Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Branding (Part 2: Re Branding)

The other day I posted an example of what I feel is good branding. Maybe it reflects on the economic times, but it seems like a lot of big brands are undergoing identity re branding. One such company that showed up on thedieline.com a few months ago is Pepsi. In the graphic world, the change in the Pepsi logo has created quite a stir.

A visual look into the Pepsi logo history


Most of the time when we talk about good design we subconsciously consider both the design aspect and the situational aspect. For example, if Pepsi were an upstart company and this was their original brand identity, it would probably be considered great design. However, Pepsi is loaded with history and consumer recognition. Because of this situation the redesign becomes a hotly debated topic.

One thing is for sure, if the new logo and typeface are a success, Pepsi's re branding will be hailed as great design...If it is a flop, well, you know the rest! What does everybody else think? Is this a smart move or a move in the wrong direction?

3 comments:

  1. I have talked with a number of graphic designers about this, and they (as well as I do) think its a move in the wrong direction. I feel like I would like the can's design if it was, as you said, a start up company without an already established brand identity. The type and can seems oversimplified, yet they got rid of the symmetrical "swoosh" in the logo and added that weird diagonal...thing... that makes the logo more complicated and less recognizable.

    If you look at Mountain Dew's redesign, I think that is better. It still fits with Mountain Dew's brand identity, but feels refreshed from the old design.

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  2. I agree with Silvia,
    Also I think this makes Pepsi look like they are trying to be trendy. I associate the type with green or environmental companies. I think it comes off as fake.

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  3. I think if you look at the regular Pepsi can alone the new logo is actually interesting and the typeface is good. Looking at all the brands of Pepsi together as a family it seems redundant, over the top, and a branding mistake

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