Great branding firms do not create for the past, they also just keep the present in mind when designing for the future.

Change is hard to give into, especially when it intrudes an era of historic connections with die-hard fans, but there is a larger chance that Landor’s work will in fact do what it promises to deliver, which is to turn DC Comics’ objectives into a lively, current and adjustable brand platform that is weathered for changes within DC Comics that outside spectators, like myself, can not be aware of.

Branding has a large visual component to it, but that is only a part of it. It is unfortunate though that the other parts are hidden from the public, only the client and the agency know those complex pieces of information. What is left for brand advocates (‘fans’), is to form an opinion about a visual, which is a highly objective exercise. If bundled with waving good-bye to a brand mark that is dear to their hearts, in exchange for a visual that they might not immediately connect with, it is a sure formula for fan outcry. It happens all the time. Read this fun post ‘The History of the DC Comic Logo, As Seen Through 70 Years of Internet Comments’ for some mainly fictional, yet very funny DC Comics history.

Rarely are large consumer facing re-branding projects greeted with solely smiling faces by advocates, but what is most important is that over time the majority of those brands succeed, strive and show the results that the agency is being paid for to deliver. And with Landor, who myself and my peers have a lot of respect for, given their track record, there is a more-than-good chance this will be the case for the evolution of the DC comics brand.

I am not sure if this heals the pain of disappointed fans like @jwojchi, but time surely will.

It was surprising to see the logo below in an article in the latest issue of Dynamic Graphics. The fat headline above reads ‘I DID IT MY WAY’. Ouch.

I assume and hope that the logo (which never was used by the designer’s client, luckily for more than one reason, as the article describes), nor its designer, have ever come in touch with El Capitan Canyon, so the likeliness of it being a straight copy, although very omminent on first sight, is quite unlikely.

Then again, you never know when it is plagiarism, and when it is not. To ask that question yourself, I found a blog post that went out for the hunt of these sad examples.

It might make you wonder, and it puts me into a constant fear of it ever happening at Geyrhalter Design.

Incorporating the new tag line ‘Building the Future of Los Angeles’, the new Identity and corporate design system repositions the foundation as pioneering new solutions to social problems thus creating positive change in L.A.

The Identity design represents an upward-thrusting structure conveying both boldness and stature. The 5 light rays breaking out of the conventional structure are a metaphor for the foundation’s priority areas and the innovative ways in which the foundation addresses root causes of L.A.’s biggest challenges. With the use of green, the analogy of a wave, and a solely positive upwards movement, the mark makes an energetic symbol for positive action.

You can compare our new creative effort to the current, and soon to be old, logo on their site.

As an interesting side note I learned that the old logo has been created by the same designer(s) who designed the Tree People’s logo, and at around the same time, which seems peculiar to me. But then again maybe it’s just me who sees the similarities, and maybe the whole story is just a myth.