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Information Architects: Everybody likes logos. Everybody wants their own logo. Everybody wants to make their own logo. Everybody has a computer and some fonts. Anybody can make a logo. What makes designers think they are so special?
The author of this article makes a very amusing and interesting point when she points out that all of the attributes the new design claims to convey are attributes that Yahoo! does not in fact have- "whimsical, sophisticated... modern." Perhaps this is what Yahoo! wants to be, but currently is not. In this case, starting with the logo without trying to fix anything else seems an odd strategy. The author says this conveys desperation, and they are right. Yahoo!'s brand is going downhill, and changing the logo over a weekend without a professional branding agency speaks of deep desperation. If anyone could afford professional rebranding, Yahoo! can afford it- and they seriously need it.
Great article, raises a lot of important points, and addresses a topic I haven't ever given much thought to before. The distinction between brand design and brand management is very interesting, and obviously at the heart of Marissa Mayer's mistake. Her justification of the logo feels like a high school student's weak analysis of a novel that they haven't read. I agree with the article that Yahoo would need to completely revisit and transform their brand, or identity, before they even tackle a visual presentation. This easily applies to people. After all, what's the point of dressing nicely and appearing very well put together when you are actually a sloppy unproductive mess? Eventually, someone will notice that you don't do your work well, and a fancy suit won't do much to save you.
This is definitely one of the wittiest articles that has been posted to the blog. What amazes me is that the CEO of a company as large as Yahoo would make such a casual and rather idiotic post on the internet about how a major change was made to the identity of the company. My hope is that any stockholders who read her post or this article sold their shares immediately. There is a professional way to do things, and this is certainly not it.
I found it interesting that the words she used to describe the new logo were clearly not even remotely applicable to Yahoo as the public views it now. Instead of hastily creating a new logo that espoused the things the company wished they were, they should have looked long and hard at ways they could change their brand image to actually match the new logo.
As pointed out by Camille, the lessons learned from this hilarious situation can be applied to an individual's professional life as well.
This is a great example of the fact that design is SEVERELY undervalued. Especially in this web-oriented society, the design process is one that's often underfunded, overlooked, and sometimes completely ignored or left up to the person who has a few extra minutes in their day.
"Oh, design is easy!" they say. The design process is a part of product lifecycle many people, despite what they think, have neither the time nor experience to do well. But hey, at least they didn't ask an engineer.
For such a large company, Yahoo! should definitely know better than this.
The entire time I was reading this article I could only envision the logo included in the text, but by the end all I could think was - 'Is it really that bad...?' So I took a moment to google the new yahoo logo. I turned up a complete list of their 30 day logo transition period which seems to illustrate a progression that is less embarrassing than the article describes. And I personally don't think their end result is quite the train-wreck I initially envisioned...but that doesn't excuse their CEO's grandiose and colorful justification for the change. Plus, it's certainly not whimsical, but I might go as far as to say that it's rather clean, and sorta bold, but a definite upgrade nonetheless.
For your own consideration: http://www.yahoo.com/dailylogo
I found this article to be hilarious. I think that visually the end product isn't horrible, but as a corporate logo it is. A logo isn't just an image, but it's a reflection of a company and everything that it stands for. The fact that Yahoo decided to play around with illustrator for a weekend is ridiculous, and to brag about it is even worse. If a logo reflects what your company stands for, maybe it isn't wise to admit that your logo is BS. What's worse is that it's not like they don't have funding for a new logo design, Mayer just wanted to have fun in Illustrator (and maybe try to prove something) The image of a multibillion dollar company is not the right platform for that kind of thing. Also, reading about this reminded me of a site called "Clients From Hell" where designers post ridiculous/horrible things that clients have said and done.
6 comments:
The author of this article makes a very amusing and interesting point when she points out that all of the attributes the new design claims to convey are attributes that Yahoo! does not in fact have- "whimsical, sophisticated... modern." Perhaps this is what Yahoo! wants to be, but currently is not. In this case, starting with the logo without trying to fix anything else seems an odd strategy. The author says this conveys desperation, and they are right. Yahoo!'s brand is going downhill, and changing the logo over a weekend without a professional branding agency speaks of deep desperation. If anyone could afford professional rebranding, Yahoo! can afford it- and they seriously need it.
Great article, raises a lot of important points, and addresses a topic I haven't ever given much thought to before. The distinction between brand design and brand management is very interesting, and obviously at the heart of Marissa Mayer's mistake. Her justification of the logo feels like a high school student's weak analysis of a novel that they haven't read. I agree with the article that Yahoo would need to completely revisit and transform their brand, or identity, before they even tackle a visual presentation.
This easily applies to people. After all, what's the point of dressing nicely and appearing very well put together when you are actually a sloppy unproductive mess? Eventually, someone will notice that you don't do your work well, and a fancy suit won't do much to save you.
This is definitely one of the wittiest articles that has been posted to the blog. What amazes me is that the CEO of a company as large as Yahoo would make such a casual and rather idiotic post on the internet about how a major change was made to the identity of the company. My hope is that any stockholders who read her post or this article sold their shares immediately. There is a professional way to do things, and this is certainly not it.
I found it interesting that the words she used to describe the new logo were clearly not even remotely applicable to Yahoo as the public views it now. Instead of hastily creating a new logo that espoused the things the company wished they were, they should have looked long and hard at ways they could change their brand image to actually match the new logo.
As pointed out by Camille, the lessons learned from this hilarious situation can be applied to an individual's professional life as well.
This is a great example of the fact that design is SEVERELY undervalued. Especially in this web-oriented society, the design process is one that's often underfunded, overlooked, and sometimes completely ignored or left up to the person who has a few extra minutes in their day.
"Oh, design is easy!" they say. The design process is a part of product lifecycle many people, despite what they think, have neither the time nor experience to do well. But hey, at least they didn't ask an engineer.
For such a large company, Yahoo! should definitely know better than this.
The entire time I was reading this article I could only envision the logo included in the text, but by the end all I could think was - 'Is it really that bad...?' So I took a moment to google the new yahoo logo. I turned up a complete list of their 30 day logo transition period which seems to illustrate a progression that is less embarrassing than the article describes. And I personally don't think their end result is quite the train-wreck I initially envisioned...but that doesn't excuse their CEO's grandiose and colorful justification for the change. Plus, it's certainly not whimsical, but I might go as far as to say that it's rather clean, and sorta bold, but a definite upgrade nonetheless.
For your own consideration: http://www.yahoo.com/dailylogo
I found this article to be hilarious. I think that visually the end product isn't horrible, but as a corporate logo it is. A logo isn't just an image, but it's a reflection of a company and everything that it stands for. The fact that Yahoo decided to play around with illustrator for a weekend is ridiculous, and to brag about it is even worse. If a logo reflects what your company stands for, maybe it isn't wise to admit that your logo is BS. What's worse is that it's not like they don't have funding for a new logo design, Mayer just wanted to have fun in Illustrator (and maybe try to prove something) The image of a multibillion dollar company is not the right platform for that kind of thing. Also, reading about this reminded me of a site called "Clients From Hell" where designers post ridiculous/horrible things that clients have said and done.
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