“Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods in foods, household and personal care products.” Last Wednesday, Unilever launched a new brand identity.
“The current logo has been reliable and distinguished — and we don’t want to lose those characteristics — but not as open and friendly as it could be, not enough to enable us to put it onto the packs of everything we make. That requires it to speak of Vitality, so it will change.”
“The new logo tells the story of Unilever and vitality. It brings together 25 different icons representing Unilever and its brands, the idea of vitality and the benefits we bring to consumers and the world we operate in.”
My first thoughts on this identity designed by Wolff Olins, are very positive. The previous “U” which is still on the Unilever’s website is awkward and industrial. The new “U” which is made up of 25 different icons has a fresh energy and a wonderful texture. The fact that these icons are microscopic, doesn’t bother me. It kind of has a Chuck Close thing going on. At minimum, when small, it is still a very nice “U”. Once you get closer to it, however, or once it gets much larger, there is a lot to discover. I would love to see it painted on a wall at headquarters. It would be beautiful. The type is also a departure from the old thin serifs. The new script is playful and human and successful.
I can’t help but compare this to a few other identities. The first is the old Pharmacia & Upjohn logo which incorporated a hand, bird and star on a purple stone. The trouble with that mark was that there were so few elements that you were forced to wonder what they stood for and why there were only three and what were they doing on a purple rock. The new Unilever “U” has enough symbols that are integrated with each other, that no single symbol calls too much attention to itself. It is more of a mosaic. Which brings me to the Altria symbol. Like Unilever, Altria is also representative of the various brands and products that fall under its umbrella. Altria uses colored squares and Unilever is using icons. One of the goals of the icons was to appear friendlier and it succeeds in this way. Altria could probably use a little more “friendly”.
Good job, Unilever.
I'm with you on this, David. I only wish they had a larger version of it on the site that I could look at more closely. My first reaction was a bit skeptical, as it is one damn complex mark. But if they managed to show it successfully at that small size on the web, then print shouldn't be an issue. The most important aspect is that it makes you like twice (and possibly a third, fourth and fifth time) and that is one of the hardest goals to achieve in a logo for a corporation of this size and breadth. In one fell swoop, they went from looking like a massive industrial company, cranking out product after product in a dimly lit factory to a smaller, more lean organization loaded with personality and vigor. And that script logotype is a very brave move for them. Nicely done.
On May.17.2004 at 09:22 AM