Did anyone tell Wolff Olins about the tragic history of USA Today and the infamous blue ball of death sculpture, after the firm presented its concept for the paper's new logo?
Here's the original, when it was still installed on the 11th floor of Corporate's tower . . .
. . . and here's the new logo:
Here's the original, when it was still installed on the 11th floor of Corporate's tower . . .
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/snjl78.jpg[/IMG]
ReplyDeleteOne big blue ball? CYANara USA Today. Liberal biased trash newspaper. But to borrow a line from one of their own, "you can put lipstick on a pig..."
ReplyDeleteThat was great, 12:19. Thanks for the laugh!
ReplyDeleteThe blue ball incident was the beginning of the end for USAT. It was more than just symbolic. It was ruthless for those who fell victim at the time, and it foreshadowed the future in more ways than one for the rest of us.
ReplyDelete1:55 is right on. USAT has been on the road to hell and will arrive there in 2-3 years. No one will miss it.
ReplyDelete1:55 is right on. The irony of this full-circle trajectory, from blue ball to blue balls, is almost too much to handle. That no one bothered to tell the folks who were hired to come up with this blue ball redesign of the tragic history of its symbolism is akin to Borden brand cheese choosing an axe as their logo. How could you miss it???????
ReplyDeleteThat nightmare before Christmas, where three good employees were fired for a silly, stupid act for which they apologized profusely WAS the beginning of the end, as much metaphorical death as the move to Tysons itself. In that move, and in that incident, USA Today completed the transition from a fun, trend-setting, chaotic place to work to a corporate, silent, phone-it-in place running on fumes.
That's not to say it wasn't corporate before. The embarrassment of riches that defined the early, Al Neuharth-has-gold-bathroom-fixtures-era was gross even in the early 90's. But everyone laughed at it together, 1000 Wilson versus 1100 Wilson.
But once the paper moved to Tysons, there was no laughing. It all stopped that night. It stopped when Paul Whyte, bless his heart, was told to take down his silly, singing bass fish. (It was dignified enough for the new building.) But we're a newspaper, people said--aren't we supposed to have silly singing bass and messy desks? No, came the resounding answer. Aren't we supposed to have chaotic newsroom conversations and loud arguments? No, sit quietly at your desks and whorl in silence, came the answer. Aren't we supposed to be in the heart of the nation's capital area, right among the stories and people we cover? No, drive to an anonymous building in the middle of nowhere, came the answer.
The blue ball incident put the final nail in the coffin of a paper and a company that went from a fun place to a horror show in no time flat. Furloughs, layoffs, sports editors having to re-apply for their jobs, staff photographers not being sent to the Olympics--it's all right there in that damn blue ball.
Maybe the logo designer did get the meow after all.
re 3:55: Today's 30th anniversary edition of the paper has, unless I'm missing something, no photographs by USA Today staff photographers, except for a talking head shot on the letters to the editor page. That speaks volumes, too. So many people who gave soooooooooo much energy and creativity, all just tossed aside.
ReplyDeleteSomehow "memo" got changed by spell check to "meow" in the last line of my comment. Apologies, and giggles.
ReplyDelete3:55, all I can say is wow. Having lived through it all, I can say you are absolutely right. The move to Tyson's--a place where clean desks count more than clean copy--was death.
ReplyDeleteHeh 4:00 please share which photographers were tossed aside. You can'tbecause it didn't happen
ReplyDeleteThe "tossed aside" line was meant to apply to everyone at USAT, not specifically to the preceding line about staff photographers. (Who, God knows, were tossed aside during the Olympics, despite having given decades with of energy to this paper.)
ReplyDelete"Tossed aside" applies to sports folks let go in bunches. Tossed aside applies to endless furloughs. Tossed aside applied to those original Blue Ball staffers. Tossed aside applies to just about everyone I know at USAT these days.
What building are you entering each day? You might have the wrong address.
5:23 so your pals didn't get a free ride to London so the company stinks huh? Grow up already. Ever walk through the newsroom at USAT? You don't see too many stressed out faces. One guy writes a column a week and he is the loudest complainer. Yeah that column about his dog must stress him out to the max. I see your point. You can't get that kind of top notch journalism in the NYT. Yep I get your point.
ReplyDelete