

Simply put, generative logos are

animated logos and constitutea shift from static design to dy-

namic design.

Apart from the obvious advantag-

es of a more attention-grabbing

and mesmerizing look, the gener-

ative logos offer a range of other

benets and allow for various new

uses. Through generative design,the link between the logo and

the entity it represents can be

strengthened or made more

explicit and the logo gains the

means of being not only a sym-

bol but also an efcient com -

munication tool.

A good example is the logo

created for the COP 15 Copen-

hagen conference. The dynamic

design alludes to the turbulenc-

es of climate change while also

illustrating the complexity of

cooperation and international

coordination:

http://www.my-os.net/blog/in-

dex.php?2009/12/21/1418-lo-

go-generatif

Another example is given by the

Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de

Lausanne (EFPL), an engineeringschool whose students end up

working all over the world after

their studies:

h t t p : / / w w w . r s l n m a g . f r /

post/2012/06/05/Les-logos-gen-

eratifs-vous-connaissez-.aspx

THE LOGOS

OF THE FUTURE

The school is placed at the cen-

ter of the design and each line

represents the movement of a

student. Over 100 000 unique

yet similar logos have been gen-

erated in this way, coming to-

gether in a design that stands for

diversity and movement.

The development and the use of

generative logos are still at their

very beginning and in Beijing

they can be described as inex-

istent. Yet, given the fast pace of

technological development and

the ever-growing impor tance of

IT in corporate communication,we believe they represent a nat-

ural next step in VI design.

Luckily for those who are im-

patient, Pinyin Studio offers this

service since July 2012, so there

is no need to wait to get a taste

of the future.

1. Galanter, P., What is Generative Art? Complexity Theory as a Context for Art Theory,

in International Conference on Generative Art. 2003: Milan, Italy.


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Incredible!!!Pinyin Studionow also creates

generative logos!

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JEAN GIRAUDa.k.a

MOBIEUSDrawing by Maxence van Robais from Pinyin Studio


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Four months after his death, Pinyin Studio wishes to pay a tribute

to a man whos brush has left a mark on an entire generation of

graphic designers and illustrators.

The poetry found in his illustrations, the precision of his drawing

skills and the imaginativeness of the universe he created have all

combined to make him one of the major artists of the 20th centuryas well as an ever owing source of inspiration for creators of comic

books, mangas, bande dessines and even sci- movies.

We hope that these few lines will trigger you to discover or redis-

cover Jean Giraud and his work, which stands out as much due to its

quality as to its boldness.

For more information, you may visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Giraud

Pinyin Magazine Summer 2012

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