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The New Spectre Logo

PalkoPalkoPalkoPalko
in SPECTRE Posts: 54
There's been a bit of chat on here about the new SPECTRE "octopus" logo only having seven legs, I know one of you pointed out that some octopodes have only seven visible legs, but erm... Has it ever actually been described as an octopus? You guys know all the material better than I do... is there ever a reference to it?

My thoughts are that either:

1. The new logo designers have deliberately gone for a redesign that is more overtly representing a ghost/ghoul type shape, thus linking the name and logo
or
2. The new designers didn't realise it was meant to be an octopus
or
3. It was always meant to be a ghost-type shape but was 'badly' designed in the first instances (FRWL?)

What do you guys think?
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Comments

  • PalkoPalkoPalkoPalko
    Posts: 54
    I seem to recall the logo under Konsteen's "You are required at once" coaster being a skull with tassles more than an octopus. Maybe over the following films it got distorted?
  • JCRendleJCRendle
    Posts: 1,552
    This is the SPECTRE ring from From Russia with Love

    tumblr_nm548biqh11rv0z1no1_540.jpg
  • JCRendleJCRendle
    edited April 2015 Posts: 1,552
    And the You Are Require At Once
    tumblr_nm54eqs5Y51rv0z1no1_500.jpg

    And the ring from You Only Live Twice
    tumblr_nm54so8lc81rv0z1no1_250.jpg
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I like the old design better.
  • PalkoPalkoPalkoPalko
    Posts: 54
    What do you think @JCRendle ? Am I on to something? A ghost that got octopuscated?
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,282
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    I like the old design better.

    Me too. The old ways are often the best when it comes to Bond.
  • PalkoPalkoPalkoPalko
    Posts: 54
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    I like the old design better.

    Me too. The old ways are often the best when it comes to Bond.

    Do you guys mean the old design as in FRWL? I'd have to agree. It has a certain quiet menace to it, whereas the YOLT looks a bit like a comb (!) and I don't quite know what I think of the SP one yet.
    Might grow on me.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    The one in FRWL is clearly the best.

    About the comb-Haha. Maybe Blofeld misses his hair.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,282
    Yes, I too mean the old design, in any of the older films really.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    I too think the FRWL design looks best because it's misshapen, crudely drawn, almost as if drawn by a child. Those squiggly tentacles/tendrils. The sad eyes inside that skewed head. Something about it pronounces the unspeakable menace of what it stands for all that much more than the sleek lines of YOLT's.
  • JCRendleJCRendle
    Posts: 1,552
    I do like the old designs, but I feel they are a bit inconspicuous - a bit too bulky. The FRWL is the most subtle and works best for it. I also like this with the new ring from the trailer. It doesn't draw attention and scream out "I am a member of SPECTRE" a, supposedly, secret organisation.

    Villain: How did you know I worked for SPECTRE, Mr. Bond, I was so careful?
    Bond: Your ring
    Villain: Damn!

    If I were to design a SPECTRE ring, I would have a gold signet ring, like some men wear as wedding bands, with the Octopus logo engraved.

    tumblr_nm57fwQYP41rv0z1no1_100.jpg
  • ChiefTannerChiefTanner Wilmington, DE, USA
    Posts: 34
    Here is the screenshot of the ring with insignia from the trailer:

    spectre-ring.png

    and here is a side-by-side from the 007 Wiki:

    latest?cb=20150328123203

    This was captioned, "Comparison of Fiona Volpe's octopus insignia ring from Thunderball (1965), with its 2015 counterpart."
  • ChiefTannerChiefTanner Wilmington, DE, USA
    Posts: 34
    Oh plus here is Blofeld wearing a ring in FRWL:

    latest?cb=20120810194042


  • TorgeirtrapTorgeirtrap
    Posts: 17,763
    As a graphic designer myself, I prefer the new Spectre logo. Where the old designs look more like a drawing, almost cartoon-esque in it's appearance, the new logo does look more like a brand mark.
  • PalkoPalkoPalkoPalko
    Posts: 54
    Blofeld: "Number Five, I gave you and Number Eleven the strictest of instructions for producing these rings..."
    Number 5: "You gave me a crudely drawn sketch of a squid!"
    Blofeld: "We do not tolerate mistakes, Number Five. It was clearly a drawing of a 'spectre'."
    Number 5: "I can sort of see that now."
    {Blofeld raises pistol towards Number 5}
    Blofeld: "There are consequences for your actions, Number Five."
    {Blofeld shoots Number Eleven}
  • JCRendleJCRendle
    edited April 2015 Posts: 1,552
    Fleming certainly had a thing for Octopuses(/Octopi?). You have Pussfella (who once killed an octopus) in Doctor No, Major Smythe's Octopus in Octopussy, the Octopuses in Thunderball etc.
  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    Posts: 11,119
    It's a nice discussion. But really, it still is an octopus. I don't think it looks more "ghost-like". Although personally I would have liked to see the actual re-designed logo in a more luxury-looking signet/seal ring. Perhaps in gold.
  • JCRendleJCRendle
    Posts: 1,552
    What do you think about my mock-up above, @Gustav_Graves
  • RC7RC7
    edited April 2015 Posts: 10,512
    If I'm being honest, I wouldn't have missed the ring at all. Seems a bit odd in this era of films to have a glaringly obvious declaration of criminal intent. I felt the same about the ridiculous Q badge in QoS. 'Hey look at us, we're an uber-clandestine organisation that infiltrate every level of society, but you can easily identify us by our rings'.
  • ChiefTannerChiefTanner Wilmington, DE, USA
    Posts: 34
    Maybe that's why then made the insignia on the new ring smaller
  • JCRendleJCRendle
    Posts: 1,552
    ChiefTanner wrote: »
    Maybe that's why then made the insignia on the new ring smaller
    That's my thinking, something more subtle.

    Also, something some movie goers would think about purchasing £££$$$ ;)
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    ChiefTanner wrote: »
    Maybe that's why then made the insignia on the new ring smaller

    Still, from the looks of it it acts as a trigger for Bond's mission in some way. You'd feel a bit of a tit if you were running a completely unknown, worldwide criminal organisation, only to be undone by a debatable need for corporate branding.
  • JCRendleJCRendle
    Posts: 1,552
    RC7 wrote: »
    ChiefTanner wrote: »
    Maybe that's why then made the insignia on the new ring smaller
    Still, from the looks of it it acts as a trigger for Bond's mission in some way. You'd feel a bit of a tit if you were running a completely unknown, worldwide criminal organisation, only to be undone by a debatable need for corporate branding.
    AKA a MacGuffin ;)
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    JCRendle wrote: »
    RC7 wrote: »
    ChiefTanner wrote: »
    Maybe that's why then made the insignia on the new ring smaller
    Still, from the looks of it it acts as a trigger for Bond's mission in some way. You'd feel a bit of a tit if you were running a completely unknown, worldwide criminal organisation, only to be undone by a debatable need for corporate branding.
    AKA a MacGuffin ;)

    That's what I'm assuming it will be in SP.
  • JCRendleJCRendle
    Posts: 1,552
    It can also be seen as a form of vanity or a warning to those in the know.

    "We are SPECTRE. Don't mess with us"
  • PalkoPalkoPalkoPalko
    Posts: 54
    I suppose pride/hubris are often Blofeld and crew's downfall, and how is this better signified than observable emblems like these, whereas Bond can be snobbish, but happily avoid such stand-out extravagances (apart from his monogrammed pyjamas in LALD... waaay out of character I thought).
  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    edited April 2015 Posts: 11,119
    RC7 wrote: »
    If I'm being honest, I wouldn't have missed the ring at all. Seems a bit odd in this era of films to have a glaringly obvious declaration of criminal intent. I felt the same about the ridiculous Q badge in QoS. 'Hey look at us, we're an uber-clandestine organisation that infiltrate every level of society, but you can easily identify us by our rings'.

    I think this shows that even Bond films are still.....films. And the Bond universe is always, with certain details, slightly larger-than-life than the real world. Personally, I was jumping in the air when I first saw the ring! Loved it. The critical Bond fans were complaining that the trailer was too dark and moody, that "SPECTRE" has become too Nolan-esque, too realistic, and less "typical Bond". I disagree, the inclusion of this wunderful SPECTRE-item is 500% "Bond". Period. And it brings in a welcome bit of unrealistic mystery.

    If we do have to make a connection with the real world, then it would remind me of my own student fraternity ring from old days (student fraternities are very common in the USA and Netherlands). They look a bit like this:
    magna_pete_ringen.jpg
    Although no one is actually wearing them anymore, the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. from "SPECTRE" so far reminds me a bit of a tightly organized fraternity.
  • SarkSark Guangdong, PRC
    Posts: 1,138
    Perhaps the 7 limbed octopus fits with Fleming's "deformity and evil" theme. We all remember how many of the villains had some handicap. A 7 limbed octopus would certainly seem deformed to most people.
  • RC7RC7
    edited April 2015 Posts: 10,512
    Gustav_Graves wrote: »
    RC7 wrote: »
    If I'm being honest, I wouldn't have missed the ring at all. Seems a bit odd in this era of films to have a glaringly obvious declaration of criminal intent. I felt the same about the ridiculous Q badge in QoS. 'Hey look at us, we're an uber-clandestine organisation that infiltrate every level of society, but you can easily identify us by our rings'.

    I think this shows that even Bond films are still.....films. And the Bond universe is always, with certain details, slightly larger-than-life than the real world. Personally, I was jumping in the air when I first saw the ring! Loved it. The critical Bond fans were complaining that the trailer was too dark and moody, that "SPECTRE" has become too Nolan-esque, too realistic, and less "typical Bond". I disagree, the inclusion of this wunderful SPECTRE-item is 500% "Bond". Period. And it brings in a welcome bit of unrealistic mystery.

    If we do have to make a connection with the real world, then it would remind me of my own student fraternity ring from old days (student fraternities are very common in the USA and Netherlands). They look a bit like this:
    magna_pete_ringen.jpg
    Although no one is actually wearing them anymore, the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. from "SPECTRE" so far reminds me a bit of a tightly organized fraternity.

    I largely agree with you, I think after SF I'm expecting more of this kind of larger than life stuff to creep back in, so I think I'll enjoy SP more having been forced to accept the tonal change from CR/QoS - SF. Still, I wouldn't necessarily miss it, if it wasn't in. I thought CR did 'mysterious organisation' as good as any Bond film, just through drama and dialogue.
  • DrShatterhandDrShatterhand Garden of Death, near Belfast
    Posts: 805
    Funny, I was watching FRWL a few weeks ago and noticed then that what I'd always understood to be a octopus looked actually far more like a ghoul or a ghost...a Spectre if you will ;).

    The one in TB though is definitely more 'octopussy'. Perhaps something changed between the films for EON to rebrand the organisation slightly, with the tentacles being a strong visualisation of the influence of the organisation? I'm guessing Ken Adam was responsible for the designs so wonder if he's ever made mention of it.

    As for the new one, I think it's somewhere in between so perhaps the new designers weren't sure either.
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