(07 Apr 2016, 1:32 pm)NK53 TKT wrote Haha, how old is he?

(07 Apr 2016, 1:42 pm)BusLoverMum wrote 12. He's been working very hard on pencil control and neatness as patience isn't his middle name and he's inherited my joint problems in his hands. Practically lives in the art room at school.

(08 Apr 2016, 9:11 am)NK53 TKT wrote Much better than me at drawing and I am 11. I am much worse at drawing and if he has joint issues that makes them better because he is in pain

(08 Apr 2016, 9:20 am)BusLoverMum wrote What he lacks in pencil control, he makes up for in an eye for little details. I wasn't great at your age, either, but it didn't stop me from going on to gain an o-level in art.

(08 Apr 2016, 12:34 pm)NK53 TKT wrote Nah, not my thing I prefer geography

(06 Apr 2016, 11:44 am)Chris wrote Funnily enough I had a similar thing with a friend the other week.  He text me to ask me what time the 639 was due.  Similarly, a lot of people in my local area still refer to 'The Northern'.  And not just older people either.

(18 May 2016, 8:41 am)Andreos1 wrote The same woman was recently referring to Goahead Gateshead as the operator.

On a slightly connected note, has anyone else noted that the colouring on these funky branded buses doesn't seem to weather as well as the traditional colours seen of old?

No idea whether it is my eyes, the paint quality/ingredients or the chemicals used in washing the vehicles - but they seem washed out.
I have noticed one or two Washington Mercs looking pale recently.

(18 May 2016, 4:15 pm)Adrian wrote Not sure, b♧ut remember the old ♧Vauxhall Red effect? You'd have a pink car after 10 years.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

(19 May 2016, 7:27 am)Andreos1 wrote Better known as the Stadium of Light red seats effect

(08 Jan 2019, 1:59 pm)idiot wrote What a farce branding is at the moment! Lol. I

(08 Jan 2019, 6:43 pm)idiot wrote Because of arriva strike.

(08 Jan 2019, 10:09 pm)idiot wrote Just another example of how it doesn't work.

(02 May 2019, 6:21 pm)Andreos1 wrote Dunno about anyone else, but I've been watching the BBC series 'a house in time'.
Canny little programme, but this series has been focusing on a house just off Westgate Road.

The production team have shown quite a bit of modern Newcastle and inevitably, buses have appeared quite a bit across the city.

ANE and SNE have had quite a lot of free advertising. 
If I was an outsider looking in, I'd have no idea there was a GNE prescence. There was a hotch potch of multicoloured buses tootling back and forth, but not sure who runs them. An independent perhaps? An ANE or SNE division?

(12 Jan 2020, 6:22 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote
Branding or not is certainly an interesting debate and I have long been conflicted about whether I like identity branding like GNE, uniform branding like Stagecoach or uniform livery with sub-branding like Arriva. There are of course exceptions too, GNE has a corporate livery, Stagecoach introduced a green livery for their hybrids and has long had a Metrocentre brand for the 100 shuttle and more recently the 6/7. Arriva also has different liveries such as Coastliner, the NHS and Quorum Solos, the purple/grey livery and older and newer corporate liveries. Independents largely have a uniform livery, Stanley Travel white and blue with or without red, GCT using the Nexus Bus livery of grey and red, A-Line either white or grey and pink. Uniform/corporate branding is certainly more instantly recognisable and consistent.  Identities like with GNE are iconic, for example Quaylink has long been the iconic yellow for running around the Quayside, and can be useful 'Tynedale/Tyne Valley', 'Quaylink', 'Cobalt and Coast/Coaster/Little Coasters', relevant to a service or area served 'Red Kite, Angel, Black Cats ' but can also be daft 'The 9/The 49, Connection4, Fab 56, City Link 57/58, Toon Link, Green/Blue Arrow' etc.

Consistent branding is a good compromise, like we are seeing now with the new and refreshed identities like Cobalt & Coast, Little Coasters, Green Arrow, and X-lines. 

Thoughts?

 

(12 Jan 2020, 6:22 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote
Branding or not is certainly an interesting debate and I have long been conflicted about whether I like identity branding like GNE, uniform branding like Stagecoach or uniform livery with sub-branding like Arriva. There are of course exceptions too, GNE has a corporate livery, Stagecoach introduced a green livery for their hybrids and has long had a Metrocentre brand for the 100 shuttle and more recently the 6/7. Arriva also has different liveries such as Coastliner, the NHS and Quorum Solos, the purple/grey livery and older and newer corporate liveries. Independents largely have a uniform livery, Stanley Travel white and blue with or without red, GCT using the Nexus Bus livery of grey and red, A-Line either white or grey and pink. Uniform/corporate branding is certainly more instantly recognisable and consistent.  Identities like with GNE are iconic, for example Quaylink has long been the iconic yellow for running around the Quayside, and can be useful 'Tynedale/Tyne Valley', 'Quaylink', 'Cobalt and Coast/Coaster/Little Coasters', relevant to a service or area served 'Red Kite, Angel, Black Cats ' but can also be daft 'The 9/The 49, Connection4, Fab 56, City Link 57/58, Toon Link, Green/Blue Arrow' etc.

Consistent branding is a good compromise, like we are seeing now with the new and refreshed identities like Cobalt & Coast, Little Coasters, Green Arrow, and X-lines. 

Thoughts?

 

(25 Jul 2020, 9:17 pm)ne14ne1 wrote What’s the story with the Green Arrows brand?
I guess when the Red Arrows brand came on the scene it was an express route with red buses so they named them after the red arrow planes - something the majority of people are aware of have connotations to speed and something quite cool and impressive.
But then Green Arrows popped up, followed by Blue Arrows(?) - back then GNE just seemed to want to brand everything, so they probably changed the colour on the fill tool to easily reuse an existing design & bang, another route branded. Okay, fair enough.

However now in the new era, if you will, where they’ve realised a corporate identity and house style would be beneficial and look more professional, Im curious to why they felt the need to maintain the Green Arrows brand.
I don’t use the route but can’t work out any local link to the name, (unlike when it was The Highwayman), and Whickham & Lobley Hill don’t exactly have other operators serving them that GNE needed to stand out from & compete with.

Since the enviro200MMCs arrived in the latest variation of Green Arrow livery I couldn’t help but wonder why they bothered keeping the brand in the first place, then why use an amateurish looking font, in a colour that doesn’t really contrast enough from its background to be easily read from a distance, and why the road strips didn’t stand out much either - which were the one thing that was supposed to make it easily recognisable as a GNE bus.

Just my opinion of course and everyone has their own tastes. I know many of you love the Green Arrows.

Thoughts?

(26 Jul 2020, 11:16 am)Andreos1 wrote Don't forget the Silver version used on the 2A and C between Washington and Sunderland.

I think the red version was 'inspired' by the service in Nottingham.
Coaches - tick
Two major regional cities - tick
Express/limited stop along fast roads - tick

Then the others came along like you say, in addition to the red colour scheme being rolled out on two other 'via Washington' expresses. You could be right about that template/colour scheme! Blue, green, silver and the other red incarnations certainly didn't tick the boxes the original X2 (or its equivalent in Nottingham) did.

(13 Jul 2021, 12:30 pm)Andreos1 wrote https://twitter.com/BusAndTrainUser/status/1413460841891049474?s=19

Services with desirable localised branding seems to be what Mr French is in favour of.
Not the uniform designs that Arriva and Stagecoach use. 

I hope the irony isn't lost on anyone else, 'cos the sycophants on his twitter seem to have missed it.

(13 Jul 2021, 12:58 pm)mb134 wrote Stagecoach have had a corporate livery, and very little else, for as long as I can remember. They're also arguably the most recognisable bus company in the country, my mates who don't have the faintest idea about anything that would be discussed on here for example, would always know what a Stagecoach bus was.  

And the "short-sighted" section, didn't GNE do similar with printed timetables a few years back? So much for being "in the vanguard".

(13 Jul 2021, 12:30 pm)Andreos1 wrote https://twitter.com/BusAndTrainUser/status/1413460841891049474?s=19

Services with desirable localised branding seems to be what Mr French is in favour of.
Not the uniform designs that Arriva and Stagecoach use. 

I hope the irony isn't lost on anyone else, 'cos the sycophants on his twitter seem to have missed it.

(13 Jul 2021, 12:58 pm)mb134 wrote Stagecoach have had a corporate livery, and very little else, for as long as I can remember. They're also arguably the most recognisable bus company in the country, my mates who don't have the faintest idea about anything that would be discussed on here for example, would always know what a Stagecoach bus was. 

And the "short-sighted" section, didn't GNE do similar with printed timetables a few years back? So much for being "in the vanguard".