Over 17 years ago, eBay hit the online community at full force with a new way for the world to buy and sell. Millions of people visit the site every day and utilize it for personal business exchanges, so it’s no wonder that their identity needed to be revitalized. But their new logo is unsatisfying, leaving their audience disconnected with the brand.
Their vision of a clean and contemporary redesign resulted as a dry and boring statement. The chosen font (Univers) lacks character and is not identifiable with the company. Although contemporary designs tend to use a san serif font for their type, there is usually a unique feature or twist to make the type unique to the brand. The only thing “unique” about this revitalization is the color added to the type, which even then, is extremely similar to the palette used for google and microsoft’s logo.
Aesthetically, eBay’s logo started off as a playful logo that invited people to join the online auctioning community. Even the various placement of the letters gave the company some personality. Now it sends a more conservative message, a cold shoulder to its prospective users. The straight alignment, unoriginal color palette and choice of typography is not only emotionless, but it also represents eBay as a company who is afraid to take chances in a world where innovation plays a key role online.
What are your thoughts on the new logo? What would you do differently?