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New Belk logo

StevenRocks

By StevenRocks
in Charlotte Coffee House

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mallguy Town

mallguy

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The new logo may be better-designed, from a general typographical/aesthetic viewpoint, but:

(1) I am an American guy. Stores with flowers, fruits, etc. in their logos don't appeal to me. (I was just talking to one of my best friends about how our friendship would end if he ever suggested that we eat at Red Mango. Same for the Belk flower.)

(2) I am an American guy. Curvy shapes are "feminine", and so that's another turnoff. (Look, for example, at Coldwater Creek as you walk towards Belk- very feminine.)

Men may make up a small fraction of Belk customers, but the new logo isn't appealing to this guy at least.

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bchris02 Hamlet

bchris02

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The new logo may be better-designed, from a general typographical/aesthetic viewpoint, but:

(1) I am an American guy. Stores with flowers, fruits, etc. in their logos don't appeal to me. (I was just talking to one of my best friends about how our friendship would end if he ever suggested that we eat at Red Mango. Same for the Belk flower.)

(2) I am an American guy. Curvy shapes are "feminine", and so that's another turnoff. (Look, for example, at Coldwater Creek as you walk towards Belk- very feminine.)

Men may make up a small fraction of Belk customers, but the new logo isn't appealing to this guy at least.

Seriously? It sounds like you have some insecurities you need to work out.

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StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

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Sorry, but feelings about the new logo aside, I still can't believe that people are defending the old logo. It must just be a serious case of nostalgia. As someone who designs logos and such for a living, let me tell you that one failed on every typographic principle and if you didn't know that Belk was a large company, you'd think somebody's 14 year old nephew had designed it in MS Word.

I know people think these kinds of things only get noticed by other designers and we're just being elitist jerks, but subconsciously you do know whats professionally done and what's not. Pretend you've never heard of Belk in your life. Now look at the 2 logos side-by-side. Which one is a large company, and which one is a fledgling startup?

I can only hope that your distaste for old Belk logo was for the 2007-2010 logo, which was a sub-par update. The 1967-2007 logo was designed by a world renowned corporate design firm (Lippincott), easily identifiable, and was a strong enough symbol to last 40 years without an update.

How does the old logo fail, and what makes the new one such a winner?

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mallguy Town

mallguy

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Seriously? It sounds like you have some insecurities you need to work out.

Yes, serious that a feminine logo doesn't appeal to me.

Drop by Pinkberry and see how many regular men are there on their own (excluding ones whose wives/girlfriends dragged them there).

Looks to me like Belk just copied the new Gap logo typeface and just added a flower.

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Urbanity Burg

Urbanity

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Drop by Pinkberry and see how many regular men are there on their own (excluding ones whose wives/girlfriends dragged them there).

What exactly are regular men? Or more curiously - how do you define men who are not "regular"? To put this whole thing back in context - aren't we discussing mall and shopping topics here (business side or not)? Not so certain how many "regular" guys would think that was an o.k. topic if we wanted to go into labels and stereotypes.

Not interested in debating this or further derailing this topic - just thought I sort of point out the slippery slope we get on when we start playing with cliches, labels and stereotypes.

Back on Topic - I'm really ambivalent about the new logo/signage. If Belk wants my attention and dollars (or any store for that matter) they can show their commitment to Charlotte by putting themselves back in city center. Coincidental Pun aside - I'm not really a mallguy myself to begin with and just would love to see retail return to the streets.

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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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I can only hope that your distaste for old Belk logo was for the 2007-2010 logo, which was a sub-par update. The 1967-2007 logo was designed by a world renowned corporate design firm (Lippincott), easily identifiable, and was a strong enough symbol to last 40 years without an update.

How does the old logo fail, and what makes the new one such a winner?

I didn't consider it much of an update, I disliked both the old versions equally, though it is a bit more offensive for it to be done in 2007 than 1968. Lippincott doesn't even list Belk on their clients list, so it doesn't seem like they're very proud of it. I think their work is very hit-or-miss. Some is very dated, but of course some is timeless.

I can only hope that the only reason the original Belk logo came from a reputable firm is because Belk was a micromanaging client and insisted on the awkward inelegant swash, the jacked-up weight shift from the B to the ELK, extremely poorly-drawn K and the strange limp-looking effect of the terminals of the l and k. Client stubbornness comes into play the most on logos and I bet thats what happened here. It did stick to the two biggest rules of logo design, must work in 1-color (black and white), and must be legible. Almost anything that follows those rules "works" but it doesn't make it good. Just lasting 40 years that the company wasn't ready to re-brand doesn't make it good.

The new logo is not a total winner as I think it is a little overly trendy and thus won't last long, but it is competently designed and attractive.

Sorry for exacerbating the huge tangent on this thread!

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StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

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I didn't consider it much of an update, I disliked both the old versions equally, though it is a bit more offensive for it to be done in 2007 than 1968. Lippincott doesn't even list Belk on their clients list, so it doesn't seem like they're very proud of it. I think their work is very hit-or-miss. Some is very dated, but of course some is timeless.

I can only hope that the only reason the original Belk logo came from a reputable firm is because Belk was a micromanaging client and insisted on the awkward inelegant swash, the jacked-up weight shift from the B to the ELK, extremely poorly-drawn K and the strange limp-looking effect of the terminals of the l and k. Client stubbornness comes into play the most on logos and I bet thats what happened here. It did stick to the two biggest rules of logo design, must work in 1-color (black and white), and must be legible. Almost anything that follows those rules "works" but it doesn't make it good. Just lasting 40 years that the company wasn't ready to re-brand doesn't make it good.

The new logo is not a total winner as I think it is a little overly trendy and thus won't last long, but it is competently designed and attractive.

Sorry for exacerbating the huge tangent on this thread!

Sorry, but I do not agree. The "swash," as you call it, is eye-catching and easily identifiable. The weight shift was necessary as the big B is the emphasis and is proportional when rendered correctly, and the terminals are consistent with most italic and script fonts.

The new logo, on the other hand, is a weak effort at best. The flower does not relate to the text or store at all (other than as a nod to the controversial "swash" of the old logo), nor does it render well in a single color, and the crooked E seems to be a "let's try to keep Bloomingdale's from suing us" move.

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101_ce Hamlet

101_ce

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It's just a logo. Just because they change it and it looks a bit more feminine doesn't mean that men can no longer shop there. It is the same font as Bloomingdale's, but it's a font that anyone can download/purchase. A company can't go and not let anyone else use the font that they use for their logo.

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StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

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As a man, I'm not turned off by the new logo. Or the old logo for that matter. Department stores have always marketed heavily to females because they traditionally were the ones who did the most shopping. Further, Belk has consistently identified their core shoppers as middle-class moms with kids. This logo speaks directly to them, as the old logo spoke to their mothers and grandmothers back in the day.

Regardless of how I feel about Belk's design issues, I'm more interested in there still being a Belk years from now. Apparently Belk's research was telling them that the old logo was fussy and off-putting, which is why it was modified and later replaced, to appeal to the shoppers that wouldn't give them a chance due to the logo. If this puts more shoppers in the stores, it's going to be worth it.

As for me, it's not going to change my shopping habits. I'm a hard core Belk shopper from back in the day and I'll continue to shop there as long as the price and selection are right.

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StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

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It's just a logo...It is the same font as Bloomingdale's, but it's a font that anyone can download/purchase. A company can't go and not let anyone else use the font that they use for their logo.

The font Bloomingdale's is not copyrighted in the sense that no one can ever use it, but it is a copyrighted logo and has been since 1973. The B is a recognizable trademark of Bloomingdale's. It's only lately that they've actually pulled back from using it as an icon of the store.
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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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Sorry, but I do not agree. The "swash," as you call it, is eye-catching and easily identifiable. The weight shift was necessary as the big B is the emphasis and is proportional when rendered correctly, and the terminals are consistent with most italic and script fonts.

I should probably backtrack a little bit...my problem with the old logo was not that there WAS a weight shift, or that there WAS a swash on the B, but just that the execution of all those elements were really weak. Clearly the logo served its purpose and worked fine for all this time, but it was nowhere near the timeless mark that some people are implying and should have had a proper update a long time ago, even if it was just a better clean-up and not a full redesign. The 2007 update was utterly pointless, having all the same flaws.

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Kenneth Disraili-Jean Hamlet

Kenneth Disraili-Jean

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Charlotte is very fortunate to have a Southern institution like Belk. Atlanta lost Rich's and Davison's (later Macy's) in Federated's giant nameplate change of 2005. Many other cities across the country lost thier hometown relailers also.

Like I said in an earlier post, the metro Belk stores in many of Atlanta's malls are doing very well. I even think the Phipps Plaza Belk is doing well, and there are enough out of town shoppers and tourist to support it. That part of the city will always have your well heeled snooty shoppers, but then Belk has remained a powerful force at Phipps Plaza for three years or it would not be there anymore. Ok, so they snuck a little off of the bloomies logo. The new one looks fresh and inviting, flowers or no flowers, so may the old logo rest in peace and may Belk's new logo have generations of success as it did with the old one.

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101_ce Hamlet

101_ce

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Charlotte is very fortunate to have a Southern institution like Belk. Atlanta lost Rich's and Davison's (later Macy's) in Federated's giant nameplate change of 2005. Many other cities across the country lost thier hometown relailers also.

Like I said in an earlier post, the metro Belk stores in many of Atlanta's malls are doing very well. I even think the Phipps Plaza Belk is doing well, and there are enough out of town shoppers and tourist to support it. That part of the city will always have your well heeled snooty shoppers, but then Belk has remained a powerful force at Phipps Plaza for three years or it would not be there anymore. Ok, so they snuck a little off of the bloomies logo. The new one looks fresh and inviting, flowers or no flowers, so may the old logo rest in peace and may Belk's new logo have generations of success as it did with the old one.

Agreed.

It is pretty good that Charlotte hasn't lost Belk. It really is a great store. I love how it has a lot of variety, they can compete with mid-market department stores (JCPenney, Macy's) and upscale/luxury department stores (Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus). I know some people don't like it, but it is kind of good to have brands such as Levi's and Nautica to Theory and St John. It makes Belk have pretty much anyone could want on any budget. But there isn't much difference in the smaller stores. Only flagships and Haywood, etc. will be more upscale, however.

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101_ce Hamlet

101_ce

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Belk SouthPark is apparently having its big reveal today

Yeah I guess they are. They pretty much have already done it at every store. Excluding the signs on the entrances, there really is nothing left of the old logo (except on a few gift cards) at the Asheville store.

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