Calvin Klein - Case study

Old Logo

New logo

Calvin Klein has a new logo, which has been tweaked and redefined by graphic designer Peter Saville.

The fashion label has swapped out its lowercase logotype for an uppercase one with a smaller kerning gap between letters, retaining its black colour and sans-serif.

The new logo was unveiled on the brand’s Instagram account, with Calvin Klein saying that the new logo is a “return to the spirit of the original”.

It aims to pay homage to the self-named company’s founder, who launched the US company in 1968, and to the “foundations of the fashion house”, says the company.

Calvin Klein’s in-house creative team, headed up by chief creative officer Raf Simons, worked on the new logo, collaborating with Saville.

A lowercase “ck” previously sat above the Calvin Klein logotype and was used alongside it – it has not yet been confirmed whether there will be a new short-hand uppercase “CK” icon to go alongside the new logo.

Raf Simons is a Belgian designer who joined Calvin Klein in August last year, having previously held a role at Christian Dior. Peter Saville, originally from Manchester, is best known for his record sleeve designs for Factory Records, for artists including Joy Division.

The issue with using the same designer:

Once one designer starts using a graphic designer for their rebrand, and so does every other brand, brands start to lose their identity as individuals, and in turn, start becoming less desirable as there is no differentiation between any of the brands. Therefore the consumer will just aim towards whatever is cheapest as each of the names have the same level of notoriety in the industry, once their identity is gone what do they really have left. The consumer is literally just buying into the name, rather than be swayed by visual identity. This is something that lifestyle magazine 'High sobriety' picked up this week in their social media, as seen below, claiming it as an 'absolute joke'.

This is something I want to bring up in the practical side of my outcomes.