DESIGNpebble

With one simple change, GAP has managed to destroy the instantly recognisable brand that they had built for themselves.

The new logo is as far removed from the original as can be, favouring a Sans-serif font (Helvetica) over the original and highly identifiable  Serif font, The bold blue background has now been shrunk and a gradient added for who-knows what reason, most likely to look “trendy” and “cool” when in reality it makes the logo look more like a software company, I can’t believe someone got payed to create something so uninspired.

For example, take the new logo completely out of context, put it on a white background and ask someone to tell you what they think the company sells… See the problem? Granted the original logo didn’t have any identifiers, and for anyone not in the know, saying what GAP sells would be a challenge, but they already had brand awareness. The new logo now has to start re-building that awareness.

I don’t think this will kill GAP completely, far from it. It will probably do what it was designed for and inject the brand into the more trend aware marketplace. I am just disappointed to see such a strong original identity be swept aside so crassly and replaced by what is in my opinion, a VERY poorly designed and thought out new logo. Ho-hum.