designcincinnati

license plates

Ohio recently released a new, incredibly ugly, license plate designed by... the governor's wife.

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I'm going to assume she has no prior graphic design experience based on how ugly it is. Fortunately, they have stopped production and the older, slightly less ugly plates will stay.

I am not sure why we feel we have to make the plates all fancy. A plain numbered plate would be fine with me! It's not that I'm not against the new plates looking like a butter package, my problems with them are, 1) they are trying to convey too many thoughts at once (Ohio is beautiful, founded in 1803, birthplace of aviation, we have both farmland and cities!, etc...) and 2) there are plenty of talented graphic designers and illustrators in ohio... why can't the state government hire one of them instead of making it a PR stunt for the governors wife?

I started digging around for other plates and here are my faves. I think simple is best.

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streetcar route map

Check out this new, unofficial streetcar route map:

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This book of world transit maps looks pretty cool, too. And, learn more about the the London Underground map, which is considered the first modern transit map and the one that set the standard.

the simple portrait project

I'm loving this idea from Newport photographer Jonathan Robert Willis... The Simple Portrait Project. Limited by "one light, one prop, no descriptive backdrop and 30 minute sessions" The photographer challenges himself to photograph 100 families in 100 different ways.

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Check out more photos on his website.

cincy

Of all the "Cincinnati" tshirts that have been popping up lately, I want this one:

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cincinnati = consumer marketing

Can Cincinnati be the "Silicon Valley of Consumer Marketing?" Apparently the folks that put together Agenda 360 think so. From the Enquirer, “the work grew out of the Agenda 360 community-wide plan sponsored by the Cincinnati USA Regional chamber, which set as one of its goals the creation of 50,000 jobs by 2020.” The marketing campaign aims to “support entrepreneurial companies in consumer marketing in Cincinnati” with a goal to "make Cincinnati as well known for consumer marketing as California's Silicon Valley is for technology."

Check out Dave Knox's blog, where he recently wrote about this campaign. He listed five areas where the city excels:

• Consumer Packaged Goods: Cincy is the home of not only Procter & Gamble but also Kao Brands / Jergens, Perfetti Van Melle (maker of Mentos), and US Playing Cards. There is a reason that Cincinnati was the birthplace of Brand Management.

• Retailers: The area is the home of the United States largest grocery chain (Kroger with ~2,500 stores) and largest department store (Macy’s with over 1,000 stores)

• Design Firms: Cincinnati is filled with amazing firms including Landor, LPK, Deskey and Interbrand. We also have one of the top Design Schools in the country with the University of Cincinnati College of DAAP

• Advertising Agencies: Cincinnati has a rich advertising history and today is home to agencies like Bridge Worldwide, Barefoot Proximity, Northlich, and many others.

• Market Researchers: The Nielsen Company and dunnhumby both have a major presence in Cincinnati.

What do all of you think. Do you think it's possible for the city to become the "Silicon Valley of Consumer Marketing?"

city logo

Remember a few months ago when I wrote about Cincinnati unveiling a new logo? I just came across the new logo for Melbourne which is much more in line with a city that's innovative and thinking about its future.

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I also find it interesting that the Sydney office of Landor Associates designed the logo. For those of you that don't know, Landor also has an office in Cincinnati. Read more here about the identity system.

Also, check out the interesting video I posted about Melbourne.

via [paigeandmodern]

greetings from cincinnati

I love these fun old postcards that I found on "Greetings from Cincinnati".

images from cincinnativiews.net | click to enlarge

Check a ton of more photos on the site.

cincinnati flickr favorites: sandra freyler

I've always loved Sandra Freyler's Cincinnati photo set on her Flickr page. Here are some of my faves:

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1. Architreks South Tour 14, 2. Over The Rhine 5, 3. Architreks South Tour 9, 4. Over The Rhine 8, 5. Architreks South Tour 5, 6. Main Street, 7. Architreks South Tour 4, 8. The Shops in Downtown Cincy, 9. Fountain Square Labor Day 2008

For more from Sandra, Check out her Flickr Page.

cardinal

Thanks to Becky for sharing her Charley Harper find she discovered while in town last week:

images from blog.designpublic.com | click to enlarge

cincinnati flickr favorites: chrislrmo

I recently came across the Flickr page of user chrislrmo. I was so impressed, I decided to make this edition of Cincinnati Flickr Faves just out of his photos. Enjoy.

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1. Carew Tower Reflection, 2. Waiting for the Next Call, 3. Cincinnati Observatory, 4. Colorful Sunrise, 5. Untitled, 6. Union Terminal 75th Anniversary Fireworks, 7. Fountain Square Panography Daytime, 8. WEBN Fireworks, 9. Cincinnati

For more from Chris, check out his Flickr page.

cincinnati flickr favorites: parks

Since we have such an amazing system of parks, I thought I'd look for some park photos on Flickr to share with you.

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1. Cincinnati - Eden Park Overlook Pond "The shimmer of water", 2. Cincinnati, 3. Cincinnati Ohio River - Eden Park Overlook "Morning Glow - 6:15 A.M.", 4. 5 O'clock Shadow, 5. Cincinnati Balloons, 6. Ault Park, 7. Urban Autumn, 8. Cincinnati - Eden Park "Castle Tower - Springtime", 9. Fall Boats

From the Cincinnati Parks website:

The City of Cincinnati parks system has been rated 'excellent' by the Trust for Public Land. USA Today ranked Cincinnati Parks as one of the top three urban park systems in the United States. We have five regional and 70 neighborhood parks and 34 nature preserves, as well as parkways and neighborhood gateways. We maintain Cincinnati's Street Tree program on 1,000 miles of City streets. The parks system operates five nature centers, an arboretum and one of the larger public plant conservatories in the country. Our public art collection is the Midwest’s largest. Add it up, and Cincinnati Parks manages more than 10 percent of city land.

For more information, visit cincinnatiparks.com.

new logo

The city has recently updated its logo which was a $75,000 gift from Macy's, designed by local branding firm giant LPK...

There is an interesting discussion going on at Brand New about this logo. It's interesting to point out that many commenters are lamenting the fact that the new logo doesn't reflect the architectural history of the city, and these are people that don't live here. I'm just sayin'...

Here are some of the comments:

"I think that for a city trying to show its forward thinking as well as rich history the logo leaves something to be desired."

"...it definitely does not capture Cincy very well. Cincinnati is a a city rich with architecture and history and this logo doesn't convey that to me."

"As far as a city logo goes, this one is much better than most I've seen. I'm not saying it's perfect by any means, but it's certainly better than, say, Nashville's."

"It definitely doesn't feel 'Cincinnati' to me. This city's full of great things that are unknown even to people that live there (outstanding architecture, robust history, distinct and homey neighborhoods, great food, and an awesome downtown area considering the city size to name a few off the tip of my tounge). Seems like a missed opportunity to communicate these."

I don't think the new logo is THAT bad. It's much better than using some sort of boring crest or shield. What do you think?