No designer or design-friendly person enjoys seeing a logo go away. Such is the case that came with the news that Warner Brothers is folding their Warner Independent Pictures side arm. This, of course, means that the logo will sink along with the ship. Although it isn't the world's finest piece of branding ever, we always thought it was clever and interesting to look at. Michael Walker, who was a bit harder hit than we were, apparently, was kind enough to send us over his lamenting over its loss and why he enjoyed it so much. Here's a bit:

It's an outstanding example of how to tap the equity of a parent brand (the "W" from the "WB") while creating a fresh identity with the simplest of strokes: notch the middle fork of the "W" to create the "i" in Independent then reinforce the connection with a splash of scarlet. Too bad it was for naught.

Presumably, the logo will live on in DVD packaging and in the title cards of Warner Independent films already released, which include George Clooney's Academy Award-nomination magnet Good Night and Good Luck and the documentary March of the Penguins.