Would a talking Gap Logo have been better? Image: mattymatt / Flickr / CC-BY
Without much in the way of fanfare or announcement, a new Gap logo has been revealed. With angry bloggers and branding experts asking why, Gap has backpedaled. Still, will the controversy help flagging sales at Gap?
New Gap logo posted on website
Without much in the way of announcement, Gap posted a new logo on their website. Quickly, branding experts and fans questioned the move. The new, simple logo was lambasted as everything from “too basic” to “looks like a middle-school project.” Gap has said that the logo is “just the first of many changes” the company will be making.
Gap logo turned into crowdsourcing
After just a few days of the new Gap logo appeared on the Gap website, the company has started to backpedal. On the Gap Facebook page, the company has announced that it will crowdsource the rest of the redesign. The company has not yet said whether this was its original plan, or a quick reaction to the uproar. Either way, the new Gap logo will most likely not remain the same.
All news is good news for the Gap logo
There are some branding experts questioning whether the new Gap logo is really an exercise in marketing. The dislike of the new logo has created hundreds of thousands of discussions of branding. What is good branding, what is bad branding and what Gap could have been done better are all under discussion. This much attention to the Gap could well be what the company was hoping for. Sales at Gap stores have been down over the last year. The Gap is also trying to “rebrand” itself to improve brand awareness. The reality is, though, that Gap is a “mature” brand that is well-loved by many customers. Will this move end up moving the Gap backward or forward?
