LONDON — As they hit the refresh button, luxury brands have been unveiling new logos and sparking heated discussions about whether their rejection of the past — and newfound flair for minimalism and Helvetica fonts — is the right path to a successful re-branding.
“Basically, 99 percent of logos in fashion are just black text on a white background at the moment,” said Gregorio Poggetti, a graphic design expert and Istituto Marangoni professor, referring to recent re-brandings by the likes of Celine and Burberry, which both favor a clean, fuss-free aesthetic, sans-serif typefaces and block lettering.
“I’m not sure the designers in charge of these re-branding moves even know that being a type designer is a profession,” said Hannes Famira, the graphic designer who created the typeface for the Celine logo in 2005.
He questioned Hedi Slimane’s revised version without the accent and other tweaks: “I feel that the new Celine logo is homogenized rather than modernized. The brand just handed back the baton of sophistication and taste it carried so nicely.”
Famira added that the logo appears to be “off-the-rack” and echoed many typography experts concerns, that the growing penchant for clean, modernist typefaces could ultimately lead to the homogenization of luxury logos.
“I don’t want to
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