New Animal Planet Logo
This is the new logo for the cable television network Animal Planet. The network is a favorite of my three-year-old son. We watch many of their interesting programs together. He likes the Meerkats and most of the monkey features (not surprising, and perhaps quite genetic, if you know me very well!). Some of the shows with the sharks and lions are "too scary." But that's not the point.I am not too keen on the new design. What do you think of it? To my eye, it seems too cluttered, too busy. What's with the sideways "M"? At a quick glance, my eye sees "A PLANET" and something resembling an angular "3". Are they trying to imply that the planet has become too small for all the animals? That animals have become squeezed into our planet? Or is it just poor design?
And now here's their old logo. It still looks pretty good to me.
Which do you prefer?
Did they improve or detract from the brand identity?
Let us hear from all of our marketing and design geniuses out there!
A special thanks to our friend, Andy Malinoski, for pointing this out to us.
Labels: Animal Planet, Charleston, design, logo, Maple Creative, marketing firm, new logo, Skip Lineberg, West Virginia
posted by Skip Lineberg at 10:31 PM
16 Comments:
Wow. I've seen some pretty awful design in my time, but that new logo is horrifying.
What were they thinking?
6:47 AM
I think that the old logo is much better. Sometimes it is difficult to find the balance between the concept of "if it's not broke..." and "never stop evolving". In my opinion, Animal Planet should have left it alone.
The Discovery Channel has launched their new logo as well. It is better than the new Animal Planet logo and sticks to the concept of the old logo with the planet and copy but with a fresh look.
The image of the old logo can be found at http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1086/1205097437_979adf46b2.jpg.
New logo (and article about the launch)can be found at http://www.prlog.org/10068714-viewpoint-creative-redesigns-discovery-channel-logo-and-on-air-identity.html
7:56 AM
You're right. They took the Animal out of the Animal Planet. Not that it will cause them to lose any current viewers, but it hinders new ones from identifying that they have the right channel as they're zooming through the line-up.
10:31 AM
John-
Thanks for sharing your opinion on this logo... and for being a part of the community of marketing geniuses!
Skip
11:16 AM
Scott-
Great point you've added about the channel scanning zoomers. In today's fast-paced info-overloaded world, we have to be good and effective in fractions of a second.
Thanks for joining the conversation.
Skip
11:18 AM
Jennifer-
Thanks for adding to the knowledge base here. I am definitely going to check out the new Discovery logo, too, and may do a separate post on it with information you've so kindly supplied. Always great to have you as part of the community of marketing geniuses!
11:20 AM
I think we should step back and take another look at the logos. Most of the comments note that Animal Planet is usually viewed with children. I'd say they did their research on their audience - parents and children. (With children being the main target (not to mention decision-maker), because what parent is going to discourage watching Animal Planet as opposed to the increasing amount of marginally "children-friendly" programming on Cable?)
The new logo is fun and takes an elementary approach with big san-serif block letters that is reminiscent of the large alphabets found around grammar schools. The Large “A” makes me think of those books that read “A is for Animal”. It is interesting how they took a variety of type styles and fit them together. They fit like puzzle pieces or books on a shelf - just like various animals fit together to fill the planet. I also don’t mind that they dropped the animal art. "Animal" is already in the name.
The old logo on the other hand, in my opinion, was poorly designed in the first place. Aside from the interesting choice of typeface, it looks like a poor choice of clip art combinations. The photographic planet combined with the graphic elephant silhouette seems like a half-hearted effort to illustrate the name. It seems as though the designer had a good concept yet fell short of a solid solution. It is definitely more academic and geared toward the older, National Geographic audience.
1:05 PM
Thomas -
Right on! Thanks for your comment. That's why I love working with you.
Skip
3:04 PM
I've always disliked old logo, and more so in comparison with the new look.
The old logo looks like an afterthough, as though the designer just threw it together. Very desktop-ish looking and not appealing whatsoever with the use of clipart that looks like it was pulled out of Microsoft Word. In my opinion I do not think a designer even touched this but someone who has a Mac and thinks that qualifies them as a designer.
However, the new logo explores the art of display typography creating something interesting and thought-provoking by arranging fonts and negative space in an artistic manner...thus, display typography. I believe one commenter stated that the letters where pieced together like a puzzle as would the animals of this planet.
The new logo is very much so design forward and taps into the audiences of today.
7:05 PM
Well, there's a whole sociological question here about the kids being the decision makers, but I won't argue that this isn't true.
There was certainly a lot of room for improvement on the old logo; I think something as simple as updating the type treatment would have resulted in something a lot better than what they've got here.
9:18 AM
ct-
Thanks for sharing your perspective on the Animal Planet logo. When you have opinions representing both sides of the issue, you really have an informed, inspired conversation. And that's what the Marketing Genius community is all about! Much appreciated.
Skip
8:30 PM
John Whiteside,
Thanks for taking the time to add your comment and lend your voice to this conversation. Your points about the audience and design matters--such as the typography--are well stated and very valuable. I hope you'll continue to be a part of the Marketing Genius community.
Skip
8:32 PM
I was reading your blog and saw the post, “New Animal Planet Logo.” I am a huge fan of Animal Planet. My favorite show is “Growing Up.” “Growing Up” grizzly and “Growing Up” polar bear are my favorite episodes. I also like to watch “The Planets Funniest Animals.” I used to watch Meerkat Manor, but stopped watching when Flower died. It was too upsetting for me. I agree with you about the new logo. I do not like it. It does appear to be too cluttered and unclear. I like the old logo. I think that it’s simple and I like the outline of the elephant. They should have stuck with the old logo. The new one just doesn’t work.
8:29 AM
Laurie,
Thanks for joining this increasingly popular discussion of the new Animal Planet logo! It's great to hear your perspectives, as one who's such a true fan of the show. I hope you'll become a part of our community of marketing genius.
Best regards,
Skip
12:13 PM
i dont really care for either one. but as a designer, i do prefer the new one.
the new one is more appropriate for the audience of children and young-at-heart adults. the varied letter forms add a playful edge and look to be a refernce on the myriad of animals in the world. i dont really care for the arrangement of the letters, but i do get the concept. and its ok.
the old logo is kind of a mess really. it looks like a logo intended only for TV use. and even though the silhouette of the elephant is striking, the mix of a silhouette and a photorealistic world are troublesome to me.
i dont know why i wasnt consulted on this. i'm calling animal planet right now.
8:27 AM
vitamin C,
Thanks for sharing your opinions on this matter. I had not considered the mix of silhouette and photorealism. Hope you will return often to lend your voice to the conversations at Marketing Genius!
Skip
6:33 PM
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