Not too long ago, Pepsi decided to redesign its logo.
I like it, I think they did a good job. I find it particularly interesting to see how the Pepsi logo, and logos in general, change over time.
From 1898 until 1962, the logo was all about the typeface – similar to Coca-Cola. Then it changed radically, and adopted the wavy red, white and blue.
Thinking about the new logo, I realized that what makes it look modern is that the typeface is thin and lowercase. And notice how the Pepsi orb lost its 3D-ish look, adopted in 1998. I think photorealistic 3D is out.
A complete analysis, with links and attribution, is at the Logo Design Love site.
Not too long ago, I wrote a post predicting the death of Palm. But maybe, just maybe, their recently announced Pre will bring Palm new life. That’s what I sincerely hope, competition is always good.
There are many questions left unanswered about this new device, but it’s certainly promising. What I really love to see is that Palm is being very open about how the device is supposed to work and even requesting feedback from users and developers in some cases.
If Apple gets an ‘A+’ for design, and perhaps a ‘B’ for engineering, they get a solid ‘F’ for community participation and involvement. They are incredibly secret, to the point that it’s detrimental. Here’s a lesson that Palm, even if in death row, is qualified to teach.
This morning the WSJ has a great story on gullibility, motivated by the Madoff fraud. The essay is presented from a very unique angle, since the author is both an expert on the topic and a victim of the scam. He indirectly invested 30% of his retirement savings in Madoff’s fund.
One passage really stood out for me:
Very few people possess the knowledge or inclination to perform an in-depth analysis of every investment opportunity they are considering. It is for this reason that we rely on others to help make such decisions.
For the last 10 years, we’ve experienced the usefulness and convenience of collective intelligence in all sorts of ways – Amazon’s recommendation engine quickly comes to mind. However, when it comes to serious financial decisions, maybe it’s not such a good idea to let other’s opinions and behavior dictate your own.
Tim Ferris, of 4-Hour-Week fame, received an email from a long-time mentor and quoted parts of it in his blog:
While many are wringing their hands, I recall the 1970s when we were suffering from an oil shock causing long lines at gas stations, rationing, and 55 MPH speed limits on Federal highways, a recession, very little venture capital ($50 million per year into VC firms), and, what President Jimmy Carter (wearing a sweater while addressing the Nation on TV because he had turned down the heat in the White House) called a “malaise”. It was during those times that two kids without any real college education, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, started companies that did pretty well. Opportunities abound in bad times as well as good times. In fact, the opportunities are often greater when the conventional wisdom is that everything is going into the toilet.
Couldn’t agree more. Lots of challenges ahead, for sure, but a world of opportunities as well. Here we are in 2009, I hope you have a great year!
