“The appointment of a design consultant needn’t always culminate in change.”

It’s a familiar story — there’s a change at the top of an organisation and a rebrand is one of the first things to happen.

But it’s often a backward step, where what follows is no better than what came before, while costing a fortune to implement.

“…the fact that British consultancy North has just done two major schemes for the Tate and the Co-op by either NOT changing the logo, or even reverting to an old and discarded one, is very intriguing. Perhaps the profession is finally growing up enough to recognise that the appointment of a design consultant needn’t always culminate in change.”
— Michael Johnson

Tate logo

Co-op logo

Quoted from Michael Johnson’s answers to a series of questions for Branding Roundtable No. 28, on innovating brand identity.


Comments

4 responses to ““The appointment of a design consultant needn’t always culminate in change.””

  1. Sebastian Dottor Avatar
    Sebastian Dottor

    Oh, that’s something new for me (english is not my first language) many thanks David.

  2. It’s about doing what is right. Often it’s not the logo/symbol that is the problem, but how it’s used.

    I love the Co-op identity. We wrote a blog post about it: https://agoodblog.designedbygoodpeople.com/2016/05/25/some-thoughts-on-the-new-the-co-op-branding/

    1. “It was incredibly corporate. Funeral care was branded in the same way (with a colour change) as a convenience store.”

      Absolutely, Lee. It wasn’t what the brand was about, at all.

      1. Exactly. It’s a brand that should leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. It’s about people and community and sharing.

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