soulsight®

Earlier this month, Comedy Central announced that they will be launching their new logo come January 2011. Bob Salazar, Senior VP at Comedy Central, told MediaBistro that the "double C" and "upside down 'Central'" were meant to symbolize the "irreverent wink" of the network.

Maybe I blinked...because I didn't quite catch that. What do you think?

The pendulum of design is always in motion, and we are back at the point where dynamic engagement of all of our senses is new again.

I grew up in an era of open street markets lined with barking fish mongers, trilling bakers and singing produce men. We used to buy our bread by touch and sound. The crack of the crust was the real indicator of freshness and quality. (No, I didn't grow up in 1827 London.)

It seems it soon will no longer be good enough again to just "show" the consumer what your brand is all about. Consumers are now being reintroduced to hearing, tasting, and even feeling what brands are all about before they buy. This level of sensory stimulation creates a high level of physical and emotional engagement between the brand and consumer...

Last month, Google launched Hotpot, a social ratings and recommendations site which works in tandem with Google Places. But what about the name "Hotpot" conveys community to you?

We believe that names are powerful because they are identities. The right brand name will provide emotion, personal meaning, and genuine attachment to its brand. So did Google get it right? We suspect that their posted explanation of the name choice suggests maybe Hotspot Hotpot was only lukewarm...

This holiday season, you and yours may ring in the new year by popping a few corks in celebrating. Those corks, traditionally, are in Champagne. But are they really?

Even the casual drinker is well aware now that only the sparkling wine made from grapes from specific region in France can be called Champagne. Thanks to Protected Geographical Status (PGS) the growers and producers in the region have exclusivity on the moniker. As they should.

However, official PGS isn't the only thing that ties brands and products to regions and countries. The concept of provenance isn't new...

Our team at Soulsight has studied several trend documents and forecast reports for 2011. After analyzing all the information, we identified 4 themes that we believe will influence design and consumer behavior in the new year...