The ANTIDESIGN

The Droid X is Motorola's contribution to Verizon's line of Android phones, the Droids. To get through the basics, this phone features an enormous touch screen display along with buttons on the front face. I will try not to dwell on comparisons but the Droid's natural competitor would have to be Apple's iPhone (it's smart to keep things like this in mind), but if you're interested, there are nice simple comparison charts all over the web.

To start, this phone is huge. This isn't so much of a negative thing as it is a shift. The way the user is forced to interact with this giant device is entirely different than one would with a cellphone. I like to use the word 'device' with this product because I've found it to be more useful when it's treated more like a computer than a phone. Getting back to the size, this phone is much larger than the iPhone, and in overall aesthetics the iPhone is far more pleasing and sleek. Although awkward to look at (only because it defies the modern schema around what cellphones should look like), the odd jut in the back of this device does not interfere with it's mobility, nor does it effect the utilization of the phone negatively.

The specs for a phone like this aren't as important as the overall feel of this phone in utilization.The user interface is simple to use, and very well designed. It is easy for a first time user to figure out how to use the phone features, the texting, or the browser. Anyone who is already familiar with the structure of a PC's user interface can also easily alter settings, play music, install applications, and save, alter and transfer documents. This phone does definitely appeal to users who have the background knowledge that using a Windows OS provides, and caters to the customize-ability that we Microsoft fans have become accustomed to.

Using the keyboard is something that I was worried about (being new to touch screen keyboards), but I found it to be simple and efficient, even without turning the screen horizontally for larger keys. The phone is comfortable to hold, even while making calls, which was somewhat unexpected due to it's bulky rectangular appearance. The speaker is of great quality and is loud enough to hear and use at a comfortable distance while using the speakerphone feature.

As far as performance goes, this phone is a beast. There are many productivity oriented applications, but I have found the most useful to be the Google Maps navigator, the calendar, and the clock. The navigator was well thought out. The iPhone also uses the Google Maps system, but isn't so well linked to an effective navigation program. The Droid X comes with Google Maps preinstalled (like the iPhone), and is linked to the phone's preinstalled navigation software. This truly allows users to use this phone as a GPS while driving directly from Google Maps, instead of having the classic step by step instructions (and having to click the next button each step of the way).



A few negative notes; the camera is an impressive 8mp camera at the back of the phone. This is one of the most useless features of this device, and it's boasted as one of it's best. The camera application takes almost 5 seconds to load up, and the button to take a picture is so hard to press all the way down that more than half the time, it turns out that the photo was not taken. It also would have been unbelievably useful for the designers to think about how far programs like Facetime and Skype have gone, and put a camera on the front of the phone. I would have easily chosen to give up the 8mp and HD video for a crappy camera that I could use for video chat. The battery that came with the phone is also very unimpressive. Verizon offers an extended battery at an (enormous) extra cost, but its worth the money only because the phone is practically unusable (with just about 6 hours minimum usage) with the original battery. A phone should come prepared with a good battery in the packaging; this one just wasn't up to par.

This phone is alot of fun to use and it's customize-ability and simple file transfer system has won my heart. When people buy a phone today though, we aren't looking for something that's going to last forever, or that we could see ourselves with even in 5 years. The safety that consumers crave from buying these kind of devices has to do with whether it's worth the money. This phone is definitely pricey, at about $360 without a service plan at this point. This phone was well worth it for someone who values being able to customize all aspects of their phone and not have to worry about jailbreaking an iPhone and any repercussions of doing so. I wouldn't reccomend this to users over 40, as most of the features are exciting because they appeal perfectly to their market; college students.

When working with any kind of iconography change isn't just an inevitability, it's an expectation. The evolution of a corporate logo is under certain constraints that make its alteration quite a delicate and complex process. Logos have been in use for thousands of years, and they have become a regular and welcomed part of our society.

A good logo is ready for change, but the task of actually altering an iconic symbol is still daunting. Iconography has to do with the balance between the timeless quality of symbols and the transformation that they undergo. A successful change takes into consideration the ultimate purpose of the original logo, which involves being easily recognized, remembered, and distinguished. So what drives a company to start from scratch after already putting time and effort into marketing, branding and labeling their logo?

As in any style-dependent field, the art of logos is an ephemeral one. Trends transform, technology advances, and, in true iconographic fashion, logos are ready to keep the pace. Companies and consumers alike are enticed by modern or ‘cutting-edge’ styles, and sometimes it feels worth the enormous risk of brand for a simple update.
Gap recently attempted a logo change with disastrous results. The release of their new logo caused an uproar in online social communities virtually the instant it was uploaded. The company was quick to retract the redesign.

After successfully branding a company with years or work currently riding on the look of one symbol, that symbol simply must be respected for what it is, an icon. It is easy to refer to language to better understand the importance of a logo. The logo holds a meaning like a word or a letter, and it is crucial that people are able to read and understand that meaning. However poorly executed, the Gap logo does show an obvious attempt to keep the classic blue square in the design, but the essence of the symbol is utterly lost.

- image from NBegovich on Reddit - A great logo is recognizable in any form

A great example of an ideal logo is surprisingly found in D.C. Comics' Batman symbol. This icon has undergone countless variations as it transcends both time and medium, yet the bat symbol has stayed ever recognizable. This success is partly in thanks to the consistency of its redesign. This logo has been fluid for years, changing on a regular basis as it spreads from comic to cartoon to fan-art to film.

As consumers, we have a developed sense of comfort with logos and their evolution. There are certainly boundaries that limit what would be an accepted alteration, but a huge variety of unique logos have been successfully created and updated within those constraints.

• Ancient Roman Philosophy - a look at some history behind logos
• Logoworks - tidy list of tips for quality logo creation
• Huffington Post - another article on the Gap logo change