Iconography Gone Awry

As a graphic designer and art enthusiast, I become increasingly interested in icons and symbols. At one time my interest only covered the aptly described iconic brand symbols such as Paul Rand's UPS logo or Raymond Loewy's International Harvester logo. Over time I've learned how symbolism in art and society has progressed through the years. Dating as far back as the Roman Empire, when Constantine began to use the Chi-Rho monogram for his army. Symbols have even made their way into our lives functionally. The ampersand is once again being used in writing text messages and tweets.

With symbolism playing such an important role in our lives, it was quite shocking to see the retail brand Gap's recent attempt at redesigning their iconic brand. The once clean and simple blue logo with reversed out type, reminiscent of a pair of jeans back pocket was temporarily changed to what a company spokesperson claimed was a more modern design.

Temporarily is the key word here, as so many of us designers, artist's and marketing critics berated the company's choice over social media networks. To me it broke so many design rules. What was the purpose of the blue square intersecting the letter "p"? Why the switch from upper case to lower case? Why such a subtle gradation in the blue, how will that translate to print media; and more importantly how will black type show up over reflex blue when printed at 180 dpi for newspaper? (I know many think that medium is almost dead, but come on, it's still in use!) No hidden arrow like in FedEx, no person on a tractor like International Harvester, no hint of what the company did at all. Their established brand was so iconic; I still am unsure how they came to their revised end product?

The positive ending in my opinion was they changed their mind, or the web communities’ response influenced them to change their mind. Creativity will have to be harnessed to communicate their brand in a more contemporary way, not a quick fix logo redesign. My increasing fear that the world was becoming more interested in "whiz bang" functionality and streaming lines of text devoid of all visual interest has temporarily subsided. Maybe art and creativity will regain momentum after all in this new media world.

* Photo by Janet Pahlau

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