Art Center presents:

listen

with DJ Astrud Sands

Sat 3.29.08
3-6pm PDT

virb.com/artcenter
astrudsands.blogspot.com

SLurl

This morning a few of us were admiring the Obama logo and identity system and were wondering who the masterminds behind this well conceived identity were. While tracking down the author of the official Obama logo we were joking around in the studio and kicked out the above mark for the fun of it. Below is a bit of what we found about the mark and a nice interview with Michael Bierut of Pentagram. 

Sender LLC, a Chicago based brand consultancy and design studio developed the logomark and brand system for Barack Obama’s historic bid for the White House. Sender were awarded the project through mo/de, a motion design studio working with AKP Message & Media of Chicago. Political consultant David Axelrod, who is working on Obama’s campaign and worked on his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, is a partner with AKP Message & Media.

“We were looking at the “o” of his name and had the idea of a rising sun and a new day,” Mr. Sender said. “The sun rising over the horizon evoked a new sense of hope.” via http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=23974

[...]Obama’s success owes a lot, of course, to his message–the promise to pass Democratic policies by rallying a “coalition for change.” But watching Obamamania over the past few weeks, I’ve become convinced that there’s something more subtle at work, too. It’s not just the message and the man and the speeches that are swaying Democratic voters–though they are. It’s the way the campaign has folded the man and the message and the speeches into a systemic branding effort. Reinforced with a coherent, comprehensive program of fonts, logos, slogans and web design, Obama is the first presidential candidate to be marketed like a high-end consumer brand.* [...] via Expertinent: Why the Obama “Brand” Is Working by Andrew Romano of Newsweek

[..]During a broadcast of the Dr. Who episode “Horror of Fang Rock” on WTTW Chicago Channel 11, on Sunday November 22nd, 1987, at around 11:15pm, a Video “Pirate” wearing a Max Headroom mask broke into the signal and transmitted one of the weirdest, unauthorized things ever to hit the Chicago airwaves.

Earlier in the evening on the same day, during the Nine O’Clock News on Channel 9 (Yes, a completely different channel) the Max Headroom Pirate also broke in - although it was for a much shorter time and there was no audio.

Needless to say, Dan Rohn (the sports reporter) was a bit flustered.And no, he was never caught.My Take: The guy was probably high and/or drunk. Even with the audio distortion, his ramblings don’t make much sense.

Here’s what I am able to make out:

“He’s a freaky nerd!”

“This guy’s better than Chuck Swirsky.” [another WGN sportscaster at the time]

“Oh Jesus!”

“Catch the wave…” [reference to a Coke commercial at the time of which Max Headroom was a spokesperson]

“Your love is fading…”

“I stole CBS.”

“Oh, I just made a giant masterpiece printed all over the greatest world newspaper nerds.” [??]

“My brother [mother?] is wearing the other one.”

“It’s dirty…”

“They’re coming to get me…”

Click here to read more details about this:
http://www.textfiles.com/magazines/TOLMES/tns14  [...]

VIA: The Museum of Classic Chicago Television
http://www.FuzzyMemories.TV