Saks Fifth Avenue - New Identity
Does a big "design firm" name do more for a brand then a lesser known design firm? I look at the new Saks Fifth Avenue logo and brand and think, could anyone have gotten away with this, or is it because Pentagram did it? The answer is, probably not. As a designer you hear "Pentagram" and for some reason it is automatically good. I don't think this is the case on this logo. 
It's not that it's bad and the cut up typographical elements are intriguing, but for a brand identity that probably cost thousands - it could have been better. As I read through the the article there were a few things that stuck out to me. The first being that they took the same logo that was created in 1973, "... one stood out, the logo drawn in 1973 by Tom Carnese, adapted from a signature introduced almost twenty years before." The second is that they got a font designer to make the same thing and put it on a black background, "... We took the cursive logo, redrew it with the help of font designer Joe Finocchiaro, and placed it in a black square." Again, could any design firm have gotten away with this?
4 Comments:
Of course any design firm could have. All they have to do is consistently create excellent work. Then they have to manage the subjective nature of the design. As you already have proven, design is plagued by "I like this" or "I don't like the color red".
What comapnies like Pentagram are good at are managing the subjectivity of the design process. Driving the selection process discussions to be about whether the imagery relates to the brand, or the targets set out in the design brief. i.e. If the design brief for the Saks job described a packaging imagery that captured the traditional feel of Saks with a Modern youthful spirit, than I would say they hit the nail on the head.
Does the design fit the desired message?
Thanks for the new look on the matter. I guess it all goes back to subjectivity. Although I disagree that any design firm could get away with it.
Pentagram does great work, no argument there, but being a big name design firm, designers (or anyone) automatically thinks there work is great without looking at it completely.
I get what you mean when you say "not anyone can get away with it".
My belief is that the non-rockstar firms CAN get away with it if they learn the management of the subjective. Oh, and they have to do great work. So I guess the prerequisites have to be that the small firm can get away with it if they do great work and learn the skill of managing the subjective.
Well said, I can agree with that.
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