Good logos are like good friends: "When they show up wearing a mustache, with no explanation, you just go, 'Huh?'" says Michael Cronan, creative director at branding firm Cronan. But, of course, most logo changes are done for a reason. Cronan and partner Karin Hibma evaluate three recent ones.
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YELLOW PAGES
// The Problem Yellow Pages was largely thought of as a print (and outdated) product, even though it has digital platforms. // The Verdict "The fingers-walking symbol was an iconic visual metaphor, and to replace it with a generic set of initials--which may as well stand for 'Yugoslavian Port Authority' out of context--is a huge loss. Yes, the new logo looks like an app icon. But it doesn't have personality."
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MTV
// The Problem Viewers knew and loved shows like Jersey Shore but didn't always know they were on MTV. // The Verdict "MTV is all about reality TV now, so it's smart to take off 'music television.' But by filling the M with scenes from their shows, the noisy backgrounds and lack of shadowing make it hard to see the M. It looks like a torn billboard."
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FIREFOX
// The Problem Mozilla was about to release version 3.5 of its Firefox browser, which looked similar but had a lot of back-end changes. The company feared users wouldn't notice the new stuff. // The Verdict "The colors are softer, so it appears a bit more unified and globular. But there's nothing that feels fresh, fun, or interesting. It seems like Firefox redrew this for themselves, not their customers."
[Illustration by David Cowles]
Next in Reboot Nation: What Do Studebaker and Geocities Have In Common? No One Remembers Them
A version of this article appears in the October 2011 issue of Fast Company.