I am sure that we are all well aware of the bank failures that have been much discussed in the media lately. In this economy it is hard not to. Although I would love to discuss my opinion on big business bail-outs I will save that for another forum. Something I have noticed though is the logo and name changes that some of the banks are implementing.
For example, General Motors Acceptance Corporation otherwise known as GMAC recently changed their name to Ally Bank. What it is more interesting however, is the type of logo they chose. The only difference is not in the name itself. As you can see, the GMAC logo is big and loud. The all upper case, blue letters state, "Do business with me. I am bold. Don't worry your money is safe with me!" The thick line underneath the GMAC gives the impression of security. It alludes to GMAC standing on firm ground. The orange on the end of the bottom line offers contrast to the big blue letters.
What a difference bankruptcy and a government bail-out makes. Ally Bank's logo sends a different message. This time they went with all lowercase letters rather than all uppercase. They still include contrast by making the letter a purple. The color choice here speaks a little less loudly than the blue and orange seen in GMAC. The purple seems more humble. Also, the letters in ally seem closer. It is as if the letter y is reaching out to the two L's. Whereas, the letters in GMAC are spaced a little further apart. The Ally Bank logo also leaves the impression that they work for the little guy. Not to mention their new name almost sounds like they could be your friend.
I think the bank logo changes are a good idea. Although I am against them using money for those purposes when they're basically all slowly dying out, it is a good to change a look in hard times. For instance, Ally Bank's logo does seem more humble in the color purple compared to the blue and orange that is a a bit more obnoxious.
ReplyDeleteWait, sorry the above is me, Christine Bae...
ReplyDeleteI think it interesting that GMAC did change their name and logo, whether or not they were actually forced to change it due to ownership changes or else because they like many other companies wanted to leave their bankrupt image behind. Ally I feel is a change made mostly to shake off the bad image from the economic crisis but at the same time it is to show how the company has changed. The old logo seems superfluous and overdone whereas I think the new look is cleaner and more purposeful as if the company is saying we're going back to basics to provide the service we originally intended. Interesting points though, I'd have never thought of the company trying to convey themselves as humble.
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