If McDonald's had a cow on their logo, you might think they're a farm; if Barnes & Noble had a tree, you'd think they were an environmental organization. With DC Comic's new logo, it makes you think of a sticker. And stickers make me think office supplies. Albeit, hip office supplies.
While it has the dynamic elements of changing colors and changing styles (meant to reflect the diverse characters and worlds in the DC Universe), something about this logo simply doesn't equate to superhero.
DC's logo redesign is meant to "showcase DC Entertainment’s rich portfolio of brands, stories and characters across all media platforms."
I grew up reading Marvel comics. Generally, I thought that DC was a company of the past with boring or dull characters that lacked any resemblance to real life. Then, I got older and came to appreciate the writing and subtlety in DC’s storytelling within the epic superhero universe. When I first began to appreciate DC, they had a logo that made sense, a purposeful “DC,” with a streaking star. It was dynamic with just a hint of urgency.
Though the logo has changed several times since the company’s inception, it has always included circular elements and stars. To ignore the past seems to go against what comics have always stood for: elements of the past and history at the core of an ever-changing, ever-expanding world. And sure, DC has decided to flex their muscles a bit and expand their titles to include a more diverse subject matter than superheroes, but superheroes are at the center of what DC is brand is all about.
Remember when Gap tried a logo change a few years ago? It wasn’t terrible in and of itself, but it went against everything that Gap seemed to personify: casual, easy-going, classic style. The new logo said none of that.
DC's new logo completely ignores the past. Not only does it lack any semblance of continuity, it actively ignores it. Change is good, but ignoring where you came from is the exact opposite of what comics are.
While the relaunch of the new 52 was meant to bring in new readers and a new audience, this logo ignores the old audience completely. And honestly, the new logo doesn’t seem to be doing much to attract new readers either.
My nerd blood a-boilin’, we got some pros to weigh in with a slightly more objective take on DC’s logo redesign.
I asked the folks at Q Digital Studio to give me their first impressions of the new logo.
Susan, owner and principal at Q Digital Studio
The variations and effects are cool. But that doesn’t change that the core concept is BAD. There’s not enough continuity. Peeling off a layer of the logo makes no sense.
Why is the D revealing the C?
Why is the D flimsy and the C interesting and variable?
It is difficult to understand that the D is a D.
These comments from Wallythegreenmonster totally sum up my position:
I really don’t like this new direction. It seems to achieve a major rebranding cardinal sin. They haven’t retained anything from previous iterations so brand confusion will be a major concern. Its too big of a jump.
I really like the current 2005 era logo. It recognizes the past while being contemporary, and its simple to understand. This current one can be tough to read.
I really don’t like that it depends almost 100% on FX (drop shadow and gradients) to have any impact which is always troubling, especially at smaller sizes. The type placement below feels undesigned and “placed” instead of integrated. There is so much awkward negative space…its not a coherent unit. I know its meant to be utilitarian and swapped out for different divisions but i’m not a fan of that choice. I’m really interested to find out the firm that developed this.
Laura, graphic designer at Q Digital Studio
My honest thoughts about the new logo: The logo reminds me of an aluminum can.
Not too mention, all elements of the superhero feel have been lost. I loved the 2005 logo! The swish reminded me of a superhero in flight.
Clinton, back-end developer at Q Digital Studio
I would say that my primary problem with the logo is the "D" - it just doesn't look good. No matter what color you make it, or what you do to the C, the D is just off.
That's my thought on the matter.
Lindsay, content specialist at Q Digital Studio
Yikes.
I get the concept of customizing each logo for each story or character or whatever. The concept is cool. The realization is not.
Why throw out every element of the past? I mean they could throw in a star or some red, white, and blue at least. Why completely trash all the elements that made them great? People love that superheroes hearken back to a time when we needed characters like Superman to give us hope, to give us someone to believe in, to be a symbol of patriotism. Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s bad.
At a time when people are looking to the past for inspiration, remembering simpler times, and re-invigorating old design trends, it seems like an odd and out-of-touch choice to make a logo recalling the dotcom boom at best, or a “midsize office supply company” at worst.
What others are saying
Mike
I actually didn’t realize the “sticker” part was a D at all at first glance. The logo just looks like a partially hidden C.