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Ditech, the infamous mortgage loan company, ditched the awful swoosh-mouse-cursor-Optima logo and upgraded to a clean sans-serif look. Along with the new logo, designed by L.A.-based Ground Zero, comes a new campaign slogan, “People are smart.” The irony is I can’t quite figure out what the new logo represents. Or maybe I’m not their kind of people.
The pluses: the new logo solidifies ditech as a serious company; the color scheme is much improved; and instead of a drastic change just to change it, they stuck to a clean typeface.
The minuses: the cross bar of the t seems to be lacking major punch. When it’s the only emphasis it should have more of an impact — this doesn’t do much for the mark. The other downfall is the addition of the tagline. Why so small? I am a fan of small type but sized next to the logo the tagline is disproportional. Overall the mark is a step up but isn’t memorable enough to have lasting power. Maybe another redesign is on the way in a few years.
To learn more see article in AdWeek.
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Jude’s comment is:
Huge improvement, but you're correct John - not very memorable. Still, its good to see a company moving forward and not backward (I'm talking to you 5/3 bank)
On May.31.2007 at 09:58 AM
asen’s comment is:
....and retains its dull web-0.2-ness.
today i was just thinking how petrified i felt about all the little web 0.2 stylistic leaks that have emerged in the actual world. misplaced pastels and chrystalline surfaces, transparencies and nonsensical, multicoloured drop-shadows, remedial bilingualisms...come armaggedon, come.
On May.31.2007 at 10:09 AM
RS’s comment is:
I always hated that old logo. The bubbly look of those swooshes makes me think toothpaste or dentures.
On May.31.2007 at 10:09 AM
Josh P’s comment is:
The red crossbar on the 't' is just to much contrast from the rest of the blue in the logo and my first look at it reads "Dilech" ('l' instead of 't').
On May.31.2007 at 10:13 AM
Mark’s comment is:
YYYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!
*jumps up and down for joy*
Ditech finally ditched their cheap,pathetic,mindless image!
No more "lost another loan to Ditech" ads!!! :)
YAY!
I know longer have to see that glowing swoosh arrow thing ever again!!!!
They're ads now at lest more intelligent this time.
They finally realize people are smart. Not stupid.
Perhaps they'll be taken more seriously now.
One question though, whats that red thing supposed to be?
(big plus for also ditching the ".com" part)
On May.31.2007 at 10:28 AM
Armin’s comment is:
The good news is that anything that would have replaced that old logo would be an improvement. The bad news is that this logo has no personality. It reminds me a bit of the Aflac logo.
On May.31.2007 at 10:36 AM
L.Vazquez’s comment is:
I agree, the 't' isn't worked very well. I see Dilec as well.
I'm glad they ditched the .com. It's cleaner and less clunky, which is always an improvment.
I'm not a fan of the color scheme, but that's just me.
On May.31.2007 at 10:38 AM
Joachim’s comment is:
Josh, I agree with the contrast on the 't.' For me, it reads, "Diltech." While the logo redesign is much improved over the old one, making the 't' look like another letter is a mistake.
On May.31.2007 at 10:46 AM
danielle’s comment is:
i don't know if anyone has a sam's club near them, but they have a new look:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=9673
On May.31.2007 at 11:14 AM
Paul Riehle’s comment is:
Even though it is very much web 2.0 it does give them a much more respectable brand. The one on was way out dated and just plan bad. Now its time to throw some money into their advertising, and stop making cheese ball commercials.
On May.31.2007 at 11:21 AM
Feldhouse’s comment is:
Danielle,
It was covered already: http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/6_lbs_of_cream_cheese_and_an_a.php
On May.31.2007 at 11:33 AM
Daniel Bertalotto’s comment is:
If nothing else, they will probably better match or surpass their own peer organizations within their industry and have a better chance of being chosen by home finance shoppers who know the company by their logo and not by CSR.
The old identity (as well as their old advertising campaign) reeks of low-end to middle consumerism. If nothing else, the cleanliness of this mark will help, but it will probably not be a very memorable or personable brand. I wouldn't be surprised to see another rebrand in the company's future.
On May.31.2007 at 11:34 AM
OMEN’s comment is:
Ummmm... maybe I'm wrong, but I thought the logo's accent was pretty obviously a leaf. Representing the potential for "growth" that a home loan provides. Overall it's a massive improvement, and I definitely read approachable and "customer friendly" in it.
On May.31.2007 at 11:55 AM
Splashman’s comment is:
Ugh. Never saw the old logo in the wild. Good thing, too -- I've got a weak stomach. Gawd, that's awful.
As others have mentioned, the new identity isn't particularly thrilling, but at least it's clean and professional. It's amazing how many of the examples on this site don't even pass that test.
On May.31.2007 at 12:50 PM
C-Lo’s comment is:
Good to see the company put some thought and energy to the logo. It is a great improvement. I would have made the red leaf a little bigger (or maybe 2). I too see the Dilech, and am reminded of web 2.0 malarkey, but a welcome improvement none the less.
On May.31.2007 at 01:37 PM
Prescott Perez-Fox’s comment is:
While the old logo may have been tacky, with the use of swishing and zooming action, at least it felt like a website! The type treatment of the older logo reminds me of laundry detergent, yet still feels more powerful than the new typeface.
I feel that the new logo, while it looks more serious, doesn't look adequately Financial. It doesn't look like the sort of company you'd trust to look after your money. At least with a website, you know it's a website, and can deal with those hangups in turn. This new one seems like a software company, or some new prescription drug. I believe Abbey in the UK caught similar criticism for their use of a "friendly" typeface on a banking institution.
I agree that swooshiness is terrible. Off with his head.
On May.31.2007 at 03:01 PM
gorckat’s comment is:
I think the new one looks more like 'Dilech'...maybe they're hoping to tap into Dr Who fans (?) subconcious because it sounds a little like 'Dalek'...
Yeah- I think 'People are Smart' enough to make those leaps :P
On May.31.2007 at 04:54 PM
Deaf Musician’s comment is:
eh, it's ok. not that great. The font colors aren't bright enough.
On May.31.2007 at 05:03 PM
Kaz’s comment is:
Both logos are pretty ugly, but the new one looks a little more professional.
The swoosh thing didn't disappear completely in their redesigned website, you can still see it in the favicon. Did they missed that?
On May.31.2007 at 06:13 PM
Nicole’s comment is:
Nick’s comment is:
Seems like to me, that they gave it a little "flickr" treatment. The colours, however not exact, its still the spectrum. Along with the whole lowercase type. I might be drawing coincidences here and making a conspiracy. But I just thought it was interesting. And what's with the CMYK scheme? Can't they do a little colour mixing, be a little creative?
On Jun.01.2007 at 12:39 AM
Larry’s comment is:
My guess is the tagline is so small because now is really not the time to be playing up their ties to GMAC. GMAC has been hit with pretty heavy losses (and related layoffs) from their sub-prime mortgage business. No need to play up that their corporate owner is in trouble when you're talking about a business that is trying to establish a proposed 15-40 year relationship with a customer.
On Jun.02.2007 at 01:24 AM
Bjorn’s comment is:
A great ditch of the old forgettable logo for a new forgettable one. Cyan is not the strongest colour, especially on screen. A reverse in the colours, Red for the logotype and cyan for the emphasis on the "T" woul dhave been a more impactful change
On Jun.02.2007 at 12:34 PM
Anonymous’s comment is:
Wow. That old logo looks like some early 90s champoo or deodorant...like Pert Plus or something.
The new one is pretty bland. DILECH all the way.
It's a good thing the have the little "Home Financing by GMAC" underneath the logo or I would have no idea what they do.
On Jun.04.2007 at 08:29 AM
drew kora’s comment is:
Wow. That old logo looks like some early 90s champoo or deodorant...like Pert Plus or something.
The new one is pretty bland. DILECH all the way.
It's a good thing the have the little "Home Financing by GMAC" underneath the logo or I would have no idea what they do.
On Jun.04.2007 at 08:31 AM
Joseph’s comment is:
I agree with the others who have said that the old logo looks like a laundry detergent or a toothpaste. Blech. In the new logo, I get that it's a "t" but maybe only because I'm familiar with the name. What I don't get is the leaf and why it would be red and not green. And what it really has to do with home loans.
Also, the GMAC font is awful and has made my skin crawl for years. It looks terrible when compared to the clean, modern font of the new logo.
On Jun.04.2007 at 03:12 PM
Joseph’s comment is:
I agree with the others who have said that the old logo looks like a laundry detergent or a toothpaste. Blech. In the new logo, I get that it's a "t" but maybe only because I'm familiar with the name. What I don't get is the leaf and why it would be red and not green. And what it really has to do with home loans.
Also, the GMAC font is awful and has made my skin crawl for years.
On Jun.04.2007 at 03:35 PM
Gene Cowan’s comment is:
Bad choice on the red "leaf" -- at least, for the color blind. At that size, the tiny dot of red looks green. Which means that the first thought I had was "oh, no... Ditech is positioning themselves as a 'green' company."
When I discovered it was red, then it suddenly had NO meaning, much less an inappropriate one.
Daren Guillory’s comment is:
Joseph
"Also, the GMAC font is awful and has made my skin crawl for years."
Looks very much like OfficinaSerif-Bold Italic, and maybe an additional .25 stroke...yikes!
On Jun.08.2007 at 01:43 PM
Mark’s comment is:
That "l" oh sorry I mean "t" is really bothering me.
Why did they chose an nearly opposing color for the leaf doesn't that high of a contrast separate the two parts visually?
see this:
http://www.curbly.com/uploads/photos/0000/0001/4404/my_color_wheel_2.jpg
http://www.justbynature.com/images/HDColor33a.gif
either make the leaf green, or make it larger, or just make the leaf blue, but seriously make it look like a "t".
I find myself looking at the old logo more, not good, not good.
Thats it, I'm taking action heres a modfied logo via Powerpoint did it in less than a minute
http://img340.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ditechmodifiedwn3.png
On Jun.12.2007 at 09:15 AM
Troy Doney’s comment is:
Since it's a mortgage company, I think the red graphic is supposed to be representing a tree leaf.
Mortgage = home = trees = leaf
On Aug.09.2007 at 03:32 PM
JS’s comment is:
Hi,
Does anyone recognize the font used in the new logo? Any idea what it's called?
On Aug.15.2007 at 12:54 AM
jsimpson’s comment is:
looks so techie.. i think they should change the commercial instead.. it's so lame..
On Oct.23.2007 at 04:28 AM
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