Giving U.S. Tax Forms A Much Needed Makeover - Modernizing The W-9 and 1040.

A self-initiated design project by FormNation, they took it upon themselves to give such US Tax forms as the ol' W9 and 1040 a much needed makeover for both hardcopies and digital. No one likes doing taxes and the fact that these painfully necessary forms are both confusing and downright ugly does not help.

Original and redesigned US Tax Forms 1040 and W-9:



Setting out to prove that design can help to innovate, promote ease of use, and add value to business and society, FormNation streamlined the fonts, clearly prioritized the sections and added color to help distinguish the forms.

The redesigned 1040 form:





The redesigned W-9 form:




“Change in the broad sense can be transitional, revolutionary, and transformative. It’s about making life easier, and making things more possible.” - FormNation




Nice work guys, now if only the US Government would follow suit.


FormNation

Better Late Than Never. The New 100$ Bill And Its High Tech Security Features Explained.

The Federal Reserve Board announced on Wednesday that the redesigned $100 note will finally begin circulating on October 8, 2013. This note, which incorporates new security features such as a blue, 3-D security ribbon, will be easier for the public to authenticate but more difficult for counterfeiters to replicate.

The new design for the $100 note was unveiled in 2010, but its introduction was postponed following an unexpected production delay. (It was supposed to start circulating in February of 2011).

The new $100 as seen in regular light:


The new $100 as seen when backlit:


The new $100 as seen in UV or Black light:


To ensure a smooth transition to the redesigned note when it begins circulating in October, the U.S. Currency Education Program is reaching out to businesses and consumers around the world to raise awareness about the new design and inform them about how to use its security features.

I had already done that in this post back in 2010, so here it is again for you:

Officials from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the United States Secret Service recently unveiled the new design for the $100 note. Complete with advanced technology to combat counterfeiting, the new design for the $100 note retains the traditional look of U.S. currency.



There are a number of security features in the redesigned $100 note, including two new features, the 3-D Security Ribbon and the Bell in the Inkwell. These security features are easy for consumers and merchants to use to authenticate their currency.



The blue 3-D Security Ribbon on the front of the new $100 note contains images of bells and 100s that move and change from one to the other as you tilt the note. The Bell in the Inkwell on the front of the note is another new security feature. The bell changes color from copper to green when the note is tilted, an effect that makes it seem to appear and disappear within the copper inkwell.

The new $100 note also displays American symbols of freedom, including phrases from the Declaration of Independence and the quill the Founding Fathers used to sign this historic document. Both are located to the right of the portrait on the front of the note.

The back of the note has a new vignette of Independence Hall featuring the rear, rather than the front, of the building. Both the vignette on the back of the note and the portrait on the front have been enlarged, and the oval that previously appeared around both images has been removed.

Although less than 1/100th of one percent of the value of all U.S. currency in circulation is reported counterfeit, the $100 note is the most widely circulated and most often counterfeited denomination outside the U.S.

The New Security Features
Below is a close-up look at the new features to help you learn how to identify the real thing and use the two advanced security features: the 3-D Security Ribbon and the Bell in the Inkwell.



1. Portrait Watermark
Hold the note to light and look for a faint image of Benjamin Franklin in the blank space to the right of the portrait.

3. Color-Shifting 100
Tilt the note to see the numeral 100 in the lower right corner of the front of the note shift from copper to green.



2. Security Thread
Hold the note to light to see an embedded thread running vertically to the left of the portrait. The thread is imprinted with the letters USA and the numeral 100 in an alternating pattern and is visible from both sides of the note. The thread glows pink when illuminated by ultraviolet light.

4. Raised Printing
Move your finger up and down Benjamin Franklin’s shoulder on the left side of the note. It should feel rough to the touch, a result of the enhanced intaglio printing process used to create the image. Traditional raised printing can be felt throughout the $100 note, and gives genuine U.S. currency its distinctive texture.

6. Microprinting
Look carefully to see the small printed words which appear on Benjamin Franklin’s jacket collar, around the blank space containing the portrait watermark, along the golden quill, and in the note borders.



5. Gold 100
Look for a large gold numeral 100 on the back of the note. It helps those with visual impairments distinguish the denomination.

FW Indicator (not shown here)
The redesigned $100 notes printed in Fort Worth, Texas, will have a small FW in the top left corner on the front of the note to the right of the numeral 100. If a note does not have an FW indicator, it was printed in Washington, D.C.

All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued. Visit www.newmoney.gov where you can watch an animated video and click through an interactive note.

More information about the new design $100 note, as well as training and educational materials, can be found at www.newmoney.gov. For media inquiries, call 202-452-2955

Judging Some Big Brand Logo Redesigns

I caught an interesting article by Fortune magazine contributors Blake Ellis and Josh Glasser the other day in which they asked Bill Gardner, principal of Gardner Design, Howard Belk, co-president and chief creative officer of brand strategy firm Siegel Gale and Brendán Murphy, senior partner at Lippinott, a brand management firm, to judge some of the most dramatic logo transformations for some well known brands.

In reading the article, I found that the Gardiner, Belk and Murphy aren't really judging the logo redesigns in a critical manner or have any actual statistics, but are making more of an educated observation, and in some cases, personal hypotheses, as to the effect on the brand.

Regardless, it is interesting to see how some of the world's best known logos have been redesigned. In some cases, they are a vast improvement, others... well, let's just say, FAIL.

As well rounded as my readers are, many do not read Fortune, so I've basically reproduced the article here for you, without having to flip through one of those annoying slide shows.

Apple - A chic redesign


Ronald Wayne designed Apple's original logo in 1976 when the company was still operating out of a garage. It shows Isaac Newton sitting beneath a tree with an apple dangling precariously above his head.

Rob Janoff used the same apple in his redesign a year later. "You can almost feel the '70s and '80s taking place when you take a look at that rainbow apple," says Bill Gardner, principal of Gardner Design.

Apple dropped the multi-colored logo in 1998 for a monochromatic version, produced in every color imaginable, until transitioning it to today's popular shade of chrome.


Blackwater to Xe -Sneaky and confusing


After the cascade of bad press from its involvement in Iraq, the defense contractor renamed itself Xe (pronounced "zee") and introduced a new logo this year. The company denies that it created the logo in response to its difficulties, but regardless, experts aren't convinced the new design will bolster the company's image.

"Now they look more like a spy organization," says Howard Belk, co-president and chief creative officer of brand strategy firm Siegel Gale, referring to the logo's "surreptitious, sneaky qualities."

"When [people] hear it, they won't know how to spell it," he says. "When they see it, they won't know how to say it."


BP - Re-branding faces reality


After British Petroleum merged with Amoco, the oil giant commissioned branding firm Landor & Associates and advertising agency Oglivy & Mather to fashion a corporate identity that would convey the image of a forward-thinking, socially conscious company.

BP had already begun building that persona: After all, former CEO Lord John Browne was the first oil executive to acknowledge the threat of global warming. The bursting green, yellow, and white Greek mythology-inspired "Helios" symbol that replaced BP's shield is meant to imply a shift toward alternative, environmentally-friendly sources of energy like solar and biofuels, and relentless advertising has made the company's initials synonymous with "beyond petroleum."

But a series of oil spills and accidents suggested that BP wasn't walking the walk, leading some to consider its wildly successful mark more a mask than its true face.

"If the story doesn't hold up, the mark and the brand start to lose their luster," says Brendán Murphy, senior partner at Lippinott, a brand management firm.


IBM - Simply classic


In 1972, IBM ditched its original logo in favor of the symbol it has used ever since. In an attempt to update its antiquated look -- the old logo wrapped the words "International Business Machines" around an image of the globe -- IBM tried two different block-letter logos before legendary branding designer Paul Rand created the current version.

In this modern design, the lines that make up the letters represent "speed and dynamism," according to the company. "They owned the lines going through it before everyone started using lines," Gardner says. And because of its simplicity and originality, "you have a hard time desiring to mess with it."


Kraft Foods - Mismanaged and indistinct

The association with fattening products like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese -- and negative connotations stemming from its connection to tobacco conglomerate Philip Morris -- tainted both Kraft's corporate history and its logo. So it made sense that just under two years after Altria (formerly Philip Morris) spun off shares of Kraft to form a distinct company called Kraft Foods, the food giant would want to revamp its image.

But it wasn't necessarily a success: While the slimmer styling suggests healthier products, many analysts consider the new logo, by Nitro design agency, a disaster. Introduced in February, it's already been altered, with changes to both the location and shape of the ambiguous "flavor burst," which evokes both butterflies and flowers.

"I don't get a story from it," Belk says. "The fact that they changed it twice in such a short period of time says that they're not managing it very well. They're not taking a strategic approach to it." What's more, the new logo bears an uncanny resemblance to Yoplait's, which isn't even a Kraft brand.


Pepsi - Wave good-bye to the smile

At first glance, Pepsi's 2008 redesign may not look like a significant transformation, but it didn't take long for it to become a hot topic. This February, after the logo hit products, "BREATHTAKING Design Strategy" -- a 27-page justification of the new logo attributed to the Arnell Group, the marketing agency that created it -- leaked over the Internet, raising lots of questions.

In this "crazy brand manifesto," as Belk calls it, Arnell explained the redesign and even likened the new symbol to the "Mona Lisa" and the Parthenon. While some, like Belk, appreciated the simplicity of the new logo, many analysts argued that -- in addition to the disastrous treatise -- Pepsi had abandoned valuable equity in transforming its famous "wave" into the "smile."

"By taking away the wave, they just stole the legs out from under Pepsi," Gardner says. "My sense is that in five years, they will go back to the wave."


Procter & Gamble - No devil inside


The logo P&G used when it launched in 1851 pictured a man in the moon with 13 stars, representing the original American colonies -- à la the original U.S. flag. But critics later claimed the stars connected to form "666" and that the curls were in the shape of devilish sixes as well.

P&G chopped off the old man's bearded curls in 1991, and then two years later, the company trashed the pictorial logo altogether for the simple initials it uses today. "While it's unfortunate that they had to change for the reasons they did," Murphy says, "I think the 'P&G' logo is a strong mark."


Starbucks - Song Of The Siren

Here's one Starbucks concoction many hoped had disappeared a long time ago. The brown logo featuring a nude siren had been the company's icon since 1971, when it was developed by Starbucks co-founder Terry Heckler.

In 1992, it was updated to the green logo used today, picturing a less exposed siren. But in May of last year, the brown logo -- with the breasts covered -- made a comeback for several months during a promotion. Even with the minor touch-up, the flashback was not met with much enthusiasm.The retro logo "goes from nostalgic to crude," says Belk, whose opinion was shared by many.

Called "Slutbucks" by consumers because of the siren's seductive stance with spread tailfins and naked torso, Starbucks re-shelved the controversial siren within months, and today its ubiquitous green logo is back.


Tropicana -Too revolutionary


Branding has always been an issue at Tropicana: In its original logo, the company featured small, plump "Tropic Ana," an ambiguously ethnic topless girl with a grass skirt and balancing a bowl of oranges atop her head.

And while its more recent logo -- an orange with a straw -- wasn't criticized for being racially offensive, the company's attempts to make it over earlier this year still met with serious opposition.

Tropicana spent a reported $35 million on what consumers and analysts called an unoriginal and bland redesign, replacing its signature straw-in-orange with a glass of orange juice. While the company appeared to be aiming for a more modern style, it prompted an uproar from consumers, who found it generic.

Gardner believes Tropicana didn't prepare customers enough for the shift, and the company quickly surrendered to the criticism, dropping the new logo and packaging less than two months after their introduction. "They really underestimated the passion of Tropicana customers," says Belk. "The change was too revolutionary."


UPS - Modern and traditional


In 2003, as UPS moved into the digital age -- from packaging and shipping to managing logistics, too -- the company outgrew its 42-year-old iconic logo. Celebrated in the design community for its connection to legendary designer Rand, the original logo and its old-fashioned bow gestured to the company's roots in neighborhood package delivery. "It had a humor and a humanity to it," Murphy says.

But the new logo represents a strategic decision to emphasize UPS's expanded business operations, and analysts also praised the company's FutureBrand designers for nodding to UPS's heritage by preserving the shield, keeping it lighthearted, and leveraging the color brown. "You would never think [brown] would be an asset," Belk says, "but in their case, it is."

Wal-mart - Softening its image


Wal-Mart didn't always make its employees as smiley as the happy face that rolled back prices on its commercials. "They were known as a heartless, soulless company that didn't care about people -- even their own people," Belk says.

But Wal-Mart's 2008 branding makeover by Lippicott produced a logo that now conjures up the image of an "inviting and accessible" store, explains Belk, rather than the "daunting and monolithic" one the old logo (in use since 1992) projected.

The redesign transformed the big-box store's name to one word, used standard capitalization and a softer shade of blue, and added a yellow spark symbol. The new logo, like the company's updated tagline -- "Save Money. Live Better." -- invigorates the company with an "altruistic mission," says Belk, as it expands its reach from rural America to an urban consumer.


Xerox - X misses the spot


"It's so painful for me to even look at that thing," says Gardner about Xerox's new logo, which the company unveiled last year. Xerox decided to lose its signature 'X' logo in hopes of changing its reputation for being just a copier and printing company as it increases its focus on software and services.

But analysts and customers have been critical of the redesign -- Xerox's biggest makeover in forty years. "The new logo is first and foremost a sphere...and the less obvious 'X' is almost an afterthought," says Gardner. "Xerox owns the letter 'X' in the corporate world. Why would they want to bury the 'X' instead of making the most of it?"

The company stands behind its decision, however, saying in a press release that the new look is "more lively" and the 'X' in the ball represents the company's connections to customers, partners, industry and innovation.

all images and text courtesy of Fortune Magazine

For what it's worth:
Personally, I think using iterations,variations or evolutions of a well known logo for unique circumstances, special events, limited editions, and the like while maintaining the original logo design for the overall brand is a way to keep the brand fresh but still retain its equity and is a viable alternative to an all over redesign that very well may be a detriment to the overall brand image.

Oh, and let's just hope Nike never redesigns the swoosh.
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To see a wonderful example of an evolution of a well known brand logo..


.. see Michael Beirut's redesign of the Saks Fifth Avenue Logo here.

Be sure to check out this section on the site, Identityworks, to find some back story, insight and opinions of many logo redesigns.