CR Blog
Eurostar's sculptural new identity
Posted by Patrick Burgoyne, 29 March 2011, 11:31 Permalink Comments (64)
Eurostar is to unveil a new adaptive identity system created by SomeOne which has a 200kg sculpture at its heart
SomeOne's Simon Manchipp caused a stir in our sister publication Design Week last April when he explained his belief in 'brand worlds' as opposed to logos on their own. "Logos are a hangover from another time," he claimed. The logo, he argued, now needs to be seen in the context of a wider 'brand world'. "[With a] brand like O2, its success lies in the richness and depth of its 'brand world', which features bubbles, colour, photography and typography...you could remove the logo and still know the brand," he argued.
Manchipp is putting these ideas into practice with the Eurostar project. Its starting point is a sculptural form initially created in Maya but then built for real in fibreglass and steel (see above). The form creates an 'e' for Eurostar which doubles as a cross-section of a tunnel through which another element suggests the movement of a train.
This form will then be applied to print materials, the trains themselves and all the other media you might expect. It is wrapped in different materials according to usage – gold for Business Premier class, a duck egg pattern for Eurostar's friends and family scheme, marble for its loyalty scheme etc.
Eurostar has recently re-organised from three companies into one, London-based entity. A £700 million investment will see new trains in preparation for competition from other train companies such as Deutsche Bahn. This has given SomeOne the opportunity to incorporate its new 'brand world' into the train interiors (which will be designed by Pininfarina).
Signage will feature pictograms derived from the sculpture (is it just us or does the lady in the toilet pictogram above look like she needs to get inside that loo pretty damn quickly?) as well as a bespoke typeface with snap-on swashes created by OurType.
The approach is somewhat reminiscent of Miles Newlyn's work for 3. Like that work, the form is perhaps inevitably more impressive in 3D than when applied in two dimensions. A giant sculpture, perhaps wrapped by some famous artist, would no doubt look spectacular at the entrance to Gare-du-Nord or St Pancras, SomeOne's task, and that of the ad agencies it works with, will be to mirror that impact in all the other regions of its 'brand world'.
It's too early to tell whether they will be able to pull that off or whether Eurostar will be remembered as just another shiny 3D symbol, the like of which we have seen many times over the past few years. SomeOne has the next year working with Eurostar to deliver on the idea's considerable potential.
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64 Comments
The ladies symbol looks like someone crossing their legs, waiting outside the toilet
2011-03-29 11:50:17
Wow. This looks amazing.
2011-03-29 11:51:00
your work is excellent!
love the "vacant" and "in use" design for the toilet!!
2011-03-29 11:51:01
This is awesome. Love it!
2011-03-29 12:01:00
Woah! Scrolling through the Eurostar work is like being hit by a creative train! Visually very arresting, full of rich ideas and executions. Well Done.
2011-03-29 12:01:00
Great work by Someone!
2011-03-29 12:04:00
Hi
Sculpture OK from extreme angles
Then...
'E' logo looks forced and uncomfortable
Applications look very strange and slapped on
Typeface dreadful (sorry)
Looks like early CGI, has a shiny nineties feel, will date immediately
Shame
Becky
2011-03-29 12:14:34
The 3D form looks great, the 2D 'e' makes it look like a Currency Exchange.
2011-03-29 12:28:13
Absolutely amazing. The traveling through the tunnel E sculpture is very cool!
2011-03-29 12:35:51
The type and signage are ok, though not a fan of the "swash" elements right now, will reserve judgement until I see more applications.
I agree with Becky about the logo, just doesn't seem right.
2011-03-29 12:38:37
I quite like some of the thinking, the e~ is evocative of a train going through a tunnel and the flow seems appropriate. The continuation of the swirl into the other brand material feels nice too, the toilet pictograms reflect this quite well.
Overall though, I'm not convinced by the execution, the logo seems overused and exploited without any real intelligence. I can see the application of the grass and paint splattered sculpture, but the execution feels off.
The pictograms are good looking but seem inconsistent, you have a flow to some of them and an outline to others. The knockout strokes on the pictograms that do use the flow are not quite right. Much like Someone's pictograms for 2012 feel too small and they bleed at smaller sizes. I do enjoy the look of the outlined pictograms, in particular the iphone which feels well balanced and perfectly formed.
The bespoke typeface is not right at all, the swashes just don't do it for me, they look forced and more suited to a web 2.0 logotype. Feels like a brand package filler rather than an integral part of the Eurostar identity.
2011-03-29 12:38:47
New Eurostar 'brand world'? The more I see it, the more I see. It has an irresistible dynamism.
Convincing work. I like.
2011-03-29 13:00:00
Sorry but is someone paying people to leave these comments? I am utterly gobsmacked, everything about this body of work is making me cringe, from the reasoning behind how their logo isn't a logo to the chrome car crash of visuals. It's a huge undertaking of work but it just screams tacky. It's upsetting because as a frequent traveller of eurostar it may potentially make me want to take a flight instead. I'm speechless with regards to the toilet signs, and not in a good way. It might sound dramatic but I really feel like crying, one of my favourite brands has been through the naff machine.
2011-03-29 13:14:00
Christ! how much did this all cost??
2011-03-29 13:30:51
Christ! how much did this all cost??
2011-03-29 13:37:01
I know Eurostar's customer service can be positively medieval, but the new brand didn't need to look medieval as well. Very strange.
2011-03-29 13:56:17
Some of the previous posters must be on crack.
It already looks dated. It looks like the identity for a generic European bank from the 1990's.
What a shame.
Are shiny 3d logo's in lots of different textures, the new version of the dreaded 'brush/ribbon effect' logo's?
I quite like the font though, I can imagine this being put to good use and being very recognisable.
2011-03-29 13:59:58
We've just interviewed Simon Manchipp in our Ten Questions series, so feel free to have a read:
http://www.matdolphin.com/blog/2011/03/29/ten-questions-014-%E2%80%93%C2%A0simon-manchipp/
2011-03-29 14:04:34
For all of the bombastic comments about the death of the logo and the creation of 'brand worlds' (surely just another way of describing what good brand design has been doing since the 60's, if not before), Someone has basically designed a logo which it has applied to collateral with varying degrees of success, in a relatively 'traditional' manner.
2011-03-29 14:19:42
Incredible hyperbole about a brand world, but in all examples its a pretty conventional logo arrangement that changes colour...
2011-03-29 14:23:27
Guys, do your customers a favour; overhaul your mildly adverse weather condition proceedures in place of toying with your e.
2011-03-29 14:37:09
It's ok, but doesn't quite feel right for Eurostar to be honest.
Not sure about this whispy form. It certainly looks dated when expressed in the type work.
Appreciate the effort though.
In any case I prefer the original concept for this sculpture (made for the ES awards a few years back.)
http://zissou.com/work/the-escape-award/
2011-03-29 15:11:12
Admit it, anything that has to be put into inverted commas, is either too embarrassing to say or just plain bullshit.
‘Brand world’
2011-03-29 15:16:06
Identical to Turkish Holding "Eczacıbaşı" corporate logo. http://www.eczacibasi.com.tr/
2011-03-29 15:48:50
Dynamic, adaptable... The e looks very fluid and pleasing to the eye. In particular, the application on the train looks good. But I don't think the typeface is as good as Jeremy Tankard's "Aspect" which presumably was used in Eurostar's communication design previously. I am curious to see if dynamically shifting brands will become a mainstream approach. Is it a fashion or a technique that will allow designers to integrate with new territories in visual design?
2011-03-29 15:49:11
I love the sculpture, in 3d the form does everything you expect of it and more, its intriguing and you want to walk around it and get all of the views.
For me, some of the applications dont work and the tail of the swoosh looks a little heavy. Im not a fan of the bespoke typeface and the green light on the toilet when its engaged (green to me means go!!).
Very interesting work though and I have to agree about the brand world as opposed to just a logo - although this process could start at either end (logo or concept).
2011-03-29 15:54:10
hahaha Logo Fail
http://www.eczacibasi.com.tr
2011-03-29 15:54:56
Overall, to me the system doesn't feel 'comfortable', especially the UPPERCASE typography. There also seems to be a legacy of the old palette which confuses the transition.
It may just take some further activation for it to settle down.
(quote marks were ironic)
2011-03-29 16:23:08
Wow. This looks amazing.
2011-03-29 16:29:07
Is it me? The sculpture and other peripheral stuff look smart, but we are left with a dated and uninspiring logo.
2011-03-29 16:30:54
To echo many thoughts here, the sculpture works well as a physical object, but entirely loses its value when applied to any flat surface. The rest of the applications look very reminiscent of theorised projects, that would never be applied to actual brands.
The concept of a "brand world" does seem to exist here as an excuse for a lack of cohesion in the work. An attempt to blind critics with an academic smokescreen hiding mediocrity.
2011-03-29 16:47:06
Beautiful work.
The tail looks a bit cumbersome and some applications don't quite work but overall top marks.
That said, it looks a bit like it's sticking it's tongue out!
2011-03-29 16:52:04
"Simon Manchipp: ...explained his belief in brand worlds' as opposed to logos on their own. "Logos are a hangover from another time," he claimed."
So is that why the Eurostar Brand World is simply the new logo (in 2D and 3D) slapped on everything and anything, in every colour possible then!?
Do as I say.... not as I do!!
2011-03-29 19:46:23
Concerning the restroom/WC symbols, I'm concerned that the green-blue color indicates vacant more than occupied. I'd think red would be more consistent with customers' expectations of occupied. And even then, does the illumination work considering red/green color blindness? Without seeing multiple indicators together, one or more in each state, does the illuminated version mean the restroom is available, the dark version that the restroom is out of order? It seems to require too much cognition, especially when a customer might be in a hurry. ;)
2011-03-29 22:11:23
@Paula. [deleted by moderator]
I find it amusing that a toilet sign will make you fly easyjet over get Eurostar to paris. Eurostar wasn't a brand previously I travelled to paris and didn't experience the brand once. It's currently a lost cause. Do you really hold design that dearly or are you playing up to the cameras so to speak?!
Although it isn't all here what I've seen of this rebrand is great. I checked the site of Someone and Eurostars business seems to be moving forward and I like this work.
Lets see how it all develops.
It's alot better than every brand development I've seen in recent years. In fact having just visited their site these are are one of the last bations of craft. Didn't realise they did the Royal Opera House work too.
Along with GBH these guys are really dong some great work.
Bravo Someone.
2011-03-29 22:12:00
Eurostar's old brand, which i rather liked, was due an overhaul. But this isnt it for me. I dont think the logo works, on print anyway, don't mind the bespoke typeface,however, a move to a bland sans serif face for the EUROSTAR wordmark as is the case for all brand revamps of late. I dunno, I feel like an opportunity wasted.
A
2011-03-30 02:33:23
Was going to post this... http://zissou.com/work/the-escape-award/
But Bob beat me to it...
2011-03-30 09:17:35
oh dear, I am not liking that at all. I agree with Pickle Design on this one, it would make a lovely sculpture, for example in the Eurostar Headquarters. Having said that, somepne could lose an eye on that particularly long and pointy tail on a blurry morning. But on paper, if it were in my hand now, I imagine it would look like a stockphoto. And these toilet icons do not fit the brand at all, they appear like flat folded 2 dimensional forms whereas the logo is completely 3D throughout all examples above. You know what, I think it's pants.
2011-03-30 09:18:17
The toilet iconography does not work for me at all. The figure that is supposed to be the female looks like the male, only with his legs crossed. I think Eurostar have missed a trick here and could have encorporated this notion of leg crossing (deliberately) into their designs, that might have been more fun.
Also, to use green as a colour to indicate that the toilets are engaged is confusing. Red would have been a more appropriate choice (think stop, at red traffic lights) for engaged, leaving green to indicate vacant.
Finally, why is it that just the arms light up? How is tis going to look from a distance? Would it not be better to have the whole figure light up?
Confused...
2011-03-30 09:24:49
I'm not a big fan of a lot of the supporting work but that logo is absolutely fantastic in every conceivable way! A really well developed and considered piece of design.
The whole notion of the 'brand world' is a bit lost on me when they've simply reused the logo in different materials but that hasn't taken anything away from the form itself.
2011-03-30 09:37:00
The images demonstrating the logo as a three dimensional device are awesome – its just a shame that these alternative angles / viewpoints are not being implemented leaving the same rather flat 'e' being used on everything.
Matt
2011-03-30 09:46:35
Looks great. Although the green for beeing in use is a little strange, indeed. Looking forward to seeing it in real.
2011-03-30 09:53:48
Looks great. Although the green for beeing in use is a little strange, indeed. Looking forward to seeing it in real.
Zürich
I was just about to comment on this. It is indeed very strange to indicate 'occupied' with green, which across the world is used for the exact opposite. It does look nice, but I can't see the semantics working.
2011-03-30 12:22:13
hope she can hold on for the long train ride.
2011-03-30 12:38:48
@James Simpson
How is it that surprising that I would rather not have my eyes visually beaten up by the eurostar 'branding' at every stage and take a flight (BA thanks) instead?
Maybe i'll just wear blinkers instead or even better hope that Eurostar decide to rebrand in a year or less.
Someone may have a loud voice but it doesn't necessarily mean it's any good.
2011-03-30 12:58:45
These comments make me laugh. We all know what a difficult industry this is to work in, and for them to have got this through (and looking so good IMO) is a feat in itself. Would love to see your 'amazing' work negative posters. Stop being so crytical, it's so boring.
In case you were wondering I have no affiliation with anyone associated either!
2011-03-30 14:24:02
A really good design and a very nice improvement on the original as well while maintaining the key theme of movement and building on it. The only problem I can see is the conversion from the 3D form to a 2D surface which is pulled off rather well despite what feel like slight distortions or elongation on the 2D form, I feel.
The pictographs are fantastically simple, clear and clean in the message they provide, however I do agree with the odd colour use in the toilet in use symbol already previously highlighted.
The type choice isn't something I am particularly fond of but I understand the design choices for it and think it suits the overall theme for the brand and couldn’t think of a more appropriate choice.
All in all a very nice piece of design that requires some time to be established in the market and a nice update on the original.
2011-03-30 16:15:00
that says it all... "I like it and I am NOT EVEN affiliated with anyone associated either. Good on you pjd, you tell em!
2011-03-30 16:40:17
I think you’ll find this a pretty fair critique by a respect design journal.
Compelling rhetoric behind Eurostar's new logo, but the actual design? Blek.
http://ow.ly/4p7gy
2011-03-30 18:41:21
Design by committee, or as the old adage states: Too many cooks.
Everyone involved must be delighted to be able point to their fractional contribution in isolation and say "I did that", never mind the end result is a total mind f*ck.
@ James Simpson
I find your comment amusing! If you deny that people are dissuaded by bad design, as you did when responding to Paula, how can you convince a client that people are persuaded by good design? Surely these sentiments are two sides of the same coin. There is no logic in your argument!
2011-03-31 00:21:16
These comments make me laugh. We all know what a difficult industry this is to work in, and for them to have got this through (and looking so good IMO) is a feat in itself. Would love to see your 'amazing' work negative posters. Stop being so crytical, it's so boring.
In case you were wondering I have no affiliation with anyone associated either!
2011-03-31 02:10:04
@ pjd
Perhaps some of us aren't concerned with making 'amazing' work.
To me that sounds like more smoke and mirrors.
Rather we might be given to making suitable, enduring work.
2011-03-31 11:43:00
On the toilet icons surely the groin area should light up, rather than the arms - unless people have gone in the loo for a wank, of course
2011-03-31 16:56:00
Indeed, something is amiss..
2011-03-31 21:56:36
Design by committee is never good idea
2011-04-01 13:14:49
Meh. Same old.
Next....
2011-04-01 16:56:00
The sculpture is nice, but I have to agree with many that when applied to the marketing material it does feel 'stuck on'. Also, the chrome effect is a bit ott. The type also looks very forced.
2011-04-02 23:04:42
Travelled on eurostar over the weekend and saw one of the trains with the new branding (so in a 2D context). Don't know quite how they've done it, but the new logo has given the creaky old machines a new lease of life. Plus, with Deutche Bahn looming on the horizon, I can see that Eurostar wanted something visually spectacular to distance themselves from the understated efficiency of German design. At any rate, the old logo was in desperate need of an update, so while they might have tried a little too hard on the "brand world" rhetoric at least they've taken the time to really overhaul the visual identity of the company, instead of just tweaking a little bit. The toilet signs are a disaster, however. The new interiors won't be showing up for another year/year and a half, so hopefully they'll go back to the drawing board on that one. Overall however, I think it's a successful new identity.
2011-04-04 12:39:42
The logo is magic. It evokes the continental cultural character by the harmonious movement of the design, and retraces the dream aspect of voyage. The train, after all, travels through the European continent. A few (luckily) comments made here are unnecessarily brutal – exactly what is not needed in the context of a dream voyage.
Jean-Pierre
2011-04-05 11:14:32
Clearly it is never an easy task. The shear importance of the job and the processes involved with getting creative concepts through the various levels of decision makers will always impact on any 'ideal' solution. The initial concept is interesting, the sculpture as brave as the client who must have bought into it at an early stage. That said, the final outcome is simply not good enough for design output from Britain, the 'tail' on the bespoke typeface is just the icing on the cake.
Now there may well have been budget or relationship issues that meant the development and applications of the solutions were rushed, or watered down. But we do need people to speak out in an honest appraisal of the way design is currently conducted. I fear talk of 'strategy', and almost an over-reliance on good sales people being able to turn theories of 'brand worlds' into pitch wins, is compromising even the need for basic design principles.
I see a tired industry unable to cope with the changes it faces, and in a mad scrap to regain the (slim) profits of the past, design becomes a word out of place in environment where, if we really tell the truth, the aesthetics take a back seat to talk.
2011-04-05 13:18:00
As with so many rebrand launches fools rush in to damn the new without giving thought to the fact that these images are simply the beginning of a large push to support change.
Wafty purist ideals talking of tired industries, subjective aesthetic judgements and flippant one liners do nothing to aid progress in one of the most practically useful yet misunderstood creative sectors.
Without personal attack or unsubstantiated agenda, if one campares this to other train company branding it signals innovative thinking, a break from the accepted approach to 'logofication' and sets Eurostar up well to support and flag up examples of their £700m investment.
I think the client should be applauded for their non-conformist stance. Sure, it'll ruffle the feathers of the traditionalist camp. But if it's not causing a reaction it's not really a strong piece of work. Or a strong brand.
2011-04-06 00:23:30
The supporting type makes me want to buy bread, i'm off to the shops.
2011-04-06 12:04:00
Surely a train is supposed to go from a to b by the most direct route. This makes it look like it goes around the houses.
2011-04-08 20:38:54
Someone shouldn't have done this.... truly awful. Very back in time.
Where were you metadesign? (Erik if you're out there your comments please)
or if you really want something that is pretending to be 'moving' then get Moving Brands to have a look at it.
@:-0
2011-04-28 14:44:11
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