New Logo, Identity, and Packaging for Martell by Yorgo & Co.

A Swift Change

Established in 1715 by Jean Martell in a town none other than Cognac, France, Martell is one of the oldest brands of cognac in the world. Owned by beverage giant Pernod Ricard, Martell offers seven types of cognac — with Cordon Bleu being its flagship product — and is available around the world as a staple of duty-free shops, with its main markets being China, the UK, Malaysia, and the U.S.. Recently, Martell introduced a new identity and packaging designed by Paris-based Yorgo & Co..

When redesigning the identity of Martell, we explored the luxury cognac house’s archives, bringing back details from 300 years of history. We drew a new swift, revived a timeless shield, created exclusive typefaces, and set the global corporate identity brand guidelines.

YORGO & CO. PROJECT PAGE 

MARTELL_ REVEAL from Yorgo&Co on Vimeo.

Logo.

The old logo was fine and could have probably stayed the way it was for another fifty years and no one would have complained but, compared to the new one, it’s easier to see the lack of refinement or distinction it had, looking indistinguishable from many other spirit brands. While the same could be said for the new logo — it doesn’t break any conventions — the attention to detail is more evident and all the graphic gestures are more elegant and display better craft, in particular the new swift (the bird) with the textural lines and a more organic silhouette that doesn’t look like an airplane taking off. The Martell wordmark is nice and the removal of the yellow shadow is welcome. The accompanying typography and shield are also a great improvement that cleans up the fuzziness of the old ones for better reproduction and a classier aesthetic. 

Custom sans typeface, designed by Production Type. 

(All photos below by Louis David Najar Vasquez.) 

Stationery. 

Business card. 

Envelope. 

The stationery is super tricked out, its production cost can probably cover half a year of your salary. 

Cordon Bleu packaging, before and after. 

Without paying full attention, and even then, I doubt any consumer would notice the change in the packaging which is not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like this change benefits from a non-radical change on the shelf but, like the logo, all the small changes make for a better design. 

Cordon Bleu new box and bottle. 

Line-up.

Cordon Bleu details. 

Boxes. 

Blue Swift details. 

Glasses. 

Serving tray (I think). 

Apron. 

Metal icon on wood. 

Flag. 

Overall, this is a solid evolution that complements and builds upon 300 years’ worth of history and sets it up for continued success without unnecessarily rocking the boat.

By Armin 

https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_identity_and_packaging_for_martell_by_yorgo_co.php

The World, Underlined

Founded in 1987, Conservation International (CI) is an organization with 900-plus employees across more than thirty global offices. Its mission is to build 'upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, [to empower] societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the well-being of humanity.' CI has partnered with companies like Starbucks, Patagonia and Walmart and works with government bodies to achieve its mission. Earlier this month, as CI announced plans to expand its scope and scale of work, it introduced a new identity designed by Chermayeff & Geismar.

CI's new iconic logo is a modern, unmistakable graphic that represents the breadth and scale of our efforts, both on land and at sea, and the kind of international collaboration needed to help societies move toward a more sustainable economic model. It represents what we hope to achieve: a healthy blue planet supported by a green development path. The successes that have defined CI for years have resolved themselves into this great, blue circle of life; our markets, policy work and public engagement endeavors are charting a new, green path that incorporates these efforts.
— Conservation International New Logo for a New Mission

Logo animation by Thornberg & Forester. If you have problems with the video above click here.

Principal partner Sagi Haviv's solution — a blue circle underlined in green — symbolizes our blue planet, emphasized, supported, and sustained. The mark can also be seen as a unique human form. As a result, the new mark works both as a powerful brand signal for Conservation International, and a critical new mission message:

'The new symbol for Conservation International is an instance in logo design where the power is truly embedded in the simplicity,' says Haviv. 'Yet it is expressive enough to help the organization redefine itself, and therefore has the potential to become a true international icon. It was a perfect fit.'
— Chermayeff & Geismar Press Release

The previous logo reflected the nature (pun not intended) of the original scope of activities by CI — "working with communities to protect species and prevent habitat destruction in tropical countries facing the greatest threats to biodiversity." — so the tropical forest, wildlife and hut were a good representation. But as a means to carry an organization forward with more ambitious plans and gain a stronger and serious presence with businesses, governments and other organizations, it just made it look too small, as if it were a grassroots organization. The new logo is the complete opposite and, to some, this may be quite a turn off by being overtly corporate, minimalist and vague. I believe it works and that it communicates quite clearly that this organization, even if you have no idea what they do, are concerned with the planet. It's only a circled stroke and a stick under it, but it manages to look serious enough to demand attention. The typography is simple and it's quite nice to see the two words match in length without sacrificing too much or too little tracking in one or the other. For the sake of pointing it out, it's Gotham.

Overall, this identity fits very well an organization of this size and scope and it's a proper evolution that represents its growth and influence.

Two Triangles are Better than One

The Dutch public broadcasting organization VPRO (an acronym that translates into 'Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcasting Company') started its life in 1926 as a religious radio broadcaster. Over the years it became more liberal and less religious until, in the sixties, it planted itself firmly in the avant-garde by being the first television broadcaster showing a nude woman on national television. Since then the VPRO never left its nonconformist role, with slight stubbornness purposefully choosing those programs, topics and formats that the other broadcasting companies passed over. Although not well known outside of the Netherlands, the VPRO is the real deal. It continuously airs intelligent, cultural and quirky programs, the stuff that makes TV interesting.

So the recent redesign of their 29-year-old logo predictably caused a stir, being one on those projects that every designer in the Netherlands will have an opinion about. Amsterdam based graphic design agency Thonik had the honor and, as far as I am concerned, they did a good job of updating the old logo with a fresh new wordmark.

That the VPRO opted for a visual continuation of the old logo, feels a bit like a missed opportunity however. Their viewers being almost by default an audience that can appreciate ground-breaking new directions.
"vpro" is now set in lowercase, but some equity is maintained by keeping the triangle… heck, they even doubled it. The triangles and centers of the "p" and "o" are used to play a formalistic game of shape and color, creating a seemingly unlimited number of possible marks. With inventive use of just these few elements a playful extension of the style is possible.

Show reel with previews on program indents.

I like that the new identity is colorful and vibrant, and has enough 'weirdness' to fit with VPRO as a brand. There are some minor points like the circle of the 'p' not being the same as the 'o,' something that is shown in the explanation of the logo, but seems to have been abandoned later.

More pressing is that the idents for the programs (a sneak peak can be seen after 0:24 in the show reel above) do not seem to benefit from the outspoken flatness that works so well for the logo and printed matter. They feel a little too simplistic to do justice to the in-depth and imaginative programming of the VPRO. Although this flatness is somewhat of a statement in a media landscape of flashy, rotating 3d logos, it is not a new one after Max Kisman's iconic, 8-bit like idents for the same broadcaster in the 1990s. That being said, these are sneak peaks so a final judgement might best be saved for the future.

On its own, this new identity definitely passes muster, only question that remains is why the choice was made to update the logo instead of creating something new altogether. If there was ever a client to push the envelope, this would have been the one.

The logo in action on existing program guide covers.

Titles for Dorst, an online youth magazine of VPRO, set in the bespoke typeface created by Bold Monday (sample below).

Images via Fontanel.

Mark Holtmann is a graphic designer working at Koeweiden Postma.

New Work: New York University Abu Dhabi

The inaugural class began its studies this week at New York University Abu Dhabi, the first comprehensive liberal arts and sciences campus to be operated abroad by a major U.S. research university. The next step towards NYU's ambition to create a global network for the creation of knowledge, NYUAD was created in partnership with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This partnership is the outcome of a shared understanding of the essential roles and challenges of higher education in the 21st century, and of the alignment of NYU’s goals for global education with the forward-looking goals of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. There is no other such institution in the Middle East.

Pentagram was initially asked to design a graphic identity for this new institution, and subsequently has created a wide range of material to support NYUAD’s activities. The creative challenge was to devise a graphic language that would clearly link the umbrella New York University identity with the cultural context of Abu Dhabi, the Emrirates, and the Middle East.


The brand architecture is complicated by the fact that the institution has three different public faces: the main one at NYUAD; the NYUAD Institute, which develops and hosts public programming for the NYUAD community; and NYUAD Washington Square, which serves as the New York gateway to NYUAD for faculty, students, and the wider public. These needed to be differentiated but clearly connected.

The centerpiece of Pentagram’s solution is a motif based on the NYU’s symbol, the torch. By repeating and rotating it, we create a tiled pattern evocative of Middle Eastern decorative arts. A bold color palette, derived from Abu Dhabi’s official brand standards, brings the pattern to life in a variety of combinations, and unifies the different facets of the institution’s communications program. These have included brochures, posters, announcements, catalogs, email formats and website, as well as signage and graphics at NYUAD’s interim campus building in downtown Abu Dhabi and its satellite facility on Washington Square Park.

Applications for NYU Abu Dhabi have exceeded applications in both number and quality. According to the New York Times, 'The new institution drew more than 9,000 applicants and has accepted fewer than 200. They are an elite group.' Pentagram's work for NYUAD is the latest in our long history with New York University, which includes projects for the NYU's School of Law, Stern School of Business, and Wagner School of Public Service.































Project Team: Michael Bierut, partner-in-charge and designer; Katie Barcelona, designer.