September, 2010

I just came across this new logo for Pricewaterhouse Coopers (now PwC). The logo is an abstract shape that meaning can be built into... a beginning, transformation and endless possibilities. Whatever it represents, it is clearly the foundation for the rest of the brand to come to life. It's a small part of a bigger picture. From refined messaging to collateral and signage design, to the website and animations, London office of Wolff Olins has created a nice brand system. The concept — that logos alone cannot carry all of the weight of a successful brand — is one that design firms have to convey to clients all to often. A logo is a logo... a brand is everything else. They did a nice job delivering a complete brand system.

BTW, the meaning of the new PwC logo is summed up here:

“We think our new brand expression visually distinguishes PwC in the same way that the quality and expertise of our people differentiates the experience of working with PwC,” said Dennis Nally, chairman, PwC International. “Underlying the visual elements is what the PwC brand really stands for — how we are viewed by our clients, our people and our stakeholders. Beyond our capabilities and experience, we want PwC to be known for building great relationships with clients that help them create the value they’re looking for.” (Ahhh... now I get it.)

This is not atypical for a logo explanation. Abstract is usually more interesting and memorable than being literal. However, is a logo a failure if it needs to be explained in a video or press release? I’m fine with an icon that gains depth with an explanation, but the truly great ones require no explanation. And, on a tangent... it kind of baffles me that the logo is all lowercase, but in text acronym they use cap "P", lowercase "w" and cap "C". I don't get it!

I have mixed feelings about the website design. Specifically, two things I note right away are the placement of logo and the navigation. A leading professional services firm who boast gross revenues of 26.2 billion USD (fiscal year 2009). One of the “Big Four” — the three others are Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, and KPMG — has placed their logo towards the middle/bottom of the home page and has incorporated a very refined navigation. I'm not sure what to make of this logo placement. It works nicely with the animations... but, there's is a big white space at the top left that is just waiting for it to return. You'll see that as you navigate the site, it mysteriously reappears there and actually looks pretty good. And by refined navigation, I mean small (borderline tiny) serif fonts spaced out with loads of white space. I love smaller type, but is this a little extreme for a website? I really do want to like it, but for whatever reason, I am missing some visual Q or design element(s) that helps me find my way. Am I alone here?

With the negatives aside, it is an encouraging sign that in 2010s economy, interesting work still can be done with corporate clients. Will this logo/brand endure time? Probably not. I give it 3-5 years.

My 2 cents.