Great logo designs look incredibly simple. It’s easy to understand why one could think they are just as easy to create. Understanding how logos are designed is one way we can learn to appreciate logo design.
This is the Google visual brand / brand. It is simple, childlike and friendly as they want their brand to be perceived. Is this a good perception? They think so and they have given us detailed info on their reasoning!
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New logos usually mark a change of direction for a brand. K-Swiss and its newly launched brand identity and logo showcases a new “slant”. The company says it is in a period of resurgence and needed a refresh to reflect that. And that change of direction is literal.
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The new logo was created by Yahoo’s in-house brand design group and product designers. It was not part of the “30 Days of Change” campaign, according to Ad Age.
So, the “30 Days of Change” was really just an exercise with no intention of using one of the 30 featured choices. They had already decided on the chosen logo.
CEO Marissa Mayer’s blog post reveals, “Over the subsequent weeks, we’ve worked on various applications and treatments of the logo.” Huh? She goes on to mention, “We knew we wanted a logo that reflected Yahoo — whimsical, yet sophisticated. Modern and fresh, with a nod to our history. Having a human touch, personal. Proud.”
Results are a CEO-centric logo.
Yahoo is running a “30 Days of Change” new logo campaign. Each day in August they showcased a new design on their website, leading up to the unveiling of a new logo on September 5th. At first I thought this was meant to garner positive attention, hype and to just get people excited. Why not engage Yahoo users and ask for their votes? Sounds like a novel idea. Or why not allow other designers the opportunity of submitting their version? Yahoo has online polling asking visitors to rate each of the new Yahoo logos vs. the old one but, interestingly enough, most versions are not as well liked as the original logo.
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AIG (American International Group, Inc.) has a “refreshed” logo.
“Our new logo reflects a rebuilt and forward looking AIG – contemporary, dynamic, transparent, and revitalized,” said CEO Robert H. Benmosche, in a press release.
All that in this new visual icon?
Yes. The new design uses a brighter color and a sans serif font lending a trendy, friendly look. I am surprised they didnt use all lower case letters which is also one of the most popular current trends.
Some may recall The Gap’s new logo launch a short time back. It created so much negative backlash that the company back-pedaled to the old logo.
Simple, yes. Effective, no. This minimal change will hardly differentiate AIG in a sea of brands.
Which poses the question: are they trying to create buzz around something without really making a change?
Microsoft’s new logo is its first major change in 25 years. This is their fifth logo since the company was founded 37 years ago.
At first I thought this was a joke but no folks, this IS real.
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Total Rewards, Caesars Entertainment’s casino loyalty program has got a new logo.
To kick off their new look and benefits of Total Rewards, Caesars Entertainment launched a promotional giveaway called “Escape to Total Rewards” with, they say, upwards of 90,000 in prizes including two-night trips to Las Vegas.
Total Rewards, the country’s leading entertainment loyalty program, is the incentive program for players at casinos owned by the 52 worldwide Caesars Entertainments. The more you play, the more complimentary rooms, meals, etc. you receive. Caesars Entertainment says they are “focused on building loyalty and value with their guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership”.
To play, you enter a code online and “spin.” An array of images passes before your eyes and where it stops determines what you win. When it stops on the new logo, all you get is an entry into the sweepstakes drawing at the end of the contest. So essentially … you lose.
You get up to 11 spins a day. This was actually brought to my attention by a friend who uses it. She tells me that she and her friends who have been playing to win since its inception (March 1), all have several dozen entries into the sweepstakes.
So now, when they see the “coveted logo” (that’s how it’s described when it comes up!), they feel a terrible letdown. Who needs another sweepstakes entry?
Is this very good brand building to have players associate the new logo with losing? For those who recognize the Total Rewards logo and are forming impressions of what it stands for . . . this is, indeed, a misstep!
As far as the logo visual, their statement is as follows: It is intended to “capture the energy and excitement of the Total Rewards program, and to illustrate the global network of experiences to which guests have access just by virtue of being a Total Rewards member”.
My thought is … this logo is analogous to someone who got out of bed and forgot to comb their hair before they went out. A tangled web, which is meant to represent their “global network of experiences”, with an angry “TR” inside it. Not much positive going on with this branding.