Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

I frequently criticise logos, though it’s harder when people explain their rationale, as with memorex.

Another design success?
With this confusing logo, I didn’t bother walking into the shop in a wet and unusually cold town in Bavaria, the logo was enough warning to steer well clear.
But I would like to know what it means/says/symbolises…
Success? Succession? Success [...]

Hot off the press: Stuttgart - which like any other modern city, has to market itself - has unveiled a new logo to compete against “Barcelona, New York and Oberammergau” (quote kessel.tv). The new logo adorns the possible new brochures…

My instant reaction was: Fancy an ice cream?!? Kessel.tv, from whom these images are sourced, reacted [...]

Not much to say about this latest marketing gaffe, apart from: doh.
The screenshot comes from Markus, who, quite rightly points out that English people looking for a job may have problems relating to “Motorrad”. If you’re not German, this means motorbike, but don’t ask me what it’s doing on an English website. I can only [...]

Saying it in style. Source: M Walsh
If you’re going to name your P for Product in English, do your homework.
How about this new canine grooming centre in the town of Erlangen, north of Nuremberg: Doggy Style.
Oh dear. Of course with the English having such smutty minds, this was bound to be rude for someone: having [...]

Sniff this, or sniff the food?
I was taught by one boss NEVER to put a negative image in an ad. I was working in foods at the time, so he said no insects, no animals (especially cows, as this was a dairy food, and he thought cows come from smelly farms), no men with [...]

I recently started comparing two own label diet/low fat brands that reminded me of the Memorex relaunch.

X marks the confusion
Ignoring the naff names (especially “Well you” - sounds to an Englishman like you’re about to be told off), they both use a symbol within the letters to signal an active and healthy person, [...]

Watch carefully
It’s bad enough copying competitors’ products and selling a me-too. But when your advertising starts looking like the competition’s, you’ve really not done your homework.
Banking is a low-involvement sector to lots of consumers, as with many everyday services, especially when they don’t want to pay for it. So I wasn’t exactly looking for this [...]

I was delighted to be talked to (AT) so politely by the German VDA Chairman (car makers’ association). NOT!
When I visited the website for the Frankfurt Motor Show (known in Germany as the IAA), he told me I AM interested in exhibiting. Really? Maybe you’d like to ask an English native speaker why this statement [...]

Stand closer, and read.
There are strange laws and legal obligations in every country. In England banks promoting mortgages have to warn you that your house may be at risk if you fail to keep up payments. In many countries medical companies have to warn you about the possible side effects, in Germany with “Ask your [...]

Designed for those with superior knowledge?
When Fiat’s multipla was launched in 1998 it was hailed as a triumph of modern design. The high headlights were an ergonomic stroke of genius. It reaped so much acclaim that it was even put on display in the New York Museum of Modern Art.
Yet it was a sales flop. [...]