Marketing Communication Ink
Tips on Marketing, Business, Careers & Life. Advertising on this site is placed by WordPress – I have NO control over it.
Logos: From Static to Alive to Morphing Before Your Eyes – Part II: The Wikipedia Rebranding Project
A logo is a symbol or emblem that represents your product, service or company. It is a static image. It doesn’t dance, move or change as you view it. Or at least, so I always thought.
So imagine my surprise when I read about a morphing logo; the first of its kind, created in 2011 for Wikipedia® by the British creative firm, Moving Brands®.
In truth, the logo was never used – a hypothetical exercise. But the execution of the logo, as well as the story behind it, is truly fascinating.
Suzanne LaBarre, author of the Fast Company® Co.Design® article where I first read the story, says the redesign was undertaken because Wikipedia’s logo cannot be drawn from memory. In her words, “it’s terribly unmemorable.”
And so Moving Brands designed a new logo to enhance the Wikipedia brand. LaBarre reports the “shapeshifting ‘W‘ uses JavaScript to generate a unique movement and mark for every search term in the Wiki-universe. With more than 3.2 million possible permutations, it’s designed to fluctuate as much as a Wikipedia article itself.”
Okay, so JavaScript is not my thing… but 3.2 million variations of a logo that are auto-generated to match the content of Wikipedia’s online encyclopedia pages – now that’s something worth noting.
The article goes on to say, “The designers drew a mark out of just five lines, a nod to the five principles Wikipedia operates on.” Those five principles are that Wikipedia:
- Is an online encyclopedia
- Maintains a neutral viewpoint
- Provides open access for anyone to use, modify, edit or distribute content
- Asks editors to interact respectfully with each other
- And my favorite – has no hard and fast rules – much like the new logo itself.
LaBarre further explains that those five lines produce the letter “W”, “with nine equidistant nodes, one for each of the encyclopedia’s nine sister sites. From there, a second line courses through and around the W, with its precise look changing depending on what keyword you search.”
You can see the ingenious dancing “W” in action on the YouTube™ video above, or click here to read LaBarre’s full story, “A ‘Living’ Logo For Wikipedia, With More Than 3.2 Million Variations.”
It’s worth noting that Moving Brands received much positive as well as negative press for their accomplishment, including criticism accusing them of a publicity stunt. To be fair, they were one of a handful of agencies invited by Viewpoint magazine to compete in the hypothetical logo re-design competition. Having said that, the viewer comments, following LaBarre’s article, are as interesting as the logo itself.
My opinion, since Moving Brands states their corporate vision is “helping businesses design and transform iconic brands that thrive in a moving world” what better proof of their capabilities could they offer than their endlessly-morphing Wikipedia logo?
For more about the redesign project see: www.movingbrands.com/news/wikipedia-and-the-overhaul/.
Related Resources
This article is second in a two-part series on living logos. For Part I, covering Google Doodles and the I Love NY campaign, as well as loads of logo info and references, see http://wp.me/p2EWMT-If.
If you’re not familiar with FastCompany, the magazine, and their four websites and newsletters: Co.Exist, Co.Design, Co.Create, and Co.Labs, then you’re in for a treat. Cutting edge trends, products, design and more await. Check out http://www.fastcompany.com.
Wikipedia? Well, no doubt you’re well familiar with this open-access encyclopedia, one of my favorite sources for quick information. And incidentally, they’re now up to 10 sister sites.
Legal Notes: Wikipedia is owned and operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Moving Brands is a registered trademark of Moving Brands. FastCompany.com, Fast Company and other trademarks, service marks, and other logos, products and service names are trademarks of Mansueto Ventures LLC. Google is a registered trademark and YouTube is a trademark of Google Inc., used with permission. The “I Love NY” slogan and logo are registered trademarks of New York State Empire State Development. I should add that I am not affiliated with any of the companies or products mentioned here, but for full transparency should state that one day soon, I hope to invest in Google stock. Given the piddly amount of money I plan to risk, and my worldwide blog distribution – which just surpassed 5000 views, I’m sure this article will have no effect on anything whatsoever… except possibly your perception of what a logo can do.
So. What did you think? Was this article interesting? Helpful? If you like it, feel free to share: http://wp.me/p2EWMT-IY.
10 Secrets to Powerful Public Speaking … Even If You’re Deathly Afraid of Being the Center of Attention
Available at Kindle Ebooks - Click image to grab a copy today!
Marketing Communication Ink 