The old logo was better

[Acsenray]

1. After the SBC-AT&T merger, SBC became the "new AT&T." They got a new AT&T logo, which was conceptually similar to the old one -- a globe made up of lines plus "AT&T," but the new globe was uglier than the old globe and the new typeface was uglier than the old, and in unattractive lower-case. They shoulda just stuck to the old logo.

2. Northwest Airlines -- Up to 2003, Northwest had a very attractive and also clever logo, in which the compass point pointing towards the northwest was also the left-hand arm that made the N into a [/i]W[/i]. For some reason they ditched all the attractive and clever aspects of this logo and changed the N to lower case, making it look worse and destroying the visual pun.

What else could go on this list?

[Mahaloth]

The Sci-fi channel, who also dumped their standard name for that lame Syfy thing.

One of their past logos(not the best one) (http://images.wikia.com/mst3k/images/d/d1/Scifi.jpg)

Their current logo. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Syfy.png)

[Acsenray]

Oh yeah, links

Old and new AT&T (http://emvergeoning.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/att_orig.jpg)

Old Northwest Airlines (http://www.v7n.com/forums/attachments/online-business-forum/9653d1244423451-logo-effective-business-weapon-northwest_logo.jpg)

New NWA (http://www.10950.08sc.thinkquest.nl/images/logos/northwest.png)

[Acsenray]

Comedy Central -- had two good ones in the past -- 1 (http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/comedy-central-logo-1.jpg) 2 (http://img.search.com/thumb/f/fc/Comedy_Central_logo.svg/150px-Comedy_Central_logo.svg.png)


Current boring Comedy Central logo (http://images.wikia.com/logopedia/images/d/dc/Comedy_Central_2011_stacked.png)

[Duckster]

Oh yeah, links

Old and new AT&T (http://emvergeoning.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/att_orig.jpg)

Old Northwest Airlines (http://www.v7n.com/forums/attachments/online-business-forum/9653d1244423451-logo-effective-business-weapon-northwest_logo.jpg)

New NWA (http://www.10950.08sc.thinkquest.nl/images/logos/northwest.png)


Ah, nope.

Old Northwest Airlines logo (http://www.10950.08sc.thinkquest.nl/images/logos/northwest.png)

New Northwest Airlines logo (http://www.delta.com/).

[Acsenray]

Ah, nope.

Irrelevant to the issue at hand.

[ZipperJJ]

Thought process at Northwest marketing meeting:

We need to shorten our name and be hip, like all the other hip companies are doing.
Maybe we could just abbreviate a bit?
Northwest...NW...NW Airlines...NWA...
NWA, I like it! No one has used those initials before have they?
Surely not. And anyone who has surely can be scared off from using it, don't you think?

N.W.A. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N.W.A)

[Acsenray]

Chrysler (http://o.aolcdn.com/os/autos/photos/graphics/20100414_chrysler-logos_614am) -- The middle one, which is the current logo for the Chrysler marque, is based on the pre-Daimler era and is much more iconic. The top and bottom ones -- which I think are for the umbrella corporate entity -- are really unclear. What are they, wings? What is that, a flower or something? You can hardly even read the text. And the long wing shape makes it difficult to use in a variety of formats.

[WOOKINPANUB]

I think the original Disneyland logo (http://www.marchahead.co.in/ma/logo/Disneyland_logo.jpg) was much more fitting than the current one (http://www.dalamangardens.com/assets/DG2/600px/Disneyland_Logo.jpg). The old one fit in with the whole castle thing and the new one just looks a mess to me.

[Skammer]

I think the original Disneyland logo (http://www.marchahead.co.in/ma/logo/Disneyland_logo.jpg) was much more fitting than the current one (http://www.dalamangardens.com/assets/DG2/600px/Disneyland_Logo.jpg). The old one fit in with the whole castle thing and the new one just looks a mess to me. What's that in the background of the new one? A reclining pink bear?

[WOOKINPANUB]

What's that in the background of the new one? A reclining pink bear?

That's hilarious! Now I'm not going to be able to unsee that bear. It does make the logo a bit more tolerable though.

[Acsenray]

I think the original Disneyland logo (http://www.marchahead.co.in/ma/logo/Disneyland_logo.jpg) was much more fitting than the current one (http://www.dalamangardens.com/assets/DG2/600px/Disneyland_Logo.jpg). The old one fit in with the whole castle thing and the new one just looks a mess to me.

I prefer the new script to the old blackletter.

And it seems from the website (http://disneyland.disney.go.com/) that they use both of them.

[Annie-Xmas]

The original logo (http://www.jimsteinman.com/whistle.htm) for the 1996 Jim Steinman/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Whistle Down The Wind is about a million times better than the new one (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Whistleshowlogo.JPG).

One of my most prized possessions is a black jacket with the original logo embroideied on the back, originally owned by Steinman.

[DiosaBellissima]

What's that in the background of the new one? A reclining pink bear?

That's this giant rock thing in California Adventure (http://i.pbase.com/v3/89/600489/2/50081071.gal1vfoto3.jpg) (worst. themepark. EVER.). And while I certainly have a soft spot for the original Disneyland logo, I do sort of dig how the new one incorporates Walt's famous handwriting :).

[KneadToKnow]

Wow, this thread definitely wins "highest percentage of broken links and links I'm not allowed access to" award for the day.


My nomination is for Toyota. The "new" (15-ish years old) ellipses (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5LUPCu9p8L8/TdEGNBhqDZI/AAAAAAAAABk/ecOM8NXpD_A/s1600/Toyota-Logof.jpg) will never replace the stalwart, Helvetica-ish TOYOTA (http://web.changenet.sk/aa/files/e0b5d33a0d0a58fabd5c1bd36364355f/ToyotaLogo.jpg) of my youth.

[Hermitian]

Wow, this thread definitely wins "highest percentage of broken links and links I'm not allowed access to" award for the day.


My nomination is for Toyota. The "new" (15-ish years old) ellipses (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5LUPCu9p8L8/TdEGNBhqDZI/AAAAAAAAABk/ecOM8NXpD_A/s1600/Toyota-Logof.jpg) will never replace the stalwart, Helvetica-ish TOYOTA (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5LUPCu9p8L8/TdEGNBhqDZI/AAAAAAAAABk/ecOM8NXpD_A/s1600/Toyota-Logof.jpg) of my youth.

Dang! Beat me to it. The Toyota emblem looks like a cow with horns. Ugly.

[Acsenray]

My nomination is for Toyota. The "new" (15-ish years old) ellipses (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5LUPCu9p8L8/TdEGNBhqDZI/AAAAAAAAABk/ecOM8NXpD_A/s1600/Toyota-Logof.jpg) will never replace the stalwart, Helvetica-ish TOYOTA (http://web.changenet.sk/aa/files/e0b5d33a0d0a58fabd5c1bd36364355f/ToyotaLogo.jpg) of my youth.

I get the same logo with both links, but I know the one you mean and I agree with you.

[WOOKINPANUB]

That's this giant rock thing in California Adventure (http://i.pbase.com/v3/89/600489/2/50081071.gal1vfoto3.jpg) (worst. themepark. EVER.). And while I certainly have a soft spot for the original Disneyland logo, I do sort of dig how the new one incorporates Walt's famous handwriting :).

Your link doesn't work for me but I looked up the park's site. What a stupid element to incorporate into a logo. I went to CA several years ago and vaguely remember the rock thingy, though I couldn't tell you what attraction it's part of. I also didn't recognize the script as Walt's writing so that makes a little more sense.

[KneadToKnow]

I get the same logo with both links, but I know the one you mean and I agree with you.

Hit refresh and try again, I screwed up right at first.

[DiosaBellissima]

Your link doesn't work for me but I looked up the park's site. What a stupid element to incorporate into a logo. I went to CA several years ago and vaguely remember the rock thingy, though I couldn't tell you what attraction it's part of. I also didn't recognize the script as Walt's writing so that makes a little more sense.

Bam (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7834921@N02/2129542472/). How'sabout that one?

[WOOKINPANUB]

Bam (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7834921@N02/2129542472/). How'sabout that one?

Ah, so it is supposed to be an animal! Still seems like kind of a lame idea seeing as it's hardly iconic (at first I thought it was supposed to be a melty image of the matterhorn or something).

[Dr. Strangelove]

Your link doesn't work for me but I looked up the park's site. What a stupid element to incorporate into a logo. I went to CA several years ago and vaguely remember the rock thingy, though I couldn't tell you what attraction it's part of.

The "rock" (really, wire mesh and... foam?) looks like a bear in real life. The grizzly bear is California's state animal. It's on our flag... I'm not sure how it's any more dumb to have it on a logo.

ETA: Beaten by a minute...

[Acsenray]

The "rock" (really, wire mesh and... foam?) looks like a bear in real life. The grizzly bear is California's state animal. It's on our flag... I'm not sure how it's any more dumb to have it on a logo.

Only it's apparently called "Wolf Rock."

[Dr. Strangelove]

Only it's apparently called "Wolf Rock."

It's called Grizzly Peak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_Peak_(Disneyland_Resort)). (or, whoosh?)

[CalMeacham]

NBC

I like the old "Snake" logo(The example, for some reason, has a boring brown background, but on TV they had it over bright colors, generally changing. And they animated it falling into place:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1959_NBC_logo.svg


Animated "snake" logo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83fxl537itA



They replaced this with a block logo they paid a lot of money for:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1975_NBC_logo.svg

...then they were embarrassed to find that Nebraska Public Television was already using that logo (in black and white), and were forced to pay them for the right to use it.

the NBC peacock was OK:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1956_NBC_logo.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NBC_Laramie_peacock.jpg


...but irrelevant once color broadcasts became standard.

[CalMeacham]

I have to admit, I liked some of the "Modern" and "schematic" logos that some companies tried, then abandoned:

Bell Telephone:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoTAOAHlOD0kA.gGJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimage s.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dbell%2Btelephone%2Blogo%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26b%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic&w=1550&h=1550&imgurl=www.porticus.org%2Fbell%2Fimages%2F1969_logo_blue.gif&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.porticus.org%2Fbell%2Fbell_logos.html&size=26.1+KB&name=Bell+System+Memorial-+Bell+Logo+History&p=bell+telephone+logo&oid=fa042e86e3f633311fff142730fb4a75&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=Bell+System+Memorial-+Bell+Logo+History&b=0&ni=30&no=2&tab=organic&sigr=11c7utlga&sigb=13gi3v547&sigi=11flvj84q&.crumb=ov7cSNaF5dZ

They abandoned this one, IIRC, even long before the breakup.


I also like the stylized [B]MGMlogo that was only used, AFAIK, for 2001: A Space Odyssey and its associated materials:


http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoTB7AHlOyEgAZ.2JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimage s.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3DMGM%2BLogo%2B2001%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26b%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic&w=502&h=640&imgurl=farm5.static.flickr.com%2F4014%2F4428962209_61704e8afc_z.jpg%3Fzz%3D1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fx-ray_delta_one%2F4428962209%2F&size=87.2+KB&name=1968+...+MGM+Logo-+%26%2339%3B2001%26%2339%3B+%7C+Flickr+-+Photo+Sharing%21&p=MGM+Logo+2001&oid=1c41f5e1f65f0b0e38591dab69bd5cfa&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=1968+...+MGM+Logo-+%26%2339%3B2001%26%2339%3B+%7C+Flickr+-+Photo+Sharing%21&b=0&ni=28&no=0&tab=organic&sigr=11ob6fbi2&sigb=13a86nfpl&sigi=11th9g1ui&.crumb=ov7cSNaF5dZ

[DiosaBellissima]

Ah, so it is supposed to be an animal! Still seems like kind of a lame idea seeing as it's hardly iconic (at first I thought it was supposed to be a melty image of the matterhorn or something).

Everything about California Adventure has involved Disney trying really, really hard to make it iconic (and failing miserably, hence them overhauling the entire park).

[Baal Houtham]

Dang! Beat me to it. The Toyota emblem looks like a cow with horns. Ugly.

As far as I know, I'm the only person who can't help seeing the new Toyota logo (http://www.google.com/imgres?q=toyota+logo&hl=en&biw=1780&bih=1309&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=mottPFCvzgZoHM:&imgrefurl=http://www.freeforpsp.com/free-wallpapers/car/200812/2565.html&docid=5RSAZ2j6SCFEqM&w=480&h=272&ei=3wl5Tu3xN4OmsQKEyKXVDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=464&vpy=1009&dur=3463&hovh=169&hovw=298&tx=177&ty=86&page=1&tbnh=93&tbnw=164&start=0&ndsp=75&ved=1t:429,r:21,s:0)as a man wearing a sombrero. (http://www.stainedglassstickers.com/sombrero.jpg)

[WOOKINPANUB]

The "rock" (really, wire mesh and... foam?) looks like a bear in real life. The grizzly bear is California's state animal. It's on our flag... I'm not sure how it's any more dumb to have it on a logo.

ETA: Beaten by a minute...

Having a bear shaped rock makes sense in a park called California Adventure (I was born and raised in SoCal so I do get the connection)but I guess to me it seems an odd choice since the park isn't exactly nationally renowned (or maybe it is? I haven't been there in several years and I never hear anything about it). Also, it's pink! I'll get off the Disney harangue now, I promise.

[CalMeacham]

Having a bear shaped rock makes sense in a park called California Adventure (I was born and raised in SoCal so I do get the connection)but I guess to me it seems an odd choice since the park isn't exactly nationally renowned (or maybe it is? I haven't been there in several years and I never hear anything about it). Also, it's pink! I'll get off the Disney harangue now, I promise.

Do you turn left at the logo and then right at the bear that's shaped like a rock?

[KneadToKnow]

They abandoned this one, IIRC, even long before the breakup.

Yes, but at least one of the Baby Bells (http://www.porticus.org/bell/images/southernbell_logo.png) kept it for a long time (http://www.tekops.com/sub/.clogos/BellSouth_logo.gif).

[Labrador Deceiver]

I think the new AT&T logo kicks the previous one in the nuts, frankly. The old logo just screams 1980s.

[Acsenray]

And the new logo screams "ugly"

[BlakeTyner]

Personally, I think the old Amtrak "pointless arrow" logo was better than the new one.

Old Logo (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/AmtrakLogo.png)

The new logo (http://esf-protrainer.com/Auto_Trans/amtrak_logo.jpg) has been dubbed "three sheets to the wind," which is probably not the best image to convey when you're a transportation company--particularly one like Amtrak, which already tends to connote train crashes and such.

[Alan Smithee]

I think the original Disneyland logo (http://www.marchahead.co.in/ma/logo/Disneyland_logo.jpg) was much more fitting than the current one (http://www.dalamangardens.com/assets/DG2/600px/Disneyland_Logo.jpg). The old one fit in with the whole castle thing and the new one just looks a mess to me.Is the new one actually used anywhere? I can't find it anywhere on the net except that link. I can find several variations using Walt's signature (which has been in use for decades), but none with Bear Mountain. (I can find the pink Bear Mountain image by searching for "California Adventure logo" but without the castle and without "Disneyland".)

[Labrador Deceiver]

And the new logo screams "ugly"

Ugly? Really? You find a blue and white sphere to be ugly?

[WOOKINPANUB]

Is the new one actually used anywhere? I can't find it anywhere on the net except that link. I can find several variations using Walt's signature (which has been in use for decades), but none with Bear Mountain. (I can find the pink Bear Mountain image by searching for "California Adventure logo" but without the castle and without "Disneyland".)

Initially I really just meant Walt's signature (even though I didn't't realize that's what it is) as opposed to the old lettering but then the damned pink bear was pointed out and my Big Thunder Mountain got derailed. It looks like it's used for the Disneyland Resort as a whole which would include California Adventure.

[Ponch8]

I'm a fan of the Missouri Valley Conference (an NCAA Division I collegiate athletics conference), especially the Southern Illinois Salukis. The old (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Missouri_Valley_Conference_former_logo.png) logo was very cool, with the letters "MVC" being essentially a negative image outlined in red. Then in the late 1990s, they decided to change it to this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MissouriValleyConference_100.png) monstrosity.

[thelurkinghorror]

Mazda also briefly flirted with an alternate logo.

Their logos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda#Emblems).

The current one I guess is a stylized "M." It's ok.

The two from 1991-1997 don't seem as iconic, and a little weird to me.


While we're on the subject of car logos, Chevrolet use(s/d?) this for their Malibus (http://www.cartype.com/pics/1644/full/malibu_logomark.jpg). Sorry, it's stylized. I guess it's supposed to be waves or something? Ick. Chevy likes model-specific logos, like for the Impala, too.

[DiosaBellissima]

Is the new one actually used anywhere? I can't find it anywhere on the net except that link. I can find several variations using Walt's signature (which has been in use for decades), but none with Bear Mountain. (I can find the pink Bear Mountain image by searching for "California Adventure logo" but without the castle and without "Disneyland".)

In park, they sell some merchandise with the full (with bear) logo. My Annual Pass has the castle, clouds, Mickey balloons, "Disneyland" in the traditional font, then "annual passport" in some regular font. No bear anywhere to be found.

[Stink Fish Pot]

It seems to me that most of the new logos incorporate Helvetica font in the text in some way.

I believe there have been studies that show Helvetica to be something that people react positively to. Whatever crate & barrel uses is the font I'm referring to.

In general, I like old logos the best because they didn't all look/feel the same. The Disneyland logo was very telling. I love the old logo. I also like how Disney's signature is used. But to combine Disneys signature with "land" in a helvetica type font is horrific.

Companies used to try to use the logo to differentiate themselves from other companies. So many now use the same font, they are becoming more and more homogeneous.

[No umlaut for U]

The old International Harvester logo of the Red i in the black H, resembling a farmer on his tractor, was the best logo ever. Now? Not so much.

[FordTaurusSHO94]

The old chrome WWF logo and the blue and yellow WWF logo were much nicer than the scratch logo, both the WWF and WWE versions. WWE sounds terrible anyways.

[robert_columbia]

Mazda also briefly flirted with an alternate logo.

Their logos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda#Emblems).

The current one I guess is a stylized "M." It's ok.

The two from 1991-1997 don't seem as iconic, and a little weird to me.


While we're on the subject of car logos, Chevrolet use(s/d?) this for their Malibus (http://www.cartype.com/pics/1644/full/malibu_logomark.jpg). Sorry, it's stylized. I guess it's supposed to be waves or something? Ick. Chevy likes model-specific logos, like for the Impala, too.

Chevrolet Impala logo:

http://impala-guides.blogspot.com/2011/05/el-chevrolet-impala-es-un.html

Here's a smorgasboard of Chevy logos, including Corvette:

http://www.cartype.com/pages/406/chevrolet_related_emblems

[Acsenray]

Mazda also briefly flirted with an alternate logo.

Their logos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda#Emblems).

The current one I guess is a stylized "M." It's ok.

The two from 1991-1997 don't seem as iconic, and a little weird to me.

I prefer the abstract ones from the '90s. Generally speaking, I prefer logos that aren't based on letter shapes.

[Baal Houtham]

It seems to me that most of the new logos incorporate Helvetica font in the text in some way.

I believe there have been studies that show Helvetica to be something that people react positively to. Whatever crate & barrel uses is the font I'm referring to.

Mmm. If anything, Helvetica was omnipresent in the 1970s and 1980s, and most "new" logos are replacements of Helvetica based logos from that era.

As for what people "react positively to", I haven't looked at a lot of studies, but people often feel comfortable with what is familiar, and no font is more familiar than Helvetica. However that also makes it bland and undistinguished, and usually you'll want your logo to not be bland and undistinguished.

(And the new ATT is better than the old one --at least at this moment. Tastes change. The old one looks dated, but not classic.)

[Acsenray]

Ugly? Really? You find a blue and white sphere to be ugly?

Not any blue and white sphere. This one. It's ugly.