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The image below is amazing, at least to me, not for political
reasons, but for design reasons. What we see here is a 69-ton
British Challenger II tank — seriously heavy metal —
near Basra not long ago crushing a portrait of Saddam Hussein.
A portrait. 
How much does a portrait weigh?
Do you need 69 tons of armor to ruin it?
Before you say of course not, I'd like to suggest that maybe
you do.
That's what I find amazing.
When Saddam Hussein's statue in central Baghdad was toppled
— not the real Saddam, not the actual person, but the
metal image — that's when people flocked into the streets,
when all knew the end was at hand, that the regime was done.
It's like this. When one nation invades another, the first
thing it does, as soon as it is able, before the fighting
is over, before the government is installed, the first thing
it does is replace the flag.
There's a famous image taken in Berlin at the end of World
War II of allied armor destroying the despised swastika atop
Nazi headquarters.
They blew up the logo.
And then it was over.
The flag hoisted by three firemen in the rubble of 9/11, remember
that?
When one business acquires another, what changes first?
Let's talk about your logo.
Why would you redesign a logo? There are many reasons. If
a company changes product or mission or market,a new logo
will reflect the new day. An old image may look dated. Tastes
change.
Whatever the case, and whatever the logo, the thing to know
is that the subject is serious.
As a designer, you most likely think first in terms of aesthetics
— this image is prettier than that — or about what
each element "symbolizes". But be careful. What an image symbolizes
to you has no bearing on what it means to the client. To the
client, it's the old logo that has meaning.
Why? Because everyone who works for a company has to some
degree adopted an identity. We bring to a job our education,
abilities, ambitions,and take from it income, friends, lifestyle.
We identify these experiences with the company and infuse
its logo with personal meaning, whether the logo is artistically
attractive or not.
The logo is not "just a graphic" any more than a flag is a
piece of colored cloth.
That's why it 's so hard to design. You're working on sacred
soil. I'm exaggerating only a little, but I 'm not kidding.
Thing is, a client asking for a redesign will not be aware
of this — that what he knows and values about his company
is attached to its logo, and that he's asking you to replace
it. He's asking for a new flag.
Advice: If you feel qualified, do the job. Before unveiling
it, prepare your client. Tell him he can expect to feel uncomfortable
at first, because you're replacing what he knows with a foreign
thing. Tell him to not look for his familiar symbolism
in it. It is being changed. But assure him that once
his choice is made, his old meaning will gradually be transferred
to the new logo.
Then show him your best work.
Originally published in Before & After
magazine, Issue 33.
Copyright © 2003 Before &
After magazine.
All rights reserved. Before & After
Magazine,
2007 Opportunity Drive, #10, Roseville, CA, USA 95678
www.bamagazine.com
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