Consortium News on Thursday unveils a new logo, the first redesign of the publication’s nameplate in seven years.
The new design changes the name of the publication in the logo from Consortiumnews.com to its more commonly used name, Consortium News. The site’s url is moved to the bottom left in white against black, joining the tribute to Consortium’s founder Robert Parry on the right.
The updated design retains the essential aspects that harken back to an earlier age in American journalism, namely the 1970s, when reporters still banged away on typewriters and when Bob Parry began his career. Hence the font is still American Typewriter and the red and black typewriter ribbon remains, though in a sleeker form.
The logo in 1998.
Journalism in the 1970s in the U.S. followed anti-Establishment mass movements against the war in Vietnam, for women’s equality and civil rights for African Americans that led to an era of critical U.S. reporting that took an adversarial position towards power and held the powerful to account. It was a time of reporting on the abuses of the U.S. intelligence agencies that sparked the Church Committee hearings; of raw reporting from the ground in Vietnam that helped turn the country against the senseless slaughter and of reporting that ultimately forced a corrupt president to resign because of real crimes committed.
Today the vastly consolidating corporate media since those days largely promotes the agenda of a corporate-controlled government, particularly abroad. Rather than using the very different power of the press to hold the powerful up to scrutiny, too many journalists instead live vicariously through the powerful people they cover.
The logo until 2011.
Consortium New’s mission is to revive and maintain that earlier era of non-partisan journalism that represented the public’s interest against those in power who would abuse it.
The previous logo was created by Bob Parry and his son, Sam Parry. The new one unveiled today is by Dino Zonic.
We hope you like the new look.
I like the changes and agree with those who would prefer a little kerning between N and e, though of course typewriters couldn’t (intentionally) kern.
I like it! It’s big, bold and beautiful. I agree about the space between the “N” and the “e” – maybe it could be shortened up. Good job.
I like the 1998 logo, but any is fine as long as Robert Parry is honored.
PS I do agree about the spacing between the N and the e.
The image of the typewriter is very pixelated… Is there any way that can be improved?
Perfect in every detail. Just looking at it conjures up the invigorating, semi-chaotic clatter of an old city room. Well done!
It’s a good, clear, bold graphic in keeping with the publication’s roots and purpose.
The one comment by a graphic designer, Joe, about the space between “N” and “e” seems correct to me. I’m not a graphic designer, but I do think I have a good eye.
It is, however, a small point. Overall, quite effective.
I am a graphic designer of 20 years experience. One thing that I would suggest is reducing the kerning between the “N” and the “e” in News. That space looks odd to me. I would also possibly try adding a thin white stroke around the type to separate it a bit from the drop shadow – or at least see if it looks good or not. I think overall it was good to stick with a typewriter kind of font which harkens back to Consortium’s roots.
The real difference I see is that the typewriter is now a 60s/70s typewriter, not a 30s/40s one.
ah ha! i was wondering why there wasnt a reflective article on 9-11. playing with webdesign. :D Did everyone else thing someone was handling it? I anticipated some hard hitting article or repost. :D
I like the new logo. But I love the name. Always makes me feel like I am up to some shenanigans with the characters here. To wit:
con·sort noun 1.habitually associate with (someone), typically with the disapproval of others.
“You chose to consort with the enemy”
Nice!
This new logo is a good move. It has “impact”, as the ” old school” dudes would say, purging a certain “diffidence” that characterized the old logo while retaining the familiar feel of the old. Mr. Lauria, I have noticed the many small changes you have made, all improvements. Just before Mr. Parry passed, Consortium News was beginning to feel a bit “weary”, your editorship has rejuvenated it.
May you prosper and grow in influence.
Mixed feelings about the new logo here. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either
Pros:
1. This outlet really ought to be referred to as “Consortium News,” rather than “Consortiumnews.” The space between the two words is something that I felt should have been there in the first place, especially for readability purposes. Plus, it’s a bit more professional, overall. As of the time of writing, on the bottom left corner, it still says “Copyright © 2018 Consortiumnews. All Rights Reserved.” Also, I have this site listed as “Consortiumnews” in my bookmarks.
2. Having “Consortium News” in bold text at the top makes it stand out more, and lends emphasis to the site’s namesake.
3. They kept the typewriter motif and tribute to Robert Parry intact – any change to this, I think I’d have a real problem with.
Cons:
1. Despite listing the bold text of “Consortium News” as one of the pros (#2), I must also say that the font seems a bit more narrow, relative to the lettering, and bold enough, to the point that the font itself starts to deviate from the typewriter theme. It stands out a bit too much from the background. It seems more Newspaper-ish, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but not the type of font I’d associate with typewriters in general.
2. Seeing that the old version was designed in part by Robert Parry himself, makes me feel a bit sad that it got replaced, especially since he has passed away. I guess that for whatever it’s worth, he probably wouldn’t object to the logo redesign, especially considering it preserved about 90% of the elements from before.
3. In general, I’m not the biggest fan of change, but that’s just me.
You can see the old logo, via the link below:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=consortiumnews&t=fpas&iax=images&ia=images
Also, as a gift, here’s a link that will allow you to travel back in time (as far back as 1998), through the history of Consortiumnews / Consortium News:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/consortiumnews.com
Here’s a timeline/archive of the evolution of Consortium News, from December 11, 1995 to today. Some of the changes are major, others not so much:
The Consortium:
December 11, 1995 (earliest article found):
http://web.archive.org/web/19991012153756/https://consortiumnews.com:80/archive/xfile1.html
June 1, 1998 (new logo):
https://web.archive.org/web/19981207020013/https://consortiumnews.com:80/consort8.html
The Consortium / Consortiumnews.com:
September 19, 1998 (new logo):
https://web.archive.org/web/19981111184838/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
Late 1998 – Early 1999:
http://web.archive.org/web/19990208012348/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
March 1999:
http://web.archive.org/web/19990424052141/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
Consortiumnews.com:
Mid-1999:
http://web.archive.org/web/19991012230949/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
Late 1999 – Early 2000:
http://web.archive.org/web/20000303104751/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
May – June, 2000:
http://web.archive.org/web/20000607121005/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
September – October, 2000 (new logo):
http://web.archive.org/web/20001009084605/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
November, 2000:
http://web.archive.org/web/20001120072700/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
February, 2001:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010301090306/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
June – July, 2001:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010720180355/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
February 18, 2002:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020327163822/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
April 9, 2004:
https://web.archive.org/web/20040505073407/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
December 11, 2005:
http://web.archive.org/web/20051213013943/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
November 29, 2006:
http://web.archive.org/web/20061203025357/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
Consortiumnews.com / Consortiumnews:
May 11, 2011 (new logo):
https://web.archive.org/web/20110519124533/httConsortiumnews.com.com:80/
July 19, 2011:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110723135535/https://consortiumnews.com/
November, 2013 (mobile format introduced):
https://web.archive.org/web/20131110092012/https://consortiumnews.com/
March 2, 2016:
a) https://web.archive.org/web/20160305234451/https://consortiumnews.com/
b) https://web.archive.org/web/20160312191346/https://consortiumnews.com/
April 6, 2018 (new logo, Robert Parry 1949-2018):
https://web.archive.org/web/20180406064253/https://consortiumnews.com/
May 6, 2018:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180506091023/https://consortiumnews.com/
Consortiumnews / Consortium News:
September 13, 2018 (new logo):
https://consortiumnews.com/
The May 11, 2011 link is broken; here is the fixed link:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110519124533/https://consortiumnews.com:80/
Adam, if you had the site’s name pinned to a charging bull elephant that, too, would make it stand out more – but would you call it an improvement? I think you’re grasping at straws. Anyway, I agree with you, the design changes are dreadful!
While I listed this as a good thing in Pros, #2, I also listed this as a bad thing under Cons, #1. I think the font typeface could use some improvement with a little less boldness, a slight reduction in height, and wider lettering relative to the characters themselves. But, you know what they say – too much of a good thing can ultimately be a bad thing. Now, it’s not that bad, but I think they went just a little bit overboard with how much it stands out.
I wouldn’t say that the changes are “dreadful” – that, to me, would be too dramatic a description of them. I think I’ll accept the changes with relative ease. It’s ok, but not great. My main critique is that the header stands out (a bit) too much, and the font less resembles a typewriter font that the old one. I’m perfectly ok with the other changes, though – the site should be known as “Consortium News”, and not ” Consortiumnews;” the updated typewriter ribbon, addition of the website address, and the subtitle are changes I can also appreciate.