For decades, Gap’s logo was one of the simplest in retail: tall white capital letters inside a navy blue square. The company was known for that logo almost as much as for its swing-dancing TV commercials. In October 2010 the company decided it looked dated.
The new logo
On October 4, 2010, Gap introduced a new logo, first on its website. The name was now set in Helvetica, in black, upper and lower case, with a small blue gradient square tucked behind the top right corner of the “p.” The iconic blue box, which had been the logo’s defining feature, was reduced to a detail.
The company explained the change as modernization. “We chose this design as it’s more contemporary and current,” Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, wrote in a column on The Huffington Post.
The reaction
It went badly, fast. Customers, designers and commentators criticized the new logo as generic and bland, and the criticism spread quickly across social media and design blogs. Ad Age said it looked like “something a child created using a clip-art gallery.” People who had never thought about Gap’s logo suddenly had strong opinions about Helvetica.
Gap tried to steady things. It said it would keep the new logo on its website but hold off on printing it on clothing, and it told its Facebook followers it was open to new ideas.
The reversal
On October 11, 2010, less than a week after the new logo appeared, Gap announced it was bringing back the blue box. The company acknowledged how much customers cared about the classic logo.
Marka Hansen, the executive who oversaw the change, resigned on February 1, 2011.
Why it failed
- It threw away the most recognizable part. The blue box was the logo. Shrinking it removed the one element people actually remembered.
- It looked generic. Helvetica with a small square read as a default template, not a fashion brand.
- There was no story. The company offered no clear reason for the change beyond sounding “contemporary,” so customers filled the gap with ridicule.
- It launched without preparation. A surprise swap on the website, with no explanation or rollout, invited people to judge it instantly.
Legacy
The Gap logo is now the standard example, alongside Tropicana’s 2009 packaging redesign, of how attached customers can be to a visual identity they rarely think about. Its most useful lesson for brands is about equity: before changing a logo, identify what people actually recognize, and keep it.