By: Rick Stanton, Creative Director / Managing Partner, Stanton & Everybody
Unless you’ve been purposely avoiding the news, which isn’t a bad idea, you’ve likely encountered the $&%# storm over the Gap changing it’s logo.Watching this unfurl was like watching someone fall off a building in slow motion. It was hard to watch but it was even harder to look away. New York’s Laird & Partners were the masterminds behind what is apparently one of the most irresponsible approaches to brand design I have seen in my entire career. Apparently this was a complete inside job that left the consumer out of the dialogue. In the book Brand Gap (and other places) it’s underscored that advertising and design professionals, along with their clients, are no longer in charge. We came to this revelation about ten years ago through a little thing we call research. Gap President, Marka Hansen was quoted as using the words “crowd sourcing” as part of the process to change the logo to reflect more modern, slimmer, stylish look of the clothing they are introducing.
Crowd sourcing, mob scene, committee … pick one. They all mean the same thing. Maybe they should have sourced the crowd first, AS IN RESEARCH. One last thought; does anyone with a scant understanding of design view Helvetica Bold as sleeker more modern design message as defended by the dopes at Laird?
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