hamishmash
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Mind the Gap?
FROM HALO MEDIA'S CREATIVE DIRECTOR:
So the new Gap logo has been unleashed on an unsuspecting world and has lavished us with a very real sense of feeling decidedly underwhelmed. The design community has obviously reacted in it’s thoughtful and considered way – one designer tweeted ‘OMG. WTF? I’m puking blood’ on first view.
So I’m going to try not to deliver a vitriolic diatribe on the worthlessness of this new identity but it does warrant a few words on the subject…
At first glance you get a strong whiff of American Apparel. Maybe it’s the Helvetica, simply crafted and displayed with the kerning ‘just so’, but then you get smacked in the eye with the small, badly placed and oddly executed gradient square. The whole thing looks incomplete, almost thrown together. This effect is probably heightened when you compare the new to the original. Now I’m not saying it wasn’t time to reconsider the logo, but the original carries with it a heritage, a history and lineage that means – whether you like it or not – you understand it, you know what the brand stands for. The new identity falls flat because it doesn’t reflect the values of the brand it represents. It’s trying to play the ‘cool’ card, but here’s the thing – Gap is not cool. It is conservative, but good quality, stylish with a small ‘s’. Gap products deliver a look that doesn’t really date. Gap is fashion without being fashionable – and what’s wrong with that?
Looking at the new logo is like the first time I saw my Dad wearing ironed jeans with box fresh trainers, it makes me feel uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed.
I suspect that the agency responsible was steeling itself for this day, and they won’t be surprised by the opinions being thrown around, but today the design community has a point. This is a bad logo and Gap has made a considerable error of judgement. On balance, the designer who’s puking blood may have a point, I hope he’s alright.
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FROM HALO MEDIA'S CREATIVE DIRECTOR:
So the new Gap logo has been unleashed on an unsuspecting world and has lavished us with a very real sense of feeling decidedly underwhelmed. The design community has obviously reacted in it’s thoughtful and considered way – one designer tweeted ‘OMG. WTF? I’m puking blood’ on first view.
So I’m going to try not to deliver a vitriolic diatribe on the worthlessness of this new identity but it does warrant a few words on the subject…
At first glance you get a strong whiff of American Apparel. Maybe it’s the Helvetica, simply crafted and displayed with the kerning ‘just so’, but then you get smacked in the eye with the small, badly placed and oddly executed gradient square. The whole thing looks incomplete, almost thrown together. This effect is probably heightened when you compare the new to the original. Now I’m not saying it wasn’t time to reconsider the logo, but the original carries with it a heritage, a history and lineage that means – whether you like it or not – you understand it, you know what the brand stands for. The new identity falls flat because it doesn’t reflect the values of the brand it represents. It’s trying to play the ‘cool’ card, but here’s the thing – Gap is not cool. It is conservative, but good quality, stylish with a small ‘s’. Gap products deliver a look that doesn’t really date. Gap is fashion without being fashionable – and what’s wrong with that?
Looking at the new logo is like the first time I saw my Dad wearing ironed jeans with box fresh trainers, it makes me feel uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed.
I suspect that the agency responsible was steeling itself for this day, and they won’t be surprised by the opinions being thrown around, but today the design community has a point. This is a bad logo and Gap has made a considerable error of judgement. On balance, the designer who’s puking blood may have a point, I hope he’s alright.
Find us on Facebook or check out our 'Latest' blog via my signature below for more...
