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I can’t stand the thought of taxes or administrative tasks — it’s not that I’m above it or that I am too creative to be bothered by them, I just get confused easily — but it is with fond memory that I remember Intuit’s TurboTax software that allowed me to file my very first 1040EZ form for my 1999 taxes when I originally moved to the U.S., a daunting task made significantly easy, even with that old android dude of a logo sticking its pixelated head out of the side of the box. Earlier this month, Intuit unveiled (internally) a new logo that replaces the android with a more broadly humanized representation of, well, humans.
There isn’t much information yet on the rebranding, as the web site still has the old logo and no press release has been released. TechGap.com does have some information on the matter:
“The brand will be rolled out gradually on the Web and in conjunction with product launches beginning in the fall,” according to Rich Walker, Intuit media relations. “This refreshed brand will place new and broader emphasis on the Intuit name. It will serve as our corporate brand and as the master brand for our small and mid-sized business products.”
The site also mentions that New York-based Lippincott designed the new identity, which is a vast improvement from the previous one which feels dated to a time when people had just discovered computers. The new logo does verge on the cliche, with the “t”s taking the shape of stick figures, but somehow manages to make it work semi-convincingly. I am not a fan at all of the upper and lower case combination, but the letterforms are at least unified in weight, making the shifts less jarring.
What looks like a cell phone picture of what could be the internal unveiling of the logo. Photo from mtnbkr1’s Flickr account.
The image above shows a nice detail when the logo exists as an object, with the dots being produced as spheres, instead of just extruding them as tubes. Until I wrote this post I had no idea that Intuit was also the maker of QuickBooks, the current administrative tool of UnderConsideration LLC, which points to both the fact that I don’t pay enough attention to this aspect of running a business (luckily, my wife and partner does!) and that Intuit as a brand is generally overshadowed by its products that probably enjoy more market recognition than their parent company. This new identity feels more poised to be a visual cue in branding the company’s popular products.
Thanks to Michael and Simone for the tip.
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marko savic’s comment is:
Their new identity is certainly better, but that doesn't make it particularly good. The mixed case is confusing me, especially since they didn't emphasize the n/u as being the same character, rotated, with an I on the stem side.
My verdict: Le Sigh.
This two minute rebrand brought to you by my unemployment.
Ricky Irvine’s comment is:
"Stupid" comes to mind, in regard to the dotted Ts. Unum did a better job.
On Apr.29.2008 at 11:29 AM
Bart O'Dell’s comment is:
I think this is a very nice and modern update. The old did seem very dated while this has a fresh minimal approach. Thumbs up from me.
On Apr.29.2008 at 11:31 AM
felix sockwell’s comment is:
Von is going to animate a nice Pong game here.
i think this ID is a decent transition. only thing i would've tweaked differently is tuck the ® mark in tighter to the base/ foot of the T.
On Apr.29.2008 at 11:35 AM
scooter’s comment is:
The former identity looks dated, no question, but its pixelated brain makes more sense to me in relation to the company name and product line ( "intuit", to understand or work out by instinct) than two stick figures do. This new logo seems more appropriate for an HR or staffing agency. Technically I think the design is nicely executed, though I question the color choice, which seems too ordinary and corporate.
On Apr.29.2008 at 12:22 PM
CJ’s comment is:
I think the new mark and the little people icons inside of it really draw too much attention to the proximity of this name to "inuit" (the native peoples of th north), and their inuksuks (stacked stone landmarks which crudely resemble the dotted t's in the logo). Add an igloo too while you're at it.
Ty’s comment is:
Am I the only one who is thrown for a loop with the dots being over the Ts and not the Is?
On Apr.29.2008 at 01:53 PM
JR’s comment is:
It's modern, it's fresh, it's a step forward and with all the humanized stick-figured lower-cased identities it's even "trendy," I guess.
It's just not inspired.
Maybe someone had a check list of to-dos:
-find fresh color (check)
-use a modern typeface (check)
-humanize (check)
-make more accessible and friendly (check)
Meh. They used a "Rebrand Yourself!" kit.
On Apr.29.2008 at 01:54 PM
Mr Posen’s comment is:
Hard to read, hard to pronounce.
Von Glitschka’s comment is:
Good call Felix. Pong, ah the memories.
I remember my grandpa cursing because our pong game burned an image into his TV set. So even though he was watching golf you could see the game graphics superimposed over Fuzzy Zeller.
On Apr.29.2008 at 03:55 PM
Hibryd’s comment is:
Marko -
I really like yours better. It fixes the two problems I have with their new logo: 1) mixed cases, and 2) hitting us over the head with people Ts. Making the "people" singular and more subtle makes the whole thing look more professional.
On Apr.29.2008 at 04:08 PM
Kosal’s comment is:
It's more refreshing, but the pseudo-repetition of letterforms (identical Is, n=u, and two Ts) make it a visually confusing read. Though outdated, the previous logo did it better by using a capital I.
Marko- reminds me of intel.
On Apr.29.2008 at 04:11 PM
Scott’s comment is:
"This two minute rebrand brought to you by my unemployment. "
Is that supposed to feel just like intel? That seems like one obstacle in this redesign... intel vs intuit. Choosing blue was not a great idea.
On Apr.29.2008 at 04:51 PM
Matheus Stortz’s comment is:
Von Glitschka’s comment is: HILARIOUS
On Apr.29.2008 at 04:58 PM
Darrin Crescenzi’s comment is:
Why people?
This feels like the wordmark for a humanitarian non-profit, not a software company. It's an interesting mark, but I don't think my little brain is making this connection.
On Apr.29.2008 at 06:43 PM
Armin’s comment is:
My guess on "people" is that intuit is about empowering individual users... Making ME feel comfortable submitting my own taxes, making ME confident in my bookkeeping abilities, etc. It's a way of letting anyone who might be scared of complicated software know that this is an approachable product, something the old logo would contradict, as if you have to be able to drive those crazy cars-on-a-grid in Tron to use that software.
On Apr.29.2008 at 06:55 PM
marko savic’s comment is:
And yeah, it's very intel, but what can you do?
Money Mart Credit Cards:
Blue Buddha’s comment is:
I've worked with my local Intuit (tucson, az) quite a bit and I'll take Mr. Pixelhead over this new logo any day.
This is just completely uninspired simplicity. No sir, I don't like it.
I always got the impression that Intuit was a play on intuition and that implies brains to me, which the previous logo does much better. Now, I just see in 2 it! which implies nothing about their products.
On Apr.29.2008 at 11:37 PM
Seffis’s comment is:
"Dot your t's and cross your eyes"
On Apr.30.2008 at 12:47 AM
Wünderwoman’s comment is:
um....gross.
On Apr.30.2008 at 01:43 AM
Luke Stevens’s comment is:
'orrible. The mixed case is bad, but the people-t's are so generic, lifeless and static they look like they should be above the door of a non-gender specific bathroom in an international airport (if such a thing existed!).
My only other interpretation is that they're both on a crucifix, which again perhaps isn't the imagery the company was hoping to evoke.
On Apr.30.2008 at 03:34 AM
Roberta Seldon’s comment is:
The original is much better. BTW, nice work on the rebrand Marko :) I agree with you, the mixed case does throw it off just a bit.
On Apr.30.2008 at 09:32 AM
hussein’s comment is:
FF Info Text? the typeface?!
On Apr.30.2008 at 11:26 AM
jayparry’s comment is:
why are you saying its mixed case? they just took the i dots and moved them over, replacing the top part of a lowercase t.
On Apr.30.2008 at 02:01 PM
Darrel’s comment is:
I wasn't too keen on this one but then I saw it in context with the lovely potted plants on the floor (they went all out on that one).
Eh...still not too keen on it.
(Marko's letterforms are interesting, though.)
On Apr.30.2008 at 02:05 PM
jayparry’s comment is:
maybe you guys are just not that intuit
On Apr.30.2008 at 02:08 PM
iffy’s comment is:
^ lol Jayparry
I think it's cute. But I'm not sure taxes are supposed to be cute.
On Apr.30.2008 at 02:29 PM
Michael’s comment is:
The mixed case and dotted Ts look awful to me. I much prefer the old one.
On Apr.30.2008 at 03:04 PM
Darrin Crescenzi’s comment is:
@ Armin
I suppose your interpretation is also implied by the company name (intuit = intuitive?). I get that the company's products enable a user to be self-sufficient in many a complicated endeavor, but somehow two figures in a logotype says nothing about enabling nor about the individual user.
If we make a generous concession and say that a stylized person is an effective way to represent "the user," then at least in Marko's "two minute rebrand" we're dealing with ONE stylized person. In my eyes, having two confuses the message and doesn't seem to hit the communication points you astutely delineated.
On Apr.30.2008 at 03:58 PM
Jeff’s comment is:
I like the old one so much better -- even if it is 20 years too old. It actually has a sense of unity and refinement. This new one is just a mess.
On Apr.30.2008 at 04:20 PM
R’s comment is:
The t's as people is so overdone, this new mark is really generic, esp w/the intel blue. The old logo was showing some wear, but they could have made an updated version.
On Apr.30.2008 at 10:17 PM
XK9’s comment is:
The phrase "[be sure to] dot your i's and cross your t's" refers to being thorough and precise. Doesn't dotting your t's seem, conversely, to represent an error, something incorrect?
Intuit creates financial software that must be thorough and precise. Being incorrect would appear to be a significant handicap in their business.
I think this logo is a mistake.
On May.02.2008 at 06:10 PM
mog’s comment is:
Wii would like to...do our taxes?
The old Intuit logo was outdated in the same way the old Xerox logo was outdated, and the new Intuit logo is an improvement in the same way the new Xerox logo is an improvement. Which is to say: not really.
On May.05.2008 at 08:21 PM
Jean C.’s comment is:
Matt’s comment is:
It reminds me of the movie tommy from the who...
That was his logo.
kevin tucker’s comment is:
are they really intending to imply the bass-ackwards cliché "dot your Ts and cross your i's" for a line of products that are meant to imply precision and ease of use? i get the "human" thing, and it's almost clever that the dots that belong on the two i's are granted to the two t's instead... but i can't get away from the idea that if the t's are dotted... the "eyes are crossed"...
On May.09.2008 at 10:57 AM
Mongoose’s comment is:
The trouble with marko's is that the 'person t' there looks like a handicapped sign. Not necessarily what you want to project.
The dotted Ts are odd, in the rebrand, but I'll accept them. The old logo puts me back into the Broderbund era, and the new one is clean, contemporary, and not bad for a company whose identity is somewhat secondary to its product lineup.
On May.09.2008 at 01:31 PM
Michael’s comment is:
I was never a huge fan of the original Intuit logo but it was far more distinctive than the new Intuit Web 2.0 stylized logo that I have seen too many times to date...
On May.11.2008 at 02:30 AM
Eric’s comment is:
I was there for the logo unveiling and you folks are right. They really did pull out all the stops - with potted plants and everything!!
Intuit is one of the more ridiculous companies I have ever worked for. It has some good products...products its idiotic executives do everything they can to kill. It's a wonder they're still afloat. :)
...and the general consensus among non Cool Aid-drinking employees is that the new logo is lame.
Amanda’s comment is:
I enjoy it, I like mixed case.
It is definitely more recognizable than the old one.
On Jul.24.2008 at 11:41 PM
Comments in Brand New, V1.0 have been closed.
