Amnesia Branding or the old vs the who?

It is one thing to refresh one's branding, it's another to changing it to the point of not recognizing it anymore. I was astounded to find that the beloved GAP logo had gone through a serious change. What's left of the old logo is the «spirit» of the blue rectangle, placed on the top right hand corner - ready to be exited in the next revamping. Just like me, GAP is getting older and is accepting to age with difficulty. But, I am not ready to give up on my personality in order to keeping up appearances. Neither should GAP. The new logo is sporting an American Apparel outfit (Helvetica, on white background). Actually, American Apparel, Crate&Barrel, and now GAP are now wearing all the same outfit. What was wrong with the previous (sniff) logo? From easily recognizable to «have we met before?». Is it a coincidence that the «new» logo came to life after Don Fisher's passing? I think not. A logo's soul is its font. And now, GAP has lost its soul...and a few sales for I would rather shop somewhere else.

New and improved, with LESS flavor

The postman had a surprise for me this morning, my first re-designed issue of Bloomberg Business-week magazine. My first reaction was OMG: the logo has become anorexic! Light, small, colorless....set in Helvetica? No offense Crate&Barrel, AmericanAirlines, American Apparel, Jeep, Toyota, Post-it, but for a magazine? Nooooo. As I flipped through the pages I noticed a lot less photos, and illustrations (save some $$?). Before I made up my mind wether I like the overall change, I decided to read the Editor's Letter (written by Josh Tyrangiel, Editor). He mentions how no one in the 4.7 million readers has written to demand a re-design. And that no one had felt the need to critique our fonts (not even yours truly) Well, if it ain't broke why fix it, right? BUT then I read the following quote by Creative Director Richard Turley, responsible for the re-design : «Design is best when you don't know it's there - we want the journalism to speak loudest» I stopped breathing and turned purple a little. Au contraire mon frère, journalism and visual together is a perfect match! I have been fighting this cause for many years. One doesn't go without the other. Just like: salt & pepper, sweet n' sour, pasta & tomato sauce! Anybody out there agree with me?