Monday, November 8, 2010

Melissa Parkard’s Post


Based in Hood River, Oregon, Dakine was founded in Maui, Hawaii in 1979 by long-time surfer, Rob Kaplan.  Dakine quickly gained worldwide popularity through its first product, an innovative surf leash; which led to many additional surf related products. Dakine represents innovation, function and products that can be relied upon in the most ill-tempered conditions.  Dakine focuses on providing its customers with a full range of technical accessories for: Surfing, Windsurfing and Kiteboarding, Snowboarding and Skiing, Skateboarding, Mountain Biking, and other extreme sports.  In Hawaiian slang, “Da Kine” means “the best”.  The company has lived up to such a standard through its notably detailed design process.
Since researching effective branding and corporate identities the past few weeks, I have seen multiple examples of innovative and effective logos and packaging.  When reexamining everyday logos, for the soda label project, the Dakine logo stood out to me.  I use a Dakine brand bag every day and I have always admired the logo but it wasn’t until this project that I really examined what made the logo work. 
After researching Dakine products and labels, I learned that there are several variations of the logo.  However, there are two main versions; one is more feminine while the other is more masculine.  I enjoy the playful simplicity of the feminine logo design in particular.  The font choice is strong yet playful and elegant at the same time.  The way the ‘A’ and ‘K’ are connected creates a unique shape that is duplicated in the ‘E’ as well.  


I also think that the masculine version of the logo is a good solution.  The customize font, the strong lines, and sharp edges, communicate a strong presence.  The rounded edge on the ‘D’ and ‘e’ bring in the sense of the water or wind for the serf elements the brand stands for.  Overall, I appreciate the simplicity of both designs and feel that they communicate what Dakine is about.

5 comments:

  1. Im actually not a fan of the feminine version of the logo. if I didnt know that the company was dakine, I would have taken me a bit to figure out what it said. if the "a" and the "k" werent combined like they are I think the logo would work better, perhaps if the middle stroke of the "a" was similar to the middle stroke of the "e". I do think the typeface choice is good and fits well with the company though.

    I like that the company has two different logos too. the masculine one is so harsh and strong, I think it was a good idea to come up with a softer one.

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  2. I agree with Sara; I'm not a fan of the feminine version. I don't really like that they have two logos, mainly because they feel so different from each other. The feminine one seems almost child-like. Not that it's poorly done, its just so rounded and care-free looking. It reminds me of a child's dance studio, or maybe even a daycare program. But the masculine one, I looked at that and instantly thought "skater". It's harsh and bold and is very representive of the surf/skate/extreme sport scenes. The two logos don't feel like they represent the same company.

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  3. I really love both logos and think they both get the surfer feel to them even though they are completely different. I don't know how I feel about them having two logos though. Goehner really emphasized in class how its important to stick to your trade mark and try not to manipulate it so that it is recognizable. I wouldn't know these are the same brand if I went to a surf shop and would be quite confused that two companies had the same name, just because I've never seen a company have two different logos (unless they have redesigned it) I think it just loses credibility for the company itself and adds a lot of confusion. I like them both, but choose one! I think overall I would just go with the more masculine one....when I see that I think surf, skate, and board shop automatically. I don't quite know if I like it tilted to one side and off in a corner really close to the edges, but you could easily fix that- 1. either centering it or 2 not putting a boarder around it or making the boarder bigger....I just don't like how it is barely clipping the 'e' and really close on the 'd' ....personal opinion.

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  4. I am all in favour of the more feminine logo... I think that if indeed the company was founded in Hawaii and even uses a Hawaiian word as the name, the logo should reflect that at least to some degree, the "masculine" logo doesn't say "Hawaii" at all to me. And of sara'a comment, I think that it is perfectly readable... I didn't know what the name of the company was when I saw it, and read it quite easily.

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  5. Well, as I was walking out of class the other day, the girl in front of me had a Dakine backpack on with the feminine logo. And I must admit, it looked rather nice on the bag. I still don't like the logo by itself, but it complimented their product quite nicely.

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