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National Art Gallery logo saga - No April Fool Joke


Volvobrick
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Published on Apr 14, 2014 6:30 PM

 

 

By Venessa Thor

 

Some say it is meaningless. Others dismiss the logo as unfinished. Memes were also spun off, with one depicting it as a bar graph.

Yes, the logo for the soon-to-be-opened National Gallery Singapore has been the subject of endless ridicule since it was revealed on April 2.

The minimalist logo features two simple rectangular blocks - one taller and narrower than the other. The logo comes in either red or grey. Credit of the revamp goes to home-grown design firm Asylum.

What was thought to be a belated April's Fool joke was actually the result of three months' worth of effort, Mr Chris Lee, founder of Asylum. Mr Lee defended his design, saying that the reductionism of the two blocks is open to interpretation, just like art.

"The two blocks are originally derived from the two buildings that are joined to form the National Gallery. It could also represent two platforms or two dialog boxes. Art should be a two way conversation," he explained.

While netizens bicker over whether the logo is abstract art or just plain ridiculous, we find three other logos that had also left many scratching their heads.

London 2012 Olympics

First unveiled in 2007, the colourful logo for the 2012 Olympic games in London was criticised as looking like something a child could draw with crayons. Others brayed that it resembled a swastika.

Yet there were those who said it spelled the word "Zion" in a pro-Israeli conspiracy, which led Iran to threaten to boycott the Olympics. However, this boycott did not occur eventually.

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of aid the chairman of London's 2012 organising committee, defended the logo, saying its vibrant colours and jagged design were meant to appeal to young people. "It is an invitation to take part and be involved."

Gap

In 2010, Gap changed its 20-year-old logo. The capitalised serif font, Spire, in a blue box was changed to one with 'Gap' in Helvetica, with the 'p' overlapping a small blue square.

The new design was blasted as cheap and tacky. Gap quickly switched back to its original logo a week later.

iTunes

Fans were outraged when Apple switched the simple iTunes logo in 2010.

The original design of a CD and a blue music note made its launch in 2001. It was replaced by that showing a black music note on a flat blue bubble in 2010.

The switch was to reflect the trend towards digital downloads, and the growing obsoleteness of CDs.

Users criticised the design as looking "amateurish". Apple founder Steve Jobs apparently replied in an e-mail to a complainant with just two words: "We disagree."

 

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Did they pay the same amount to the designer for what we paid to the consultant who named the Marina Bay as Marina Bay or the one who named the budget terminal as budget terminal?

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art this type of thing very subjective and difficult to say one, different flower enter different eye mah.

 

unless you are the one calling the shot, if not you can only admire or curse :D

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WOW! 3 months worth of effort?

 

BMT is also around 3 months now?


U guys prefer 2 cones, 2 melons or 2 nuts instead?

( . ) ( . ) [laugh]

Edited by Count-Bracula
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WOW! 3 months worth of effort?

 

BMT is also around 3 months now?

( . ) ( . ) [laugh]

 

now u know some pple money easier to make than the rest [sly]

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Turbocharged

 

now u know some pple money easier to make than the rest [sly]

Can someone good at CSI find out FT or local talent designed it?

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Even my kid can use powerpoint to draw this with rectangle drawing tool. And fill it with any color..

 

What make it a sloppy work is the designer can't be bother to select the font and just use the default font Calibri (Headings). Bolding the "National Gallery" is the extra effort he bother to put in.

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Turbocharged

Don't blame Asylum ...

 

Blame the managers at the national art gallery.

 

Whatever logo is designed first starts with a conversation between client and agency talking about what they want to achieve, and what they want to project via the logo.

 

If the gallery feels this met their goal, then they are the ones to blame.

 

For us, when we do logo design we work very directly with the client - and deliver based on a combination of our input, and their desires.

 

As a logo - I think this sucks, but mind you...

 

Take a look at this - what sort of creativity does a tick take?

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To be fair however - its taken over 40 years to get to this stage, and on top of that - at least a tick has certain connotations / associations that present a mental image.

 

What sort of mental image do you associate with two square boxes? As people say - a bar graph. Pretty damn poor idea of a logo to me.

 

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Turbocharged

Ha - this inspired me to write a blog post for the client as part of their SEO effort (they offer Logo Design, as well as customised gift sourcing and printing) -

 

Woo Hoo!!

 

 

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