Studio Brief 01, Logotype - Less is More

The final variation of the logotype is heavily inspired by Massimo Vignelli's design principles. Especially on the topic of Equity. He comments on the idea that once a company has been in the public domain for so long, it becomes a landmark, an respectable entity and a classic. There are obviously disagreements when discussing these characteristics in the same breath of American Apparel. However if you strip away the controversies and scandals, what you have is a brand that is unique in on itself. Other clothing brands nowadays copy whats trending in the fashion world, however American Apparel stick to its image and its proven to be a success for the most part. Thus it would the company's aim to revitalise the brand in a way that retains its iconic brand identity but to give it new life and to say to its customers that its changed.

Therefore following Vignelli's principles I took the existing logotype and instilled a few light re-touches. 

Initially I thought to do a lot more than was what required for the end product. The choice to make it all capitals was to make the brand more imposing onto the customer. To grab the customers attention in the high street. But the tight kerning still gave the image that the brand was within itself and not open to change. Not open to getting rid of it tarnished image. In my mind a re-brand was a complete re-design of the existing logo. But actually most companies tweak and re-touch their logos to suit the current climate. Take for example Starbucks with the complete elimination of a typeface for their famous mermaid symbol and PayPal which flattened their logo design and adjusted the typeface. Thus the last and most successful iteration of the experiments was just a simple tweak on the tracking and kerning. What ended up was a lighter, fresher looking American Apparel that had open connotations and a slightly more grown up look.