Jaguar goes EV gets a new logo

Well, at least this makes sense. Basically a brand changes its logo when it is either changing its product line, its target audience or its market (geographically or otherwise). Jaguar changed its logo, to do precisely that. Their vision however is clear, they want to go totally upmarket more than doubling the price of their cars, launching newly designed models, going EV, and reaching out to the more affluent clients. The strategy mind you is not unheard of - when Tag Heuer wanted to shed its cheap image and go totally upscale to reach a new clientele, we suddenly had much-better designed watches, with the price to match (and a wonderful "success. it's a mind game"). Skoda did it too mind you with its now study case "Skoda, no really skoda". So other brands have done it, why can't Jaguar?

Sure, a lot of people are revolting design wise, but these are the same people who went up in arms against Balenciaga when, honestly, they couldn't even afford their products in the first place. So let's put it this way, unless you have the funds to buy yourself the new upmarket EV Jaguar models, your opinion doesn't count. In the immortal words of Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston) in Friends "no uterus, no opinion", because honestly, the new Jaguar is simply not talking to you.

Get over it.

AUB changes its logo - yes, but why?

Every other day I get a notify from AUB - my alma mater - pleading for donations. Understandable considering how the country has totally fallen apart and how university fees have gone completely through the roof. I am not going to go through what helped me then go through the AUB tuition and how these schemes have been scrapped from the university. But suffice to say is that if you want to save money (and ergo not ask for donations from your previous graduates day on day off) it would be nice not to squander - and I am measuring my words - your budget on a logo change.

Why? "let me count the ways" as the poet said. You need to change, your logo on your buildings, stationary, fleet of cars, caps for workers, napkins in the cafeteria, website, digital presence, folders, envelopes, t-shirts, this, that without even counting the original design work fees. 

All this is incredibly costly and... A little pointless. Already there are too many banks, brands, companies who have two or three logos cohabitating in the market together - Zara still has its old logo on many of its shops. 

I see no logic whatsoever in this move, and if there ever was one, definitely not at this time when AUB is claiming to be in financial need.

Car companies new logos: rebranding away from 3D

Well, when everyone does it, it is no longer a novelty. But it seems everyone is doing it out of necessity. After the bigtime fad of the 3D quasi-airbrushed logos for car brands, in the last few months, no less than 10 different brands have announced new logos (Volvo, Nissan, BMW, Mini, Dacia, Renault, Kia, Peugeot, VolksWagen, and Fiat have all went this route).

Actually, I also read somewhere that Audi has filed papers for a new logo very much in line with the ones presented in the image above. What is interesting is that in all cases, suddenly a new 2D logo has appeared. Truth be told, there are many elements of similarity with these brands' old logos from the 60s/70s. However, nostalgia is certainly not the driving element to be sure. Rather, it is the new social media. 

Let me give you this design secret, long time ago (that would be till 2010 or so), to make sure a logo worked, we used to put it on the smallest surface on which it will be printed - namely the business card, if the logo was still visible then it was acceptable. Today, the smallest surface on which the logo will be displayed is no longer the business card but your Instagram handle. And the less complicated the logo, the more streamlined, simple, 2-Dimentional, the more you have the possibility of being immediately seen by your audience as everyone is competing for eyeballs. 

However, in defense of the car brands, each one tried to keep its own identity separate as opposed to clothing brands who went almost anonymous with their new logos (for some odd reason major luxury houses have decided to go the let-us-all-look-the-same route). If you do not believe me look at the image below.