an iconic new york logo bites the dust

I read with sadness today that Duane Reade, New York city's largest drugstore chain, has decided to change its iconic red-and-blue logo to a new black-and-white number. Companies change logos all the time in an effort to either reinvent themselves or appear to be "changing with the times." I'm not exactly sure which of these two motivations Duane Reade is following, but I think they need to fire their graphic design firm.

Though I generally get annoyed by red and/or blue logos (since so many companies employ those two colors), the old DR was a nice, compact, recognizable design. The new icon, as critics in this article about the change note, is all over the place. Serif, sans-serif, upper case, lower case—it just feels amateur. The straight edge of the D in particular isn't doing anything for me. And as much as I appreciate the deviation from red and blue, is black really the color you want to represent your drug store?

To be sure, I'm not the only one feeling this way; a brief glance at the comment section for the aforementioned article, and you get the feeling that the powers that be at Duane Reade don't believe in focus groups. In any event, I give the new iteration a D-plus. ∞

my favorite medals

Every two years I get psyched up for the Olympics, and this year is no exception. The TV broadcasters this time around have been way too obsessed with Michael Phelps (though I freely admit the dude is amazing), and I wish we could get to see something other than volleyball, swimming, and gymnastics in prime time. Nevertheless, I've been enjoying the show.

I was curious about the makeup of this year's medals, which which feature rings of three different colors inside of the three medal types. It turns out that the rings are distinct types of jade, a semiprecious stone common in China. Of course, I had to look up the history of Olympic medals to find out more. I found that Summer Olympics medals are usually pretty boring; by tradition they feature the Greek Goddess Nike, who personified victory. Only recently have countries started adding personal touches to the backs of medals, and I'd say that so far, the Chinese version is the most unique—by a long shot.

Winter Olympic medals are much more creative, and therefore (at least in my view) a lot nicer. They often take an organic form that's not as perfectly circular as Summer Games medals. They also tend to include materials other than the traditional gold, silver, and bronze. I'd say my all-time favorites are the 1994 medals from Lillehammer, Norway and the 2004 rings from Torino, Italy—but the backs of the Beijing medals are a close third. &infin

interweb shoutout: modern cat

You know that cheesy moment in the middle of a B movie where everything goes to slow motion, the protagonist's face lights up with an enormous smile, and the chorus of "Hallelujah" blasts in the background? Well, I just had one of those eureka moments when I discovered what is assured to be the coolest cat-related blog on the planet: Modern Cat.

I've actually been a dog person most of my life, so I'm relatively new to the cat thing. But when I got my kitty last year, I noticed right away that the aesthetic for cat toys and especially furniture was, well, let's just say "lacking." Most cat scratching or climbing toys are covered in various types of carpet, which, let's face it, are usually a**-ugly. Now, I'm all for functional cat toys, and no doubt kitties get excited about some of these intense cat trees and condos, but a person's gotta live in her cat's apartment, too. And I'm gonna tell you right now, wooing potential mates becomes that much harder when it looks like the Golden Girls have seen to the kitty decor!

So it was with tremendous pleasure that I discovered Modern Cat, a blog that specializes in functional, yet impeccably designed cat furniture (and toys). The layout and commentary are relatively simple, but that's the way it should be for a blog that prides itself on celebrating mod designs that speak for themselves. I'm hoping that this and a recent New York Times article are a harbinger that the cat's time has come as the new center of attention in the pet design world. Anyway, definitely check out the Modern Cat blog if you're in the middle of the Venn diagram for cat lovers and design freaks. ∞