™ ® © & Etcetera

Ah, Christmas. Traditions, family, egg nog. This one was much anticipated and further enjoyed by the fact that both my wife and I are gainfully employed. And not being a waiter was soooo nice. Working on Christmas Eve is horrible.

Let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? Gifts. I’m not about to say that is what Christmas is about, but it sure is becoming more commercialized and people are forgetting the true and righteous reason for the season. I won’t get into that, but for those of us who remember Jesus Christ’s birthday, these are rewards more than mere gifts. I progress… My wife knows me all to well. She is a brilliant gift giver and this Christmas was no exception. Two books: TM and Marks of Excellence.

TM is a collection of over 200 trademarks by one of the world’s most respected design firms (Chermayeff & Geismar) with identities for such companies as HarperCollins, TimeWarner, NBC and Chase Bank. I am, undoubtedly, the biggest fan of logos (I have no way to prove that) and this book is just a big collection of almost every logo coming out of this company. I love it! I could flip through these pages 6, 7 or 25 times and still think I missed something and yearn for more.

Marks of Excellence is the history and taxonomy of trademarks. I eat this shtuff up. Literally. If they ever came out with LogoLoops, I would buy my weight in the cereal. What's more, this book is packed with how a lot of these logos came about, how they affected the business and what significance they have on the industry for their brand.

This is only a sampling of my Christmas, but a very good one indeed. And speaking of brands, the NBC Peacock is regarded as one of the most recognized logos out there. However, I think NBC has a more potent and longer lived brand that is unmistakable and unforgettable: G-E-C.