The logo is the first and most important visual mark of a tea package. It sets the tone for the entire tea-drinking experience. There are several different ways to drink tea – on the go, sitting in a favorite easy chair, or at a fancy luncheon – and the way teas are packaged and how they look ultimately influence which teas are consumed in which scenarios. One wouldn’t bring cheese-whiz to a fancy dinner party – in the same way certain teas belong in certain environments.

I’ve been able to distinguish three classes of tea – all based on their logos – for three different environments. These classes are also based on my knowledge of and research in the brand behind each logo.

Simply straightforward (middle class)

These are the kinds of everyday teas that one stocks for no particular occasion. There are no surprises here, for better or worse. The logos are what I expect tea logos to look like. The colors are bold, the type uninteresting, and if other design elements are used they are rather uninspired. These kinds of logos are so abundant that they are somewhat comforting- nostalgic even.

Mysteriously Magical (unclassifiable)

These teas are reserved for moments of needed calm or excitement – something different. These brands do a marvelous job of bringing out the mysterious side of tea. The type is beautiful but unusual, strange shapes are common, and if color is used, it is rich. For a glimpse of this strange world visit the Tazo website. (Sorry it’s in flash).

Effectively Elegant (high class)

Tea is nothing if not fancy and traditional. These brands appeal to that aspect of tradition and royalty. Elegance can come in many different ways, but the commonality here seems to be serif typefaces, lots of fancy lines, dignified illustrations and little or no color. Not surprisingly a lot of these brands are from England. Why is it that the British are always classier than us? I would (and do) buy tea from these brands just to make myself look classier.

I hope that after reading this post you are better equipped to do your own classifying of tea. If you discover a new class of tea I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

I’ve gathered a range here for your viewing delight. For the sake of protecting these brands, (from scorn and ridicule) I’ve removed the names. In full disclosure I did not thoroughly investigate any of these brands to understand the history or what the logo designer was trying to accomplish. I’m critiquing these logos choosing to take the vantage point of the average man (speaking as a woman of course).

Grade: D-

D stands for dull. The above logos are my least favorite because or their obvious solutions. “Oh, it’s an outdoor outfitting company…let’s put a mountain in the logo.” This seems to be the thought process behind these logos. Seriously, half of them even have the sun or some sort of sky behind the mountain. These are supposed to be logos, not illustrations. These logos have the essence of Wil E. Coyote – lots of spirit, but no real strategy. It’s the lack of creativity that’s really a shame here.

Grade: B

B stands for better. These logos are not only better executed but they are attempting something. Dated though some of them may be, you can see an idea was there – it may not have stayed long, but it did visit. Perhaps one of the logos above was visited by his cousin adidas.

Grade: A

A stands for “alright!”. These logos may not be perfect, but if you had to have a mountain logo I would go this route. These logos not only have originality when it comes to mountain shapes (never mind one of them looks eerily similar to Motorola), but they have spunk. Now if I can just get one of these companies to send me a free jacket I think that’d just about do it.

What do you get when you mix a little American ingenuity with German engineering? No, not a VW, but something just as cute. A new logo? Perhaps. Here at openbox9 we recently wrapped up a new logo for American Institute of Contemporary German Studies (AICGS), and would like to share with you our process of creating their new identity.

AICGS works to strengthen relationships between the US and Germany in an ever-changing economic and political landscape. They analyze developments and trends in Germany, Europe and the US, providing networks and promoting dialogue among business, political, and academic communities. The new AICGS logo needed to convey partnership between US and Germany while remaining neutral, as well as hinting at the global nature of AICGS’ research and analysis.

In this case study I’ll be focusing on the process of creation for the final logo. We presented 6 concepts initially, after sketching pages upon pages of ideas. Below is a progression of a few initial sketches– from one of the earlier ideas on the top left corner to the one we chose to work with on the bottom right. The concept for the logo was motion and interaction between two points of the globe, taking visual cues from bridges and transatlantic flight routes.

After working with the idea on the computer, this was the rough black and white concept we presented to AICGS:

Some merits of this idea were that it portrayed the idea of partnership and that the icon and name were contained in one mark, but it needed to be pushed to show more motion and dimension. So we worked on refining the shapes while also starting to work with color.

During refinement, we explored several options to beef up the curves and create more depth to the logo. A large part of the refinement involved getting the curves drawn correctly, with consistent widths and ending points to fit the typeface.

After rounds of revisions and refinements, we arrived at the final mark. We explored many options for color but decided it was best to stay within the color scheme of the previous logo, to help carry over some recognition between the two identities. Adding additional blues to the logo helped create depth to the mark as well. Once the mark was approved we developed the lock-up with the mark and full name. I could probably write another post just on the process of refinement of the typography, but I won’t bore you with those details.

The final logo reinforces AICGS as an organization that is focused on building a strong partnership between the U.S. and Germany. Like the partnership they aim to achieve, the overlapping lines signify motion and interaction between America and Germany, forming a circular shape that conveys a global network.

It’s been great to help move the visual identity of AICGS forward in a fresh direction, and a great experience working with them on this project. Looking forward to collaborating on many more!

View the accompanying stationary, new website and other AICGS projects »

Be cool.

A chair is something you’ll be seen a lot in, so look good sitting in one. When thinking ideal, one has to suspend reality that one can afford these chairs…

Be cool some more.

Nothing irritates a human more that an uncomfortable chair. Make sure the lower back feels your love for it – prove it with cushions made of twinkies (added benefit – warmed snacks for the team after about an hour of sitting)

Swivel n Roll

Getting up from a chair to talk with folks should never happen. My chair will swivel and if needed, roll over to a person despite the terrain — I’m talking Tonka truck wheels.

Refreshments

Hydrating is important to staying alive and a chair should not jeopardize my life. My chair will house a tub of watercooler quality liquid.

Stay fresh

Some might want to roll their chairs to you — a chair should help you smell your best and spare you from bathing. The fabric of my chair would be made of wet-wipes.

Reduce number of seats

Why do we need so many personal chairs? Parents know that their baby’s car seat also makes for a great carrier and rocker. My cool-guy chair would have a dual function by latching into my car.

Weather Controls

I barely have to write anything here – everybody knows your back gets hot while your limbs go frigid. Temperature control is a must. While I’m at it, I want a chair that recreates the feeling of being outside during a crisp Autumn day.

Behold the Schafer BoBimBap-Seat 3000…

Now, before we begin, keep in mind this ride is not intended for all audiences. I am a commuter and use my bicycle is primarily for utilitarian purposes rather than leisure or exercise. Also note that I am not a machinist or engineer and while I can design and dream all I want about my ideal bicycle I don’t have any of the skills necessary to build it. (Read: Urban hipsters: please do not contact me asking how you can get one of these bicycles. Engineers/Bicycle makers: please DO feel free to actually build a model of this and notify me immediately.)

Alright, what’s the first feature of my dream bicycle? Well, some of you may wish for a diamond encrusted bicycle, but remember I’m all for the practical and obviously would want my name spelled out in the frame of the bicycle, like so:

Secondly, seeing as how headphones are illegal while operating a vehicle (that goes for you too drivers) I would want the ability to play music on with my bicycle. What better way to make music than have the ability to play records around my wheels?

Speaking of tires, I’m always worried about bicycle safety and not being seen by drivers at night so why not add some snazzy led images to my tires?

On a practical note, I’d like my tires to be self inflating with a built in pump like so:

I would definitely want a pannier or two attached somewhere. Popularmechanics.com describes panniers as “A graduated basket… well worth the expense.”

Living in washington DC has its advantages- lots of free museums, outdoor film festivals in the summer and a fair amount of bicycle lanes to get there on a bicycle. What’s the trouble with that? Bicycle theft. While there has been lots of attempts at designs to quell the would be thieves I think one of the best inventions is to have the lock be part of the bicycle itself (better yet, an essential part). I saw this on a few sites including bicycledesign.net.

Any bicycle worth it’s salt should obviously be foldable – small enough to fit in the space in car trunks designated for a spare car tire. This idea Volkswagen came up with and I’m a big fan. That way you can drive to the countryside and have a leisurely afternoon of biking.

Besides a pannier or two another basket on the front of my bicycle couldn’t hurt- why carry things on your back when you’ve got a perfectly good machine that can hold things?

I would not want my ride to be a strenuous workout like the crazies who ride the ElliptiGo.

Being a social animal I regret that most bicycles are only build to hold one person. Not the case with my bicycle. Mine would have an extra pop out seat and pedals so my friend could join me in a jaunt.

And the final crowning piece of this bicycle? Well, first think of all the musky animals overrunning the streets of any city. I’m talking about squirrels. They’re not doing much of importance, and they’re friendly. Why not put them to work? I’ll devise the inside of my tire so that it’s something like gerbil wheel meets parrot swing. That way my tires can be powered by natural energy and when they get tired of running, they can jump on a tiny hammock and rest while I pedal. It’s brilliant! And think of all (government subsidized) jobs created because people will need to train these squirrels! It’s really a win-win-win.

I’m thinking the final product will look something like this:

To complete the dream machine I would get an airbag hoodie and a stylish nearly stylish helmet.

While it might not be the most feasible bicycle redesign, I think it’s better than the fake bicycle from Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketchbook and may just be crazy enough to work.

Ethnotraveler
Experience the crossroads of culture from your livingroom.  www.ethnotraveler.com

East Africa Ventures
A wonderful group of bighearts working to relieve Sudan through micro-enterprise strategies. eastafricaventures.org

GraceDC Downtown
An outstanding church with a new look and dynamite custom built features. www.gracedc.net

Mckinley Marketing Partners
Partnered with our friends at Design Army to develop a crafty recruiting tool for marketing geniuses. mckinleymarketingpartners.com

Atlas Theatre
We love the arts here, so we loved developing this WordPress site with our friends at The General Design Company. atlasarts.org

Cause Placement
Heard of ‘product placement’? Now wouldn’t it be great if non-profits could promote their causes in the media? www.causeplacement.com

Revive Your Heart also revived their website with our design and the crafty development work of Five Q. www.reviveourhearts.com

Razoo’s Live PC Give PC
24 hour barnburner event raising money for the causes of Park City Utah. livepcgivepc.razoo.com

Razoo’s Give to the Max Day DC
24 hour hootenanny event raising money for the causes of the Wasington DC area. give2max.razoo.com

Public Religion Research Institute
At the intersection of Religion and the Public square you’ll find this content rich gem of a site www.publicreligion.org

AICGS’s Global Leadership Awards Dinner
I love RunDMC, which means I love adidas. What great joy to design a site for the CEO of adidas who is being being honored. www.aicgsglad.org

Kathy Worek Group
Homes need a champion like Kathy to sell them, that’s why she needed a team like the designers General Design Company and developers openbox9 to build her a superhero website. www.kathyworekgroup.com

Printed projects can’t launch but people can now physically hand this to someone:

National Wildlife Federation’s 2010 annual report covering their work in the Gulf

What can openbox9 launch for you?!