A Look at Brand Presentation across Canada and USA

This spring I toured with the family band (The Josties) across eastern Canada and parts of the US for almost two months playing upright bass and bass guitar.

During the trip I was constantly analyzing logo and art design along the highway. I think my family got sick of me identifying all the fonts on all the signs along the way. I’m sure other designers can relate.

Along the way I took several photos that I wanted to share with you all. It’s always interesting to see how companies present their identity.

Logo Presentation

We came across this logo at the Indiana Toll Road and I fell in love with the logo. So simple.

In Quebec City I had to admire these classic style brands as we walked through the historic part of the city:

Nice detail:

Found this fun and classy brand in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario:

I really loved the simple illustration for Parks Canada:

The eco-buses in Quebec have a pretty snazzy logo:

We visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They have a very nice, clean, illustration of flags.

Mainway, a gas stop store, logo forms an “M” and “W”.

Major Brands

Found this McDonalds in the mid-West US with birds nesting in the letters. Probably not the best logo presentation:

Jared’s favorite brand:

Budget’s simple graphic suggests going down a road:

Mobil is an excellent typographic logo that is so simple. The “o” suggests a wheel:

THE UGLY

Traveling through some towns I also came across several dreadful logos that I couldn’t believe that a company would actually be happy to have it as their identity.

Here is a logo that has an overused font stacked on top of each other with sketchy color scheme to form a memorable logo you wish you could forget:
(I removed the name from this sign to protect the company. Who knows? They might be a quality company despite their identity.)

Pretty scary kerning:

Far from creative:

Conclusion

I think its healthy for all creative designers to constantly be observing and analyzing other brands. Hope you enjoyed the photos.

I’ll end my post with a custom type that you type lovers will find interesting I found hidden behind some bushes near Niagara Falls. I like the look of the lower case “a”s:

Cheers!

Josiah Jost
Philippians 1:6