On Wednesday, Gap took to its website to unveil a new logo and immediately ignited a Twitterstorm as brand fans, designers and design junkies screeched a collective “WTF!?!”
By yesterday, at least two satirical Twitter accounts were in full swing and the company had responded to the criticism through its Facebook page by announcing a crowd-sourced design contest, viewed widely as a classic case of branded backpedaling.
Advertising Age spoke to the Gap’s Louise Callagy who said the company is responding to the critics “by opening it up and having everyone participate in the process. We’ll see how it goes.”
Here’s the chatter on the new logo:
Gap @ Facebook
“We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to … see other ideas.”
Abe Sauer @ BrandChannel
Demonstrates a prototypical brand panic move. With things not going in its favor, the brand decides to change the one valuable element it has going for it… Ironically maybe, the new logo is perfect for the brand. It communicates exactly the values currently embodied by Gap: A sense of being lost and a lack of clear vision and creativity.
Alissa Walker @ Fast Company Design
“Two things seem to especially tweak designer brains: the plain-jane use of typeface Helvetica (which even longtime stalwart American Apparel is ducking away from these days), and that odd little square, painted in an oh-so-yesterday gradient, like a sad out-of-season hat.”
“listening to ‘Peter Cetera – Big Mistake'”
Brand New’s Armin Vit (to Fast Company)
“It has the unique ability to make anything look pedestrian and, in this particular case, it makes Old Navy, Gap’s low-end retail sister, look like a luxury brand by comparison.”
Bobby Solomon @ Kitsune Noir:
“For the last year or so the company has been using a ton of Helvetica Neue in their storewide branding and advertising so when I saw the logo it made sense that they would make the move towards the same look. But what absolutely boggled my mind was the tiny, blue, gradient square that sits awkwardly behind the letter ‘p.’ Where before you had a classic, even if it was an outdated logo, now in its place is something that looks like some kinda online bank.”
