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| The old + present logo |
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| Attempt at rebrand |
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| Spoof Logo |
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| Notes |
Forbes:
The Gap had most likely decided to retire their widely-recognizable logo of over 20 years some time ago. What the company probably didn't anticipate was the general backlash its replacement would receive from the internet at large.
In what Gap spokesperson Louise Callagy characterized as a quiet introduction "with minimal fanfare," the new logo was introduced to the company's web site for the first time on Monday morning. "It's part of how the brand is evolving," Callagy told me. "It's a refresh that had to happen," in conjunction with Gap's "1969" line of clothing, which has been expanding in pop-up stores across the country. It's also a move "aligning with the brand's target customer," says Callegy, "the 28-year-old millenial, the 35-year-old mom with kids."
I'm not sure about the average age of those commenting on Twitter, but here's a sampling of what getting re-tweeted enough to show up on search.twitter.com:
@superboxmonkey - "New Gap logo "looks as if it were done in Microsoft Word"
@spydergrrl - "Seen new Gap logo yet? I think it definitely captures essence of this generation, that is: "meh"
Following the trend of personified, speech-capable logos and icons that have been all over Twitter since the birth of @BPGlobalPR, FastCompany's logo conducted an interview with the new Gap logo, which FastCo posted to its site this morning. The new Gap logo's response to the mass hatred?
@GapLogo - "Change scares some people. So do clowns. I have no idea."
If it was a clever move by Gap Inc. to spin some of the public vitriol into a self-deprecating defense of its unpopular change, I'd applaud the company for smart marketing. But it isn't - Callegy confirmed to me that Gap Inc. has nothing to do with the logo's FastCo interview, or the Twitter account.
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In an alternate take on a snarky response to the new logo's simple, text-reliant aesthetic, Twitter user @jamesjyu created a site where you can 'make your own Gap logo,' which is already making its rounds on the web (users have already created close to 5000 logos of their own). It involves the mere deletion of the existing 'Gap' in Helvetica typeface, and lets the user replace it with whatever words or characters they wish.
Laird and Partners, the outside firm that worked with Gap on the re-branding, has a portfolio full of past work for the company; it makes this huge miss of a design offering that much more confusing to me. When I spoke to the office of Trey Laird, the individual designer behind the new logo, I was told both he and the firm have no comment on the issue.
Since the public hasn't warmed up to Gap's offering, the company's answer seems to boil down to "Oh yeah, well can you do better?" The Gap offered the following response on its Facebook page yesterday, a few days after receiving the public's response:
"Thanks for everyone’s input on the new logo! We’ve had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we’re changing. 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. Stay tuned for details in the next few days on this crowd sourcing project."
Was it Gap's original plan to crowdsource the project shortly after presenting a logo change? Callegy told me the company had "always planned to use the new logo campaign online and in holiday ads before rolling out fully in 2011," but the company is now "evaluating the next steps." Whatever the case, it plays out as more of a reactionary coping strategy than a well-laid marketing plan.
As I've written about in the past, crowdsourcing is a tactic long despised amongst the design community. The AIGA's (professional association for graphic design) official stance on spec work - or work that is completed without any promise of compensation - is that the practice "can compromise the benefits of effective design for both clients and designers," according to its web site. Instead of participating in crowdsourced speculative work, the AIGA "strongly encourages designers to enter into projects with full engagement to continue to show the value of their creative endeavor."
The language graphic designers themselves are using is much less political than that of the AIGA's words. Paul Soulellis, creative director of New York's Soulellis Studio, has asked for other designers to not participatein Gap's call for submissions in his widespread Twitter post:
"My plea to designers: do not post new logos for @Gap's benefit. Protect your profession & insist that work be strategic & compensated."
Design director Mike Monteiro of San Francisco's Mule Design thinks Gap's crowdsourcing idea, besides devaluing commercial design, was a bad move on the company's part: "Honestly, if they would have waited it out, all of this would have gone away," Monteiro told me in a phone interview. "I don’t think there’s going to be waves of people boycotting shopping at the Gap until they change the logo back." Monteiro's blog post from this morning on the matter has been getting wide circulation in the design blogosphere.
Crowdsourcing proponent 99designs.com – a company I’ve covered before – has seized the open call for design submissions from Gap Inc. as a moment of opportunity,launching its own design contest. From the contest brief:
“The winning design will be decided by community vote and 99designs will present the winning logo to the management of The Gap Inc as a gesture of goodwill. The winning designer will also be featured in the next 99designs newsletter!”
99designs is a web site that hosts graphic design contests for companies and small businesses that need logos, web site construction, and general graphic design needs. The site has been a major area of contention for graphic designers since its inception in 2006.
Does Gap Inc. need to worry whether designers want to participate in these contests?
The company might have reason to worry. Gap Inc. stock has been in steady decline over the last six months, dipping below 17 dollars per share in August, down from a high of above 26 in April of this year. Since Monday's new logo rollout, shares have fallen about half a point. Which is to say, not a whole lot. But if the company wants to move forward on an upward trajectory instead of continuing on a downward one, it has some strategizing to do.
High street retailer Gap has been forced to scrap an expensive new logo days after its launch following an online backlash from consumers.
Thousands of critical comments greeted the new version of Gap's logo when it was launched on the company's website last week.
The American group has now been forced to make an embarrassing U-turn.
Marka Hansen, president of the Gap brand in North America, conceded that the "outpouring of comments" showed the company "did not go about this in the right way".
The original Gap logo, showing the word "Gap" in capital letters inside a dark blue square, was replaced with a white square encasing a small blue square sitting over the letter "p" in "Gap".
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The change prompted a public protest, with more than 2,000 comments on Facebook criticising the decision to ditch the well-known logo.
A Twitter account set up in protest collected nearly 5,000 followers and a"Make your own Gap logo" site went viral on the internet, prompting nearly 14,000 parody versions.
Hansen used comments on Gap's Facebook page late last night to say:: "We've been listening to and watching all of the comments this past week. We heard them say over and over again they are passionate about our blue box logo, and they want it back. So we've made the decision to do just that – we will bring it back across all channels.
"We've learned a lot in this process. And we are clear that we did not go about this in the right way. We recognise that we missed the opportunity to engage with the online community. This wasn't the right project at the right time for crowd sourcing.
"There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we'll handle it in a different way. "
Previous controversial changes to well-known corporate logos include a decision by British Airways in 1997 to replace the union flag on its planes' tailfins with colourful "ethnic" designs.
Lady Thatcher, the former prime minister, was among those less than impressed. "We fly the British flag, not these awful things," she said, covering the tailfin on a model of the new designs with a tissue.
Coca-Cola is credited with almost wrecking its own business with the launch of "New Coke" in 1985. Aimed at getting one over on Pepsi, the exercise was quickly abandoned amid speculation it was all just a marketing ploy.
Closer to home, Royal Mail attempted perhaps the most calamitous corporate rebranding in recent history. In January 2001, the postal service renamed itself Consignia at a cost of £2m – only to reverse the change 16 months later.
• Gap has begun a legal battle against a social networking site set up by a former London student over alleged copyright infringment, as the Guardian reported last week.
The retailer, which was founded in California in the late 1960s, is still planning to go ahead with the action against the site, Gapnote.
Lawyers acting for Gap are seeking undisclosed damages from Gapnote, and want it to drop the "Gap" mark from its name.
Gapnote, which is still yet to launch in beta mode, rejects the claims, saying it has no intention of becoming a clothing retailer or trading on the Gap name.
The Gapnote chief executive, Greg Murphy, told the Guardian last week: "We're not going to go into beta until this Gap case is resolved. We can't afford to go to court with them, but I don't want to let them get away with this.
"Gapnote has no intention to use its Gapnote trademark in connection with clothing or other goods. We believe in fairness, freedom and respect for all and not killing a startup's dreams.
"We will do all we can to defend our right to use the name Gapnote."
Gap had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
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