The crave to have a distinct identity and cope with the newest trends makes businesses go for re-branding. Same were the reasons for one of the most popular magazines on this globe that has turned 119 this year, The New York Times Magazine, to undergo a redesign.

Revised logo:

Times readers may have observed three changes hailed in the magazine’s logo. The letters in the previous logo were tightly spaced, whereas the new logo are more graciously spaced to make it more legible.

New typefaces

The changes in typeface were not confined to the logo of the Times magazine. The publication has also put forth a whole new set of original fonts. Henrik Kubel from A2-Type created these typefaces. Interestingly, none of these new fonts has even been titled yet.

NewYork Times Magazine Fonts

Redesigning For The Web

One of the prime goals for an editor is to make the publication more friendly to the readers online, which the magazine struggled to successfully manage.

Social media logo

With the intention to ramp up the web presence of the magazine, it’s obvious that Silverstein also focused on the social media in the redesigning process, specifically the magazine’s social media logo.

Cleaner page layout

The redesigning of the publications also exceeds just the typography. In keeping pace with the design trends of simplicity in the last, couple of years, Silverstein also decided to present a much cleaner layout for the magazine’s pages.

The mission behind the redesigning process was to make the magazine more prominent and egress from the shadow of its long-familiar parent, The New York Times. The New York Times Magazine, by constantly budding in its design approach, certifies that it still stays relevant for the readers, even 119 years after stepping into the publishing industry for the first time.

Logo Designs - Misperceived

It is no secret how important a logo is for a company, but I think people are overestimating it, nowadays. Businesses have now associated entirely unrealistic expectations for what their logo can do for their brand and business. A logo is not more than the simple mnemonic that is used to mark products and marketing stuff so that people know whom it belongs to or who is trying to convey something to them.

The logo design itself only enunciates what the brand already broadcasts. The logo cannot create your brand image. It can just refer to it.

Even worse, people believe that the problem of their company will be fixed by redefining their company visually, which is not the case. This has increased the pressure over the designers, as companied expect a logo that tells a story, is visually appealing and set them apart. For me, designers should consider their logo as the first step with which the journey of miles is covered, rather than the last step to success.

So when you’re presented with a newly designed logo, avoid looking at it to see the story. Rather, look at it to make sure that it lacks anything that can visually offend or suggest something entirely different from your company’s brand. When the McDonald’s logo was created, it was not expected to express an entire story, instead people take it as a representation to their business. 

Have trust in the designer and give him the space to utilize what he/she has discovered about your company as well as your ideals to articulate for the rest.