The New York Times has an interesting article about Saks’ new/old brand identity. Also check out Pentagram’s blog for more on the process and Saks’ logos through the years.

Pigskin powerhouse of the west change their look for the first time since 1988. The updated, admittedly, is pretty minor with symbols and colors unchanged. The new logo features a yellow (as opposed to white) lighting bolt outlined in powder and navy blue. On the field, the uniforms will remain basically the same, but the team will now wear white helmets reminiscent of their classic “throwback” powder blue uniforms.

Interestingly, every team in the NFL has updated their look at least once in the intervening 18 years since the Chargers last update (the only exceptions being the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders). The team will spend approximately $750k to apply this to their franchise. Now usually teams will introduce new looks to increase merchandise sales, or to correct a horrible previous lapse in judgment (think 1976 Houston Astros), or in an attempt to get rid of bad luck. I guess this is the later case, but really the change is so minor, I got to wonder why bother? Or perhaps, the better question is why didn’t the go all out and just bring back their powder blue “throwbacks” which is what everybody really wanted.

With its spate of acclaimed programming (The Office, Footballers’ Wives, Life on Mars), BBC America (profile) introduced a new identity
campaign to better reflect its personality and relevance to the American audience. The new look is used for both on air ids and their website and supported by the tagline, “A little Brit different.”

Designed by mOcean the new logo (aka the bulls-a) is a play off of the Royal Air Force roundel – you know the round symbol painted on the wings of a plane. It was later co-opted by the Mods (most notably the Who) and came to represent a sort of British invasion.

The new logo is certainly eye-catching and a simple representation of things British; definitely more so than their traditional logo. It should bring some excitement to a network that might sometimes be overlooked. Perhaps the best thing about this new logo is that I learned what roundels are…those things are cool. Check out Uganda’s. Any of these would make a cool t-shirt.

The Travelers Companies (profile), spun off from Citigroup in 2002 and acquired by the St Paul Companies in 2004, reacquire their iconic red umbrella from Citi. In addition the company, previously know as St Paul Travelers, has dropped the St Paul from their name and changed their stock symbol TRV.

I say good for you Travelers (and Citi, too, for giving it back). It is a huge improvement over their previous logo (right) which uses what looks like a red, feathered shield. I have to think management must agree since I can’t recall ever seeing any branding efforts supporting that logo and thus a need for a stronger identity (I will admit though, I do not follow the insurance industry with that much gusto). To me there is still a good bit of equity in that red umbrella and its association with Travelers. Even as a basic icon, it represents the concept of insurance better than a rock, a pair of hands, a duck and even Snoopy.

I guess the only critisism I have is the lack of originality, but I guess if it ain’t broke (well at least before you broke it), why fix it. The original Travelers logo, from before the Citibank merger, looks pretty much the same, save for a font and a color change.

Curious young man joins blogsphere with online diary about corporate rebranding. The upstart Brand Inquisitor will provide news and commentary on brand identity changes from both a marketing strategy and design perspective. Where new logos lurk, so goes the Brand Inquisitor…well maybe not like right away, but, you know, quick enough for it to still be topical.  Oh yeah, prepare youselves for bad headline puns as well.