[fermienrico]

Paula needs to retire. She has ruined the Library of Congress logo - the classic Library of Congress logo by C&G&H with this crap: https://www.pentagram.com/work/library-of-congress/story

It's like they recycled left overs from the EFF logo job.

Pentagram is hit or miss depending on who leads the project. Michael Beirut is one of the better partners and designers at Pentagram.

[vokep]

I'm in full agreement.

like...seriously? they really thought there was improvement to be made on the Library of Congress logo? Its a book...and its nice and iconic, recognizable. They said the new design gives a brand identity thats more "accessible"...what is not accessible about a book? I get that the library has more than books, but that doesn't really make the old logo any less relevant.

[gamma-male]

That's quite a reaction you're having here.

[fermienrico]

:-)

This stuff bothers me. Like the day when they changed the legendary Vignelli's American Airlines logo : https://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-american-airlines-lo...

WHY change a logo which has served, embedded and part of the company's soul for over 40 years no less, especially if it was designed by someone like Vignelli.

It blows my mind.

[QML]

While both the Library of Congress and American Airline logos are iconic, they look fairly outdated and aren't as flexible.

Look at the new Library of Congress logo [1], and think if that could've been done with the older one.

[1] https://www.pentagram.com/work/library-of-congress#23433

[fermienrico]

Timeless design (Swiss typography, Braun industrial design, Muller-Brockmann's grid system, Ando's architecture) - they're timeless because they don't follow trends or try to catch up with current fads - they're built from fundamentals and aesthetic sensibilities that appeal universally.

They look "outdated" because everything else around it is following current trends. You cannot ever say the Coca Cola logo is outdated, nor can you ever say the LOC logo by C&G&H is outdated. If anything else, it is advantageous to be constant and "outdated" (there are exceptions such as Fashion brands).

Regarding flexibility - I agree. But, most companies understand the value of their decades old brand - see recent tweaks of the Lufthansa logo, American Express or MasterCard - they tweak them for future compatibility and digital media. They don't just throw it out the window without good reason. "Outdatedness" is not a good reason.

[Arn_Thor]

The Mastercard rebrand is one of the most...masterful...logo refreshes I've seen! Kept what was iconic (you know some design firm wanted to update the "outdated colors") but gave it a touch of modernity.

[toomuchtodo]

Because it gives them something to do.

[jen729w]

I’m upset about that from Australia. What a disgrace.