The people speak
“Video Killed the Radio Star,” and the Internet killed the new Gap logo!
Gap, Inc., an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, announced yesterday that it will DROP a new version of its logo after THOUSANDS on Facebook and Twitter asked for a return to the classic “blue box” logo with tall, white letters, which Gap has used for more than 20 years!
CNN cited the comments of two Facebook users:
“It reminds me of the old Microsoft Free Clip-art galleries,” one Facebook user wrote. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
and
“It totally looks like a powerpoint design!”
Why is it when people want to bash an uninspired design, they always compare it with Microsoft’s? 
When Gap announced that it had REVERSED its decision to use a new logo, that announcement was “liked” by 1,700 people! Gap tried “crowdsourcing” the logo design on October 6, after complaints about the new logo came in, but that idea did not work, either.
The move to the new logo spawned antagonistic Web sites and “joke” Web sites, Twitter feeds, and an obituary by Vanity Fair. The thinking behind Gap’s introduction of a new logo is explained here, in an article by Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, on The Huffington Post’s site.
MY opinion…? “It totally looks like a powerpoint design!”
The tragedy to me is that thousands of public school kids are being taught to use PowerPoint as the vehicle for transmission of their creative ideas, because it exists on their Windows-based machines. But that’s just my humble opinion…. It probably would disrupt the culture too much if there were too many creative adults. (Note added October 16, 2010: But it would be a lot more FUN to live here…!)
Thank you, Gap, for changing your logo back. And remember, younger folks, that companies did not always seek your opinions for their decisions. Most of them still DON’T!
-Bill at
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