Anglo-Irish pop sensations One Direction are never far from the media spotlight, but this week one member of the five-piece band was involved in a heated debate with a journalist – over a logo.

Louis Tomlinson, 22, heart-throb for millions of young teenage fans all over the world, was recently papped wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the original 1977 Apple logo, featuring its then trademark rainbow-coloured stripes.

The dust has barely settled on the Brazilian soccer pitches that hosted the World Cup competition this summer, but Russia has just launched the logo design for the next tournament in 2018.

In the recent years, the amount of crowdsourcing companies that provide logo design services for a fraction of the price has skyrocketed, and more and more people are getting hooked on this sort of services. But is that really something to be happy about? After all, the saying goes that if something is too good to be true, it probably is. Crowdsourcing logo design is no exception – the tempting premise diverts a buyer’s attention away from several crucial flaws.

In the late 90s and early 00s, Nokia was the ‘must-have’ mobile phone brand – who didn’t have a Nokia 3310? But, failing to keep pace with the rapidly evolving smartphone market, the cellphone arm of the Finnish comms company suffered and was sold to US tech giant Microsoft in 2014.

Though the Nokia logo has so far co-existed alongside Microsoft Mobile, the end is now nigh for Nokia-branded phones. Its flagship smartphone – originally branded as the Nokia Lumia Windows Smartphone, is now dropping the untrendy Nokia tag altogether.

Here’s the new Lumia branding: very definitely a Microsoft phone now, featuring the signature Microsoft flag. Interestingly, the brand name Lumia has also disappeared from the phone!

The brains behind an innovative new idea fusing typography with geography and computer science are seeking financial backing via crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

German computer programmer Benedikt Groß and American geography student Joey Lee have teamed up to create the world’s first font from real Google Earth satellite images.

Advertising in the world of sport is big business. Not only are there advertisements on and around the pitch or court, but almost every single athlete or sports personality also wears at least one sponsored brand on their clothing.

In British football (soccer), every team has a big corporate sponsor, ranging from telecommunications companies to financial institutions to airlines to high street brands. In short, almost any company that has enough cash to pay for the publicity can bid to feature on the front of a team’s kit.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but counterfeit goods cost the design industry billions of dollars each year.

When it comes to fakes and the real deal, sometimes the difference is very obvious. I remember holidaying in Greece when I was younger and seeing laughing at the misspelled brand names for sale in the local market - “Adibas”, “Pansoanic” and “Reebock” spring to mind. Why buys these things?!

Sometimes the difference is not in the spelling but the quality. Famous prints like Burberry tartan or the Louis Vuitton logo are seen not just on genuine designer bags and clothing in high end stores, but also on copycat goods made from plasticky, cheap materials sold on market stalls and in low-end wholesalers. 

I recently read an article in the newspaper which asked the question, “Is Moschino’s logo belt [below] the most faked accessory?”

When you are handing out a business card, you are introducing someone to your company for the first time. It is therefore important to make a good first impression with an attractive logo design, as well as a well-designed business card that projects quality, professionalism and a dash of pizzazz to set yourself apart from the crowd.

LogoBee logo design has come up with some guidelines to consider when having a card designed. Having a good logo design is a great start but it is equally important for your card to do your logo and your business justice.

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In 2009, Pepsi spent a rumored one million dollars to revamp their logo design. The company was ridiculed in the mainstream media for the exuberant amount of money it spent and insult was added to injury when graphic design artist Lawrence Yang further ridiculed the design by creating a sketch of an obese “Pepsi Man,” highlighting the negative health effects of sugary soft drinks.

Here in Great Britain we’re all eagerly awaiting the Commonwealth Games.

Whereas at the Olympic Games British athletes compete for Great Britain & Northern Ireland, at the Commonwealth Games we can support English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish athletes individually, as well as competitors from the smaller constituents including the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.

Uniqlo’s unique selling point has always been that it offers simply designed clothes, in high quality fabrics, in a wide range of colors to facilitate the creation of a mix and matchable capsule wardrobe. But with the launch of a new Uniqlo range, it seems that the Japanese clothing giant is moving away from a wardrobe-by-numbers approach and is letting its customers get a bit more creative.

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Everyone’s crowdsourcing everything these days, raising money for community projects, taking part in charity events, funding scientific research – the list goes on. Crowdsourcing seems to have become trendy in the logo design world too, with a number of organisations using the method as a way to generate novel ideas, engage with members of the public or a particular community, and to kickstart a self-perpetuating marketing campaign.

In 2013 municipal governors of the Italian city of Florence decided to go down the crowdsourcing route to come up with a new brand identity for the city. The competition, open to both professional and amateur designers, encouraged entrants to submit logo design ideas, in sketch format, to rebrand Florence as an international tourist destination.

When I was younger, everyone – everyone! – wanted a pair of Reebok Classic running shoes. In fact, this particular model of shoe was quite inappropriate for running and seemed to wear out a little too quickly for my pestered and cash-strapped parents’ liking, but for some reason – along with an Adidias tracksuit, these shoes were all the rage among teenagers in mid-1990’s Britain.

We recently reported on the underwhelming response to the announcement of a new logo for Canada’s 150^th birthday. Following this, Canadian national newspaper The Globe & Mail recently launched a competition to see if Canadian designers can come up with a better alternative to the existing logo for the city of Toronto.

You can view the eight logo designs shortlisted by visiting The Globe & Mail wesbite here. However, the one logo design that received the most votes from a public poll is this one, by Matthew Blackett of Spacing Media:

Australian winery Orlando Wines, based in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, recently announced that the Jacob’s Creek brand would be getting a new look after almost 40 years.