A small retraction is in order. According to new reports released on the internet via the NY Times, the NYC TAXI debacle is not the fault of SmartDesign, but rather the knuckleheads in the NYC bureaucracy and Wolff Olins.
That's right. The aesthetic saboteurs behind the highly controversial London Olympics logo are also responsible for the dreaded RoboCop lettering of the new NYC tourism campaign, which have also been smathered all over the city on taxis and event posters. Gosh, those guys as of late are a perfect reason why design should be licensed, just like architects and interior designers. They are reeking havoc all over the world!!
Regarding the taxi situation, SmartDesign's original logotype was quite simple and elegant, a type solution inspired by the computerized font featured on hack licenses. But the city officials didn't think it had enough pizzazz or whatever, so SmartDesign returned to the drawing board and came back with the circumscribed T, referencing Vignelli's subway system. BUT, city officials then realized that a T in a circle is already reserved for the T line, the soon to be released 2nd Avenue Subway. So then the travesty happened: the unholy marriage of the T and the AXI. Ugh.
Then, just to kick the dead horse, Wolff Olins swooped in and sprinkled their fugly-ness onto the mark just to make it a total train wreck.
I had the honor of working with a group of Native Americans on a cultural project in Oklahoma. Born to a culture that prizes oral tradition and storytelling, one member of our focus group told us a beautiful little American Indian proverb: "A camel is a horse designed by a committee." Sheer brilliance. Sure, you might have a practical animal that saves water and can withstand harsh environments, but in the process, all of the grace and sexiness was sucked out of it.
So, my heartfelt apologies to SmartDesign who initially created an elegant solution, only to see it get crucified by committees and competing design firms. God knows how many wonderful ideas have been squandered with this silly recipe. In my opinion, you shouldn't
hire someone if you really want to do the job yourself. Don't invite and pay lots of money for an opinion that you'll eventually ignore. That's why we designers are here. We know what we are doing. We don't walk into City Hall and tell you how to fix the traffic lights, do we??
