Atomic Fitness (or "How I Stopped Exercizing and Learned to Love the Bomb")

Evolve Fitness Club is found in the downtown Champaign area.  I like their logo because it is a good amalgamation of picture and type.  The "e" acts for the nucleus of the atom and the rest of the word flows off of the "e."  It is a simple design that fits the name very well without being to cumbersome or too focused on the gimmick of the name.  In my mind, it is a good example of graphic design.

Simplicity in Name and Form

There are several gas stations around town, a few of which are Circle Ks.  Their logo is a terrific example of Graphic Design, simply because the name doesn't need to be written out below the logo.  The logo speaks for itself.  It's a simple, easy, and fun design.

Oh...and happy Talk Like a Pirate Day. :)

[Insert Clever Title Here]

 

I was heading to downtown Champaign to do a little light shopping at Dallas & Co. when I saw this sign on the side of a building on Lincoln.  At first, I thought it was a really good example of integration of image and type, however when I looked at it up close, I saw that the lines of the house and the type lines weren't...well...lined up.  I still think it is a good example, but maybe it is an example of how little details make a big difference.  For me, once I saw that the elements didn't line up, that was all I saw.  It made the whole logo look sort of cheap and rushed.  I am not innocent in cutting corners here and there, but seeing this made me wonder whether cutting corners is ever really a good idea when it comes to the commercial world.

I Parked by the Bunny

About a month ago, I got the chance to go to Indianapolis, IN with a couple of friends of mine and attend Gen-Con, which is a national gamers convention.  It was a nerd and geek convention.  It was awesome!  Anyway, being that we were in a strange town and might not remember where we had parked in the very vast parking garage we had chosen, we decided that it would be wise to take a picture of the sign close by as a landmark.  This is the level and section we were in...and the interesting thing was, each section had a different animal attached to it, and each level a different color.  Each animal was designed very simply, using only enough contour and shape to make it recognizable as the animal it was.  The brilliant part about this method is how well it sticks in your mind.  You may not remember a number and a letter, but you will most certainly remember a color and animal.  Turns out that later in the evening when we went back to the car, we were able to remember where without looking at the picture.  I would say this is an amazing example of successful graphic design.