Lord and Taylor-Rebranding an Icon

I’m not sure if any of you have heard or seen, but the store and brand Lord and Taylor (L&T) has redesigned its logo.

The iconic words that we all recognize have been the logo since the 1950s.

According to type historian Paul Shaw who contributed an article to Bloomberg Business, “The time has come to give this enduring logo its due.”

I’m not sure I agree that an iconic image ever needs a complete makeover. Because to me, that’s what this looks like—a complete makeover. The former logo was an artistic script, dating back to the artist who originally penned it in the ’50s. It was often printed alongside beautiful illustrations that were placed on L&T shopping bags and print ads. We’ve seen it displayed in a variety of colors and in different weights (a light pen to a heavier paintbrush style) over the years. If you’re old enough, some of you may even remember the illustrated rose that was printed next to the logo. Each time the company has revamped the logo in the past, its look never strayed too far from the iconic script-style brand we recognize.

I get that after 60+ years, maybe it’s time to rethink and redesign the brand, but what I see is a logo that doesn’t do a great job honoring its history. It looks like something any one of us could have done with a steady hand and a Sharpie. It’s a logo for teens, for kids who shop at Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister. There’s nothing wrong with those stores, but that’s a different audience. Those stores cater to a different clientele than L&T does. Maybe L&T is trying to be the new young, hip place to shop? But that’s like expecting Saks Fifth Avenue or Neiman Marcus to suddenly have a new age of shoppers knocking at their doors. Honor your history with a new logo, L&T, don’t try to reinvent it—especially not with a Sharpie.

 

Written by Johanna Daproza, Creative Director at Vector TalentMEDIA. For more information about how TalentMEDIA’s design team can help you, contact Johanna at johanna@vectortalent.com.