Did clothing retailer GAP go from selling New England-Americana-esque clothing to selling software?
I’m confused and if you’ve had a glimpse of their new logo, part of a re-branding initiative, you would be too.
The old logo, similarly to the clothing the store sells, was not pretentious, was elegant and gave off a feeling of subtle elegance intermixed with casual luxury, laced in educated sophistication.
This new logo is written in Helvetica and is evocative of Silicon Valley.
While, this is better than Arial (*gag me*) and a step up from Gotham, it’s not something to jump for joy about either.
The reason being that these fonts have the ability to make anything look simple – simple, pedestrian, ‘dumb,’ typical, normal, everyday, bland – or however, else you choose to describe it.
It’s so out of place, that now, Old Navy, GAP’s low-end retail sister, looks like a luxury brand in comparison.
Sad.
To be fair, nothing is really wrong with using fonts like Helvetica, Arial or Gotham – but they should be used to some thought and psychology behind them.
- An in-store promotion? Sure, why not.
- A street-crossing sign for pedestrians? By all means.
- To re-brand a high-end, American iconic brand? Heck, no.
And is it just me?
Or is there something very Microsoft about the new GAP logo?
I imagine soon, when you purchase Windows 8, you can also get a free pair of 1969 jeans…
Also, I’m not quite sure what the deal is with the little blue gradient box. It’s very digital and hardly conveys denim, cotton and linen, much less iconic American fashion.
Not to add insult to injury, but it looks like the witch hunt has officially begun as designers and public relations folks across the web have vented their disgust.
However, like the Wolf Olins 2012 Olympics logo, which was vilified beyond recognition by the press upon its unveiling, people came around and accepted it…eventually.
I wonder if the same will happen with GAP, but I’m not holding my breath because, I personally, dislike it.
Therefore, to agree with @AlexisNasc, who tweeted about this, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.â€
Either way, if you are curious, have time or kill or just want to get in touch with your commercial feelings, you can follow @GapLogo on Twitter to see how it ‘feels’ about the entire … *ahem*… situation.
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Sasha Muradali runs the Little Pink Book. She holds a B.S. in Public Relations from the University of Florida with a minor in Dance (’07) and an M.A. in International Administration from the University of Miami (’08). She loves Twitter and all things social media, so you should find her @SashaHalima or get a copy of the Little Pink Book delivered to your Kindle.
Copyright © 2009-2010 Sasha H. Muradali. All Rights Reserved.
