Haft2Know

The next time you're lacing up for a run and Sir Woofsalot is giving you that sad "but I could come with you" look, you might consider looking into Fetching, Toronto's first fitness bootcamp that you do with your dog. Founder Sal Sloan says she used to feel a bit guilty, heading out for a workout while her dog Chewy had to lay low at home, so she developed a series of fitness classes for owners and dogs to do together. With a number of class options, and an expanding selection of locations throughout Toronto, Fetching might just be at the helm of a human/dog fitness trend.

Here's the link.

Extra kudos go to Fetching's very cool identity, developed by our friends at Archerfish Studio.

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Curosity asks, "why?"
Playfulness asks, "what if?"

These are the first two lines of the brand values of Lego, who since 1932 has become the world's fifth largest toy manufacturer. Lego lives their values and earlier this year promoted a new level of playfulness in their retail stores by introducing a new kind of brand experience. With the technology of 'augmented reality', potential buyers of Lego products can now see an animated 3D model of what any Lego toy will look like when it's built, merely by holding the product box in front of a monitor. It's really quite amazing.

More videos of Lego customers can be found here.

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Perhaps you think a commissioned portrait of yourself or a loved one is a little out of financial reach, but sketch artist Benjamin Hammond wishes to prove you wrong. Hammond presents One-Minute Portraits, an online invitation to submit a photograph of anyone, so he may turn it into an original piece of drawn portraiture. He'll take one minute to finish the piece and then post it on his site; if you like the results, you can purchase the original work for $20 USD. While the artist is currently overloaded with requests it would seem, check back now and again for your chance to be immortalized in Hammond's uh, distinct style.

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When it comes to naming colours for the marketplace research has shown that some names will be more likely to appeal to consumers than others. Professors Barbara E. Kahn of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Elizabeth G. Miller of Boston College believe buyers are more likely to react positively to either unexpected or ambiguous names.

'Fire Engine Red' for example is no longer a surprise to anyone, so wouldn't make a successful name now - not unlike the use of cliche phrases, which after a while don't mean anything due to their overuse. Duly, if a colour is too off the mark without any sort of rationale at all - say Sassafrass Yellow - buyers are less likely to be intrigued by the joke. There's nothing to "get" - no right answer, hence no emotional investment.

Kahn and Miller also believe a specific but unexpected name will be more successful. The name Michelin Guide Green would give a buyer pause, but speak to a specific consumer. Once that consumer gets the tie, there's a very good chance he or she feels invested enough to become a customer.

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Crayola wants to see how well you know this generation's colour names. Try it here.

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It's been quite the winter for us, but after a shift in site hosts, as well as one in our physical digs, we're happy to begin again. And so, welcome back.

http://www.haft2know.com

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With Halloween's approach, we were curious to see what modification Google made to their logo this year, which got us thinking. You know you've established an extremely successful brand when you can play with / fiddle with / completely change the presentation of your logo on a near-weekly basis, not to mention attract people to your site just to see what it looks like now.

Google's line of holiday logos began in 1999 with the addition of a goofy little turkey for Thanksgiving. Since then, the company has been displaying different versions of their identity for a number of special occasions including the Persian New Year, Louis Braille's birthday and the 50th anniversary of understanding DNA. Almost all are the product of one young man, Korean American Dennis Hwang. Bravo, Dennis. A google bravoes.

http://www.google.com/holidaylogos.html

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Well if you've been unsuccessful in finding just the right Halloween costume for your dog, (yes, you read that correctly) you may want to pay a trip to your local Target store to peruse their selection of pet dress-up duds. The possibilities will make you laugh out loud, first at the unavoidable cuteness (you have to admit) and then at the ensuing absurdity of what this really means.

The pet industry in the United States was worth a staggering $41 billion in 2007, according to The American Pet Products Manufacturers' Association, up from $21 billion in 1996. You might think these numbers will fall as the economy makes us reconsider our spending habits, but apparently the pet industry is nearly immune to such fiscal fears. Those that will be the least affected by the downturn will be the ones most likely to continue buying spa days and velvet divans and uh, costumes like this, for Sir Barks-a-lot.

http://www.target.com/b/ref=sc_fe_l_1_1038602_6/601-2893872-4228155?ie=UTF8&node=343171011
http://www.pawpalaceonline.com/coats-jackets-luxury-coats-c-1_6_118.html

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And it continues. Pepsi becomes the latest titanic brand to remake their identity into something more approachable and humane. Following in the footsteps of Walmart, the soft drink deputy underwent a five month long rebrand and just released to the world how the new logo, (and can) will look shortly.

The new graphic is meant to recall a smile, and in varying forms will dress the major Pepsi sub-brands across the world including Mountain Dew, (soon to be called 'Mtn Dew'). A grin will be used for Diet Pepsi and a laugh will be used for Pepsi Max. Like the other logos we're watching get remade, the company has opted for a lower-case typeface. Who will be next?

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Yahoo's latest offering to the world is a site by the name of startwearingpurple.com. It's a promotional attempt on the company's behalf to convince the world how youthful and cool they are -- in short, by trying to own this 'zany' colour. UK's Cadbury does a much better job at laying claim by leveraging purple's royal characteristics, as opposed to its mystical, sorcerer-lady / town outcast appeal. Unfortunately, the whole thing is a little like watching your high-school math teacher perform an algebraic rap to better connect with the kids.

For what it is, there are some very cool features on the site, including the GPS mapping of a small army of Yahoo branded bikes around the world, each fashioned with a camera. As the bike owner rides through his or her life, the camera takes a pic every 60 seconds and immediately posts the images to the site.

In any case when it comes to owning a colour, purple may be 'cuh-raaaazy' to many, but Yahoo is no UPS.

http://www.startwearingpurple.com

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As the financial engine of the world begins to screech to a near-cataclysmic halt, one Japanese company has found a way for people all over the world to save their money reliably. 'Facebank' works its magic in a way that the 'green-worm-coming-out-of-the-apple' bank never did. Available in a variety of colours and looks and textures, every one of them a little creepier than the last.

http://www.strapya-world.com/categories/2331_3173.html

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IKEA recently announced they'll be investing $77 million USD into its GreenTech energy fund over the next five years. The move will make a number of environmentally heroic products both accessible and very affordable throughout the company's 270 stores. Solar panels, alternative light sources and water purification wares are just some of the once-elite items to be introduced into the retail mainstream by the Swedish behemoth.

http://www.ikea.com

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Walgreen's recently announced they'll erect the world's largest LED sign in Times Square. It'll be 341 feet tall, weigh 250,000 pounds, comprise 12 million LEDs and will clad the company's new three-level drug emporium at the 1 Times Square Building. The site's been a bright spot for ads since O.J. Gude, the "Sign King of Times Square" became the first man to use an electric bulb on a billboard in 1917. Walgreen's expects brand recognition to be raised bigtime and foresees the site as a "focal point for (the company) nationally".

http://www.walgreens.com

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Walmart recently unveiled their new word mark and logo, to somewhat mixed reviews. The update comes on the heels of a two-year, customer focused makeover that will remake the image of the world's largest retailer into a more approachable, less titanic entity. The colour of the word mark itself recalls Sam Walton's earliest logo from 1962 and the new sun / star / "whispered wow" graphic looks to a simpler and more inclusive expression than Mr. Smily and the patriot star ever did. Call it plain. Call it uninspired or underwhelming or even 'fine enough'. I might call it a harbinger of what's to come as companies everywhere try to renovate their corporate befores into people-oriented afters. Check out the evolution of Walmart's identity in the timeline provided by the company.

http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/8412.aspx

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There's a new certification program for manufacturers that's recently been introduced by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The SmartWay program is a partnership established between the EPA and the freight industry. Its environmental goals include lowering carbon dioxide emissions by 33 million tonnes annually by 2012. In order for a company's wares to receive the badge, the company must certify its transport carrier network is using only SmartWay compliant carriers. The first company to have received this prestigious new certification was HP. Whirlpool was soon to follow. Watch for other initiatives of this sort to pop up in the years to come. (And while you're at it, check out that good looking logo.)

http://www.epa.gov

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