RSPB’s New Logo (1 Viewer)

[Farnboro John]

That is an absolute travesty, and I have no doubt that it cost an absolute fortune (taken from the donations and membership fees) to 'come up with', let alone the cost of putting that on every single sign, shirt and book...

RSPB obviously has too much money on its hands.

I think they are lacking confidence in themselves and their brand. They would do better to sack those without confidence than to listen to marketing gurus and branding confidence tricksters.

John

 

[ridgebackpilot]

In the worldwide conservation movement, there is a long history of controversial and "failed" attempts at changing names and logos. Some prominent examples include:

• WWF: Originally founded in the 1960s as "World Wildlife Fund", in the 1990s the leadership of WWF International decided to change its name to make the point that the organization wasn't only about wildlife. The result was the "World Wide Fund for Nature", a name so reviled that the US branch refused to adopt it and to this day is still known as World Wildlife Fund. (Both organizations continue to use the WWF Panda logo, probably the best-known logo in conservation).
• EDF: The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) proposed changing its name to "Environmental Defense" to make the point that it wasn't a "fund" or "foundation". The resulting abbreviation "ED" was better known in the US as short for "erectile dysfunction" and the idea was quickly reversed!
• Audubon: For many years, the National Audubon Society's logo was an egret in flight. Sometime in the 1990s, their leadership proposed changing the logo to make the point that Audubon wasn't only about birds. The substitute logo was the word "Audubon" in white letters on an attractive blue flag background. Problem was, when the logo was photocopied and turned black & white, it bore close resemblance to the logo for Black Flag insect killer. Audubon quickly abandoned the new logo and reverted to the old one, which it uses to this day.
• PRBO: A decade or so ago, the Point Reyes Bird Observatory north of San Francisco enjoyed a terrific reputation as a science-based conservation organization. But someone in their leadership decided their name was too bird-focused, and the Board voted to change it to "Point Blue Conservation Science". Despite many people objecting to abandoning a well-known and respected name for something that sounds more like a surfing film, the new name persists to this day.
• Wild Salmon Center: A few years ago, I chaired the Board of the Wild Salmon Center, the world's best-known organization protecting Pacific salmon and their habitats. Leadership proposed changing the organization's name to the "Wild Salmon Trust" because they felt that "Center" just didn't do justice to the group's expanding work across the North Pacific. The idea was quickly abandoned due to the popularity of the organization's existing name.

There's an old American saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" These stories tend to reinforce that famous aphorism. It's hard to say whether RSPB's new logo will join the long list of failed logo and name changes; only time will tell.

 

[KC Foggin]

Looks very nice and quite up to date.

 

[pppppvvvv]

If you want an example of a logo going horribly wrong... Sussex Campervans.
Their rectangular logo routinely gets cropped and converted to a square logo on Facebook....

 

[pppppvvvv]

The other classic logo fail is "Happy Eater" cafe chain, where the logo character looks to be sticking his fingers down his throat!!

On reflection, the RSPB one is fine!!

 

[Kevriano]

I much prefer the older version, where the Avocet had a clear outline. This is ok, and easy enough on the eye, but it's not classy, and was probably a waste of money.

 

[Kevriano]

The other classic logo fail is "Happy Eater" cafe chain, where the logo character looks to be sticking his fingers down his throat!!

On reflection, the RSPB one is fine!!

View attachment 1453266

The unhappy vomiter we used to call it.