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There are two completely separate issues here. One is the cost. No doubt the $1m (if that was what was spent) is what this type of work costs. There could be va

by gist 8y ago

There are two completely separate issues here. One is the cost. No doubt the $1m (if that was what was spent) is what this type of work costs. There could be various phases, testing, steps, research, experts that go into coming up with a new logo design. [1] But the story would not have any interest (in a mainstream news site; 2009 or otherwise) without the 'dog bites man' angle in this case 'and it cost $1m'. Leave out the $1m (or some other large number that a common man would understand) and nobody would care. Next are the issues highlighted. The document is apparently large so we have no idea of the context or what else was said. While on the surface it sounds screwy (and probably is) the outtake is clearly presented in a way to show the most interesting angle to grab attention. [1] I am also reminded of military contracts with the $100,000 hammer the story then details how the same hammer would cost $5 at home depot and nothing else as far as why the hammer is priced at $100,000 (and there are reasons I say that as someone who has bid and worked on military contracts).

duskwuff 8y ago
> Next are the issues highlighted. The document is apparently large so we have no idea of the context or what else was said. While on the surface it sounds screwy (and probably is) the outtake is clearly presented in a way to show the most interesting angle to grab attention. The original briefing is only 27 pages long -- including a lot of whitespace -- and the bits excerpted in the article are representative. It's full of bizarre, grandiose comparisons to popular icons of art history like the Mona Lisa, the Parthenon, and the golden ratio, or to emoji, or to pop science concepts like "gravitational pull" and "energy fields". About a third of the entire document is pages with ellipses and lines drawn over historical Pepsi logos, ostensibly an analysis of the "perimeter oscillations" of those logos. (The term "perimeter oscillations" is unique to this document, not a real design term.) The overall impression the document gives is that the authors must have been high as a kite while writing it. There is exactly one sensible page in the entire document, which appears near the end. It's a proposal for a color scheme to be used for different Pepsi products.

by gist 8y ago

duskwuff 8y ago

> Next are the issues highlighted. The document is apparently large so we have no idea of the context or what else was said. While on the surface it sounds screwy (and probably is) the outtake is clearly presented in a way to show the most interesting angle to grab attention. The original briefing is only 27 pages long -- including a lot of whitespace -- and the bits excerpted in the article are representative. It's full of bizarre, grandiose comparisons to popular icons of art history like the Mona Lisa, the Parthenon, and the golden ratio, or to emoji, or to pop science concepts like "gravitational pull" and "energy fields". About a third of the entire document is pages with ellipses and lines drawn over historical Pepsi logos, ostensibly an analysis of the "perimeter oscillations" of those logos. (The term "perimeter oscillations" is unique to this document, not a real design term.) The overall impression the document gives is that the authors must have been high as a kite while writing it. There is exactly one sensible page in the entire document, which appears near the end. It's a proposal for a color scheme to be used for different Pepsi products.