spanish retailer ZARA revealed a logo redesign at the end of last month that saw its branding undergo some over-enthusiastic kerning – that’s the spacing between letters. designed by french agency baron & baron, the new identity has since been met with criticism among designers.
ZARA’s previous logo featured more spacious lettering
german typographer erik spiekermann went as far as to call it ‘the worst piece of type [he’s] seen in years‘. in a twitter post, spiekerman asked if it was designed by ‘one of those new robots that will replace humans‘. meanwhile fabio basile of british design studio fortnight mocked the logo with an image forecasting the fashion retailer’s logo in eight years, if it were to follow the same pattern.
Zara have updated their logo. pic.twitter.com/GhhQziNV1D
— Fabio ✌︎⁂ (@fffabs) January 26, 2019
the last time ZARA changed its logo was in 2011. still composed of the four letters that make up its name, as has always been the case, the transformation of its insignia introduced a new font and an increase in spacing to create a sense of minimalism.
ZARA is not the only retailer to change up its brand identity. british luxury fashion house burberry unveiled updates to its logo in august 2018, designed in collaboration with peter saville. french fashion house celine dropped the accent from its name in the following month to create a simplified and ‘more balanced’ design. the new looks have caused concerns that luxury brand’s logos are becoming uniformed as they undergo sans-serification.
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Ideas move nations typefaces do not!
This is not design. It’s “Hey, let’s play around with letter spacing”. Evidently, ZARA’s Creative Director – or whoever was tasked with approving the logo redesign – lived by the phrase on the infamous jacket worn by Melania Trump while visiting detention centers at the US/Mexico border: “I really don’t care, do U?”
New Typeface? Auto Kerning?
Looks like a Harpers Bazaar wannabe!
It’s not noteworthy. Doesn’t look like something you would be proud to wear. Mind you, my track record with Zara is squeezing into their too-tight clothes, so reflects the brand experience!