Our logo for a toy collector community got ripped off

I rarely get any notices of logo ripoff’s on this site but when it’s a logo that we made for a for a local community of high-end collectibles, I think it deserves a feature somehow.

So I just have been notified that a certain Instagram account, Toy Spot Collector, has clearly been doing some ‘minor’ shifting to the original Hot Toys Philippines logo.

ToySpot aka ‘the ripper’ is also using the copied logo on the same theme and items as the original ones. Not that it wouldn’t also hurt to see the copied logo on say, a beverage one for example, but this is just a direct lifting and re-editing of a logo then using it as your own, for your own toy collectible community.

Some costumes in the @prcomiccon #hottoys #hottoyscollector #hottoyscollectors #hottoyscollection #toyrevolution #toycrewbuddies #actionfigures # #actionfigure #toyspot #toys #toygram #toylife #gamer #gamers #toycollector #figurasdeaccion #toyphotography #toy4life #toyslagram #toyartistry #toyelites #toysaremydrug #toptoyphotos #toygroup_alliance #prcomicon2015 #cosplay

A photo posted by Toyspot Collector (@toyspotcollector) on May 22, 2016 at 6:30pm PDT

The logo clearly lifted the “Toys” portion in all its form and edited in the P and T along with the exact same letter O on their copy. I also find the detail on the merging P and T quite cunning since it lifted the curved cut on the red line just below the S on the original one.

This is really not a big brand logo and just a local fan community for a specific line of collections and collectors. I just want to bring this out in the open and address it officially hence we may look like the ones who did the copying down the line – plus, the fact that stealing is just plain wrong.

Their account photo uploads look quite good actually - but the logo, the one that is emblazoned on every Instagram photo and some of their shirts, is not originally theirs and just a ripoff of the original Hot Toys Philippines.

http://hottoysph.com/forums/
https://www.facebook.com/hottoysph
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hottoysphilippines

Noted: New Disney Channel Logo

 

The Disney Channel is changing its global logo to the one being used by Disney Germany.

We are in the middle of a Disney project right now and was notified about an impending rebrand, a simple Google search yielded the result and to confirm the global rebrand, I was just sent this final logo.

The rebrand is done by BDA Creative Munich. Description from their website notes:

After a pitch won in Summer 2013, BDA Creative Munich is happy to work as lead agency on the global rebranding of the famous Disney Channel.

Old renders had the standard letter I on the word Disney but subsequent changes and seemingly the final logo will include and bring back the famous Mickey Mouse ears. You can still see the old logo used in this promo video.

Check out this Youtube link to see the recent TV idents in action.

Seeing from the video identities, the new logo may not have a specific color scheme. It will be a flexible logo and will adapt to specific shows and existing brands which is quite similar to the applications of the old version.

I like it and prefer it over the older boxy logo. Laying it out together with Disney Junior and Disney XD now looks more consistent without sacrificing a smaller footprint for the ‘mother’ channel which is Disney Channel.

ABS-CBN New Logo: Kapamilya Semi Sans

The last time ABS-CBN changed its logo was on the year 2000. It was the biggest change since the old boxed logo where ABS was on top and CBN was at the bottom.

This 2014, ABS-CBN has launched a slightly tweaked version of its iconic logo. The 3 rings, symbolizing TV’s RGB colors and the country’s LuzViMinda regions, are now noticeably thicker. The modified Rotis font of the original lost its serif hooks on most of the new letters, the C was also changed to reflect the overall adjustments of dropping the ‘classic’ look.

The new logo was said to have been used as a secondary logo to the original and was used since October 2013. However, on January 1st, 2014, the old logo was officially retired and the new one used on the opening year theme “Masayang Muli ang Kwento Natin”.

 

The new logo can also be seen on the recently launch ABS-CBN Mobile (just all rounded) and the upcoming ABS-CBN Sports+Action channel which replaces Studio 23 starting January 18, 2014. Hopefully we can talk more about the sad demise of my once favorite station, Studio 23, on a future article.

ABS-CBN Mobile is getting ready to launch

Last time we’ve heard about ABS-CBN Mobile was when they announced it last May 2013. There has been a ‘operational issues’ along the way that they decided to delay the planned October launch but ABS-CBN has said that it will roll out its mobile service before the year ends.

ABS-CBN has agreed to buy bandwidth from Globe Telecom in a sort of network-sharing partnership that will allow ABS-CBN to provide traditional voice, sms and data services under it’s own ABS-CBN Convergence unit.

The logo is a softer ABS-CBN. Instead of the sharp signal logo mark, we get a softer one probably since a mobile phone’s receiver is simpler that the networks huge transmitter in Mother Ignacia. Even the ABS-CBN brand typeface Rotis (Semi Serif) was softened on the corners for that next-gen youth-vibe.

I’m not sure how the branding will pan out giving that it’s still a similar logo with the TV network. In small sizes, it’s going to be probably indistinguishable but then again there is that “mobile” word below.

Come to think of it, If they chose to name theirs Star Mobile Cellular, being known as the star network forever, it would fit perfectly with Globe and Sun right?

New HBC Logo: Heart Break Curves

HBC started as Hortaleza Beauty Center in its early days and quickly became one of the dominant one-stop shop for personal care items and beauty products in the country.

They grew so big that people are confusing them with HSBC, the international bank :)

We have reinvented the hbc logo, making it softer, cleaner, younger, and more vibrant. The new logo uses a stylized “B” and “heart” to represent the brand personality of “Beauty with a Heart,” a store that is caring, approachable and knows what the customer needs. – HBC

The old logo’s shopping-man icon was really a unique, standout mark for them. It obviously look dated and too clipart-y so I don’t blame them for changing it.

While the rationale of the heart B-like shape was to mean '”Beauty with Heart” the shape looks anything but that. It looks messy and unfinished with the odd-shaped curves, specially that sharp one at the bottom. I’m just basing this visually so pardon me if I’m being too critical. The typeface is not bad but it could have been refined a little more since the “c” seems isolated from the rest and the sharp C tail also looks like it’s going to burst the belly of the B-shaped heart.

I tried creating my own version of the heart container and retained the letter script inside since it looks more feminine (which is generally their target market), it also blends well with the overall curves of the new logo.

http://www.hbc.com.ph

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Thanks to Timothy Diokno for this tip!

New JobsDB.com Logo: Artworks make it better

Remember the time when people had to scour newspaper classifieds for job openings, print a couple of resumes (don’t forget extra 2x2 pictures) and drop them personally at the company’s HR department? That was pre-internet job-hunting 101 for most of us.

Thankfully, the Internet made connecting people possible, cheaper and faster which in effect helped job-seekers find the right employers and vice-versa - with just a browser. No more xerox’d bio datas, long-distance personal applications and expensive and hassle commuting.

JobsDB.com, one of the county’s top online job hunting website with operations in 7 countries had TBWA Singapore handle the rebrand which was launched last March 2013. The new logo had a smaller “jobs” and larger “DB” containing colorful, creative imageries.

The main logo is in a typical blue-ish tint probably because blue is closest to being corporate. Various industry-related icons adorn the letters DB and the Let’s explore tagline sits on top it.

Seeing the two-tone version of the new logo however looks unfinished. The large, plumpy DB is quite distracting and dwarfs “jobs” which is what they’re providing in the first place. It doesn’t look as engaging as the full-colored version.

The different DB artworks really bring life and attitude the whole logo. The DB clipping effect is a nice touch to customize the type mark on each intended use like category, theme or country. I also like that flat illustrations were used rather than photographs because the colors just pop up more on solid tones.

The vertical “jobs” on the variations also looked nicer than the standard logo. Maybe making it a little bigger will make everything balance out along with the tagline – which in its current form looks unbalanced.

The local website still leaves much to be desired though.

What do you think about the new JobsDB.com logo? Sound off at the comments.

New Manila Water Logo: Goodbye Wave, Hello Whirlpool

Manila Water just rebranded themselves a few months ago with a new logo and look. Keeping the green-blue color, the new logo in all respects, looks obviously better than the original.

The brand mark created by BBDO Guerrero | Proximity Philippines initially reminded me of a certain water-themed resort somewhere down south, but upon checking it wasn’t even that close.

The whirlpool mark looks fine but I just wished they had created a more iconic symbol similar to Meralco’s M. It was a great opportunity for the creators to do a creative, stylized, hero logo (like an ‘MW’ mark) but what we got was a straightforward MANILA WATER in a round typeface instead

Manila Water also accompanies the logo with the tagline “Care in Every Drop”. Taglines like these aims to encapsulate the company’s mission statement in one very powerful phrase. It also provides the company an emotional connection with its customers.

You see these sort of taglines on big, faceless, conglomerate-run companies; Meralco’s “May Liwanag ang Bukas” or Maynilad’s “Dumadaloy ang Ginhawa” are just some examples. Apparently Ayala-led Manila Water wanted to differentiate itself and decided to have theirs in English. I personally think it works better in this case.

The graphics on the website look nice. It makes me wonder if by going with a hard typeface for the logo would also work. They must have settled with having a “clean” and ”friendly’ image more fitting than looking “fierce” and “stoic”.

Vehicle wrap application spotted online by reader James De Castro:

Karen S.M. Llana (instagram.com/apieceofapplepie) Note: All rights belong to respective owners

 

Reader Nix Cervantes also notes that the province of Laguna, a partner of Manila Water, uses a similar logo. He wonders “if they would apply it (or some sort of brand architecture) to their subsidiaries.“ I guess we’ll have to see the complete roll out this year. I’m a northern resident so I have to choice but to contend with Maynilad’s look.

What do you think about Manila Water’s new logo? Sound off at the comments below.

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Special thanks to James De Castro for the heads up and Nix Cervantes for the follow-up tip.

New Multiply Logo: M is for Marketplace

Multiply.com was once the Philippines' ubiquitous social media site during its heyday, but it has now rebranded itself as a local marketplace for its biggest users – The Philippines and Indonesia.

Multiply started in 2003 as a small social networking service geared for personal sharing and connection to family and friends. It didn’t click well in the US (unlike MySpace at that time) but it surprisingly got popular in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, which accounts for the 39% of the site’s traffic. It’s got so big that even ABS-CBN invested $5 million for a multi-year ad deal.

But in the world of the World Wide Web, or at least the business of social networking sites, nothing is permanent. Just as Friendster rebranded itself as a social gaming portal and MySpace as a music and peer discovery tool, Multiply was put into a spot where its users dictated the evolution and eventual future of the site as a social marketplace.

The old logo had 5 people icons (beating MySpace by 2 heads) showing that it’s a site with lots of people and connections to be made. The old typeface already seemed to have made a brand of itself without the gradient heads but killing the ‘social sharing’ feature of the website made these ‘head connections’ a little less relevant.

The new logo introduces a new iconic stylized M which looks like a shopping banig bag. The tiled colorful weave patterns wrapping the letter M has a similar look used by our tourism campaign maybe conveying a fun, colorful and diverse - thriving marketplace.

The old typeface was also retained with subtle changes on the thickness and flow. I like the new type just because I had no problem with the original one. Besides, it was already a familiar (using it loosely) type mark locally for such a common word. Would be a waste to radically change it just for the sake of changing.

I personally liked the old Multiply before since it made selling easier thru social connections. I‘m not selling there anymore so I wouldn’t know but from the looks of early feedbacks, actual and current sellers aren’t digging the new website and ecommerce implementation.

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Addendum:

Just sharing the concept made by Plus63 Design Co. c/o Dan Matutina on his Facebook account. Their concept was centered on an X logo mark which actually makes sense for Multiply. Thanks for sharing this Dan!

Without the blue lines of course :)

 

X Marks The Shop - The marque is a combination of different visuals that represent a unique buying experience. Multiply is a treasure trove of great finds, products and items. It’s also a great place for merchants to “multiply” their earnings.

Shakey’s New Logo: Ye Olde Pizza Parlor Tries Retro

Shakey’s has been operating in the Philippines for so long that you’d mistakenly think they are a home-grown franchise. They actually started in the Sacramento California in 1954 and was known for their pizza, beer and jazz mix offerings.

Shakey’s began to expand outside the United States with the opening of a restaurant in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on February 15, 1968. Expansion then went south with the opening of Mexico City restaurant on May 7, 1968. The first Japanese restaurant opened in Osaka, Japan on July 26, 1976. Expansion continued with a restaurant in Makati, Philippines in 1975.

Shakey’s branches in the Philippines at one point outnumbered even those in the USA. It’s like saying Jollibee has more branches in the USA than the Philippines. A big feat and shows that Filipinos really love eating American food ever since (even Wonder Woman came to eat here)

This new logo was adopted by Shakey’s USA first and is just presently being rolled into new Shakey’s branches in the country (saw a new branch being constructed along Shaw-Sta.Mesa route). The old Shakey’s western typeface and the red hat-like border are one of those things that you could just glance and instantly recognize. It didn’t look too-polished but the brand suited its ‘good-old’ pizza parlor feel.

The new logo removes any traces of the old one and introduces a slabby typeface that actually looks like it’s shaking. The ‘Established in 1954’ badge is somewhat an opposite from the typeface it represents below. It now actually looks like the old Popeyes Chicken logo at first glance.

The iconic red backdrop and the hat-like border was changed to a black and yellow oblong-shaped container. While dropping the tested shapes was risky, The circular shape and dark colors might also work and is also reminiscent of retro jukebox and neon stylings from the 70’s.

I also don’t think the thin strokes used throughout the logo especially the Shakey’s word works best. They could have filled up the gaps between S, K, A and E with solid white instead of leaving small seeping black lines showing what’s underneath.

Looks good but it could have been better I guess. That’s my take, what’s yours? What do you think of Shakey’s new logo?

New MediCard Logo: Just what the doctor ordered

Chances are some of you are already eligible for emergency assistance, hospital care and other medical services if you’re presently employed with a company that provides health care benefits to its employees, one of those companies is MediCard.

MediCard has been around for the past 25 years servicing multitudes of organizations in providing a comprehensive health care program for its members. They recently got a brand facelift c/o Isabel Gatuslao, a talented graphic designer focused on branding and identity.

Here’s the “official” published statement on the new logo.

To symbolize the rebirth after 25 years of being a pioneering HMO in the Philippines, MediCard unveils a refreshed corporate logo as part of a corporate strategy that stresses the company's brand promise of giving the best healthcare available.

Within this new logo is the universal symbol of healthcare, the cross. MediCard has kept the Rx and in fact multiplied it by 4 that rotate clockwise to form a single icon to convey the message to MediCard clients that they can avail of affordable medical services round the clock through its partner doctors and medical institution. The new logo also uses typefaces that make the brand look modern and refreshing.

With the blue color, MediCard reminds people of trust, reliability and calmness. Purple hue was added to represent peace of mind and fulfillment. MediCard has brought back its tagline, Prescribed by doctors, to stress the difference of MediCard being the only HMO run and founded by doctors.

On Isabel’s website, she shares her approach in doing the MediCard identity.

“I wanted to give them a symbol to differentiate them from all the other HMOs in the Philippines who only have logotypes for their identity.”

Upon searching, I believe MediCard didn’t have a proper logo form for their old one. It was always accompanied and enclosed in a card graphic along with the swooshed RX. The script tag line “Prescribed by Doctors” below adds a soft personal touch alongside the sharp-looking Gotham type and icon symbol.

This new logo is certainly a fresh change for MediCard. I hope they could propagate the new branding (color, type and all) smoothly as possible. Their website already has the updated logo but still has remnants of the old colors and styles. Well, in fairness, large corporations have a large base to cover on this scale so maybe a web redesign would be next.

Head over to isabelgatuslao.com to read more about the MediCard project.

Hot Toys for the Big Boys

Hot Toys Limited is a Hong Kong-based production house for designing, developing, and manufacturing highly detailed collectible merchandise to worldwide markets. – Wikipedia

Hot Toys just has licenses every conceivable collection ranging from Marvel and DC characters like Batman and the Avengers to movie icons like The Terminator, The Predator even the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The sculpt details are just very detailed and life-like, plus the accessories included are very movie accurate. You could see some of my featured collections over at Techolo.

My favorites are the Robocop, Iron Man and Batman series. If they had the license to Back to the Future, I’d probably eat it all up. Good thing they don’t.

The logo is an old work I’ve done for community site geared for Hot Toys collectors, aficionados and enthusiasts. I’m not a collector but we do have lots of Hot Toys here c/o my avid collector/brother. Name it and he probably has it.

If you’re a fan of these characters as we both are, or even a collector yourself, feel free to check out Hot Toys Philippines and talk with adults who still love toys. It’s Hot and it’s a Toy. What more could you want?

www.hottoysph.com

Selecta’s Heartbrand logo

I once saw a rant post on how Selecta ripped of Good Humor’s swirly heart logo and remembered that I, back then, thought about the very same thing. I was wondering why I was seeing Selecta logos on foreign TV and movies. Is Selecta a global brand now? but why is the name different? is it another case of logo copying? Good thing there’s a simple and logical answer to all of that.

Good Humor is an all American ice cream brand that started in the 1920’s but was sold to Thomas J. Lipton (yes the tea), which coincidentally was in charge of the US arm of Unilever in 1961. The brand was revived again by Unilever, the world’s biggest ice cream manufacturer, under a single Heartbrand logo but retaining the unique local brand names.

Selecta was a partnership between RFM Corporation and Unilever hence they were also included with the brand takeover under Wall’s (also owned by Unilever). Besides the Philippines, Tanzania also carries Selecta brand.

Lovin’ Doc McStuffin’

I’m proud to share the logo I and the group I’m working for did for Disney’s new upcoming animated show for 2012, Doc McStuffins. It took A LOT of iterations and concepts before this final logo and we’re glad at the overall outcome.

Dottie “Doc” McStuffins, is a 6 year old who communicates with and heals stuffed animals and toys out of her backyard clinic. The series will highlight the importance of taking care of oneself and others, while showcasing the hallmarks of great Disney storytelling – fantasy and wish fulfillment.

"Doc McStuffins" is a production of the Dublin, Ireland-based Academy Award-nominated animation studio Brown Bag Films in association with Disney Channel.

I had to do the entire typeface alphabet for this and made it to a usable font file. I then translated this logo to at least 25 different languages for different markets. What a “fun” thing to do on a weekend eh? :) You might not see a lot of detail but upon closer inspection, there was a lot of texturing involved like cloth fabric and fur so it was quite challenging to repeat this over 25 times, but I got it worked out.

I’ll try to ask permission before posting the other concepts we had and will share them here in an update to this post if possible. I actually had to wait for the show to officially launch so as not to preempt anything.

New Smart Logo: Colorful Pimples

SMART has just introduced their all-new logo that is far cry from the one it replaces. Gone are the diagonal lines which were part of the original logo. The new type retains the uniqueness of the letter A but now stands upright and has that organic and smooth feel to it. I can’t say I love the new typeface specially the juvenile looking S - but as with other logos, maybe it just grows on over time. They could’ve made the new logo lower-case (like the AT&T rebrand) but they didn’t and I’m wondering what it would’ve looked like if they did.

I have always been a SMART subscriber since owning a mobile phone before the turn of the century. Back then they had that memorable TV ad with a business guy smashing prices and other on-screen graphics with a baseball bat. That was the old Smart, just new in the game, crazy mad, and trailing late behind Globe on the GSM race.

The SMART of today is different. It now has its claws on almost all major aspects of communication. From landline (PLDT), mobile phones, broadband, VoIP, and enterprise solutions. It has been lording over once leader, Globe, for a number of years now and is in talks of gobbling up another major player, Sun Cellular, which I believe is still pending NTC decision already finalized.

The type used on the video looks good, looks like Nokia's Pure font with a touch of Intel’s Neo sans.

The logo change may be a part of their corporate and branding strategy come 2012 moving forward as they embrace fully the mobile age - considering that late 2010 to early 2011 was the period that smartphones outpaced PC sales for the first time, adding to that are those who are dumping their dumb phones and moving on to smartphones.

The new logo is quirky, bubbly (dots) and off-beat. It does reflect the young mobile generation that thrives on Facebook and Twitter. Its colorful dots also symbolizes the diverse services the company is into, like atoms floating in one ecosystem. It looks as if the logo had teens and young adults in mind (perhaps seen by the pimple breakout above)

Since this is a fresh and young rebranding, I really can’t judge it as it is right now because so far, all I’ve seen is the logo and the video above. But what’s up with the bouncing/stationary braille-looking dots? I can’t help but see the Smart Araneta Coliseum sign now as one big, sesame seed-laden, hamburger. Yum.

Thanks for all your tips!

New East West Bank Logo: Freshly Purple

Ever since 1DPH reader Nix Cervantes spotted and photographed the unusual East West logo on our Facebook page, it was not clear whether EastWest Bank have really ditched their old logo and already implemented to the new one since its almost nonexistent on most of their banks signage's (even their new branch being built near our street.)

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New IBC 13 logo: Ice Cold Action

After TV5’s MediaQuest deal to air sports programs to Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC 13) in a block-time agreement, IBC 13 has launched a new logo and tagline (Where the Action Is!) to complement the more active program lineup of AKTV (AksyonTV). I guess it’s over for the era of local sitcom’s like Iskul Bukol, Goin Bananas and other hit local and foreign shows of the 90’s.

Continue Reading »

New logo for ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel?

Just spotted this italicized The Filipino Channel (TFC) logo. Does this mean a new upcoming rebrand for TFC? (maybe because of GMA News TV?) Comparing it to the current logo which has its mother company’s logo on top, the new one eschews the ABS-CBN brand, RGB swishes and spelled out acronym all together.

The supposedly new logo, which I hope is not just a variant for the incoming Independence Day celebration this June 12, has a more appealing look with the torch icon on the right of the simplified and stylish TFC typeface. This new one has global appeal wrapped all over it.

One idea to jumpstart this new brand by ABS-CBN Global is they could start postcard printing this ‘olympic-ish’ logo along with creative photos of tourist spots in the Philippines and distribute it to Pinoy stores here and abroad. Promoting TFC and at the same time the Philippine tourism. Just my two cents.

What do you think of this version of ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel logo?

New Ayala Center logo

Ayala Land has released a new logo for Ayala Center - their commercial development operation arm. This logo has been around since late 2010 but haven’t been that much exposed, at least for me.

The new logo took a different approach from the original. It is now rectangular in shape, the colors are in solid shades (goodbye gradients) and the elements are comprised of basic curves and lines which represents, in my own interpretation, Ayala’s investment in  recreation parks (lime), shopping malls (green) and business centers (blue).

I prefer the intricate details and organic feel of the old logo. The swished A with the fading ink stroke and the bright tri-color square behind is art on its own. The new logo seems too simple as it is but knowing Ayala’s design portfolio I’m positive they’ll push this to the limit on brand applications.

What do you think of the new logo?

Many thanks to Ronx for this tip!

Discovery History Brand

I’m a fan of History Channel and enjoy their shows. I hope Discovery History will also be available on Philippine cable soon. I just love the color and render of their logo and TV idents. The green blue theme differentiates itself from History Channel’s reddish color scheme. The concept of showing a past footage on top of a recent still photograph is also a good way to show snippets of history in a span of seconds.

Discovery History brand on Behance

TV Patrol goes from white to black

After removing the ‘World’ from its title, TV Patrol now changes its logo just in time for the comeback of the its two main news anchors. Here we go again with the recurring dark theme of ABS-CBN’s news and current affair programs (well at least the background is lighter now.)

The rebrand opening billboard (OBB) was done by The Acid House, the same studio that did the OBB’s of TV Patrol World, Bandila and XXX. ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol opening sequence shots after the jump.

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