{"id":21493,"date":"2010-10-11T04:09:04","date_gmt":"2010-10-11T11:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mehallo.com\/blog\/?p=21493"},"modified":"2010-10-12T03:19:58","modified_gmt":"2010-10-12T10:19:58","slug":"new-gap-logo-one-more-for-the-pile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mehallo.com\/blog\/archives\/21493","title":{"rendered":"New Gap logo: One more for the pile"},"content":{"rendered":"

   
\nBefore and after<\/em><\/p>\n

Another company\u2019s gone and done it.<\/p>\n

Desperate times call for  . . .  logo changes. If a company\u2019s not doing well, they have to do something. Forget the pressure of product marketing, pricing, supply and demand \u2013 all too tough to deal with. Instead: Let\u2019s change the logo.<\/em><\/p>\n

K-Mart has done it a few times.<\/p>\n

Not quite getting to the root of things. But changing a logo to solve a major problem is like saying, I have cancer, so \u2013 I\u2019m going to go get my hair done.<\/em><\/p>\n

When exactly did this become the rule of the day? Is a logo change what it takes to shore up a failing brand? Gap seems to think so and if that\u2019s how they\u2019re managing things right now, they probably should fail. <\/p>\n

Previous Gap website<\/em><\/p>\n

what designers really do<\/strong>
\nThere\u2019s a difference between a graphic designer and an art director. Graphic designers design things. Like logos. <\/p>\n

Art Directors are supposed to look at the big picture. So when a major retailer says \u2018We need a new logo,\u2019 a good art director is supposed to ask, \u2018Why?\u2019 instead of launching Adobe Illustrator and drawing blue boxes.<\/p>\n

That said, a good art director should also know that changing an established identity \u2013 or logo \u2013 is a risky undertaking. It can be tackled for many reasons, customer dissonance, legibility problems, something fell on someone and a name change is in order. Or it\u2019s just ego.<\/p>\n

Ego is when designers get excited about a project and change something that works into something else. <\/p>\n

That was my first reaction to Gap\u2019s new moniker offering (supposedly crafted by their ad agency): Let\u2019s make our own version, it\u2019ll match the 1969 jeans campaign we\u2019ve been doing<\/em> (below). But I think there\u2019s more going on than that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

economic acts of desperation<\/strong>
\nIn two of my classes this past week I asked a simple question: \u2018Who shops at the Gap?\u2019<\/p>\n

No hands went up. <\/p>\n

I then asked, \u2018Who shops at Old Navy<\/a>?\u2019<\/p>\n

Bigger response for Gap Inc.\u2019s low end<\/em> store. <\/p>\n

Retail is on the decline and is tied to the economy. So there’s some really odd things happening out there. Example: Restoration Hardware,<\/a> once a fun place, ain’t so fun anymore.<\/p>\n

As a culture, we\u2019re shifting from a \u2018buy what we don\u2019t need\u2019<\/em> model into a \u2018what\u2019s really necessary\u2019<\/em> ideology. Many are living paycheck to paycheck. Foreclosures aren’t going away. And major retail stores are in trouble. Something has to happen.<\/p>\n

Something  . . .  that gets consumers back into failing stores. That\u2019s the problem that has to be solved.<\/p>\n

A few years back – I was going thru some 1930s retail advertising and saw similar things. The Great Depression<\/a> did affect desperate decisions on behalf of retail. And was a huge jump from how things were marketed in the 1920s. I think what Gap’s doing is just more of this.<\/p>\n

I hope it\u2019s more than this. Some of my students have been commenting on Facebook: \u2018I have a feeling the new Gap logo is a marketing ploy. So many people are up in arms about it, and all publicity is good publicity.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Is this a carefully planned marketing campaign based on customer backlash? Really?<\/em> Or just another last ditch effort to shore up a dying brand?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

online reaction, not so good<\/strong>
\nToday, instant critiques have become common. <\/p>\n

Tropicana Orange Juice was one of the biggies \u2013 their audience was so angry, Tropicana pulled the new design<\/a> and went back to basics. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t even get me started on Tropicana owners, Pepsi and their 2008 overhaul.<\/a> Though I will note: They\u2019ve been slowly updating their sodas, adding elements from their previous branding to what they\u2019re now stuck with. Interesting to watch.<\/p>\n

If anything, consumers don\u2019t want major change right now. Not in their orange juice, soda or retail stores. Hell, just change Facebook a bit<\/a> and revolts happen.<\/p>\n

The response to Gap was quick. Read here.<\/a> And here.<\/a> And here.<\/a> And here.<\/a> And here.<\/a> Oh, and make your own here<\/a> and here.<\/a> And ISO50 is even running a redesign of the redesign contest.<\/a> In short, Gap has a new logo \u2013 with a blue box that suggests faded blue denim \u2013 but it looks like a design intern took over and ran with it. Student quality work for a major brand.<\/p>\n

Anyone remember when an identity, a logotype meant something? There was a time when making a logo was something really special. And now, throwing together crap is the norm. <\/p>\n

Maybe the 19 buck logo model<\/a> is actually doing its job. It\u2019s where we\u2019re headed.<\/p>\n

Good logos need staying power.<\/p>\n

Look at Apple today vs. Apple 20 years ago. IBM today vs. 20 years ago. CBS, CocaCola  . . .  And Bank of America. That one bugs me. <\/p>\n

BofA had a cool mark with an American eagle flying thru it<\/a> \u2013 replaced with a generic flag on a red background.<\/a> I\u2019ve said it before: Red isn\u2019t a great color when it comes to money and banking. WTF are they doing??<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

weird trend following, off by a few years<\/strong>
\nI also don\u2019t get Gap\u2019s timing. The Helvetica revival that they\u2019re latching on to (sort of tied to the release of the film<\/a>) is kind of played out in the fashion industry (note American Apparel, above).<\/p>\n

To see Gap go in this direction is a rather late response. Desperate. Or boring. <\/p>\n

Another way to look at it: cheap. It says cheap to me. It says H&R Block from 10 years ago.<\/a><\/p>\n


\nFirst Gap, 1969<\/em><\/p>\n

optimistic thoughts<\/strong>
\nI am hoping there\u2019s more to this than meets the eye. Gap has always been a fun brand<\/a> \u2013 with even funner<\/em> campaigns<\/a> that can suck one in. There\u2019s gotta be an unsuspecting something up their sleeve that will have me humming \u2018Fall into the Gap\u2019<\/a><\/em> over and over again. <\/p>\n

They have a plan. Can\u2019t be this dumb, right?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And an update (thanks to Tim Kim): Gap to scrap new logo, return to old design<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

GAP website image found via Rob Young;<\/a> Gap 1969 via redesign:related;<\/a> and thanks to Jeanne Mehallo for help with this post<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t

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