#a part of the Blackstar saga

[hunn1e-bunn1e]

MASTERLIST HUB!

🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.

Series Non-Franchise Specials Post+

                                                                                                   

72 Total Fandoms to Browse & Choose From!

Aa.

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A3! Act! Addict! Actors!

AFTER L!FE

Attack On Titan

Bb.

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Black Butler

Black Clover

Blackstar Theater Starless

Bleach (+ Thousand Year Blood War)

Blood in Roses +

Blue Exorcist (+ Kyoto Saga)

Blue Lock

Buddy Daddies

Bungou Stray Dogs

Cc.

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Castlevania

Chainsaw Man

Dd.

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Death Note

Delicious in Dungeon

Demon Slayer

Diabolik Lovers

Disney Twisted Wonderland

Dramatical Murder

Durarara! (1 & 2)

Ee.

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Ensemble Stars

Ff.

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Fairytail

Fate Series

Fire Force

Free!

Fullmetal Alchemist (+ Brotherhood)

Gg.

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Genshin Impact

Granblue Fantasy

Hh.

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Haikyuu!!!

Honkai Star Rail

Hunter × Hunter

Hypnosis Mic

Ii.

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Inuyasha (+ Yashahime)

Jj.

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Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Parts 1-7)

Jujutsu Kaisen

Kk.

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K Project

Kuroku's Basketball

Ll.

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Lookism

Lovebrush Chronicles

Mm.

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MAGI (Ft. LoM, KoM & AoS)

Mashle: Magic and Muscles

My Hero Academia

Mystic Messenger

Nn.

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Nanbaka: The Numbers

Naruto (+ Shippuden)

Nu: Carnival – Bliss

Oo.

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Obey Me! : One Master to Rule Them All! (+ Night Bringer)

One Piece (+ Films Red & Gold)

One Punch Man

Ouran Highschool Host Club

Overlord

Pp.

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Qq.

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Rr.

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Record of Ragnarok

Remarried Empress

Ss.

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Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Seraph of the End

Seven Deadly Sins

Spy × Family

Tt.

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Tears of Themis

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

The Disastrous Life of Saiki Kusuo

The Legend of Zelda (Ft. BotW, TP & ToK)

The Rising of the Shield Hero

Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Revengers

Uu.

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Vv.

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Vampire Knight

Ww.

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Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!

What in "Hell" is Bad?

Who Made Me a Princess

Wizardess Heart

Wuthering Waves

Xx.

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Yy.

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Zz.

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Zenless Zone Zero

🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.

[souleaterpostanime]

SE-POST Reread part 4/4

Well finally reread all I done by know, hopefully this won't be the last part for good and I can show you something more exciting than typo filled notes, but the only way is through sometimes, so you gotta deal with it.

chapter 28:

Ah, the beginning of the edgy Crona saga... I even changed the little soul in the logo, that must count for something, right? Anyways rereading it, I mostly enjoyed it, think the scene trasition from Crona to Blackstar and back again worked in this (or atleast I hope they were clear enough)

Think it was interesting showing Crona being the clearly unreasonable one, making his.hurt cloud the truth of the situation. And I guess it lets Blackstar be shown in a more reasonable light, even if the chapter still is mostly from Cronas perspective, so I guess one could technically see Blackstar as the antagonist, but, never was one for formulism. Anyways yeah, dont know what much elso to say on this one, guess it just shows were everyone is and that Crona also still can be reasoned with and isnt crazy but yeah dunno

chapter 29:

Edgy Crona continues, being kinda to dick to Mifune and breaking all the rulez like a true spoiled teenager with a car. Nah but for real, this one is more of a transitional chapter, setting everything up and bringing all players into position. Cant say much, yeah the art is sloppy and the action scene incomprehensiable, but I think the later actually works better than I thought before, shows the chaos of first person mindless slashing, but yeah ofcourse it was ovey ambitios and if I had the skills, time and discipline then it would be something people probably would be impressed with and shared on all their social media and made youtube videos that would be forgoten when the next thing came out... So guess, to the next one.

chapter 30:

While rereading I feared if the conversation would just seem to be creepy and boring, but nah thinkt is engading enough and maybe something a few people can take something away. Also a bonding moment for the boys, they cant relate on Maka to intermediate forever so thats a plus. But yeah, guess this must be one of the chapters I still was rushing, thinking how I finish the whole arc before my deadline, but I think the next one should be a juge jump in quality if I'm not mixing something up. Still this one was carries by its dialog so sketchy art didnt hurt it too much. Still wonder if people think I captured Souls personality or if he is a completly different charachter? Worst case I can blame the coma lol. Anyways dont know much more to say than that I still havent seen Punch Drunk Love but keep referencing it for some reason, maybe I should mediate that...

chapter 31:

 The first chapter of the amber chapter. Seems I actually did put in some effort into it, even if the cover doesnt look as good as I fhought. But still the art did improve in my opinion, even if I was still figuring out using these screentones and stuff. Still readability was probay the biggest flaw, but I guess thats something I have to work on. But yeah, about the rationalistations and revealing the traps trough "intellect" - yeah I know that the explanations dont hd under scrutiny (probably) but I think even in series that are known for "clever mindgames and puzzles" it is mostly the same, that maybe it sounds super intelligent in the moment but if analysed critcially it wouldnt be that good. But I think thats what mostly matters - that it passes the pass of the moment, because this isnt the "inteligence" that matters in stories - its more about the ideas of deeper understanding and not just clever brainteezes. Atleast thats my opinion. But that tangent aside, maybe one could criticise the dialog going in circles in this one: the chamber discussion was kinda supposed to be stupid, as a joke, but at the end the whole morality play about when its right to kill may have went to far. Maybe because at the end it is s weird situatio were you kinda do feel that Soul is right in saying the discussion can wait. But maybe Im just tired while reading lol. Eh but whatever, I liked Crona saving Ringos head amd it rolling away happily, and this chapter has more soul because of that then any video essay about the brillliance of the beatles

chapter 32:

Think the art was more rushed in this one but a few panels were still probably better than anything from the last one. Hope people are not to much disapointed by not seeing Mosquitos full form, guess thats subverted expectations. The biggest I myself see are: 1. Think the whole Crona slipping into and back from madness seemed w bit too quick and disconnected 2..Mosquitos death needed an extra page and better/clearer art now uts probably confusing what happened. Still I mostly enjoyed the chapter, even or maybe especially because of the fight scene, guess it raised the "stakes" or whatever amateur critics of childish media care for because they have no creative bone and just care about their unchallinging material having the same stories- nah thats not the place to be mean lol, see you in the next one...

chapter 33:

Like the previous chapters, I experimented a lot with colour and panels, but I think it was most noticable here, maybe it being so noticable means I overdid it? But maybe I just forgot to mention it previously, there were a lot of chapter like that in the last two chapters, even more of a certain kind(the ones where the action pieces flynoyt of the panel, you know what I mean). Anyways the action at the start should have shown Maka in a good enough light, she deafeated a few kishineggs on her own while being ambushed and demotivated having to deal with a wonky leg so. Think the only thing I kinda am not fully satisfied with is maybe Zalte getting into screaming a bit to easilie, maybe she should have reacted in a different way, if I was a hack I could say it was Makas antidemon wavelength influencing her or something lol. Anyway I most happy that the ending scene of the chapter came out as creepy as it did, with the whole cockroach explosion and casual reatachmenf of the head, giving of this vibe of someone becomming inhuman in their pursuit of survival.and evolution. Lets see if the next one can deliver too...

chapter 34:

One could wonder if just killing those two witches so nonchalantly at the start might feel of but I think that shows the contrast between somebody like current Crona and Mifune - the latter doesnt snap and lash out but executes with a cold stocism. That stoicism was only really broken once Angela got into the conversation, which also made me realise again how much the theme of parenthood crept into the story more and more, which is funny, because others were more or less plannned, while this particular question just seems to get arived at naturally. Guess its no surprise that in a story set in a school, were the main charachter has parental isuess and many others do, which is also a comming of age story in a way, the theme of family allways comes up. Just hope I make it work and will be able to lead it to somewhere. Anyways about the fight itself - yeah some of the action is undeciphrable, but some actually looked nicer than I feared so atleast thats good. Still I think the "logic" of the fight if the whole escalation and one-up manship let it be a fun read. Especially the whole using tapes as sword thing hopefully was set up enough from first using swords in the enviroment to block, than attack and then using the enviroment itself. The final attack itself may have been shown better with maybe a reaction shot of before being tottaly cut up, but that could go either way. Still liked tbis one overall and I hope I do the others too.

chapter 35:

I thought that after the last one, this one would have even less efort because I was getting closer to the "deadline", but nah seems I put a lot into this one too, got a lot of nice panels and sheeet. Even the action scene works mostly, in my opinion atleast. But I think this one illustrates my point - Zalte finally screaming after her mothers dead and everything makes sense and fits better than if she already did previously, and maybe even the flashback works here better, but I guess revealing something partially first works too. Anyways I remeber a comment saying there were some difficulties in all the perspective jumping, and I guess that could be true, especially because its only text, so the whole "one sides starts and the other finishes the sentence" thing works worse and can just be jaring and disorientating. But I guess not telling which side is fighting for what is kinda a point, but maybe Im being pretentious to deflect. Anyways think this was in a way a climax to the arc, in a certain sense, even if another is in the next chapter, but I dont care if this breaks story rules or whatever lol, I aint no hero that needs a thousand faces.

chapter 36:

Even if this chapter had to be rushed, I still did some things right with it, used.color effectivly, especially making it stand out when everything else is just outlines. If I wanted I could pretend that actually all the black and white art with no nshading was on porpuse to convei a view in which is not clear where ambiguities begin and which side is which anymore! But nah, dont need to go that far. Still for the story itself: Man Crona must have looked up one of these shitty pseudo-psychology videos about "dark empaths" ir something lol. But for real, I think Cronas manipulation of using his experience and projection to then lead the person to an selfdestructive conclusion is devilishly cunning and kinds entertaining to watch in a weird way, probably the most evil thing Crona did in this story, even if kinda justified in the moment (well maybe before the atempted beheading, could have just manipulated her to release them and go to jail ir something). Anyways, think that Crona turning the most witch like when he thinks he is the most acting against it is a satsfieng narative climax and irony, that even without any witch magic, this is what made him become a perfect specimen in a certain way... But if this is true will be tested in the next chapter as we know, the cycle of generational trauma must be broken eventuallly...

chapter 37:

Yeah this ones art is pretty rushed, even more than I expected after reading the previews few chapters. Still wonder if I captured Medusa in a vulnerable state or if it was just a farce, I guess I can say its young(younger?) Medusa But still as a wrap up for the arc probably controversial (or it would be if I had enough readers for something to cause controversy lol). Anyways maybe I'm writing this when Im a but too tired, should have planned this better out so I dont rush the recap as much as the reread. But anyways, still think in a way this was genius. Just not in a way that people will get Eh dunno, atleast I lkiked the arc as a whole, but dunno what more to say today, it is what it is, lets hope I dont die off complications now and can continue the story, eveb had a "storyboard" for a kind of post arc wrap up chapter from before tge hiatus sonthat sould be next. If still this sounds like I'm bailing out of giving a proper note: yeah...sorry

[giggly-squiggily]

Masterlist (Anime/Web Series) ~Letters M-Z~

Heyo! The original masterlist was getting a tad long, so I decided to split it in two! This will be for fandoms starting from M-Z!

Full Masterlist

Updated: 9/30/24

My Hero Academia

Moriarty The Patriot

Caterpillar Rave (Lee!Sherlock, Lee!William)

Great In Theory, Bad In Execution (Lee!Sherlock, Ler!Watson)

In Time We Thaw (Switches!Fred, Moran, Louis)

Marked (Lee!William, Ler!Sherlock)

A Series Of Deduction (Lee!William, Ler!Sherlock)

Still You Under The Surface (Lee!Albert, Lers!William, Louis)

To Break A Gargoyle: Act 2 (Lee!Moran, Ler!William) **Collab with Rachie-Roo**

Soul Eater

Settle This In Smash! (Lee!Soul, Ler!BlackStar, Ler!Kid)

Sk8 The Infinity

Into The ShadowRealm (Lee!Miya, Ler!Shadow)

Muscle Memory (Lee!Joe, Lers!Miya, Cherry)

Spy x Family

Decoder (Switches!Loid, Anya)

Operation Zombie Hunt (Switches!Forger Family)

Pain Pain Go Away (Lee!Loid, Ler!Yor)

Part Of The Family (Switches!Yor, Loid)

Phone Chaos (Lee!Loid, Ler!Yor) **Collab With @helloitsghost**

Picture Perfect (Lee!Damien, Ler!Anya)

Pillow Fort (Switches!Loid, Yor, Anya)

Spy Wars Fans (Switches!Anya, Damien)

The Promised Neverland

Truth Seekers! (Lee!Ray, Lers!Emma, Norman)

Tokyo Revengers

Vinland Saga

Good For The Soul (Lee!Thorfinn, Ler!Einar)

Yu Yu Hakushou

Flaunting Foxes Get Got (Lee!Kurama, Ler!Hiei)

To Be More Human (Lee!Hiei, Lers!Kurama, Kuwabara)

Windbreaker

No More Rain Clouds (Lee!Togame, Ler!Choji)

Silent But Giggly (Lee!Sugishita, Lers!Suo, Sakura)

[oneweekoneband]

Sebadoh, “Gimme Indie Rock”

Just Gimme Indie Rock!!

Autobiography is an act of self-definition, a way to (re)write your narrative, situate your genealogy, and reflect on your own significance. There are a handful of songs that offer history lessons: Arthur Conley’s honorific “Sweet Soul Music,” the mournful “American Pie”, Built to Spill’s resentful “You Were Right”. Think too of Bowie’s ruminations on his past in “Ashes to Ashes” or “Blackstar.” And perhaps the most authentic and resonant of all, the Minutemen’s “History Lesson Pt. II,” Mike Watt’s tribute to both the godfathers of punk and his friendship with D. Boon.

“Gimme Indie Rock” is Sebdaoh’s contribution to the field (which, like the Minutemen’s, has lent its name to an important book on music history). The main riffs reflect the full range of Sebadoh’s influences, moving from spastic to sludgey to plodding and back again. Lou credits weed with the disillusionment with hardcore and his turn to music that was looser, more droning, more independent like John Spencer and Sonic Youth. But can we take this hagiography seriously? Is Lou genuine in his praise of this “new generation of electric white boy blues”? Earnest when he whines “Maybe I can get what I want too!”? As with so many of Barlow’s tunes, it’s equally sincere and tongue-in-cheek, self-defensively turning to ironism out fear of being too vulnerable. But let’s not forget, this song fucking rocks, and so inserts itself into the very rock pantheon it catalogues.

And here is yet another wrinkle in the Bawlow-Mascis saga: Lou rhymes ‘Pussy Galore’ and ‘Thurston More’ with ‘Pedal-hopping like a Dinosaur, J’. That dangling ‘J’ – is it short for Jr., or an apostrophe to Mascis? And is Barlow burying the hatchet with his former bandmate? Or is rather he telling Mascis: Dino isn’t the only band that’s part of this lineage; you can’t think indie rock without thinking Sebadoh.

[the-excursion]

Keeping Promises & Completing Contracts

The wind was still, and the air quiet, it was a calm day. Nylo was lying down on the grass. She was resting in the middle of a large field filled with healthy green grass. The sun shined brightly over the grass. Nylo wasn't wearing her armor instead she had on a casual looking under suit. She rolled over and looked at her sheathed sword that laid beside her. She grabbed her sword by the sheath and jumped up onto her feet. She stretched and yawned as she looked towards the sun she met the sun's blazing heat with an equally warm gaze. After realizing a staring contest with the sun couldn't be won she moved her gaze a bit to the west of the sun. Now she stared at the Blackstar. When the sun was out so was the Blackstar. She grabbed a lock of her silver hair and looked at it. Simply looking at the Blackstar made Nylo think back to her family and the Nissian blood that flowed through her. Her grip on her sword became tighter.

Nylo decided she had rested long enough. She started to walk towards the nearest town. She had no plans on where she was going or what she was going to do. She arrived at the small town and made her way to its small market. She took in the different sights and smells. Many of the vendors shouted out across the market trying to get the attention of potential patrons. Nylo ignored the shouts and pleas for business, but something penetrated through to Nylo. What cut through to her senses was the smell of a freshly made batch of chicken stew. Nylo’s mouth began to salivate as she made it across the small plaza and towards the savory smell. She arrived to the origin of the smell. It was a quaint inn made of brick. Many of the the people within the inn were sitting down enjoying a meal from the inn’s kitchen. Nylo walked up to the main counter and leaned against the counter. As she did this her stomach growled. The inn keep heard this. “So will it be the stew?” He asked Nylo. She laughed. “Yeah actually,” Nylo said awkwardly. “That'll be two blossoms,” the inn keep said. Nylo started patting herself and checking her pockets. She remembered she had spent all the money she had. She put on a frown, but before she could give some sort of excuse a man sat by her. “Yes can I get two bowls of the stew,” the man grinned. The inn keep nodded and walked off to his kitchen.

The man turned to her. “So you’re a knight?” He asked Nylo. “No I'm not a knight.” “Oh so you're a sellsword,” he replied. “Sorta,” Nylo nodded. “Well then that's perfect I needed someone to accompany me to the Athenaeum in Hirth, and it seems you're low on funds, and I'll pay 100 blooms” Nylo thought about his proposition. She thought about how far Hirth was from here, and if the compensation was fair. Nylo shrugged off any rational and figured the journey would prove beneficial to her and give her a reason to finally visit the city Hirth. She nodded to the man. “I'll go.” “Great I prefer to bind agreements and contracts. That's okay right?” The man asked. Nylo was familiar with concept of binding contracts but she had never actually done so before. Nylo nodded and put her palm facing down on the counter. He started to reach in his bag he was carrying for his ink bind. He made sure the stamp was fully saturated in the ink then he stamped it on both of their right hands. The ink disappeared into their skin. “I won't ask anything of you beyond protecting me, and ensuring my safe passage to the Athenaeum. The blooms I'm giving you can’t be used by you until I arrive to my destination,” he very briefly explained the terms of their agreement. Nylo nodded and they shook hands. Where the ink stamp had been applied now gave a faint glimmer. Nylo looked at her hand, and shrugged. Gareth then reached into his bag and grabbed a sack of coins he handed the sack to Nylo. “The binding seal is pretty simple. It won't let you open the sack and spend any of the blooms till I arrive at the Athenaeum,” Gareth further elaborated. “Sounds simple enough,” Nylo said as she grabbed the sack of blooms.

Nylo looked to the counter and realized that the innkeeper had brought the stew already and that it had been sitting getting cold. Nylo pulled the bowl to her and began to quickly eat it. Once they were both done eating they got up and began to walk out. “Oh my name is Gareth by the way,” he said as he gave room to Nylo so she could pass by the doorway leading outside. “Nylo,” she said as she shook Gareth's hand again as he also made it out the inn. Gareth explained to Nylo how they were going to take the rail motive most of the way to Hirth. Then they were going to ride on horseback the rest of the way.

They made their way to the rail station, and Gareth purchased two tickets for the rail ride. Nylo stood back leaning against a wall watching over Gareth. Gareth jogged up to Nylo. “Nylo were going to miss the rail motive. It's about to depart,” Gareth exclaimed jogging over to the tracks. Nylo followed him and they quickly made their way inside one of the rail cars. They found a pair of seats and sat down. Nylo sat in the seat beside the aisle and Gareth by the window. “So the silver hair and red eyes, but no pointy ears. You’re a demi-elf.” “Yeah I am,” Nylo replied. “I've actually had the pleasure of meeting a few demi-elves, but you’re the first demi I've ever met who makes it known like you do. All the demis I've met dye their silver hair to a less conspicuous hair color, and they go about changing their eye color as well. Also they don't carry ancient Nissian weapons with them,” Gareth said as he glanced at her sheathed sword. The sword’s scabbard was the color of obsidian and had bright blue detailings. The hilt was also the color of obsidian. Nylo unsheathed the sword ever so slightly keeping most of the blade within the scabbard but allowing a small segment of the blade to be seen. The blade's metal was a bright blue. Nylo quickly sheathed the sword again. “You’re familiar with the sword,” Nylo exclaimed in a soft tone. “One of my areas of study is of Nissian technology and artifacts, and that's the Cat’s Glaive. The weapon of the legendary Nissian guardsmen Ailuros Amory. If my memory serves me correctly this guardsman settled down with a simple human farm boy. Then she shared her name and blood to her kin. That was over two hundred years ago. You also make no effort to hide your name you told me you were Nylo. That makes you Nyloria Amory. There’s not many demi-born families it's not hard to keep tabs on them,” Gareth said. Nylo smiled. “I usually travel with my armor on. I picked the wrong day to not do that I guess. Was all that the reason you approached me and got me to travel with you?” Nylo asked. 'Well sort of. I just wanted to travel with the lost princess. People within noble and adept circles are well aware of your disappearance. Your father died and then you disappeared. There are all sorts of rumors about your disappearance. Either your father's killer killed him and made his way out with you. He died of natural causes and you left out of grief, and some of the rumors even sound like you killed him and fled your castle with the family arms, that sword, but I don't really care about any of that. I just wanted to hang out with a demi. It has been awhile since I have,” Gareth said. Nylo squirmed around in her seat a bit trying to get more comfortable. “I kinda figured there was some sort of catch to that bowl of stew,” Nylo said. “Ehh not really. I needed a good travel partner you seemed like one and you happened to be a demi. Also you were low on funds seems like it worked out for all of us,” Gareth finished. Gareth took out a book and began to read. Once Nylo got comfortable she fell asleep.

About an hour had passed. Gareth was still reading and Nylo was still asleep. “Hey Nylo I need to use the bathroom,” Gareth said as he poked Nylo. Nylo quickly woke up. “Hmm what's wrong,” she asked. “I gotta pee,” he whispered in an embarrassed voice. Nylo got up and started walking towards the back of their rail car. “So how close are we to our stop?” Nylo asked him. “We’re pretty close actually. Probably like ten minutes left to the next town. It's actually as far as this rail goes. The rest of the rails laid out by the Nissians that lead to Hirth were actually destroyed about a hundred years ago,” Gareth explained. Nylo nodded just as they reached the laboratory in the back. Gareth entered and began to go about his business. Nylo leaned against the door that lead connected the exterior of the rail car and led to the other rail cars. Nylo looked out the door and looked at the rails that were directly adjacent to the ones they were on. Another rail motive was beside them but this one was carrying only cargo. Nylo felt a presence behind her from the cabin they just came from. She turned around and seen a man wearing a hood slowly entering into the hallway she was within. She turned back to the cabin with her back facing the door again. She tensed up slightly once she did so the man took out a dagger and began to lunge at her. She grabbed the hilt of her sword and decided to utilize the technology bestowed upon the weapon. She quickly conjured her armor and unsheathed her blade.

The armor was a dark almost black blue with a much brighter blue accenting the armor. Around the cheek plates of the armor were whisker like grates and the gloves of the armor were clawed these features are what helped give name to the legendary Nissian warrior of old 'The Cat.’ The armor appeared to be new even though Nylo has used it many times. When it was dematerialized any dents and scratches seemed to disappear. Nylo met the attacker head on. She swung her sword for the attacker’s dagger in an effort to pluck it out of his hand. Nylo was very skilled with her blade but hasn't fought in about two weeks her moves were not as graceful and her swings did not do exactly as she intended. Instead of plucking the dagger out of his hand she had plucked his hand off of the rest of his arm. Nylo flinched at her own action, but she decided to roll with what she had done. The man didn't yell loudly, but the pain he felt was clearly visible. He dropped to the ground where Nylo went to quickly meet him. She clawed her sharp gloved fingers into his neck ending his pain and reddening her ‘claws’. Once she took her claws out of his neck she got up off her knee but as soon as she did so the door behind her was opened and she was quickly grabbed and thrown outside of the rail car. She was now on a metal platform that connected the rail car she was just inside of to the one behind it. She could hear the wind zipping by her. Nylo was not on her feet and her sword was just out of arm's reach. She looked up and seen the man who had thrown her back. The man was also hooded but bigger than the one before. His blade was less conspicuous and much larger. The man could not quickly find an opening or weak point on the armor to stab through so instead opted to pick her up and throw her off the motive.

He grabbed her by the helmet with both his arms. Nylo thought quickly and jammed her clawed thumb into his elbow pit and the rest of her claws made it into the other side of his arm, his elbow. This rendered his arms about useless. She then got up on her feet and used her shoulder to shove him off the fast moving motive. Nylo panted a bit. Her hands were on her knees and she was looking down to the floor. She was taking a breath. Her armor gave her a number of abilities one of which added to her sensory and perception. She could feel that two more of these would be assassins were above her. She looked up and found her senses to be right on point. Two more hooded men were standing above her one on each of the rail cars that were connected by the small platform she was still on. She grabbed her sword and used the rail car behind her to wall jump up onto the top of the rail car and meet the assailants head on. She blocked his first sword strike with her forearm. She then quickly grabbed the sword by the blade using her gloved hand and then she speared the sword into the abdomen of the other assassin who was jumping onto the rail car she was currently on. The force of her sword throw stopped his jump and dropped him to the ground. The one who's sword she took and had thrown was taken aback by her actions. Nylo used this opening and placed her gloved hand on his head. Nylo now utilized another one of the abilities the suit of armor allowed. The Cat's guard allowed her to create and conduct electricity, and she used the ability to hastily electrocute the assassin. That amount of electricity to one's brain if not fatal is very damaging. She took her hand off his head when she did so clear burn marks were visible where her gloved hand had been. His body dropped to the ground and with that Nylo dropped back down to the connecting platform. She could see the station they were departing at now. The man who was dropped by the thrown sword was on the connecting platform still hanging onto life but was sure to lose it in due time. Blood was spilling out from his mouth. The sight disheartened Nylo enough to drive her to end his pain. She carefully but briskly put the tip of the blade through his neck. She thought back to the few that she had just killed. She wasn't sure on who they were or why they were doing this but was sure they wanted Gareth’s life and she had a contract to uphold. 'Evil or not all warriors deserve their due rest,’ she thought to herself. “Rest in peace.” Her words were carried away by the wind.

She walked back into the rail car she was originally in and knocked on the laboratory door. “I took care of the problem Gareth. Who were they and why did they want to kill you,” Nylo said pressed up against the door. She waited a moment for a response but didn't get any. She then opened the door to find Gareth was still in there. Still inside of the bathroom but no longer breathing. Some assassin slipped passed Nylo’s perception and slit Gareth's neck.

The train stopped, and Nylo was processing all of this. Her mind quickly moved to the contract she was supposed to fulfill. She sheathed her sword and dematerialized her armor. She looked at her hand and found the binding seal was still there. Still shimmering and reminding her of the contract she had to fulfill. She had to think quickly the new passengers were about to board onto the rail motive. She grabbed Gareth's body and snuck off the rail motive. The binding seal seemed to bind its contract even in death. She decided to bring his body to the Athenaeum hoping that would end the contract.

The station she was able to sneak away from with Gareth's body bordered the mid sized village and a rainforest. Running deeper into the rainforest while holding Gareth proved to be very tiring for Nylo. The Cat’s Glaive did not bestow any strength enhancing sort of abilities when the armor was not materialized, and even when it was the strength she is given is only nominally higher than her own. The foliage was high and thick making it easy for Nylo to hide Gareth's body. She was going to go into the village to buy a horse that she could use to bring her and Gareth to Hirth. The binding seal won't allow Nylo to use the coins Gareth gave her as payment until her job is complete but the contract didn't speak of using any of Gareth's possessions. She rifled through Gareth's bag and found a suitable amount of money. Nylo decided to be more alert she rematerialized her armor and made her way to the village’s stable.

Once there she looked at the horses and thought about which one would suit her best. The stable owner was glaring at her from afar. Nylo realized it might be her wearing her armor. She started to walk up towards the stable owner. She took off her helmet before she got up to the stable owner. She extended her arm out to the stable owner. She looked at her hand and remember her hand was armored she awkwardly lowered her arm and just waved. None of the that mattered though the stable owner was fixated on her face. His scowl had disappeared now and he was in awe. It was her hair that caught his attention. “Your an elf,” the stable owner stammered over his words. Nylo was confused for a second, but she remembered common people rarely if ever got see elves or demi-elves. A silver haired girl was enough to be looked at as a kin of the surviving elves from the civil war two centuries ago. Nylo maybe looked at as one of those kin, but she is far from any pure blooded Aurea Nissi. The silver hair and red eyes proved to be a dominant trait even when mixed with human blood. Even with this the difference in a demi's ear to that of a pure blooded elves ear was enough for any non-commoner to distinguish the two.

“Many years ago my son was fatally ill. I had nothing to my name but a beautiful Nissian women came to our help and healed my boy. At the time I had no way of paying her back. She insisted that she did what she did for her not us, that she needed no pay. So she made off after my son was fully recovered. Now I own this stable and do quite well for myself. I know you're not her but please take a horse of your choosing free of charge,” the man explained why he was so in awe of her. Nylo nodded at his offer. Nylo was slightly curious with the boy. ‘If she was a truly a Nissian and not just a demi like me then what did she want with the boy. An Aurea Nissian while not inherently malice don't just help any random boy,’ she thought to herself “Thank you, and about your boy where is he?” She asked him. “Oh he grew up to be a noble young man. He's one of the few Westerners to become a knight of the east. Probably the only red headed one at that,” he told her. “Again thank you, thank you so much,” Nylo said as she walked back over to the stable and picked out a horse. Nylo didn't know much about horses. She picked the one with the cleanest mane and hooves. She found the one she picked to be a hardy horse that would be able to endure the hardships he'll have to face even after her current journey. He was a black horse with a white mane. She walked the horse over to the stable owner. “Haha I thought you would pick that one. His name is Randal. Here I'll saddle him up for you,” he said as walked into a shed near by. He came by with the saddle and two bags. He saddled up the horse and properly set up the bags to the saddle. The saddle was ready and able to carrying two persons. Something that was very useful for Nylo in her current situation. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she said as she decided to hug the stable owner. Nylo mounted the horse and rode off back near the rainforest.

Nylo made it back to the outside of the forest much faster with Randal. She hitched Randal to tree and went into the forest to go and get Gareth. She found his now cold body. She sobbed at the site. She didn't know him terribly well, and Nylo wasn't too fond of mage types but she found Gareth to be a bearable adept. She slung Gareth's cold body over her shoulder and made her way back to Randal. She quickly set Gareth on the back of her horse and started to ride towards Hirth away from the rainforest and the village. It took the rest of the day to ride to Hirth by the time she made it to Hirth it was the dead of night making it easy for her to ride into the city with a dead man. There was no polite way to drop of a dead man so she just neatly placed his body on the steps of the Athenaeum. She looked to her hand, the binding seal disappeared. She grabbed the sack of coins she was originally given and opened it she grabbed one of the coins and felt it in her hand. “I kept our agreement,” Nylo awkwardly said to Gareth's cold body. She flipped the coin and landed it on Gareth's forehead. She got up on Randal and started to slowly ride away she looked back at Gareth one last time and gave her last words to him. “Rest in peace.”

[big-edies-sun-hat]

Reading

I have had a hard time settling on a new, unread book since times, you know, changed. I get antsy very easily unless the book is extremely immersive. Mostly this pushes me to genre fiction, although I was enthralled by Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. I was a bit bewildered when it just ended, though.

The Quincunx by Charles Palliser was a hell of a thing. It’s pretty amazing that “Palliser” is the real name of an author who wrote an enormous Trollopean tome about vicious legal proceedings and social inequities in Victorian London. I saw my mother carrying around this book when I was a little girl, and it seemed both incredibly boring and awe-inspiring to me. But it is an extraordinary ride. Terrible things start happening in the first few pages and they just. Keep. Happening. They do not let up. It’s Game of Thrones-level audience punishment. I couldn’t fail to finish it, though. I wanted to see if one nice thing would happen. (It kind of does.)

I read Fledgling, a Liaden Universe book, and I wasn’t quite sure why, even as I kept paging away. It’s space opera, and I usually wander off when there’s a lot of invented low-G sport and improbable future-cursewords and pointless intrigue. But it wasn’t here. I think my standards have lowered.

I have come to the final third of The Many-Colored Land by Julian May, part of the Saga of Pliocene Exile, which is highly spoken of. It’s an extremely ‘80s type of SF-fantasy where the one genre horseshoes around to meet the other in a lost neverworld, the kind that trickled down to kids through He-Man and Blackstar. I don’t think I can quite finish it. There’s bad LGBT depictions, wholesale cultural appropriation, and awful, awful dialogue. This was the last straw:

No. Or perhaps, since so many of these characters are flagrantly French: neaux.

I started reading Kim Stanley Robinson’s Aurora. I’m in the first few pages, but I like it so far. I had liked his Shaman but bounced off his Mars trilogy after multiple valiant attempts.

[earth-skulker]

Profiles Of Skulkerman’s DC Timeline - Flash III (Wally West)

Name:  Flash III Secret Identity:  Wally West Powers:  Electric Gender:  Male Weapon:  Brawling Movement:  Super Speed Origin:  Meta Mentor:  Flash II Bio:  He is the The Third Speedster in The Flash Legacy and the first Kid-Flash.  He first appears in “Teen Titans My Saga” as A main hero in Season 5 as Nex, his first son with Jinx, has the secret to stopping The Joker.  Then He appears in “My Characters In Brainiac Incident” as He responded to Brainiac’s Attack before my characters got their exobytes as A Flash.   Then He appears in “Nex VS Sheila” as both his present self and his past self witness a battle between their first Son Against Terra’s and Jericho’s daughter known as Sheila only to have Nex and Sheila team up after a massive clash and defeat Terra and Jericho with Sheila’s Parents swearing vengeance to Sheila and His son who are now lovers.  Then He appears in “Child Titans Fight Against Doomseid ” as He sees His Son, His Son’s Lover, and Their friends team up to fight against Doomseid, a new child of Darkseid with the power of Doomsday in him and it starts out a rebellion from Apokolips thanks to Child Titans freeing the servants of Doomseid.  Then He appears in “Creating Child Titan Tower and Apokolips Rebellion HQ ” as The Child Titans who are His Son, His Son’s Lover, and their Friends make The Child Titan Tower and The Rebellion To Apokolips creates Apokolips Rebellion HQ in Denver.  Then He appears in “Kratos Attacks The Earth” as Kratos Attacks The Earth and His Son’s Team known as The Child Titans defend it from Kratos.  Then He appears in “Blight Starts A Fight With Child Titans” as His son's Team faces their own personal villains known as The Beyonders who are the Villains of The Batman Beyond Animated Series.  Then He appears in “Apokolips Denver Invasion” as Denver is Invaded by Apokolips and he helps the Child Titans defend it which include his son.  Then He appears in “Kratos and the Children of Ares attack the City of Denver” as Kratos And The Children of Ares attack The City of Denver and the child titans and Teen Titans defend it.  Then He appears in “Sons Of Trigon Start A Strike On Denver To Get Ella” as Raven’s Brothers start a strike on Denver to get Ella, the child of Raven and Beast Boy, only to have the Teen Titans to team up with the Child Titans and stop them.  Then He appears in “Space Data Attacks the Denver City PD” as A New Quantum Villain of Unknown Origin Attacks Denver City PD and he helps the Child Titans stop this New Quantum Villain of Unknown Origin.  Then He appears in “Terra Controls Villains To Destroy All Heroes” as He and the Other Teen titans are attacked by their villains including Jinx for purpose of Terra’s Mind Control but The Child Titans and The Beyonders help the heroes out by stopping Terra.  Then He appears in “Space Data Controls the Multi-Verse” as That Quantum Villain of Unknown Origin that attacked Denver City PD Controls the Nexus Of Reality and He, Justice League, Teen Titans, Secret Society Of Villains, Black Guards, and Villains of Love help The Child Titans and The Beyonders retake back the Nexus Of Reality for The Council of Batman.  Then He appears in “Freeing Lucinda From Blackstar” as His Second Son known as Hex battles Blackstar, a evil tamarian, to free Lucinda the daughter of Blackfire and This evil Tamarian.  Then He appears in “H+L Battle Doomseid in Apokolips” as He watches his Son and, his son’s lover now, Lucinda are transported to Apokolips where they battle Doomseid.  Then He appears in “Brainiac Attacks the Earth Again 1” as Brainiac attacks The Earth Once again and He, The Justice League, The Teen Titans, The Child Titans, and The Secret Society Of Villains Helps Black Guards and Villains Of Love defend the Earth from Brainiac.  Then He appears in “Rise Of Deviltena” as He and Flash II help Metalhead Blue deal with a new villain who is daughter of the Greek God Hades known as Deviltena since, despite her having wings, she is a speedster.  Then He appears in “Cadmus Attacks” as An Ally To Young Justice.  Then He appears in “Sheila’s Parents’ Revenge” as Sheila’s Parents try to finally get their vengeance on their daughter and Nex only to have Flash III and Jinx help the Child Titans beat Them.  Then He appears in “Miley Nova Freezes Titans Tower” as Miley Nova Freezes Titans Tower and He has to M3ga Ton Stop her.  Then He appears in “The Rise of Slavery Ice Cream” as He eats one of the Slavery Ice Cream.  Then He appears in “Slave Covered Earth VS All Lantern Corps and Purpl3 Lant3rn” as A Slave to BurnleashXMiley-Nova.  Then He appears in “Justice League VS Secret Society of Villains” as he and The titans help the Justice League battle Secret Society of Villains.   Then He appears in “The Rallied Villains Attack The Earth For The Couple” as New Space Villains Attack The Earth Under The Orders of BurnleashXMiley-Nova and the only successful resistance is Sending Purpl3 Lant3rn and M3ga Ton to Space to get help from New Space Heroes.  Then He appears in “Rallied Heroes Save the Earth from Rallied Villains” as He, the rest of Teen Titans, and the Child Titans are the second sets of heroes that The New Space Heroes under the orders of Purpl3 Lant3rn and M3ga Ton Free from the New Space Villains and then help defeat the New Space Villains the rest of the way.  Then He appears in “Rallied Heroes and Rallied Villains Team Up Against Brainiac” as The New Space Heroes and New Space Villains team Up against Brainiac who has launched another attack and All The Earth Heroes and Villains help them out.   Then He appears in “The Tech Human War Starts With Creation Of ALIAS” as A New Villain Faction Called The Tech Humans Start A War with The Justice League and The Teen Titans and Child Titans Help out because The Leader of the New Faction is a Copy of Cyborg.  Then He appears in “The Tech Human Revolution Begins With ALIAS Becoming Self-Aware” as A Good Faction of Tech Humans called the Tech Human Revolution is created by the first created Tech Human known as ALIAS becomes self-aware and starts stealing shipments of tech humans to get them self-aware as well and then he messages The Justice League to make a alliance as well as Black Guards, The Teen Titans, and The Child Titans.  Then He appears in “Nex And Sheila Battle Hive 5” as His first Son and his first son’s Lover battle the Hive 5 of the day.  Then He appears in “The Wrath of Ares and His Son Kratos” as A Member of Justice League.  Then He appears in “The Battle Of Peace VS War Continues with the New Allies” as A Member of Justice League.  Then He appears in “New Las Vegas Villain AKA Tankumi“ as He witnesses the defeat of Metalhead Blue and Flash II to Deviltena and Tankumi.  Then He appears in “The Battle Of Peace VS War Continues with The New Exobyte Heroes And Villains” as A Member of Justice League.  Then He appears in “New Las Vegas Hero AKA Morrin” as He finds Morrin, a new las vegas Hero and helps him battle Tankumi and Deviltena.  Then He appears in “The Secret Society of Villains Join Ares’ Side In The Battle Of Peace VS War” as A Member of Justice League.  Then He appears in “The New Villains and The New Heroes Join The Battle Of Peace VS War” as A Member of Justice League.  Then He appears in “Morrin and Tankumi Battle In Metropolis” as He and the rest of the Flash Legacy help Morrin and Superman Battle Tankumi in Metropolis.  Then He Appears “Brainiac attacks The Earth Again” as A Member of Justice League against The Villains and Brainiac.  Then He appears in “Helena Wayne and Lara Lane-Kent Team Up With Morrin To Defend Gotham from Tankumi” as He, The Rest of The Flash Legacy, Helena Wayne, and Superdaughter help Morrin battle Tankumi in a city, this time it’s Gotham though.  Then He appears in “Justice League VS Reverse Justice League” as He and the rest of the Teen Titans help the Justice League battle The Reverse Justice League created by Professor Zoom and the counterpart of batman is the Crime Syndicate member known as Owlman.   Then He appears in “Tall Shyguy VS Professor Zoom” as An Ally to Tall Shyguy.   Then He appears in “Kid Zoom’s Creation” as His DNA is used by Professor Zoom combined with Professor Zoom’s Reverse Speed-Force to pull back  Thaddeus Thawne II to be the first Kid Zoom.   Then He appears in “War of The Light Parts 1&2” as Purpl3 Lantern, M3ga Ton, and their students team up with the lantern corps in a battle of the light with multiple sides of the light take both sides of green vs yellow with heroes and villains of earth becoming deputies to the lantern corps and he becomes no deputy but he works with Purpl3 Lant3rn, M3ga Ton and Their Students to stop the sinestro corps and their allies.  Then He appears in “My Characters’ Blackest Day+Blackest Night” as He continues to help the Lantern Corps now even working with the Sinestro Corps and it’s allies against The Black Lantern Corps with their leaders Nekron, Red Knight, and Death Lantern who eventually gets made into multiple copies.  Then He appears in “Deviltena Creates a Demonic Portal For Hades In Las Vegas” as Deviltena Creates A Demonic Portal In Las Vegas for her father Hades and He and the Rest Of The Flash Legacy help Metalhead Blue Stop her from unleashing too many demons.  Then He appears in “Battle Against Kid Zoom” as He battles Kid Zoom for the first time.   Then He appears in “The Reveal of Pit and The Reason Why Deviltena Doesn’t Fly” as A New Hero Known As Pit is Revealed and so is the Reason why Doesn’t Fly.   Then He appears in “Kid Zoom becomes Inertia” as He battles Kid Zoom and Kid Zoom becomes Inertia.  Then He appears in “Black Guards and Villains Of Love in Age Of Justice” as He, The Teen Titans, the Justice League, the Secret Society of Villains, and The Justice Society of America of the Past help Black Guards and Villains of Love battle Baron Von Savage in the Age Of WWII.  Then He appears in “The Reveal of Sarakin” as The Reveal of The God Of Chaos known as Sarakin who was sealed in the Mediterranean Sea as well as the Titans of Olympus were is released from his prison something the recently found Goddess of Light Palutena, The Recently Found Goddess of Nature Viridi, and The Hero known as Pit all feared was happening thanks to The Battles that were created thanks to Inference with the world from Deviltena and Hades.  Then He appears in “??” as ??.   Then He appears in “??” as ??.  That is it for now…   League:  Justice League Theme:  Brother By Kodaline Loadouts:  Healing (Main) And Damage (Sub) 

[samanthasroberts]

From Instagram to Budweiser, These Are the Years Most Notable New Logos

It was a messy year for logos. The presidential candidate with penetrative, Web-1.0-style graphics won. America’s largest art museum drew ire from critics for deviating from its iconic emblem. The Tokyo Organizing Committee scrambled to find a new symbol for the 2020 Olympics, after its original selection faced allegations of plagiarism.

But it wasnt all chaos. Trends emerged, like fold-over icons and pleasing gradient hues. Designs from the ’60s and ’70s found new life in clever brand revivals. And designers continued to strive towards visual identities that are equal parts user-friendly, attractive, and inventive. We exit 2016 with more logos than we entered with. Below, a selection of the year’s most notable work.

The Met

The Met has 1.5 million works of art that span 5,000 years and fill three different outposts. But it never had a clear graphic identity linking the institutions disparate parts until this year, when Wolff Olins led a rebranding. Most people learned about the The Mets new stacked red logo through a New York magazine article that called it a typographic bus crash. The incendiary hot take inspiredinsightful discussions about the stateof logo criticism. Its important to remember, several designers said at the time, that new logos exist within a web of other graphic elements. Their worth becomes apparent over time, not upon release.

Credit: Wolff Olins/he Met

The Met has 1.5 million works of art that span 5,000 years and fill three different outposts. But it never had a clear graphic identity linking the institutions disparate parts until this year, when Wolff Olins led a rebranding. Most people learned about the The Mets new stacked red logo through a New York magazine article that called it a typographic bus crash. The incendiary hot take inspiredinsightful discussions about the stateof logo criticism. Its important to remember, several designers said at the time, that new logos exist within a web of other graphic elements. Their worth becomes apparent over time, not upon release.

The Refugee Nation Flag

The first-ever Refugee Olympic Team marched in this summers opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. The ten athletes, all from war-torn countries, waved a flag bearing the Olympic rings. Soon after, a non-profit called The Refugee Nation designeda logo and flag specifically for refugees. A Syrian refugee named Yara Said came up with an orange banner bearing one thin black stripe, modeled after the life jackets that refugees sometimes wear on their voyages toother, safer nations. The flag didnt debut in time for athletes to wear it during the Olympics, but it remains a potent and effective symbol for a body of people who didnt have one.

Credit: The Refugee Nation

The first-ever Refugee Olympic Team marched in this summers opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. The ten athletes, all from war-torn countries, waved a flag bearing the Olympic rings. Soon after, a non-profit called The Refugee Nation designeda logo and flag specifically for refugees. A Syrian refugee named Yara Said came up with an orange banner bearing one thin black stripe, modeled after the life jackets that refugees sometimes wear on their voyages toother, safer nations. The flag didnt debut in time for athletes to wear it during the Olympics, but it remains a potent and effective symbol for a body of people who didnt have one.

Pandora

In the early 1980s, MTV rolled out its now-iconic I Want My MTV! campaign. The big, blocky M in the MTV icon anchored thebrand identityby framing whatever content MTV wanted to broadcast. Pandoras new rounded P logoworks the same way to showcaseimagery associated with musicians of all stripes. That flexibilitycould help the company stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market of would-be Pandora killers.

Credit: Pandora

In the early 1980s, MTV rolled out its now-iconic I Want My MTV! campaign. The big, blocky M in the MTV icon anchored thebrand identityby framing whatever content MTV wanted to broadcast. Pandoras new rounded P logoworks the same way to showcaseimagery associated with musicians of all stripes. That flexibilitycould help the company stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market of would-be Pandora killers.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The Tokyo Organizing Committee didnt have an easy time pulling together a logo for the upcoming 2020 Olympics. Its first choice, an ensemble of geometric shapes by Japanese graphic designer Kenjiro Sano, drew accusations of plagiarism. So Tokyo opened up the process to the people, and collectednearly 15,000 submissions. The Committee chose a navy blue-and-white ringby artist Asao Tokolo,who found inspiration in designsfrom Japan’sEdo period. Called ichimatsu moyo, the checkered pattern first appeared in the Kabuki theater. The democratic design process brought the logo saga to a happy close.

Credit: Asao Tokolo

The Tokyo Organizing Committee didnt have an easy time pulling together a logo for the upcoming 2020 Olympics. Its first choice, an ensemble of geometric shapes by Japanese graphic designer Kenjiro Sano, drew accusations of plagiarism. So Tokyo opened up the process to the people, and collectednearly 15,000 submissions. The Committee chose a navy blue-and-white ringby artist Asao Tokolo,who found inspiration in designsfrom Japan’sEdo period. Called ichimatsu moyo, the checkered pattern first appeared in the Kabuki theater. The democratic design process brought the logo saga to a happy close.

Netflix

Netflixs new app logo, a red ribbon folded into the letter N, helped confirm tech’s current fascination withfoldover icons. (Androids new N, Mediums M, and our own WIRED W sport folded letter logos.) Treating a logomark like a digital strip of paper is a neat trick. It can lend a symbola sense of dimension that’s often missing from flat designs, without resorting to skeuomorphism.

Credit: Netflix

Netflixs new app logo, a red ribbon folded into the letter N, helped confirm tech’s current fascination withfoldover icons. (Androids new N, Mediums M, and our own WIRED W sport folded letter logos.) Treating a logomark like a digital strip of paper is a neat trick. It can lend a symbola sense of dimension that’s often missing from flat designs, without resorting to skeuomorphism.

Mastercard

Mastercard didnt need a new logo. The red-and-marigold Venn diagram icon was widely recognized by Mastercard customers and non-customers alike. But it had texture, which doesnt play as well on small screens as flatter designs. So Mastercard tapped Michael Bierut, the Pentagram partner who created marks for Citibank and Verizon, to update the banks look. The new mark looks simpler than its predecessor, but it wasmeticulously crafted: Bierut and his team went through hundreds of shades of color to get itjust right.

Credit: Pentagram/Mastercard

Mastercard didnt need a new logo. The red-and-marigold Venn diagram icon was widely recognized by Mastercard customers and non-customers alike. But it had texture, which doesnt play as well on small screens as flatter designs. So Mastercard tapped Michael Bierut, the Pentagram partner who created marks for Citibank and Verizon, to update the banks look. The new mark looks simpler than its predecessor, but it wasmeticulously crafted: Bierut and his team went through hundreds of shades of color to get itjust right.

David Bowies Blackstar

It seemed like yet another star logo in a long line of star logos. Macys, the Dallas Cowboys, Wonder Woman—each uses a five-pointed star, as does David Bowies last album, Blackstar. Designer Jonathan Barnbrooks logo took on new meaning after the star who commissioned the work passed away suddenly, two days after the albums, and the symbols, release. It wasnt just because the star was black, the color of mourning, or because Bowie sang about outer space. It was the finality. A living icon departed, just as an inanimate one arrived. Suddenly, this star looked very different.

Credit: Jonathan Barnbrook

It seemed like yet another star logo in a long line of star logos. Macys, the Dallas Cowboys, Wonder Woman—each uses a five-pointed star, as does David Bowies last album, Blackstar. Designer Jonathan Barnbrooks logo took on new meaning after the star who commissioned the work passed away suddenly, two days after the albums, and the symbols, release. It wasnt just because the star was black, the color of mourning, or because Bowie sang about outer space. It was the finality. A living icon departed, just as an inanimate one arrived. Suddenly, this star looked very different.

Kodak

In 1971 graphic artist C. Peter Oestrich designed a superb logo for Kodak. The company adopted the square mark, which symbolized a camera’s optics, only to ditch it in 2006. This year, with help from New York studio Work-Order, Kodak revived Oestrichs classic mark. The new/old logo suits Kodaks current line of products, which wrap digital technology in grainy, retro industrial design. Its a modern nostalgia, said Dany Atkins, Kodaks brand director.

Credit: Work-Order/Kodak

In 1971 graphic artist C. Peter Oestrich designed a superb logo for Kodak. The company adopted the square mark, which symbolized a camera’s optics, only to ditch it in 2006. This year, with help from New York studio Work-Order, Kodak revived Oestrichs classic mark. The new/old logo suits Kodaks current line of products, which wrap digital technology in grainy, retro industrial design. Its a modern nostalgia, said Dany Atkins, Kodaks brand director.

Instagram

Instagram held out on skeuomorphism longer than most. Three full years after iOS 7 introduced flat design, Instagram still used a sepia-colored cartoon camera as its icon. Late this spring, Instagram swapped it out for a streamlined suggestion of a camera—a line drawing with only a circle for a lens and dot for a viewfinder—set against a vibrant gradient background. Symbolically, the change made sense. Instagrams users largely shoot photos with their phones, not dedicated cameras, and they adjust those photos with saturated filters and vignettes. But the redesign also cleaned up the apps interface, making it easier than ever for Instagrams 500 million users to focus on what they care about: the pictures.

Credit: Instagram

Instagram held out on skeuomorphism longer than most. Three full years after iOS 7 introduced flat design, Instagram still used a sepia-colored cartoon camera as its icon. Late this spring, Instagram swapped it out for a streamlined suggestion of a camera—a line drawing with only a circle for a lens and dot for a viewfinder—set against a vibrant gradient background. Symbolically, the change made sense. Instagrams users largely shoot photos with their phones, not dedicated cameras, and they adjust those photos with saturated filters and vignettes. But the redesign also cleaned up the apps interface, making it easier than ever for Instagrams 500 million users to focus on what they care about: the pictures.

Trump-Pence

Humans are hardwired to see sex actsjust about anywhere. Remember the London 2012 Olympics logo? That was coitus. And Airbnbs seemingly innocuous blo logo? Vagina. But when Trump announced Mike Pence as his running mate, no one even had to squint to see the logos NSFW-ness—it was a T, bluntly penetrating a P. Any credit the mark might have earned for its monogram-like succinctness was overshadowed by its glaring crudeness. Trumps camp quickly replacedthe logo, but the damage—and domination—was already done.

Credit: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.

Humans are hardwired to see sex actsjust about anywhere. Remember the London 2012 Olympics logo? That was coitus. And Airbnbs seemingly innocuous blo logo? Vagina. But when Trump announced Mike Pence as his running mate, no one even had to squint to see the logos NSFW-ness—it was a T, bluntly penetrating a P. Any credit the mark might have earned for its monogram-like succinctness was overshadowed by its glaring crudeness. Trumps camp quickly replacedthe logo, but the damage—and domination—was already done.

Budweiser/America

Between the Olympics, the Centennial Copa America, and the election, Anheuser-Busch felt it was a distinctly American summer. So in a show of patriotic audacity, Budweiser renamed its beer America. The new label appeared in Budweisers famous script, along with snippets of text from the Pledge of Allegiance, “The Star Spangled Banner,” and “America the Beautiful.” The new logo was met with mixed reactions. It was, after all, a divisive year for Americans. Is a lager made by a corporation really the symbol we want to rally around? Whether you loved it or hated it, it was a bold move for Bud.

Credit: Anheuser-Busch

Between the Olympics, the Centennial Copa America, and the election, Anheuser-Busch felt it was a distinctly American summer. So in a show of patriotic audacity, Budweiser renamed its beer America. The new label appeared in Budweisers famous script, along with snippets of text from the Pledge of Allegiance, “The Star Spangled Banner,” and “America the Beautiful.” The new logo was met with mixed reactions. It was, after all, a divisive year for Americans. Is a lager made by a corporation really the symbol we want to rally around? Whether you loved it or hated it, it was a bold move for Bud.

Brand New Conference

Leave it to a branding conference to sport one of this years coolest visual identities. Logo criticism blog Brand New held its annual conference in Nashville, and unabashedly based its branding on the embroidered, rhinestone-bedazzled suits ofcountry musics heyday. The letters recallthe heavyset type from the eras wood type music posters. Metaphorically, each letter is like a suit—an empty canvas, to be filled with paisley print and gems.

Credit: Brand New

Leave it to a branding conference to sport one of this years coolest visual identities. Logo criticism blog Brand New held its annual conference in Nashville, and unabashedly based its branding on the embroidered, rhinestone-bedazzled suits ofcountry musics heyday. The letters recallthe heavyset type from the eras wood type music posters. Metaphorically, each letter is like a suit—an empty canvas, to be filled with paisley print and gems.

Mozilla

When Mozilla, the open-source software company behind Firefox, needed a new brand identity, it hired designconsultancy Johnson Banks. But to mix things up, the company opted to document its rebranding process online, where the public could guide and critique their progress (the rebrand is ongoing). This inclusive approach suits Mozilla, a nonprofit that believes in transparency. But it also says a lot about the state of logo design criticism. Online commenters are quick to lambast a new logo, leaving companies to play defense against valid and unfounded arguments alike. Mozilla figured it could preempt somebrouhaha by listening to its users from the start.

Credit: Mozilla

When Mozilla, the open-source software company behind Firefox, needed a new brand identity, it hired designconsultancy Johnson Banks. But to mix things up, the company opted to document its rebranding process online, where the public could guide and critique their progress (the rebrand is ongoing). This inclusive approach suits Mozilla, a nonprofit that believes in transparency. But it also says a lot about the state of logo design criticism. Online commenters are quick to lambast a new logo, leaving companies to play defense against valid and unfounded arguments alike. Mozilla figured it could preempt somebrouhaha by listening to its users from the start.

“Make America Great Again”

This years most successful symboldidnt come from a prestigious design firm. In fact, its still not clear where it came from. The Cali-Fame headwear factory in Carson, California, manufactures Trumps now-famous Make America Great Again trucker hats, and the slogan itself cribs fromRonald Reagans Lets Make America Great Again. But the hat does not appear to have beendesigned in any formal capacity. That made it a fitting symbol for a bombastic candidate who capitalized on anti-establishment sentiments. It also made it easy to laugh off—a mistake designers and armchair critics alike would do well to remember, going forward.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

This years most successful symboldidnt come from a prestigious design firm. In fact, its still not clear where it came from. The Cali-Fame headwear factory in Carson, California, manufactures Trumps now-famous Make America Great Again trucker hats, and the slogan itself cribs fromRonald Reagans Lets Make America Great Again. But the hat does not appear to have beendesigned in any formal capacity. That made it a fitting symbol for a bombastic candidate who capitalized on anti-establishment sentiments. It also made it easy to laugh off—a mistake designers and armchair critics alike would do well to remember, going forward.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/07/20/from-instagram-to-budweiser-these-are-the-years-most-notable-new-logos/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/from-instagram-to-budweiser-these-are-the-years-most-notable-new-logos/

[jimdsmith34]

From Instagram to Budweiser, These Are the Years Most Notable New Logos

It was a messy year for logos. The presidential candidate with penetrative, Web-1.0-style graphics won. America’s largest art museum drew ire from critics for deviating from its iconic emblem. The Tokyo Organizing Committee scrambled to find a new symbol for the 2020 Olympics, after its original selection faced allegations of plagiarism.

But it wasnt all chaos. Trends emerged, like fold-over icons and pleasing gradient hues. Designs from the ’60s and ’70s found new life in clever brand revivals. And designers continued to strive towards visual identities that are equal parts user-friendly, attractive, and inventive. We exit 2016 with more logos than we entered with. Below, a selection of the year’s most notable work.

The Met

The Met has 1.5 million works of art that span 5,000 years and fill three different outposts. But it never had a clear graphic identity linking the institutions disparate parts until this year, when Wolff Olins led a rebranding. Most people learned about the The Mets new stacked red logo through a New York magazine article that called it a typographic bus crash. The incendiary hot take inspiredinsightful discussions about the stateof logo criticism. Its important to remember, several designers said at the time, that new logos exist within a web of other graphic elements. Their worth becomes apparent over time, not upon release.

Credit: Wolff Olins/he Met

The Met has 1.5 million works of art that span 5,000 years and fill three different outposts. But it never had a clear graphic identity linking the institutions disparate parts until this year, when Wolff Olins led a rebranding. Most people learned about the The Mets new stacked red logo through a New York magazine article that called it a typographic bus crash. The incendiary hot take inspiredinsightful discussions about the stateof logo criticism. Its important to remember, several designers said at the time, that new logos exist within a web of other graphic elements. Their worth becomes apparent over time, not upon release.

The Refugee Nation Flag

The first-ever Refugee Olympic Team marched in this summers opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. The ten athletes, all from war-torn countries, waved a flag bearing the Olympic rings. Soon after, a non-profit called The Refugee Nation designeda logo and flag specifically for refugees. A Syrian refugee named Yara Said came up with an orange banner bearing one thin black stripe, modeled after the life jackets that refugees sometimes wear on their voyages toother, safer nations. The flag didnt debut in time for athletes to wear it during the Olympics, but it remains a potent and effective symbol for a body of people who didnt have one.

Credit: The Refugee Nation

The first-ever Refugee Olympic Team marched in this summers opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. The ten athletes, all from war-torn countries, waved a flag bearing the Olympic rings. Soon after, a non-profit called The Refugee Nation designeda logo and flag specifically for refugees. A Syrian refugee named Yara Said came up with an orange banner bearing one thin black stripe, modeled after the life jackets that refugees sometimes wear on their voyages toother, safer nations. The flag didnt debut in time for athletes to wear it during the Olympics, but it remains a potent and effective symbol for a body of people who didnt have one.

Pandora

In the early 1980s, MTV rolled out its now-iconic I Want My MTV! campaign. The big, blocky M in the MTV icon anchored thebrand identityby framing whatever content MTV wanted to broadcast. Pandoras new rounded P logoworks the same way to showcaseimagery associated with musicians of all stripes. That flexibilitycould help the company stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market of would-be Pandora killers.

Credit: Pandora

In the early 1980s, MTV rolled out its now-iconic I Want My MTV! campaign. The big, blocky M in the MTV icon anchored thebrand identityby framing whatever content MTV wanted to broadcast. Pandoras new rounded P logoworks the same way to showcaseimagery associated with musicians of all stripes. That flexibilitycould help the company stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market of would-be Pandora killers.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The Tokyo Organizing Committee didnt have an easy time pulling together a logo for the upcoming 2020 Olympics. Its first choice, an ensemble of geometric shapes by Japanese graphic designer Kenjiro Sano, drew accusations of plagiarism. So Tokyo opened up the process to the people, and collectednearly 15,000 submissions. The Committee chose a navy blue-and-white ringby artist Asao Tokolo,who found inspiration in designsfrom Japan’sEdo period. Called ichimatsu moyo, the checkered pattern first appeared in the Kabuki theater. The democratic design process brought the logo saga to a happy close.

Credit: Asao Tokolo

The Tokyo Organizing Committee didnt have an easy time pulling together a logo for the upcoming 2020 Olympics. Its first choice, an ensemble of geometric shapes by Japanese graphic designer Kenjiro Sano, drew accusations of plagiarism. So Tokyo opened up the process to the people, and collectednearly 15,000 submissions. The Committee chose a navy blue-and-white ringby artist Asao Tokolo,who found inspiration in designsfrom Japan’sEdo period. Called ichimatsu moyo, the checkered pattern first appeared in the Kabuki theater. The democratic design process brought the logo saga to a happy close.

Netflix

Netflixs new app logo, a red ribbon folded into the letter N, helped confirm tech’s current fascination withfoldover icons. (Androids new N, Mediums M, and our own WIRED W sport folded letter logos.) Treating a logomark like a digital strip of paper is a neat trick. It can lend a symbola sense of dimension that’s often missing from flat designs, without resorting to skeuomorphism.

Credit: Netflix

Netflixs new app logo, a red ribbon folded into the letter N, helped confirm tech’s current fascination withfoldover icons. (Androids new N, Mediums M, and our own WIRED W sport folded letter logos.) Treating a logomark like a digital strip of paper is a neat trick. It can lend a symbola sense of dimension that’s often missing from flat designs, without resorting to skeuomorphism.

Mastercard

Mastercard didnt need a new logo. The red-and-marigold Venn diagram icon was widely recognized by Mastercard customers and non-customers alike. But it had texture, which doesnt play as well on small screens as flatter designs. So Mastercard tapped Michael Bierut, the Pentagram partner who created marks for Citibank and Verizon, to update the banks look. The new mark looks simpler than its predecessor, but it wasmeticulously crafted: Bierut and his team went through hundreds of shades of color to get itjust right.

Credit: Pentagram/Mastercard

Mastercard didnt need a new logo. The red-and-marigold Venn diagram icon was widely recognized by Mastercard customers and non-customers alike. But it had texture, which doesnt play as well on small screens as flatter designs. So Mastercard tapped Michael Bierut, the Pentagram partner who created marks for Citibank and Verizon, to update the banks look. The new mark looks simpler than its predecessor, but it wasmeticulously crafted: Bierut and his team went through hundreds of shades of color to get itjust right.

David Bowies Blackstar

It seemed like yet another star logo in a long line of star logos. Macys, the Dallas Cowboys, Wonder Woman—each uses a five-pointed star, as does David Bowies last album, Blackstar. Designer Jonathan Barnbrooks logo took on new meaning after the star who commissioned the work passed away suddenly, two days after the albums, and the symbols, release. It wasnt just because the star was black, the color of mourning, or because Bowie sang about outer space. It was the finality. A living icon departed, just as an inanimate one arrived. Suddenly, this star looked very different.

Credit: Jonathan Barnbrook

It seemed like yet another star logo in a long line of star logos. Macys, the Dallas Cowboys, Wonder Woman—each uses a five-pointed star, as does David Bowies last album, Blackstar. Designer Jonathan Barnbrooks logo took on new meaning after the star who commissioned the work passed away suddenly, two days after the albums, and the symbols, release. It wasnt just because the star was black, the color of mourning, or because Bowie sang about outer space. It was the finality. A living icon departed, just as an inanimate one arrived. Suddenly, this star looked very different.

Kodak

In 1971 graphic artist C. Peter Oestrich designed a superb logo for Kodak. The company adopted the square mark, which symbolized a camera’s optics, only to ditch it in 2006. This year, with help from New York studio Work-Order, Kodak revived Oestrichs classic mark. The new/old logo suits Kodaks current line of products, which wrap digital technology in grainy, retro industrial design. Its a modern nostalgia, said Dany Atkins, Kodaks brand director.

Credit: Work-Order/Kodak

In 1971 graphic artist C. Peter Oestrich designed a superb logo for Kodak. The company adopted the square mark, which symbolized a camera’s optics, only to ditch it in 2006. This year, with help from New York studio Work-Order, Kodak revived Oestrichs classic mark. The new/old logo suits Kodaks current line of products, which wrap digital technology in grainy, retro industrial design. Its a modern nostalgia, said Dany Atkins, Kodaks brand director.

Instagram

Instagram held out on skeuomorphism longer than most. Three full years after iOS 7 introduced flat design, Instagram still used a sepia-colored cartoon camera as its icon. Late this spring, Instagram swapped it out for a streamlined suggestion of a camera—a line drawing with only a circle for a lens and dot for a viewfinder—set against a vibrant gradient background. Symbolically, the change made sense. Instagrams users largely shoot photos with their phones, not dedicated cameras, and they adjust those photos with saturated filters and vignettes. But the redesign also cleaned up the apps interface, making it easier than ever for Instagrams 500 million users to focus on what they care about: the pictures.

Credit: Instagram

Instagram held out on skeuomorphism longer than most. Three full years after iOS 7 introduced flat design, Instagram still used a sepia-colored cartoon camera as its icon. Late this spring, Instagram swapped it out for a streamlined suggestion of a camera—a line drawing with only a circle for a lens and dot for a viewfinder—set against a vibrant gradient background. Symbolically, the change made sense. Instagrams users largely shoot photos with their phones, not dedicated cameras, and they adjust those photos with saturated filters and vignettes. But the redesign also cleaned up the apps interface, making it easier than ever for Instagrams 500 million users to focus on what they care about: the pictures.

Trump-Pence

Humans are hardwired to see sex actsjust about anywhere. Remember the London 2012 Olympics logo? That was coitus. And Airbnbs seemingly innocuous blo logo? Vagina. But when Trump announced Mike Pence as his running mate, no one even had to squint to see the logos NSFW-ness—it was a T, bluntly penetrating a P. Any credit the mark might have earned for its monogram-like succinctness was overshadowed by its glaring crudeness. Trumps camp quickly replacedthe logo, but the damage—and domination—was already done.

Credit: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.

Humans are hardwired to see sex actsjust about anywhere. Remember the London 2012 Olympics logo? That was coitus. And Airbnbs seemingly innocuous blo logo? Vagina. But when Trump announced Mike Pence as his running mate, no one even had to squint to see the logos NSFW-ness—it was a T, bluntly penetrating a P. Any credit the mark might have earned for its monogram-like succinctness was overshadowed by its glaring crudeness. Trumps camp quickly replacedthe logo, but the damage—and domination—was already done.

Budweiser/America

Between the Olympics, the Centennial Copa America, and the election, Anheuser-Busch felt it was a distinctly American summer. So in a show of patriotic audacity, Budweiser renamed its beer America. The new label appeared in Budweisers famous script, along with snippets of text from the Pledge of Allegiance, “The Star Spangled Banner,” and “America the Beautiful.” The new logo was met with mixed reactions. It was, after all, a divisive year for Americans. Is a lager made by a corporation really the symbol we want to rally around? Whether you loved it or hated it, it was a bold move for Bud.

Credit: Anheuser-Busch

Between the Olympics, the Centennial Copa America, and the election, Anheuser-Busch felt it was a distinctly American summer. So in a show of patriotic audacity, Budweiser renamed its beer America. The new label appeared in Budweisers famous script, along with snippets of text from the Pledge of Allegiance, “The Star Spangled Banner,” and “America the Beautiful.” The new logo was met with mixed reactions. It was, after all, a divisive year for Americans. Is a lager made by a corporation really the symbol we want to rally around? Whether you loved it or hated it, it was a bold move for Bud.

Brand New Conference

Leave it to a branding conference to sport one of this years coolest visual identities. Logo criticism blog Brand New held its annual conference in Nashville, and unabashedly based its branding on the embroidered, rhinestone-bedazzled suits ofcountry musics heyday. The letters recallthe heavyset type from the eras wood type music posters. Metaphorically, each letter is like a suit—an empty canvas, to be filled with paisley print and gems.

Credit: Brand New

Leave it to a branding conference to sport one of this years coolest visual identities. Logo criticism blog Brand New held its annual conference in Nashville, and unabashedly based its branding on the embroidered, rhinestone-bedazzled suits ofcountry musics heyday. The letters recallthe heavyset type from the eras wood type music posters. Metaphorically, each letter is like a suit—an empty canvas, to be filled with paisley print and gems.

Mozilla

When Mozilla, the open-source software company behind Firefox, needed a new brand identity, it hired designconsultancy Johnson Banks. But to mix things up, the company opted to document its rebranding process online, where the public could guide and critique their progress (the rebrand is ongoing). This inclusive approach suits Mozilla, a nonprofit that believes in transparency. But it also says a lot about the state of logo design criticism. Online commenters are quick to lambast a new logo, leaving companies to play defense against valid and unfounded arguments alike. Mozilla figured it could preempt somebrouhaha by listening to its users from the start.

Credit: Mozilla

When Mozilla, the open-source software company behind Firefox, needed a new brand identity, it hired designconsultancy Johnson Banks. But to mix things up, the company opted to document its rebranding process online, where the public could guide and critique their progress (the rebrand is ongoing). This inclusive approach suits Mozilla, a nonprofit that believes in transparency. But it also says a lot about the state of logo design criticism. Online commenters are quick to lambast a new logo, leaving companies to play defense against valid and unfounded arguments alike. Mozilla figured it could preempt somebrouhaha by listening to its users from the start.

“Make America Great Again”

This years most successful symboldidnt come from a prestigious design firm. In fact, its still not clear where it came from. The Cali-Fame headwear factory in Carson, California, manufactures Trumps now-famous Make America Great Again trucker hats, and the slogan itself cribs fromRonald Reagans Lets Make America Great Again. But the hat does not appear to have beendesigned in any formal capacity. That made it a fitting symbol for a bombastic candidate who capitalized on anti-establishment sentiments. It also made it easy to laugh off—a mistake designers and armchair critics alike would do well to remember, going forward.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

This years most successful symboldidnt come from a prestigious design firm. In fact, its still not clear where it came from. The Cali-Fame headwear factory in Carson, California, manufactures Trumps now-famous Make America Great Again trucker hats, and the slogan itself cribs fromRonald Reagans Lets Make America Great Again. But the hat does not appear to have beendesigned in any formal capacity. That made it a fitting symbol for a bombastic candidate who capitalized on anti-establishment sentiments. It also made it easy to laugh off—a mistake designers and armchair critics alike would do well to remember, going forward.

source http://allofbeer.com/2017/07/20/from-instagram-to-budweiser-these-are-the-years-most-notable-new-logos/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2017/07/from-instagram-to-budweiser-these-are.html

[allofbeercom]

From Instagram to Budweiser, These Are the Years Most Notable New Logos

It was a messy year for logos. The presidential candidate with penetrative, Web-1.0-style graphics won. America’s largest art museum drew ire from critics for deviating from its iconic emblem. The Tokyo Organizing Committee scrambled to find a new symbol for the 2020 Olympics, after its original selection faced allegations of plagiarism.

But it wasnt all chaos. Trends emerged, like fold-over icons and pleasing gradient hues. Designs from the ’60s and ’70s found new life in clever brand revivals. And designers continued to strive towards visual identities that are equal parts user-friendly, attractive, and inventive. We exit 2016 with more logos than we entered with. Below, a selection of the year’s most notable work.

The Met

The Met has 1.5 million works of art that span 5,000 years and fill three different outposts. But it never had a clear graphic identity linking the institutions disparate parts until this year, when Wolff Olins led a rebranding. Most people learned about the The Mets new stacked red logo through a New York magazine article that called it a typographic bus crash. The incendiary hot take inspiredinsightful discussions about the stateof logo criticism. Its important to remember, several designers said at the time, that new logos exist within a web of other graphic elements. Their worth becomes apparent over time, not upon release.

Credit: Wolff Olins/he Met

The Met has 1.5 million works of art that span 5,000 years and fill three different outposts. But it never had a clear graphic identity linking the institutions disparate parts until this year, when Wolff Olins led a rebranding. Most people learned about the The Mets new stacked red logo through a New York magazine article that called it a typographic bus crash. The incendiary hot take inspiredinsightful discussions about the stateof logo criticism. Its important to remember, several designers said at the time, that new logos exist within a web of other graphic elements. Their worth becomes apparent over time, not upon release.

The Refugee Nation Flag

The first-ever Refugee Olympic Team marched in this summers opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. The ten athletes, all from war-torn countries, waved a flag bearing the Olympic rings. Soon after, a non-profit called The Refugee Nation designeda logo and flag specifically for refugees. A Syrian refugee named Yara Said came up with an orange banner bearing one thin black stripe, modeled after the life jackets that refugees sometimes wear on their voyages toother, safer nations. The flag didnt debut in time for athletes to wear it during the Olympics, but it remains a potent and effective symbol for a body of people who didnt have one.

Credit: The Refugee Nation

The first-ever Refugee Olympic Team marched in this summers opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. The ten athletes, all from war-torn countries, waved a flag bearing the Olympic rings. Soon after, a non-profit called The Refugee Nation designeda logo and flag specifically for refugees. A Syrian refugee named Yara Said came up with an orange banner bearing one thin black stripe, modeled after the life jackets that refugees sometimes wear on their voyages toother, safer nations. The flag didnt debut in time for athletes to wear it during the Olympics, but it remains a potent and effective symbol for a body of people who didnt have one.

Pandora

In the early 1980s, MTV rolled out its now-iconic I Want My MTV! campaign. The big, blocky M in the MTV icon anchored thebrand identityby framing whatever content MTV wanted to broadcast. Pandoras new rounded P logoworks the same way to showcaseimagery associated with musicians of all stripes. That flexibilitycould help the company stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market of would-be Pandora killers.

Credit: Pandora

In the early 1980s, MTV rolled out its now-iconic I Want My MTV! campaign. The big, blocky M in the MTV icon anchored thebrand identityby framing whatever content MTV wanted to broadcast. Pandoras new rounded P logoworks the same way to showcaseimagery associated with musicians of all stripes. That flexibilitycould help the company stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market of would-be Pandora killers.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The Tokyo Organizing Committee didnt have an easy time pulling together a logo for the upcoming 2020 Olympics. Its first choice, an ensemble of geometric shapes by Japanese graphic designer Kenjiro Sano, drew accusations of plagiarism. So Tokyo opened up the process to the people, and collectednearly 15,000 submissions. The Committee chose a navy blue-and-white ringby artist Asao Tokolo,who found inspiration in designsfrom Japan’sEdo period. Called ichimatsu moyo, the checkered pattern first appeared in the Kabuki theater. The democratic design process brought the logo saga to a happy close.

Credit: Asao Tokolo

The Tokyo Organizing Committee didnt have an easy time pulling together a logo for the upcoming 2020 Olympics. Its first choice, an ensemble of geometric shapes by Japanese graphic designer Kenjiro Sano, drew accusations of plagiarism. So Tokyo opened up the process to the people, and collectednearly 15,000 submissions. The Committee chose a navy blue-and-white ringby artist Asao Tokolo,who found inspiration in designsfrom Japan’sEdo period. Called ichimatsu moyo, the checkered pattern first appeared in the Kabuki theater. The democratic design process brought the logo saga to a happy close.

Netflix

Netflixs new app logo, a red ribbon folded into the letter N, helped confirm tech’s current fascination withfoldover icons. (Androids new N, Mediums M, and our own WIRED W sport folded letter logos.) Treating a logomark like a digital strip of paper is a neat trick. It can lend a symbola sense of dimension that’s often missing from flat designs, without resorting to skeuomorphism.

Credit: Netflix

Netflixs new app logo, a red ribbon folded into the letter N, helped confirm tech’s current fascination withfoldover icons. (Androids new N, Mediums M, and our own WIRED W sport folded letter logos.) Treating a logomark like a digital strip of paper is a neat trick. It can lend a symbola sense of dimension that’s often missing from flat designs, without resorting to skeuomorphism.

Mastercard

Mastercard didnt need a new logo. The red-and-marigold Venn diagram icon was widely recognized by Mastercard customers and non-customers alike. But it had texture, which doesnt play as well on small screens as flatter designs. So Mastercard tapped Michael Bierut, the Pentagram partner who created marks for Citibank and Verizon, to update the banks look. The new mark looks simpler than its predecessor, but it wasmeticulously crafted: Bierut and his team went through hundreds of shades of color to get itjust right.

Credit: Pentagram/Mastercard

Mastercard didnt need a new logo. The red-and-marigold Venn diagram icon was widely recognized by Mastercard customers and non-customers alike. But it had texture, which doesnt play as well on small screens as flatter designs. So Mastercard tapped Michael Bierut, the Pentagram partner who created marks for Citibank and Verizon, to update the banks look. The new mark looks simpler than its predecessor, but it wasmeticulously crafted: Bierut and his team went through hundreds of shades of color to get itjust right.

David Bowies Blackstar

It seemed like yet another star logo in a long line of star logos. Macys, the Dallas Cowboys, Wonder Woman—each uses a five-pointed star, as does David Bowies last album, Blackstar. Designer Jonathan Barnbrooks logo took on new meaning after the star who commissioned the work passed away suddenly, two days after the albums, and the symbols, release. It wasnt just because the star was black, the color of mourning, or because Bowie sang about outer space. It was the finality. A living icon departed, just as an inanimate one arrived. Suddenly, this star looked very different.

Credit: Jonathan Barnbrook

It seemed like yet another star logo in a long line of star logos. Macys, the Dallas Cowboys, Wonder Woman—each uses a five-pointed star, as does David Bowies last album, Blackstar. Designer Jonathan Barnbrooks logo took on new meaning after the star who commissioned the work passed away suddenly, two days after the albums, and the symbols, release. It wasnt just because the star was black, the color of mourning, or because Bowie sang about outer space. It was the finality. A living icon departed, just as an inanimate one arrived. Suddenly, this star looked very different.

Kodak

In 1971 graphic artist C. Peter Oestrich designed a superb logo for Kodak. The company adopted the square mark, which symbolized a camera’s optics, only to ditch it in 2006. This year, with help from New York studio Work-Order, Kodak revived Oestrichs classic mark. The new/old logo suits Kodaks current line of products, which wrap digital technology in grainy, retro industrial design. Its a modern nostalgia, said Dany Atkins, Kodaks brand director.

Credit: Work-Order/Kodak

In 1971 graphic artist C. Peter Oestrich designed a superb logo for Kodak. The company adopted the square mark, which symbolized a camera’s optics, only to ditch it in 2006. This year, with help from New York studio Work-Order, Kodak revived Oestrichs classic mark. The new/old logo suits Kodaks current line of products, which wrap digital technology in grainy, retro industrial design. Its a modern nostalgia, said Dany Atkins, Kodaks brand director.

Instagram

Instagram held out on skeuomorphism longer than most. Three full years after iOS 7 introduced flat design, Instagram still used a sepia-colored cartoon camera as its icon. Late this spring, Instagram swapped it out for a streamlined suggestion of a camera—a line drawing with only a circle for a lens and dot for a viewfinder—set against a vibrant gradient background. Symbolically, the change made sense. Instagrams users largely shoot photos with their phones, not dedicated cameras, and they adjust those photos with saturated filters and vignettes. But the redesign also cleaned up the apps interface, making it easier than ever for Instagrams 500 million users to focus on what they care about: the pictures.

Credit: Instagram

Instagram held out on skeuomorphism longer than most. Three full years after iOS 7 introduced flat design, Instagram still used a sepia-colored cartoon camera as its icon. Late this spring, Instagram swapped it out for a streamlined suggestion of a camera—a line drawing with only a circle for a lens and dot for a viewfinder—set against a vibrant gradient background. Symbolically, the change made sense. Instagrams users largely shoot photos with their phones, not dedicated cameras, and they adjust those photos with saturated filters and vignettes. But the redesign also cleaned up the apps interface, making it easier than ever for Instagrams 500 million users to focus on what they care about: the pictures.

Trump-Pence

Humans are hardwired to see sex actsjust about anywhere. Remember the London 2012 Olympics logo? That was coitus. And Airbnbs seemingly innocuous blo logo? Vagina. But when Trump announced Mike Pence as his running mate, no one even had to squint to see the logos NSFW-ness—it was a T, bluntly penetrating a P. Any credit the mark might have earned for its monogram-like succinctness was overshadowed by its glaring crudeness. Trumps camp quickly replacedthe logo, but the damage—and domination—was already done.

Credit: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.

Humans are hardwired to see sex actsjust about anywhere. Remember the London 2012 Olympics logo? That was coitus. And Airbnbs seemingly innocuous blo logo? Vagina. But when Trump announced Mike Pence as his running mate, no one even had to squint to see the logos NSFW-ness—it was a T, bluntly penetrating a P. Any credit the mark might have earned for its monogram-like succinctness was overshadowed by its glaring crudeness. Trumps camp quickly replacedthe logo, but the damage—and domination—was already done.

Budweiser/America

Between the Olympics, the Centennial Copa America, and the election, Anheuser-Busch felt it was a distinctly American summer. So in a show of patriotic audacity, Budweiser renamed its beer America. The new label appeared in Budweisers famous script, along with snippets of text from the Pledge of Allegiance, “The Star Spangled Banner,” and “America the Beautiful.” The new logo was met with mixed reactions. It was, after all, a divisive year for Americans. Is a lager made by a corporation really the symbol we want to rally around? Whether you loved it or hated it, it was a bold move for Bud.

Credit: Anheuser-Busch

Between the Olympics, the Centennial Copa America, and the election, Anheuser-Busch felt it was a distinctly American summer. So in a show of patriotic audacity, Budweiser renamed its beer America. The new label appeared in Budweisers famous script, along with snippets of text from the Pledge of Allegiance, “The Star Spangled Banner,” and “America the Beautiful.” The new logo was met with mixed reactions. It was, after all, a divisive year for Americans. Is a lager made by a corporation really the symbol we want to rally around? Whether you loved it or hated it, it was a bold move for Bud.

Brand New Conference

Leave it to a branding conference to sport one of this years coolest visual identities. Logo criticism blog Brand New held its annual conference in Nashville, and unabashedly based its branding on the embroidered, rhinestone-bedazzled suits ofcountry musics heyday. The letters recallthe heavyset type from the eras wood type music posters. Metaphorically, each letter is like a suit—an empty canvas, to be filled with paisley print and gems.

Credit: Brand New

Leave it to a branding conference to sport one of this years coolest visual identities. Logo criticism blog Brand New held its annual conference in Nashville, and unabashedly based its branding on the embroidered, rhinestone-bedazzled suits ofcountry musics heyday. The letters recallthe heavyset type from the eras wood type music posters. Metaphorically, each letter is like a suit—an empty canvas, to be filled with paisley print and gems.

Mozilla

When Mozilla, the open-source software company behind Firefox, needed a new brand identity, it hired designconsultancy Johnson Banks. But to mix things up, the company opted to document its rebranding process online, where the public could guide and critique their progress (the rebrand is ongoing). This inclusive approach suits Mozilla, a nonprofit that believes in transparency. But it also says a lot about the state of logo design criticism. Online commenters are quick to lambast a new logo, leaving companies to play defense against valid and unfounded arguments alike. Mozilla figured it could preempt somebrouhaha by listening to its users from the start.

Credit: Mozilla

When Mozilla, the open-source software company behind Firefox, needed a new brand identity, it hired designconsultancy Johnson Banks. But to mix things up, the company opted to document its rebranding process online, where the public could guide and critique their progress (the rebrand is ongoing). This inclusive approach suits Mozilla, a nonprofit that believes in transparency. But it also says a lot about the state of logo design criticism. Online commenters are quick to lambast a new logo, leaving companies to play defense against valid and unfounded arguments alike. Mozilla figured it could preempt somebrouhaha by listening to its users from the start.

“Make America Great Again”

This years most successful symboldidnt come from a prestigious design firm. In fact, its still not clear where it came from. The Cali-Fame headwear factory in Carson, California, manufactures Trumps now-famous Make America Great Again trucker hats, and the slogan itself cribs fromRonald Reagans Lets Make America Great Again. But the hat does not appear to have beendesigned in any formal capacity. That made it a fitting symbol for a bombastic candidate who capitalized on anti-establishment sentiments. It also made it easy to laugh off—a mistake designers and armchair critics alike would do well to remember, going forward.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

This years most successful symboldidnt come from a prestigious design firm. In fact, its still not clear where it came from. The Cali-Fame headwear factory in Carson, California, manufactures Trumps now-famous Make America Great Again trucker hats, and the slogan itself cribs fromRonald Reagans Lets Make America Great Again. But the hat does not appear to have beendesigned in any formal capacity. That made it a fitting symbol for a bombastic candidate who capitalized on anti-establishment sentiments. It also made it easy to laugh off—a mistake designers and armchair critics alike would do well to remember, going forward.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/07/20/from-instagram-to-budweiser-these-are-the-years-most-notable-new-logos/