Logos

Microsoft's first logo redesign in the last 25 years is being mocked by a designer, who has applied the new logo's style to those of other companies. The Redmond, Wash., company unveiled its new logo last week, but not everyone was a fan. To ridicule the new logo, which numerous people have called boring , a Mexican designer took to Tumblr and posted images showing the Microsoft logo's design style applied to other companies' logos. The tech companies included are Apple, Google, Twitter and Firefox.

The Connecticut women's NCAA basketball title is just days old, but the logo on the team jerseys is history. After an Internet leak on a UConn merchandise website accidentally revealed the school's new Nike-designed logo, the university decided to made it official and announced the change ahead of schedule. The school had planned to unveil the new logo on April 18. The new logo features a fiercer Husky, which is good because the furry, lovable version of "Jonathan Husky" just wasn't intimidating enough for a school that has won eight women's NCAA tournament championships under Coach Geno Auriemma -- not to mention the three men's national titles produced under coach Jim Calhoun before his retirement last year.

Suffering from brand fatigue? Too many product labels screaming for your attention? One major department store is going hush-hush, stripping famous items of their logos and implementing a silence room and meditation spaces for shoppers. British department store Selfridges - think of it as London's version of Bloomingdales in New York - is rolling out its “No Noise” campaign , which it calls “an initiative that goes beyond retail.” “As we become increasingly bombarded with information and stimulation, the world is becoming a noisier place,” Selfridges' website states.

The dozens of California VIPs  who will barnstorm through China this week on a trade mission with Gov. Jerry Brown have arrived, and the first swag of the trip has been distributed. It's a pin. Our correspondent traveling with the delegation, Anthony York, tweeted a blurry photo of the piece shortly before the delegates turned in for the night after their many-hour flight. Brown did not travel with the rest of the crowd. He stayed back an extra day to celebrate his 75 th birthday in California.

Good news, college football fans: Pop-Tarts are becoming game-ready. Five schools have come to agreement with Kellogg's to be represented on Pop-Tarts boxes and also will have their logos appear in the frosted topping. Fans of these schools can get ready for ... --Bulldog Berry, a strawberry treat with a big "G" logo on the icing to represent red-clad Georgia. --Razorback Red, another strawberry treat with the mascot Razorback on the icing to represent Arkansas, which also wears red. --Tar Heel Berry, with the "NC" on the icing to represent North Carolina.

Purveyors of fast food such as McDonald's try to make impression on young consumers. And a new study of kids' brains shows that it's working. Researchers at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and the University of Kansas Medical Center did MRI scans of kids' noggins while showing them assorted corporate logos. Turns out that when a logo for a fast-food chain comes up - the golden arches, say - the pleasure centers of kids' brains light up, showing that a connection is being made to something considered a treat or a reward.

Am I the only one annoyed and angered by the growing practice of superimposing station logos over the programming? I recall the maneuver being started by NBC sports. Now the tactic has run amok and is out of control. The worst offenders seem to be USA, The Family Channel, CNBC, VH-1, MTV and CNN. The list is growing rapidly, with ABC's "Good Morning America" suddenly sticking "GMA" in its programming. Since the logo remains stationary, I find my eyes constantly looking at it as though there was dirt on my television screen.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations on Wednesday demanded that Nike Inc. apologize for using a logo on athletic shoes that resembles the word "Allah" in the Arabic script. Nike said the logo was meant to look like flames for a line of shoes to be sold this summer with the names Air Bakin', Air Melt, Air Grill and Air B-Que. The company said it caught the problem six months ago, long before the shoes went into production.

The brewing giant, challenged by a soda company that started in a kitchen 10 years ago, agreed to change the packaging on its Zeltzer Seltzer soft drink by Dec. 1. The makers of Soho Natural Soda had claimed that the checkerboard design on Zeltzer Seltzer looked suspiciously like the checkerboard design on Soho soda. In the settlement approved by a federal judge, no cash payments were made by either side.

Fred Hosseini has carved a profitable niche out of industrial upheavals. When some big banks merge, for example, Hosseini's AdImpact agency hires on to create signs--hundreds of them--for the new corporate entity. They range from the tiny logo on parking decals to 13-foot-high lettering atop high-rise banking headquarters.

The Miami Dolphins unveiled their new logo Wednesday, part of a redesign to give the team a fresh look next season. The Dolphins have also designed new uniforms, but those won't be unveiled until April 25. The new logo features a more realistic looking Dolphin, and he's not wearing a helmet anymore. (That was the best part of the old logo.) PHOTOS: Super Bowl logos through the years However, probably the two biggest names in Dolphins history tweeted their approval of the new look.

By now, you've probably seen your Facebook news feed flooded with pink equal signs in red squares. The Human Rights Campaign's marriage equality logo went viral  Monday, with scores of users uploading the image as their profile pictures in a show of support. Almost as quickly, the logo became the subject of some creative spoofs, with people riffing off the color scheme and simple design. Top 10 must-have smartphone apps Our favorite derivatives so far: two strips of bacon replacing the equal sign; red velvet cake (with the white cream cheese layers representing the equal signs)

Beyoncé is showing her support for gay marriage. Queen Bey posted a picture of a handwritten red note Tuesday on Instagram with a variation of her signature "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" lyrics scrawled on it. "If you like it you should be able to put a ring on it #wewillunite4marriageequality! B" she wrote . The pic was liked by more than 220,000 people in about 24 hours. Her sentiments echo those of husband Jay-Z, who in May 2011 equated the issue to being racist against African Americans.

Facebook users are seeing red Tuesday, and it has nothing to do with a Taylor Swift album or a Target commercial. Instead, gay marriage supporters across the nation have changed their profile pictures to a stark red equal sign as they monitor the Supreme Court's hearing of California's Proposition 8. The red equal sign is an alteration of the Human Rights Campaign's standard blue and yellow logo. The advocacy group, which “seeks to improve the lives of LGBT Americans,” has called on its followers to show support for marriage equality by wearing red Tuesday.

JERUSALEM - The itinerary and agenda for President Obama's trip to Israel next month is still being hammered out by teams on both sides. But the visit already has an official name, and by the end of the week, it will have a logo too. From hurricanes and wars to Olympic games and royal weddings, media outlets frame major events with catchy titles and logo designs. Past presidential or dignitary visits to Israel have been named, but mostly by the police, who code-named their operation to secure President George W. Bush's visit "Clear Skies" and Pope Benedict XVI's tour as "White Robe.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have found a way to shake off the stench of a 2-14 season. Unveil a new logo. Yep, that will take care of everything. The team showed off its new logo Wednesday, pointing out several changes they made to the old logo: 1. The ear curves out more. 2. The eye is colored blue. 3. White fur has been added to the bottom half of the face. Can a winning season be far behind now? ALSO: Oksana Baiul sues NBC for $5 million Kings' 4-2 win over Blue Jackets gets physical NHL to hold hearing on Brandon Dubinsky 's hit on Rob Scuderi    

It was fashion versus fashion as luxury retailer Gucci America Inc. faced off in court against Los Angeles clothier Guess Inc. over a multimillion-dollar trademark lawsuit. In the opening day of trial in Manhattan, Gucci accused Guess of copying its designs in a "complicated scheme" to knock off the Italian fashion company's most iconic trademarks, according to Bloomberg. The saga began three years ago when Gucci, a unit of the French luxury conglomerate PPR, filed suit against Guess alleging the California company tried to "Gucci-ize" its products by crafting logos that closely imitated Gucci trademarks.

For many people, wearing something that lacks snob appeal is like making love with a condom--the thrill isn't quite there. If that analogy crosses the line between good and bad taste, then Tom Ford and Miuccia Prada, the typhoid Marys of the current epidemic of label fever, would undoubtedly be amused. Ford, design director of Gucci and architect of the company's latest dazzling rise, last year brought back logos with a wink and a nod to the wretched excess of previous status-bound eras.

Florida has a new business slogan and logo, "Florida: the Perfect Climate for Business," which appears pretty straightforward -- except that the "I" in Florida has been swapped with a men's necktie. The decision has drawn fire from critics who say the logo is sexist. The ad campaign was launched by Enterprise Florida Inc. , a pro-business group funded in part by the state. One commenter wrote on the group's Facebook page: “I think this logo sends the wrong message, it seems to scream 'we don't hire women' maybe that was not the intention, but that is the message.” Another wrote : "Oh for pete sake!

Suffering from brand fatigue? Too many product labels screaming for your attention? One major department store is going hush-hush, stripping famous items of their logos and implementing a silence room and meditation spaces for shoppers. British department store Selfridges - think of it as London's version of Bloomingdales in New York - is rolling out its “No Noise” campaign , which it calls “an initiative that goes beyond retail.” “As we become increasingly bombarded with information and stimulation, the world is becoming a noisier place,” Selfridges' website states.