(16 Jan 2016, 7:09 pm)Dan wrote It's difficult to really compare Options 1 and 2, as these aren't like-for-like replacements.
If you and your friend were to compare the old "Lime" brand to the current "Coast & Country" brand, there would only ever be one winner (and that's the more modern "Coast & Country" design - if you needed that clarifying!) Whilst the name itself isn't as catchy, the brand design itself is spot on and is noticeable even from a distance. It really sells what's on the route of the 8 and 78 services - the various landmarks served en-route and places to visit are all clearly identifiable.
The current "indiGo" brand is a lot more eye-catching than the old "East Durham" brand, and dirt (which is unavoidable at this time of year due to grit on the road, etc) is a lot less noticeable on these buses than the examples they replaced, due to the darker base livery. In an area like Peterlee where there is competition with services from another bus operator, buses have to be striking, and I certainly feel like the pink base livery achieves this. Again - an improvement in my eyes.
I used to live in the Humbledon Hill estate when the "Magic Roundabout" was around, and I used to love travelling on the 33 service, which was ultimately down to the route branding on these buses. With hindsight; the main roundabout on the route of the 33 service was the Premier Road / Silksworth Lane roundabout, and there wasn't a great deal that was 'magic' about it, so I'm not entirely sure what is relevant about this brand..?
Route branding is always going down to be personal preference amongst enthusiasts - the above posts in response to yours provide further evidence of this. There's good designs, and not-so-good designs, but ultimately I feel the company is delivering improvements with route branding. The more pointless brand names have been dropped, and the company is no longer 'branding for branding's sake'.
Granted, the Coast and Country is eye catching, and looks pretty decent. But, the "Lime" brand was established, people recognised it. As we both know, the late former Go North East Managing Director, Peter Huntley who I believe was truly inspirational in the way he turned Go North East around stated that brands should be refreshed every five years, however, refreshing and changing the name are two completely different things. People are far more likely to say "Get the Lime bus" than "Get the Coast and Country bus" because chances are, you'll forget Coast and Country, because it isn't catchy.
indiGO isn't indiGo, that is my first gripe with that brand. It would be more acceptable if it was actually Indigo and not bright pink. Again, it has had a major upgrade which is for the customers benefit, however, again the East Durham brand was established, maybe it could have been spruced up a bit?
Magic Roundabout was quite magic, it looked magnificent if we're honest, and a great piece of marketing by Go North East, because it is something you look at and your immediate reaction is that it looks good. Okay, it maybe didn't incorporate a 'magic' roundabout, but it still worked.