There are times when multiple design anomalies materialize in rapid succession. Three such appeared to me all on the same day earlier this week, with nothing in common and in no particular order …
First up, three more Israeli hostages were released by Hamas over the weekend. Ohad Ben Ami, 56, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Or Levy, 34, all looking gaunt and beleaguered. They were taken hostage during Hamas’ brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people. Together they were paraded by uniformed Hamas fighters in the central Gaza Strip, where the Al-Qassam Brigades raised a large banner reading “We’re the flood. The war’s next day,” written in Arabic, Hebrew and English, accompanied by an image of the Palestinian flag. Notice the clenched fist on the left. Count the fingers. Did the artist purposely add an extra finger, or was it a generative AI error?
The red baseball cap has been co-opted by Trump and his MAGAites. But SVA design student Nick McKenzie recently snatched that hat back. Rather than a parody on the “Make America Great Again” chestnut, his cap says in a single word what many, regardless of party, are feeling in the post-election frenzy of Executive Orders and decrees that have brought chaos to the government and nation. (Red caps were out of stock for a while. It’s good to know that they’ve been replenished before any tariffs go into effect.)
And finally, Paul Rand’s logo for the scandal-ridden 1990s energy company Enron—the last logo he designed before passing in 1996—has been resurrected. “It’s the comeback story no one asked for—the resurrection of a brand so toxic it remains synonymous with corporate fraud more than two decades after it collapsed in bankruptcy,” wrote Alison Morrow on CNN in December. “That’s right, folks: Enron is back. But only kind of.”
On Dec. 2, a post with the caption “We’re back. Can we talk?”—along with a promotional video—hit social media. The dormant website enron.com was also rebooted, complete with such policy statements as, “Acknowledging and taking responsibility for past mistakes isn’t merely for show—it reflects our commitment to ethical practices moving forward. Our goal isn’t just to repair relationships through transparency, but to build a lasting foundation of trust and sustainable growth.”
Speculation quickly grew that it was a crypto scam or an elaborate joke—either/or both and more. The domain is registered to Peter McIndoe, a performance artist and founder of Birds Aren’t Real. Additionally, the name Enron had been purchased at auction by The College Company for $275 in 2020. Next it was announced that Enron planned to hold an “Enron Power Summit” on Jan. 6, where its CEO, Connor Gaydos, announced the Enron Egg, the first new Enron product in 20 years—a micro nuclear reactor capable of powering a suburban home for 10 years using 20% enriched uranium in the form of uranium zirconium hydride. The announcement reportedly took place at the summit, but the Houston Chronicle was unable to confirm that the event actually happened.
On Feb. 4, Enron launched a crypto token, $ENRON, on the Solana blockchain. It traded with a market capitalization of $700 million before the price fell at least 76% within 24 hours of launch. Yesterday, the posters (above) were wheat-pasted alongside fashion, cosmetic and luxury product ads on construction hoardings along Lexington Avenue in New York City. Check the new Enron website for details.
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