Jan 13, 200970 appreciated comments
New York Philharmonic logo
Paula Scher, one of my favourite Pentagram partners, has designed the new logo for New York Philharmonic.
New logo
From the Pentagram blog:
The identity coincides with the arrival of Alan Gilbert, the Philharmonic’s next music director, and acknowledges the orchestra’s long heritage of distinguished conductors by taking as its inspiration the graphic line of the baton.
Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest active symphony orchestra in the United States.
Old logo
Legibility suffers, especially at small sizes, with the graphic in the old logo overlapping the text. I find the new design instantly more professional.
More contextual images and project info on the Pentagram blog.
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David P Crawford
Well I am not very fond of this at all. The letters all seem awkwardly skewed and the kerning needs some help. It’s seems so dry so there is no emotion coming through.
Jan 13th, 2009
David Smith
Right there with you David… for a logo that is to be associated with a premier musical organization you’d think they wouldn’t go with something that looks like the soundhole on a guitar with 5 broken strings.
Jan 13th, 2009
Chad
I agree. I’m not fond of the new logo at all. Perhaps an improvement on the previous logo.
Jan 13th, 2009
Jeff
Pentagram continues to show the effectiveness of well-thought-out simplicity. The applications for this identity are beautiful. I suggest everyone checks out their blog for more images.
Bravo.
Jan 13th, 2009
Capslock
Like Maryland Institute College of the Arts’ identity, California Academy of Science’s signage, and Bobby’s Burger Palace’s identity, the works from Pentagram continue to surprise me. They always have out these very simple logo with minimal distortion and questionable graphical element inserted in that you at first “don’t get” its significance until you see them in used and then you (or at least me) just went WOW.
And all of them show just how much thought have been put into the simplicity. Like the small red line representing a conductor’s baton. Now that is bold.
Jan 13th, 2009
Michael Thompson
Has anyone here heard of a company called MunnRabot?
According to their site, (munnrabot.com) they were awarded the New York Philharmonic account? Can anyone here confirm this?
I thought Pentagram was doing the branding/advertising work…right?
Jan 13th, 2009
Marko Novak
Awful, just awful! If you scale it or put it in gray scale it looks awful.
Jan 13th, 2009
Denú Molehands
Awful. And “professional” is not the word that comes to my mind when seeing it. Applicattions look good, but it’s the context not the logo per se that makes them beautiful. The old one has legibility problems I agree, but its more “musical”, the new one looks like al aspirin. Awful.
Jan 13th, 2009
Plamen
Though I am always fond of simplicity and appreciate the minimalistic approach here, the execution of the wordmark is questionable at best.
Plamen’s last blog post…7 безполезни факта
Jan 13th, 2009
Ken Barnes
I’m no pro, but I absolutely hate this new logo. The old one could have done with a slight fade on the artwork to make the text stand out more, but the new one looks like it was made with some logo generation software that you can pick up at any software store for $10.
Seriously, upside-down text on a logo that’s supposed to be readable? Absolutely dire.
Ken Barnes’s last blog post…Mirror’s Edge
Jan 13th, 2009
David Airey
Quite the difference of opinion — interesting to read. For a moment I second-guessed my initial liking, but no, I do enjoy the design.
Much more adaptable and scalable than the previous logo, and it’s not often you see the circular type, so it’s distinctive too. Have you seen the stationery design? I find the layout of the letterhead unusual, which helps it stand out.
Jan 13th, 2009
James
I can see what they’re trying to do, but it just doesn’t say music to me … looking at the old one at least that did…
Jan 13th, 2009
Martin
As a logo on it’s own it’s poor, let’s not beat around the bush here. Has it now come to the point where a logo needs to be fully explained in order for the ‘minions’ to “get it”? The stationery is good, but not great. And I know the idea is that it’s part of the current trend of identities that grow and adapt and so forth, but for me it just doesn’t work. The rotational feature, for example, only succeeds in making me read it incorrectly – at one point I thought I saw ‘moronic’, just at a glance, such was the way the logo had been rotated. It was obviously ‘monic’, from ‘Philharmonic’, but like I say, at first glance…
There is definitely no ‘WOW’ factor about this logo.
Methinks this is a case of a huge agency’s reputation preceding it.
PS Bobby’s Burger Palace was shockingly bad, even, dare I say, lazy.
Jan 13th, 2009
Justin
Love it!!! Pure simplicity, pure Paula Scher!
I saw the condutors baton as soon as I saw the mark.
Jan 13th, 2009
Abbas Arezoo
It’s a great concept although i’m not overly keen on the typeface used.
I think to fully appreciate the logo you have to look at the Pentagram blog and at all the addition stationery, promotional material and other media. It brings the logo to life.
Abbas Arezoo’s last blog post…SY Interiors get the 48845 Designs treatment
Jan 13th, 2009
Anne
Again, Pentagram (Paula Scher) thoroughly thinks about the project and successfully executes but not thrilled of the use of type and its angular feel.
Jan 13th, 2009
Al Woods
I like the idea of the baton as the core of the design, although not exactly rocket science and I don’t really get on with the italicised type. The thing as a whole just doesn’t really look right to me.
But, as we previously discussed with the Reel logo of Why Not’s, the application kinda saves it. I REALLY like the idea of the whole logo rotating and the secondary text sitting at the tip of the baton, which is a very nice idea and the logo image isn’t compromised.
This aside I still can’t help but think that if the type choice was different this could have been a great logo.
Al Woods’s last blog post…put the gun down…PUT THE GUN DOWN!!
Jan 13th, 2009
Capslock
A lot of hate toward the slanted letters, and I assumed this is because they did not follow the link to the pentagram blog where there are more images. Specifically, the image that shows the logo rotate to different angle.
If there is one thing that is unique about the logo, it looks good no matter which angle it is turned.
I can be wrong, may be I haven’t seen enough logo this lifetime, but most logos with curve letters, even the one with the text being written around in complete circle, there is only ONE WAY to look at it.
We as designers were taught not to distort the font unless we are designing our own, and the sight of the funky slightly slanted but not really italic fonts will rub us all the wrong way, believe me, I feel it too. But it is a lot more interesting than just a simple straight forward font going around in circle, and if designing something that is beautiful from every angle is something that Mr. Scher wants to achieve, I think he has accomplished it beautifully.
This identity does not play it safe. it’s interesting, and it works. With that, I think the creative folks at Pentagram has done it again.
Jan 13th, 2009
Eve
I think this logo is really lame. I am sick of big companies getting paid lots of money for boring and bad designs. this logo is not clever in the slightest. when I think of an interesting use of a musical symbol I think of the swan and treble clef logo that was up here a few weeks ago, if you all remember. There is just nothing clever about this. also, the logo should be great on it’s own, not just within a composition or poster. sorry to be so negative, but this logo just looks like a bad afterthought.
Jan 13th, 2009
Mark
When I first seen the new logo. I instantly didn’t like it, especially the weird skewed type.
But after looking at more images of it and seeing it used in stationary etc it is a well thought out and perfectly executed design.
Sure on it’s own it doesn’ look great which is a mark down in my book but when it’s used in its context, it’s superb.
Jan 13th, 2009
Capslock
Eve, I also believe that logo should looks good on its own outside of its used in a stationary because the logo will be used elsewhere where the designer will not have control over. And later in the future, may be on cups, hats, promotional poster, magazine ad, whatever. That’s why I did not like any of the logos from Why Not associates.
This logo looks great on its own. The logo is meant to be rotated when created on a pattern, that’s why when alone it’s stood like that. Like I said in above post, it looks good no matter what degree you rotate it.
Think about it, most logo that have text going around it 360 degree, the bottom half the text has to be flipped, totally ruin the design (I designed one of those before). In this case, they solve the problem by making the text slanted so they can be read from all direction. All this with a simple red line representing a baton. In my opinion it’s nothing short of genius.
Jan 13th, 2009
Michael Thompson
I’m reading quite a bit of “higher than mighty” talk here which is unfortunate because it seems certain people haven’t done their homework. (CAPSLOCK) The type is not skewed In any way shape or form. It’s set in berthold akzidenz grotesk. (pardon the spelling) which is set around a circle. Do your homework before talking like you know something. Opinions are like? ;)
Jan 13th, 2009
Adam
I am the biggest fan of simplicity, but take Paula Scher’s and Pentagram’s name off of this logo and no one would be so apt to champion it. The application of the mark across the various forms of media is well executed, but it doesn’t change the fact that the mark is not. The explanation is nice for designers, but I am inclined to believe that the common person will be left asking, huh?
Jan 13th, 2009
The Logo Factory
Not too fond of the new design. Though I must admit, I’ve always hated italic fonts placed around a circular path (and the resultant kerning here is wonky). I like the thought process behind the logo, just not the end result.
Some of the usage shown on the blog is tremendous, and the logo does work better in context. As a stand alone – meh…
Jan 13th, 2009
Nate
I hate to even comment on Pentagram’s work since it’s like calling down the thunder, but for lack of a better word, this identity is just bland.
Seriously, this logo is the equivalent of eating dry white toast. Give us some friggin’ strawberry jam Pentagram!
Jan 13th, 2009
Capslock
Michael, I’m sorry that I did not know about the font. It looks skewed to me and I thought that they did something to the font. Next time I’ll be sure to know everything in the universe before voicing my opinion.
I don’t understand how it makes my earlier comments moot though. The logo still looks great no matter which way you rotate it.
And I am sorry if I sounded holier than thou. I just like this identity and try my best to defend it.
Jan 14th, 2009
Jac Hill
Micheal Thompson-
If a group of graphic designers reading a blog about a logo haven’t heard of your berthold akzidenz grotesk and just think that the font looks ‘off’ or ‘skewed’, I’m positive the people that this logo is targeting will do the same. My point is, the fact that you have a name for it is of little consequence; the text (particularly on the beginning of the Philharmonic on the right side) simply does not work.
On a more positive note, it is definitely a step up from the old logo. However, I don’t feel the sacrifice of identity makes up for the gain of readability. The stationary looks brilliant, however that has nothing to do with the logo.
Not to be arrogant, but I do believe a lot of amateur designers could have done a better job of this than what is presented here.
Jan 14th, 2009
fools around
i have my 2 cents input on my blog. all the comments here have their own pros and cons. enjoy reading it. learn a lot too. :)
my comment, i’m not a fan of the new ‘logo fashion’ trend tht’s growing–the need to have the logo suits any application possible. i felt such thought process made the logo looses its core. (not a fan of the new Pepsi logo and definitely not the new Duane Reade logo.)
the application doesn’t really stand out either…looks messy. too many different shape created from the letters and crossing it with the red ‘baton’ line just doesn’t work for me. makes me feel like the music is in a mess. the only thing i love most is the application on the invitation card. beautifully design.
i personally love typography and definitely not a fan of such treatment. i still think a typeface has its beauty the way it is, and if one can understand and feel it, one can successfully apply it beautifully in a design?
(do pardon my english. do correct me if i said anything offensive. thanks!)
fools around’s last blog post…logo fashion
Jan 14th, 2009
Michael Thompson
Misinterpreted capslock. My bad! But yes it’s set in italic of berthold akzidenz grotesk.
Jan 14th, 2009
Michael Thompson
It’s confirmed. At least from my detective work via google. Pentagram may have designed the initial logo and example standards, however a company called MunnRabot is doing their advertising and collateral work. Interesting…has anyone ever heard of this company? http://www.munnrabot.com ?
Jan 14th, 2009
Al Woods
This is the problem with the written word sometimes, people take what is said as though it is a personal attack on them.
I think it’s awesome that there is mixed opinion on here, that’s how it should be. I am not a fan but can definitely see the what’s and why’s about it. The more I look at it I can’t bring myself to ‘love’ the logo but there are some neat tricks in there, the italicised text is wrong looking but seems to help the rotation idea and it does look a little more than just text on a circle. To be honest I can imagine there was a decent level of tweaking going on to make it look good, text on a circle can so easily look horrendous so you gotta give credit in that respect. Yes, the overall image of it still doesn’t scream ‘great logo’ to me but we as designers can surely appreciate the merits.
Another problem with projects like this tends to be the follow through. I’ve worked on some big branding guidelines and the trick is to really make the design rulings you apply workable, as though you are explaining them to someone who really doesn’t have any clue. If the guidelines were created well enough then the application of the logo will be ok, but, as we have often seen when the handover from the branding creators to the appliers happens, things could go horribly wrong especially with the logo itself not being a simple ‘brand slapping’ friendly image.
We’re talking Pentagram though so the guidelines really shouldn’t be an issue. Will they?
Al Woods’s last blog post…put the gun down…PUT THE GUN DOWN!!
Jan 14th, 2009
Andrew Kelsall
I see there’s many against this logo, and some ‘for’.
As for me, I think this logo is terrible. With a complicated word such as “Philharmonic”, the last thing I would have thought any respectable design agency would do is display it upside-down. Tut-tut.
Andrew Kelsall’s last blog post…10 Excellent Fractal Images for Inspiration
Jan 14th, 2009
Mark Barilla
Let me start by saying I’m not a fan of oblique sans-serifs, circles, or type set on paths. All things considered, I should HATE this logo.
But I don’t. Rather, I think it works VERY well. I can’t say I love-love-love it, but it works. It’s memorable, different, out-of-the-box, and although a dramatic departure from Scher’s other Lincoln Center identities, it manages to fit right in.
All in all it’s rather brilliant, and it’s no surprise that a majority of people are so turned off by it. But that’s almost a testament to how unique and surprising (in a good way) it actually is.
Jan 14th, 2009
Martiza Prada
I agree with David Airey… my first impression: i liked it. Reading all of the comments made me doubt. But definitely support what David comment about it:”..I find the layout of the letterhead unusual, which helps it stand out.”
Jan 14th, 2009
kat neville
@Michael Thompson, I went to http://www.munnrabot.com, but they resized my browser window, which, I’m sorry to say, is COMPLETELY unacceptable. Tried to close the window and it crashed Firefox. Double pissed off, and mannrabot will NEVER get a visit from me again.
Don’t really like the logo either. Won’t repeat anything that others have said, but want to add that it looks a bit 80s (in the not so good way). Maybe it’s like Tracy Emin where it’s so plain and everyday ugly that it becomes beautiful?
Jan 14th, 2009
Scott Burns
Hmmm I’m not sure myself…
Quite like the ‘in use’ example, but I’m not sure it works on it’s own, massive improvement over the original, but it doesn’t really say ‘orchestra’ to me in much of a way.
Not bad, but not brilliant I say.
Scott Burns’s last blog post…Creating a brand…
Jan 14th, 2009
Irad
Seems that it is intended for the old classic concerts lovers. I’m young lover, therefore I hate it. They shouldn’t miss me but they did. Oh, how emotional! (the comment, not the logo.)
Jan 14th, 2009
Giselle
I made a corndog today before I realized that there is no mustard in the house… and that’s what this logo was like for me when I first saw it… there’s no mustard. No really, I agree with some of the other comments in that upon initially seeing the mark, I didn’t really get it at first glance… but when I saw the way that the mark is being used, and the versatility of the application, then it started to fall into place. I do think it looks distinctive & works well with the overall design scheme of their ad campaign. That said, I am just not sure that it works as a stand-alone element. Especially for people who are not in the know about the NY Philharmonic or those who are not musical at all, may not be so quick to identify the line incorporated as a suggestion of a composer’s baton… Overall, on it’s own, it’s just okay for me.
Jan 14th, 2009
Steve Brown
I initially disliked this design, although preferred it to the original, but it has grown on me in a very short space of time, I am almost ready to say it is good. It does say orchestra to me.
Steve Brown’s last blog post…Fluorescent T Shirt Printing
Jan 14th, 2009
Idiotica
I mildly dislike the logo. I initially thought it was supposed to resemble a guy wearing a bowler hat, with the red line as the brim. Much of the design seems arbitrary to me. Not everything single element needs to have deep symbolic meaning, but still, I can’t help wondering: What’s the point of the slanted lettering? Why the circle? So the line is supposed to be a baton? Come on. There’s no way anyone would have guessed that on their own. Maybe there should be hand holding the baton. I wish they could have re-worked the music staff from the old logo to create a new design. (That is supposed to be a staff, right?)
Jan 14th, 2009
Deb Pang Davis
I wasn’t sure at first because it was so different (the use of italics on a circle path) but after staring at it for a long time I started to enjoy the nuance and suggestions…
Movement, rhythm, volume (gray and black).. of course the conductor’s baton and then the circle suggesting the relationship between the musicians and the audience. The spacing reminds me of the clutter of music stands and the chairs.
Perhaps because I used to play the cello and have sat in many circles for quartets and full-on symphony orchestras… :-)
It’s definitely an improvement from the previous logo. It seems like I’m one of the few who like it.
Jan 15th, 2009
Valerie
Shockingly bad. Agreed, if some small town designer did this, it wouldn’t have had a chance. Just look at the kerning. Even upside down, H A R stands out. I’m rather disgusted Pentagram can get the kind of money they do, and many of us could have done so much better.
Jan 15th, 2009
Michael Thompson
@kat neville
It sounds to like someone needs to update their browser/flash plug-in and/or operating system. Stop using that custom made pc. ;) it’s too bad you won’t visit their site since there’s obviously something wrong with your computer. (their site works fine on my end) Its refreshing to see an Ad agency that actually produces GOOD advertising. Compare their work with the cookie cutter advertising $h*t you see being churned out these days. I say congrats to them for picking the philharmonic up as a client. Pentagram has a history that goes without saying. The new mark Is ok… It works for now… But it’s definitely not timeless.
Jan 15th, 2009
Peter Rabôt
Michael:
Thank you for your comments regarding our work. Needless to say, we are very proud to be working with the New York Philharmonic. We are responsible for advertising and collateral to introduce the orchestra’s new Music Director, Alan Gilbert. The identity created by Pentagram has certainly garnered some debate. The success of this mark depends on how it is implemented. As most of the people on this blog know, if not handled correctly, it won’t work.
Jan 15th, 2009
Mark Verlander
Nate, I love your comments and ‘give us strawberry jam.’ I was smiling thinking about it late last night. So true, it’s what we all want to do as artists!
Of course I’m feeling kind of poetic having just watched ‘Once’, a beautiful movie…
I love Paula’s work and Pentagram is my dream studio. But no ‘strawberry jam’ on this one : )
Jan 16th, 2009
Don Kelly
Italicized, plain type on a circle. WOO! Simplicity, thy name is ugly. Nice concept, I agree there, but execution is lacking in my honest opinion. Is this what elegant simple design has come to?
I really find it hard to believe extensive thought went into this. Maybe I’m missing some logo designer mystique. I’d like to believe I have enough experience and knowledge to be able to judge a good logo from a bad logo. Then again I could be all wrong. It does come down to personal taste. Apparently the Philharmonic people like it.
Jan 16th, 2009
Moeed
Absolutely stellar work from Paula Scher / Pentagram.
It was a well thought out idea, with even better execution — and its tough to find a memorable and timeless combination of the two.
The logo is extremely powerful and full of loud, emotive noise. It’s represents the content in had perfectly, paired with powerful black and white photography, it’s something that does not disappoint.
I’ll admit, at first I was extremely skeptical of the logo, especially with Scher’s name slapped on to it. I also (admittedly for a few seconds) questioned my own judgment. Design is not easy. It is projected that way to people who probably don’t know much about design, or just don’t care.
Something like this definitely has a nostalgic feel to it, and can be related to “Swiss” design. It’s something that to those who understand it, makes you feel warm. In the design culture of today, where the thought process of design goes as far as “a swan or a treble clef” it’s very unsettling and annoying.
At the scale of this project, one has to look ahead of the symbol and achieve an understanding of the broad spectrum this identity was created. It’s elegant, powerful, and timeless.
Massimo would be proud.
Jan 17th, 2009
Ken Barnes
Not to be rude, but its a circle of badly kerned text (check the spacing between the “EW” of “New” for a start) with a one pixel wide red line running through it in the most obvious place.
Now, beauty – as always – is in the eye of the beholder. You could say that the line really is representative of a baton, or you could say that it’s just a line. I’m in the latter camp. It looks and feels lazy and cheap. If I made it for a local company nobody would say two words, but because its the NYP and Pentagram involved…well…oh, my! What a thing of beauty it is!
As for the logo being able to be twisted and the baton repositioned and rotated for print and other uses…is that not defeating the object somewhat? Surely moving it about not only washes over the designer’s “obvious” inspiration and thought about what the little red line should represent (I maintain that it is JUST a line and that you’d have to be looking for it to be a baton for it to actually be a baton), but also proves that the original positioning of the line isn’t perfect in the designer’s eyes?
“This is my creation! Its a thing of beauty! The line represents a baton! Yes, fiddle with it all you want…hell…spin it around…I don’t care.”
Jan 17th, 2009
David P Crawford
I think me and Ken here are on the same page. If it’s Pentagram and the client is the New York Philharmonic, it’s gotta be good. No questioning that small firms, 3 person shops and freelancers would have come up with more creative and better executed logos for a fraction of the budget that Pentagram sucked up.
Meh.
Jan 17th, 2009
David P Crawford
P.S. It’s called The New York Fail-harmonic logo from now on.
Jan 17th, 2009
Mike
Not one of Paula’s best designed logos. Kerning is off as others have indicated, and without some sort of visual cue of the image of the conductor in her design process, I was left to wonder why the red line had anything to do with the logo in the first place.
It is somewhat unique, as logos go for this realm of popularity, but I still think there is a disconnect with the oblique text and basic quick readability of the entire name.
Jan 17th, 2009
Ken Barnes
Exactly, David.
Put honestly, if you put the new New York Philharmonic logo next to…well…pretty much any of the logos I’ve just seen at your portfolio site, I know who be getting the work – and it sure as heck wouldn’t be Pentagram.
When I have any design budget at all, I’ll be coming to you for a logo right away. You clearly have an understanding of what purpose a logo should serve and how it should go about it.
Ken Barnes’s last blog post…Final Fantasy XIII not hitting Europe and US until 2010
Jan 17th, 2009
Moeed
Look closely. There is noting wrong with the kerning. The space between the E and the W may look off, but that is probably because of Flash.
Look through the rest of the comps shown, its kerned properly.
Jan 17th, 2009
Hojoon
Maybe it’s me but it seems that Pentagram just makes plain bad design
I think they have some good concepts on where the logo can be used but the logo is so conventional that can be adapted to anything
For example:
Ruby Tuesday – Stock font in 2 different colors
Ted – Stock font, simply just typed in Illustrator and rearranged a little
New York City Ballet – Stock font in different shades overlapped
Halfords – Stock font with the letter “O” in a different one
Manhattan School of Music – It’s just an elongated letter M in font Impact
I don’t think they’re good designers of any kind. There’s nothing special to their designs and it never pops out. There’s no originality in any of their designs
I don’t know about anybody else but I think designs should pop out and be noticed rather than just blend in to wherever it is thrown in.
How hard can implementing that design into anything?
I don’t see any creativity here
Jan 17th, 2009
David P Crawford
Thanks Ken.
Hopefully we will be able to work together. Drop me an email if you have a moment.
Jan 17th, 2009
Joseph Maguire
This new mark stands out on it’s own and is quite unique. Is it aesthetically pleasant no. But it does stand on it’s own. and I like that it uses the elements of a director/ 0 & 1 mathmatical measures of music. My complaint is the patterns are overly busy they don’t do the brand justice on the event signage. But the use of the mark on the print work is well handled.
All in all it’s ok.
Jan 18th, 2009
yael
The new logo is definitely stronger conceptually, but I find it hard to imagine that they’d been through enough rounds of type variations for the logo, only to have settled on this all-caps, italicized font.
The main problem is that it’s hard to read: the word ‘philharmonic’ is very long and doesn’t read well on a circular path upside down. The all-caps doesn’t help, either.
Paula – you’re a genius at branding – but this one is far from your best work.
Jan 18th, 2009
fredwifi
First comment here so I’ll keep it short.
Will the target audience/consumers (old people with crappy eyesight) be able to read this? I bet they’d find it hard to read no matter the size of the logo or the rotation of it. 1 inch or 20ft high, it won’t matter.
I can hear my grandmother going;
- ‘My dear boy, what does it say? I try to read it but my neck hurts’…
Jan 19th, 2009
sam van eman
My very first thought? A circular saw blade. Maybe it’s the italics, or the baton which looks like the thing that’s being cut.
I don’t know much about graphic design, but that’s what I pictured and it isn’t the kind of music I want to hear without ear muffs.
Having said that, the logo should not have any affect on the orchestra’s success. The quality of its performances and the leadership of the conductor will take care of that.
Jan 19th, 2009
Cazza
I love the logo – It’s very smart and the stationery looks great, nice and simple and clean.
However, I don’t think it works for the New York Philharmonics.
Personally something a bit more musicy would have been better suited to them.
The logo design used with a business or company would look really smart though, I think :)
Jan 21st, 2009
nmt
I agree with what was said about if this system had been created by any other agency, the “I love the logo” comments would have been scarce and nonexistent. I also agree that I have not seen a single extraordinary thing out of Pentagram in quite some time. Nothing they do stands out. Boring. Bland. Blah. This looks like something the secretary at my local church would have churned out for the Sunday bulletin announcing the musical at Wednesday nights revival. Awful.
Jan 22nd, 2009
Stu Simpson
To me this logo does not represent “the oldest active symphony orchestra in the United States.” I dont like the chosen typeface, actually I don’t like anything about this. I get the concept but the execution just doesn’t click with me.
Jan 29th, 2009
oc_designer
at a quick glance, i love the graphic in the old logo right away. i really don’t think a “new” logo is necessary, maybe just some improvement of the original one. not a fan of this new logo…the font, the line in between…i don’t see the “movement” of music like the original logo represents.
Feb 12th, 2009
Stig
Hi!
Take a look at this:
Http://www.bleed.no – Portfolio – Identity – Oslo Philharmonics
This is really NICE and good work!
Bleed is a Graphic Design agency based in Oslo/Norway.
Mar 19th, 2009
David Airey
Thanks very much for continuing the debate. I’d love to respond to each of you individually, but alas, it’s difficult to keep up with everything sometimes, and for that I apologise.
Stig,
Thanks for the Bleed link. Some very nice work there, for sure.
Mar 19th, 2009
doug
Come on, man. For anyone who likes this logo, I say you’ve drank the Pentagram Kool Aid. I guarantee that if you were shown this logo without knowing they did it, you’d call it for what it is – an uninspired, awkward cop out. I believe they claim the font, italic Akzidenz Grotesk, emphasizes the dynamism of the organization. I’d be hard pressed to say that font, used as it is, conveys dynamism. While the baton is a great device and not an obvious choice, the manner it is employed is perhaps too stripped down and frankly not an elegant rendering. Sorry for the harshness, but not everything they do is immune to failure.
Mar 21st, 2009
Yoshiki
At first view the awkward skewing threw me off but after understanding the baton reference and seeing it in context, I find it to be a really fitting logo. It gives off an esteemed quality that I can’t really put my finger on, but regardless, it’s fitting for such a organization.
I really liked the combination of the simple baton line and the photo for the pamphlet. With the logo right under the big baton it acts like a simplification diagram for people who don’t get the logo’s baton reference initially.
Great design and beautiful in context.
May 14th, 2009
Creative Director
I had such a visceral reaction when I saw this logo.
This was the first logo I have ever seen that has made me want to cry and vomit at the same time. I’m not trying to be mean, it’s simply a fact of my experience with this entire identity, which I examined on Pentagram’s blog.
My biggest problem is that the italic type looks like a mistake. The typeface, nor the circle orientation, doesn’t reflect the sophistication of the audience it’s trying to speak to. Why?
I did a logo just like this in my very first design class, when I was learning to use Aldus Freehand 3.11, and used the design magazine “Before and After” as inspiration. It was blasted my design teacher.
I listened to Michael Beirut speak on a panel once. Nice guy, but I was shocked to hear him say he and those who are up high within Pentagram don’t know about how to use software. The context was that design was about thinking and problem solving, not software. Which I agree with. However, when I see this logo, it reminds me of the beginning Freehand lessons I took over 15 years ago. And it’s sad to me that someone bought this.
Aug 12th, 2010
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