What makes great brand design?

Here we ponder the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Can something be so bad that it’s good?

I saw this when walking past a seaside property that was being renovated as I managed to sneak in my first staycation of 2021. I had to record the moment but I’ve removed the name and the number of the company for obvious reasons.

A portable loo company taking the p*** rather literally..

Is this the worse piece of design ever or is it a stroke of genius? My instant reaction was OMG, this is so wrong in every way possible. Not least because the ‘logo’ design seems to alienate half the population, this is for the lads then, clearly. (Yes, yes, I know there are female urinals at festivals but hey).

Or, is it brilliantly, cheekily, spot-on?

Get a grip, for goodness sake, I can hear you think, it’s a portable bog hired by a builder. What a witty antidote to all those utterly bland, politically correct companies out there that are trying too hard.

However, in the defence of what we do as brand consultants and not wishing to sound like a snob, this is just really awful, literal design, not wit. Apologies to the company and designer involved.

Design that makes you stop in your tracks, or makes you laugh has great merit and this made me do so, but for the wrong reasons.

We’ll ponder more on great, or not so, brand design, so watch this space.