Tuesday, May 27, 2008

On Logo Changes

Paypal, *blank stare*


Paypal Logo Rebrand


Can I first say that...mmm it wasn't good to begin with. And the new one...isn't much better. However, we do All know how sinful bad 'stroking' is on type, but the change made really...just...flopped the little box in illustrator that changes from stroke to fill. I mean... if you're going to go through the marketing effort to give yourself a new logo...at least give it some intention?


Kentucky Fried Chicken


KFC


Kudos for keeping with the times. The primary colors of the old logo are pretty outdated, and this new ...deeper red is quite trendy. BUT! Props for keeping the identity recognizable.


Mmmmm Ice creeeam...


DQ Logo


The new DQ logo has gotten pretty bad reviews. The biggest critique is that the new "swoosh" piece has no "meaning". Wellll I say...GO TO DAIRY QUEEN AND GET A FREAKIN BLIZZARD FOR YOURSELF.... and while you're there, notice on the menu that they also serve regular fast-food stuff. The swooshes, and their color, are Saying the tag-line of "hot eats, cool treats" ... While still maintaining the form of the original logo...keeping it easily identifyable


Payless ...needs to up their shoe prices or something


Payless Shoe Source


I will give you all of my money... $12... if you can tell me what the little circle thinger is... I haven't been to a new Payless shoe store to see what they've done with the entire system. And its not like...the company has ever Really relied on their logo...so Maybe a total revamp was necessary. But...this new one...doesn't say.... 'SHOES!' to me


Astroturf treads lightly


Astroturf


Soooo to me, this should say "FlagSales" or something. ... I don't see turf. ...or anything, really...


The NFL simplifles


NFL


These changes have made the NFL logo bolder, sharper, and simpler, yet give you the same effect. This is a quality example of a good logo redesign. Less stars, less clutter, more scalable. Well done.


Jiffylube, Another Non-Web Company Goes 2.0


Jiffylube


I'm biased. I went in for a damn oil change once and they charged me some $70. Said I needed a new filter and ...something else. I've been bitter ever since. But... The new logo. ...Yeah, just another Web 2.0 looking thing, and Another brand going from the bring red to the deeper... anyone else seeing a pattern? Let me show you another:


Compaq


Compaq


See what I mean? And wtf is with that typeface? Its like what there was when computers first came out..


AT&T ...still Debating


AT&T


Any seasoned designer seems to say "its awful". There has to be something to be said for their argument. The original was designed by none other than Saul Bass. It served the purpose in a creative, clean way. But...I agree that it needed a makeover. The new hollow globe however...not doing it for me. Well...maybe a little. I guess I don't mind it. But the light(er) lower case at&t seems...weak. Really weak/wimpy. C'mon, you're AT&T



MSNBC


msnbc


I don't know...good 'nough, I suppose. I'm glad they kept the peacock.


Qantas Takes a Step Forward


Qantas


Another color change to...keep up with the Jones' I suppose. This is a nice example of being able to touch up your brand and make it look better without actually changing the brand. Most average people would not notice the difference, but they might notice the brand more now. I dig the effort that was put in to better matching the typeface with the image..it doesn't look just "placed" in there.


Delta


Delta


A good modernization. ...But....My reaction is a simple *shrugs* which......knowing the effort/time/resources/cash put into updating an identity, a... *shrug* probably isn't...the best you could do?


Old Navy Goes Navy


Old Navy


I noticed it a while ago through stores, and ...I think that seeing it in its context, it looks nice. But the new logo alone fits awkwardly within its new oval(ish) shape... and the typeface makes for weird spacing within the letters. Hmmm...


Baskin Robbins


The old logo was no gimmicks, straight up neat. But...the new one.... I'm skeptical of. It looks like they pulled the font off of dafont.com. I feel like...wtf is with this forced "BR"? why does "Basken" get its "B" represented twice, and "Robbins" is rollin on only one? ...I get that its to make the "31" but...whatever.




Anyway,
I pulled the images/comparisons from Under Consideration But I just stole their images and didn't agree with most of their ideas *go figure*

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the Logos in Review session...
Bet you didn't even notice half of those that had changed...
hmph.

3 comments:

anand jay said...

AWESOME post. Definitely a good intro to design for me. After the first couple, I started guessing which ones were good or bad and why. That was fun, and reinforced that what I /think/ I know about the visual representation of info does follow the wisdom of graphic design. Not that I'm claiming to be an expert, but that I get it. That's all.

I think I'm going to take a couple of design classes in library school next fall. YAY!

Such-Great-Heights said...

You are such a GD geek sometimes. And it is so lovely. Because the rest of us....well, we minions wouldn't notice that the color changed, we'd just buy their shit and call it a day.

Well, the only one out of all of them that I had noticed changed was Old Navy....cuz of that shirt Adam gave me today...I kept looking at it and it just looked funny (the logo that is).

Yer so gradgitated :-)

Cycle Ninja said...

Here's my question: What're your favorite designs, and what do you think is the most recognizable logo?