Proud of their "New" Logo?
September 10, 2005 10:49 AM   Subscribe

Quark gets a new face. Problem is, it looks just like the face of the Scottish Arts Council. Via MacCentral.
posted by juiceCake (65 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Awesome! A completely new logo to associate with agressively customer-hostile business practices.

Oracle and Quark should be locked in a room together and forced to fight.
posted by verb at 10:56 AM on September 10, 2005


When I first read this, I said to myself, what happened to his old face? And how on earth did they make a Ferengi look like a Scottish Arts Council?

Never mind.
posted by herichon at 10:58 AM on September 10, 2005


Seems like a pretty obvious logo design. Two concentric circles incribed in a square that has only one corner visible.
posted by sonofsamiam at 11:02 AM on September 10, 2005


Locked in a room and forced to fight? No, Quark should be excuted in a ditch, Chinese dissident-style.

For the past five years, I've supported Quark - and nothing, in my entire experience, comes within light-years of the utter lack of quality control and customer support that Quark seems to delight in. These bastards and their wretched product can't die soon enough to suit me.

Assholes.
posted by Floach at 11:10 AM on September 10, 2005


Is the proper course now for Quark to sue the Scottish Arts Council for trademark infringement?
posted by rolypolyman at 11:10 AM on September 10, 2005


It's a stylized Q. Would we have some reason to believe that Quark was aware of what the Scottish Art Council's logo was?
posted by swell at 11:11 AM on September 10, 2005


Quark = Old Busted
InDesign = New Hotness
posted by Down10 at 11:12 AM on September 10, 2005


But, see, the negative space in the Quark logo is larger. So its totally different. See?
posted by [insert clever name here] at 11:18 AM on September 10, 2005


Nice job Quark.

InDesign? You're kidding, right?
posted by loquacious at 11:19 AM on September 10, 2005


I was under the impression that NOBODY used Quark Xpress any more. But then, I was under that impression for Wordperfect, Lotus Notes, and a variety of other niche software, so shows you what I know!
posted by jonson at 11:21 AM on September 10, 2005


Gies some fuckin money ya fuckin radge.
posted by sgt.serenity at 11:31 AM on September 10, 2005


InDesign? You're kidding, right?

After 15 years in the business, I can say, without a single doubt, give me InDesign over Quark XPress. Any. Freakin'. Day.
posted by shecky57 at 11:42 AM on September 10, 2005


word to that. Quark is a giant festering sack of santorum, and InDesign is indeed teh new hotness.
posted by stenseng at 11:44 AM on September 10, 2005


You're kidding, right?

Uh, you're kidding, right? I've been slowly coverting every business I deal with to InDesign over the past 3 years. Initially the old print-houses would scoff and tell me to send them work using "real software," to which I would smile knowingly and say, "Mmm hmm. Just wait. You'll be flooded with InDesign work in a year." And of course, I was right.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:53 AM on September 10, 2005


My workflow for print has NEVER been easier, just bouncing between photoshop, illustrator, and indesign.

Me rikey.
posted by stenseng at 11:54 AM on September 10, 2005


But Quarkxpress has web tools!!! and synchroized text!!! yet still can't control the stroke around letters.

quark is the new pagemaker.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:00 PM on September 10, 2005


Someone on Quark's own forum points out the similarity with PhotoObjects.
posted by feelinglistless at 12:09 PM on September 10, 2005


And now a word from a forgotten 80's cartoon show:

Now, Grovel...

"I'm sorry master I'm sorry..."

Get up! Now you see, Grovel...

"I'm sorry master I'm sorry..."

Get up! I don't mean, to grovel...

"I'm sorry master I'm sorry..."

Get up! I mean, your name, Grovel!

"I'm sorry master I'm sorry..."

(Because Quark was the name of the alien - with a scottish accent! - with the annoyingly subserviant robot in Dangermouse! See, it all comes together....)
posted by JHarris at 12:10 PM on September 10, 2005 [1 favorite]


I was under the impression that NOBODY used Quark Xpress [sic] any more.
posted by jonson
Wrong impression (gained from qualification).
For the past five years, I've supported used Quark - and nothing, in my entire experience, comes within light-years of the utter lack of quality control and customer support that Quark seems to delight in.
Sorry to derail from the design side of the logo [frankly, who gives a flying fuck], but jonson, I assume you're kidding and Floach, what sort of support didn't you get over the last five years that you stayed with them?
posted by tellurian at 12:11 PM on September 10, 2005


This is pretty hilarious. Quark2lose
posted by prostyle at 12:12 PM on September 10, 2005


Quark's basically supporting their existing install base at this point. My current company, which has A LOT of licenses, is moving to InDesign. Everything about Quark sucks these days. QLA? *shudder*
posted by mkultra at 12:18 PM on September 10, 2005


Christ, every time I hover over that peroxide blonde on the Quark main page, I have an epileptic fit. That can't be good for business.

[must...buy...quark...must...buy...quark...must...buy...quark]
[/slackjaw]
[/glazed eyes]
posted by nylon at 12:19 PM on September 10, 2005


Man, 22 comments and no one has even mentioned PageMaker!
posted by rolypolyman at 12:28 PM on September 10, 2005


rolypolyman: exactly.
posted by ScotchLynx at 12:40 PM on September 10, 2005


Don't worry, Brandon; I'm sure they didn't mean it.
posted by esd at 12:43 PM on September 10, 2005


Hopefully some third party will be releasing a "Quark Xtension" to fix Quark's new logo. ;)
posted by jca at 12:51 PM on September 10, 2005


It's good that Quark has had the extra time to improve their logo, maybe they're not very busy because every company that I know of without exception has switched to inDesign and after having to deal with them for so many years, I can't say that I'm sad to see them go.
posted by milovoo at 12:52 PM on September 10, 2005


InDesign is teh new hotness, but it does suffer from Adobe-disease: what the fuck are those apps doing that it takes them four weeks to launch?. A PDF plugin that takes an entire summer holiday just to open? Photoshop could almost be excused... but, eh, not really. MAKE THE THINGS LAUNCH FASTER. Ahem.
posted by bonaldi at 12:54 PM on September 10, 2005


Quarksie, you're doing a heck of a job...
posted by spilon at 12:55 PM on September 10, 2005


how on earth did they make a Ferengi look like a Scottish Arts Council?

Huh... Star Trek humor.
posted by wfrgms at 1:01 PM on September 10, 2005


quark is the new pagemaker.

It's true--and sad. Adobe stole their whole business and they were asleep.

(and i'm with you, bonaldi--InDesign needs work. I'm hoping something will force them to make it better before they become the new pagemaker themselves, but it looks like they just want to be the Microsoft of the field and not bother.)
posted by amberglow at 1:05 PM on September 10, 2005


All that Yak, on Quark's press release, new face, big schmiel. No mention what they're doing to their software, eh?

Oh, and what of that nocking SAC logo? Nothing new, huh?

slack.

Bloody "Quark green", indeed.

amberglow, yes, but is it a good MicroSoft? re:inDesign
posted by alicesshoe at 1:29 PM on September 10, 2005


But then, I was under that impression for Wordperfect, Lotus Notes, and a variety of other niche software, so shows you what I know!

Lotus Notes is still used in lots of large corporates. And makes millions of people grow to love Outlook more every day.
posted by bobbyelliott at 1:43 PM on September 10, 2005


Reading this article about Quark 7, due "sometime in the next year or so," reminds me of nothing so much as an abused spouse who really wants to believe.
posted by verb at 1:51 PM on September 10, 2005


I've been stuck in a Quark ghetto at my publisher for five years, and they're afraid to switch to InDesign, no matter how much Quark keeps screwing them. Plus we are saddled with more than a few old farts in the art dept who bleat shrilly at the thought of learning anything new. Evolve or die, people!

I would love for Quark to be successfully sued by the Scots. Also to have boiling oil dropped on whoever's in charge of "customer service." And maybe some leeches.
posted by emjaybee at 2:13 PM on September 10, 2005


Oh man, reading the press release about the new logo almost made me vomit.
posted by ddf at 2:45 PM on September 10, 2005


Note that I don't want Quark to die per se. I'd rather seem them evolve and become good again, so we have some balance with Indesign.

But that doesn't seem to be happening. I use Quark 4.1 at work, and I seriously see no need to upgrade. If I had to, I would switch to Quark 5 for better PDF and Microsoft Word compability, but there's no way in hell that I would use Quark 6 at this point, it's slow, has few new AND useful features and seems to produce bloated PDFs that scrw up a RIP. The Quarkvista plugin is kinda cool, but I ALREADY OWN PHOTOSHOP along with every other graphic designer.

Indesign is very nice, but I don't want Adobe to have the only professional DTP app on the market. That just breeds arrogance.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:52 PM on September 10, 2005


Yeah...

“It really was an evolution. The more I played with the green, the more it came to represent so many things that Quark has gone through: rejuvenation, growth, and rebirth. It just seemed to make sense.”

Speaking as a graphic designer, this is why I hate graphic designers.
posted by Stan Chin at 2:52 PM on September 10, 2005


People still use Quirk, I mean Quark?
posted by spunpup at 2:53 PM on September 10, 2005


I remember in 1976 when NBC debuted their new logo with much fanfare, and was sued a month later because it was almost identical to Nebraska Educational Television's logo. NETV won that fight.

You would think someone would have already started a service to search every copyrighted logo. It would have to be cheaper to hire such a company before the new logo debut. At least cheaper than creating a new logo and having to drop, change, or buy it from another company.
posted by ?! at 3:21 PM on September 10, 2005


Speaking as a graphic designer, this is why I hate graphic designers.
Thank god. I thought I was the only one, Stan.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:51 PM on September 10, 2005


Excuse me:

The Scottish Arts logo is blue
Quark is green (Unknown Pantone. Reload) Spinning beach ball

The Scottish Arts Council uses a condensed face.
Quark uses a bold face only (Font not installed) Force Quit

The Scottish Arts Council neglects to add a "TM"
Quark adds the appropriate TM symbol pending ® (unknown meta characters from Word doc) Crash

The Scottish Arts Council is more horizontal
Quark's logo lockup is more square (link to .eps not found) Lockup

Please print this for future reference (No printer found) Restart
posted by hal9k at 4:39 PM on September 10, 2005


Bailed on Quark pretty fast after InDesign came out, after using it from 1992, when it was the best.

InDesign kicks Quark's ass. At my previous job, I used InDesign to redesign and almost completely automate the production of two different automotive price guides - which we would have had to blow $20,000 on Quark Publishing System to pull off with Quark. It took myself and one programmer about a month for each book to nail down the process. We turned what used to be a 6-week production nightmare requiring 4 people working (in Pagemaker 6.5, dear lordy) full-time and overtime into a 1-week job requiring only 1 person to handle the InDesign chores.

This is possible because every function of InD can be automated using whatever scripting language you have, and it also handles XML really well. The pages generate from our huge database, including photos, and get spit out straight to press-ready PDFs. Takes about 3 hours to do the full process.

I'll never go back, not ever. RIP Quark, you gazed at your navel too long.

hal9k: ROFL! You forgot "This feature requires that you load WhateverWidget XTension. Please install the XTension and restart." Bomb! Error (-1337)
posted by zoogleplex at 4:42 PM on September 10, 2005


Stan, Thorzdad...we make three. Please tell me you all don't belong to the AIGA.
posted by pantload at 4:51 PM on September 10, 2005


So two logos look similar....................ah, it's a Mac thing so it's somehow worthy of an FPP............
posted by Joeforking at 5:07 PM on September 10, 2005


So two logos look similar....................ah, it's a Mac thing so it's somehow worthy of an FPP............

Um. No. Quark is a Mac and Windows program (as is Indesign actually).
posted by jeremias at 5:37 PM on September 10, 2005


Belonging to AIGA doesn't automatically make you one of THOSE graphic designers, hehehe... :) (I don't, btw.)

But yeah, that BS drives me nuts too. However, it seems to be what you need to do to make a 6-figure design fee for a "highly visible" corporate logo - speak the graphic design wizard BS language speak.

Joeforking, this is about the formerly-top-notch page layout behemoth falling by the wayside due to their inexplicable inability to actually look at their market and their competition (as opposed to their own belly-buttons), and crapping all over their customers in terms of service and attitude, for nearly 10 years now... and then "lipsticking the pig" with a new logo that may or may not have been swiped, uh, "borrowed."

A lot of us used to be passionate about Quark, back when they were pretty damned innovative, but they got arrogant and complacent and abandoned their market.

That press release with all the marketingspeak about "a major transformation to become more open and customer-focused, and we have a focused vision to go with our new attitude" won't fool anyone, if it still takes them another year to put out XPress 7. Blah blah blah. Anyone who has switched away doesn't care anymore.
posted by zoogleplex at 6:06 PM on September 10, 2005


Hmm, I should have added "see: Hughtrain."
posted by zoogleplex at 6:09 PM on September 10, 2005


It's not funny because it's a Mac thing. It's funny because it's an incompetence thing.

From the way y'all are talking, it sounds like Quark and their design consultants deserve one another.
posted by lodurr at 6:18 PM on September 10, 2005


Haha, hal9k :)
posted by just a monkey at 6:54 PM on September 10, 2005


A PDF plugin that takes an entire summer holiday just to open?

Disable the add-on plugins. Man, I thought everyone knew about that one.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:00 PM on September 10, 2005


From the way y'all are talking, it sounds like Quark and their design consultants deserve one another.

Biscuit! lodurr gets a biscuit!
posted by verb at 7:25 PM on September 10, 2005


Is that press release all about self-gratification, or what?
posted by pmurray63 at 9:06 PM on September 10, 2005


Our new logo is one of the most articulate symbols of the new Quark.

If it's not Scottish, it's crap.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:30 PM on September 10, 2005



“It’s fresh, inviting, and open,” said Glen Turpin, Quark’s director of corporate communications. “It’s radically different from our old logo. That’s why it’s the perfect symbol for the new Quark. Our company has changed dramatically. Like our new logo, once people catch a glimpse of who we are today and where we’re going, we’ll be impossible to ignore.”


Impossible to ignore? Oh please, I wish these corporate communications nutbars would give it a rest.

I switched to InDesign CS two years ago and haven't looked back.
posted by disgruntled at 9:36 PM on September 10, 2005


InDesign, other than being a pretty decent piece of software, has the added advantage of being FREE. Free? you say, it's not free! Alas, for most corporations it is, the Creative Suite (which includes Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign) is usually slightly cheaper than Photoshop and Illustrator bought seperately. So why would anyone who doesn't have to buy Quark, shell out another couple of hundered bucks on it?

Winning through intertia, gotta love it.
posted by jedrek at 11:57 PM on September 10, 2005


Dear Quark,

I left you because you stopped caring. I'm with InDesign now and my life is much better. Don't bother calling me.

-q

P.S. Your new logo stinks!
posted by quadog at 12:31 AM on September 11, 2005


Apologies, I was just being snarky. Miserable wet Saturday night blues.
posted by Joeforking at 2:54 AM on September 11, 2005


There's absolutely no reason to use quark any more.

It makes me crazy. InDesign absolutely has some annoying features, but in the past 10 months of using it, I've only had it crash twice.

Regarding the logo, that's awfully close. I'd like to hear the graphic designer explain his process.
posted by miss tea at 5:36 AM on September 11, 2005


Quark bought mTropolis in 97 - which at the time had a very bright future (out featuring Director - in many ways) - I had built a number of titles with it and also had at the time, a shiny future.

The motherfuckers buried it - they didn't have the decency of telling anyone they were going to bury it, just put out a press release one day and that was that. Motherfuckingfuckers.

When I was working in Japan, we lost the fucking dongle for their stupid piece of shit buggy product (Quark Xpress) - we had to pay FULL price to get another.

This company deserves to eat massive loads of shit.
posted by strawberryviagra at 6:14 AM on September 11, 2005


Graven Images of Glasgow did the SAC logo, and judging by this comment on my website, they're not overly bothered by Quark's possible imitation, and, interestingly, consider Quark 'essential.' (Er, assuming that comment was left by someone who really works for Graven Images.)
posted by jack_mo at 9:05 AM on September 11, 2005


I find it amusing that the Quark logo is supposed to be a "Q" and the Scottish Arts Council's logo is supposed to be an "a." At least I assume that's what the two of them are going for.

But it's the exact same shape.
posted by kindall at 9:58 AM on September 11, 2005


HA! Fuckers.
posted by sklero at 10:19 PM on September 11, 2005


Oops.
Whoopsie.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:08 AM on September 13, 2005


Dear Quark,

I'm sick of calling India when your program bombs weekly. You are getting exactly what you deserve.

Thank god for InDesign.
posted by Macboy at 12:28 PM on October 4, 2005


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