Back in 2006, the public-radio program Studio 360 challenged design agency Pentagram to redesign Christmas. This year, the program approached another agency, Under Consideration, with an equally tough assignment: redesign Valentine's Day. Agency principal Armin Vit writes:
The hardest part was grasping the extent to which Valentine’s Day had become more obnoxious than enjoyable and finding glimmers of hope in the traditions of this holiday.
He and his team tackled the project as they would any other rebranding job. The red-heart icon? Familiar, but insufficiently distinctive. They distilled the symbol to its essence and arrived at a new, exclusive icon: The Valentine, a stylized V.
Also axed or overhauled: greeting cards, color palette, roses, and even Cupid himself. Good news for chocolate lovers, though:
There is absolutely nothing wrong with chocolate on Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year. Banning it would be a crime. Chocolate… stays!
Their design does remind me of the X that Paloma Picasso designed for Tiffany & Co., which is "the universal symbol for a kiss" - http://bit.ly/c6gmRx
Posted by: twitter.com/NextMoon | February 12, 2010 at 04:11 PM
Am I the only one who looks at this and sees cleavage? And I'm straight. Hey, who thinks V-Day is obnoxious? Cheapjack guys. You can ignore the abysmal graphics, give a tasteful token,or just whisper sweet nothings. What's obnoxious about a day dedicated to love?
Posted by: Duchesse | February 13, 2010 at 03:35 PM
Yes! I love Valentine's Day too! And made two pans of black goo to prove it. Yet, the stylized V still looks like Miffy's (the bunny) mouth to me.
Posted by: Nick | February 15, 2010 at 05:54 AM