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Wax Creates ID for Calgary International Film Festival
Design Firm WAX Partnership borrowed from the visual language of the marquee signs that hang in front of most festival venues when creating the identity for the Calgary International Film Festival. The letters have been gathering dust in the 80-year-old basement of Calgary’s historic Plaza Theatre. The creative team, including Creative Directors Monique Gamache and Joe Hospodarec, Art Director Jonathan Herman and Copywriter Sebastien Wilcox also designed a series of posters with the same marquee lettering. Contact: www.waxpartnership.com

Windpower Makes Its Mark
Stressdesign has come up with a new logo to mark the use of windpower to create electricity used in design projects. The streamlined symbol, which can be used for print or web applications, is currently offered as a stand-alone logo, which clients can then personalize with their own color, typography and message, such as “We Switched to Wind” or “Printed With Windpower.” The Syracuse NY branding firm created the logo after working on a print project that was completed with 100% windpower. The client wanted to be able to put an easily identified mark on the back cover of the printed piece to indicate its attention to detail. After searching for such a logo and coming up empty-handed, the creative team at Stressdesign drew its own. Contact: www.stressdesign.com

ARMANI EXCHANGES OLD FOR NEW
NEW YORK NY
Armani Exchange tapped design firm Chermayeff & Geismar to upgrade its logo to an icon as pivotal to the Italian fashion label’s ad campaign as its models and clothes. Designer Sagi Haviv reinvented the brand identity, which had been in place since 1991, with a simple flip of color. The team inverted the logo, so instead of dark letters on a light background with a dividing line, the A and X are in white, sitting in two dark boxes. Havi’s team also created a system of symbols, composed of four interchangeable icons that take their inspiration from the A and X letterforms, eagle’s wings and sergeant stripes. “A system of symbols helps keep the visual image of the brand new and fresh,” said Haviv. The new symbols will be used on almost all Armani Exchange product categories starting in spring and summer 2009. Chermayeff & Geismar has designed logos for other well-known brands including Barneys New York, Xerox and Showtime. Contact: www.cgstudionyc.com

No Limits in Change
BAYONNE NJ
With President Barack Obama and his family ensconced in the White House at last, retailers such as BoConcept are having their own fun toying with the change of government. The furniture design brand launched a “No limits in Change” campaign in the US, featuring a design makeover for the Oval Office, which can be seen at the BoConcept US website www.BoConcept.us. The idea being that maybe the White House isn’t the only place in need of a change, perhaps your home could use one too. “We believe we can do it better than other furniture stores — yes, we can,” BoConcept says in a news release, playing on President Obama’s “Yes We Can” motto chanted through the election campaign.The updated version of the Oval Office is part of the furniture designer’s greater global campaign with the tagline “no limits”. The rest of the concept will be rolled out in other countries with BoConcept brand stores later in 2009. Contact: www.BoConcept.us

REFRESHING CHANGES FOR PEPS I
LOS ANGELES CA
A change of year, a change of government and renewed hope and optimism all around is just the vibe driving a new look for Pepsi. The Purchase, NY beverage maker is all about change in 2009, a nod perhaps to President Obama, with a Refresh Everything credo, a swirling, smiley red, white and blue logo, a new communications agency in TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles, and a new design identity courtesy of Arnell. Pepsi's newest "Pass" ads, unveiled last month, are the second phase of the Wordplay campaign crafted by TBWA/Chiat/Day.The new ads for the US market debuted as the Presidential Inauguration took place and show Pepsi being enjoyed at different times throughout its history by flappers, hippies and break-dancers with the tag “Every generation refreshes the world.” The new spots come hot on heels of media spots and a blitz of outdoor ads that feature the Pepsi logo inside words such as “hooray,” “yo” and “joy.” All this Pepsi hopefulness stems from the Pepsi Optimism Project, a survey which showed that even the flagging economy can't dampen enthusiasm among the more than 2,000 so-called Millennials, or those born between 1980 and 1990, who were asked about their levels of optimism for the new year. A whopping 95% of respondents agreed it's important to keep a positive outlook on life, while 67% said that having President Obama in the White House heralds an optimistic future. “Our new brand identity campaign reflects that optimism like never before on shelf and in advertising,” said Dave Burwick, PepsiCo's Chief Marketing Officer. Credits for the latest Pass ads include TBWA/Chiat/Day LA's Worldwide Chief Creative Officer Lee Clow, Executive Creative Director Rob Schwartz, Creative Directors Brett Craig and Joe Shands and Art Director Xanthe Hohalek. For more: www.tbwachiat.com, www.refresheverything.com

Modern Dog Revives Old Records
SEATTLE WA
Modern Dog Design was tapped by Shout! to come up with illustrations for a two-CD set marking the career of English rock band Mott the Hoople and its glam-rock, proto-punk pioneer Ian Hunter. The Seattle design firm pinned the packaging design on Hunter’s somewhat iconic big hair and glasses for Old Records Never Die: The Mott The Hoople/Ian Hunter Anthology. The discs cover the entire career of Hunter, from his earliest days with Mott the Hoople to his 2007 album Shrunken Heads. The band was well known for being part of the popular glam-rock scene of the mid-70s, and lead singer/ songwriter Hunter went onto a solo career. Notably, the CD set features Mott the Hoople’s hit “All the Young Dudes” written by their fan and friend, David Bowie — which was also featured in the soundtrack of “Juno”. Contact: www.moderndog.com

SAKS HIRES OBAMA ARTIST FOR SPRING
NEW YORK NY
Saks Fifth Avenue hired Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic Hope poster of Barack Obama that became one of the best-known, though unofficial, images of the presidential campaign, to design catalog covers and shopping bags as part of its Spring marketing. The campaign is inspired by the bold graphic designs and propaganda spirit of Constructivist art — although of course it’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Saks’ slogan “Want It!” is printed in lettering similar to the graphic designs of Rodchenko, the Russian graphic designer who was one of the founders of Constructivism. The images, largely realized by Cleon Peterson of Studio Number One, Fairey’s LA design company, depict the season’s trends in black-and-white images with geometric slashes of red, some of them shown on models posing as if they’re champions of workers’ rights. The ads resemble those made in the 1920s for state-run department stores in the Soviet Union, which — given current economic woes facing workers and retailers— may not be such a stretch. Contact: www.saksfifthavenue.com

Getting Kitty to Kick Litter
SAN FRANCISCO CA
Chen Design Associates probably never imagined designing a book cover with a cat perched on a toilet seat. But that’s exactly what it did for Perre DiCarlo’s debut book Kick Litter, a so-called nine-step program for recovering cat litter addicts. The humorous gift book is the first by DiCarlo, the Hollywood motion designer behind the Harry Potter, Batman and Warner Bros. websites. A dog person by nature, DiCarlo said he had no idea it was possible to train his two new kittens until it was too late. Joshua Chen was Creative Director on the Kick Litter project, with Art Direction by Max Spector. Contact: www.chendesign.com, www.kicklitter.com