Native Instruments new brand identity
Comments
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Heavy dislike of the logo and the text. Sad to say. Just my opinion without much discussion of why. Just feels cheap and thrown together. Not distinct. Doesn't make me identify with the brand or want to do business with it. Not elevated or sophisticated. I really wish I knew what it was supposed to convey because I just don't get it.
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A few folk have suggested that, but none of the examples given are close, and definitely could not be confused for this. If it was close enough to another logo to be mistaken for it, then just tell that company, and they will 'cease and desist' NI to protect their own trademark - simples ;)
To me it seems original and distinct enough that after a while it will become as easily and immediately recognisable as the examples in JesterMgee's post.
To my eyes the diagonal line of the "N" seems disproportionate compared to the vertical lines
What are the correct proportions for a graphical abstraction originating from the letter N and I ?
From an abstract POV, compositionally it is very well balanced. It is very simple, but there is still tension and resolution with the curved knee at the top and the angular separation at the bottom, one on the line, one past the line. There is also a nice call and response with the more lyrical curve and slope of the first part then a pause, and a clear resolution of the straight vertical section to complete the statement. Having the downslope finish on the line would make the vertical 'I' a little to strong and abrupt, but having the downslope just cross the horizontal at the base softens the impact of the vertical section, moving the focal point inwards slightly and improving the overall balance, it also adds character and uniqueness.
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Yeah, all I can say really is to my eyes, it don't look right to me and I don't find it appealing or unique, subjective but seems to be echoed by many.
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Yeah, all I can say really is to my eyes, it don't look right to me and I don't find it appealing or unique, subjective but seems to be echoed by many.
Most people didn't like the new logo, nor the ugly new font...
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Hmmm, I think you may be underestimating the importance of how impactful logos are.
Why do people buy into these considering there are so many better options for the cost:
I didn't express myself correctly there. I meant in terms of reading deeply into "what the logo design means for the company", like a new direction, target audience or visually looking like "Ai" on purpose because NI will follow some kind of AI path for it's software, they would anyway like most SW companies since that's the trend, as is subscriptions for example; and they already changed direction a long time ago.
As far as the Apple, Nike etc logos I actually do appreciate their logos being quite iconic, most of the logos you posted aren't just 2 letters, they are iconographic, hence can't be easily confused with anything else, I like that. Natives old logo having that icon around the letters made it way more unique in this sense than the new one, the old blue color too. Like Orange amps being orage, or Focusrite having red interfaces.
Yeah, many people definitely buy things to show off logos, especially in fashion where a plain t-shirt with just a logo is so often desirable and people don't mind being a walking advertisement... 400$ t-shirts with just a logo are crazy to me but lots of brands sell them out. But a logo only sells as the main identity after the company becomes super popular.
If for example, Apple's identity were: It's a cheap brand of low budget, plastic computers, phones, etc... no one would want the logo to begin with, their identity is much, much more than just their logo, it's probably a very tiny part actually.
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Echoed by many is true, but then there are many folk who are not happy with NI because some product isn't getting enough love, or is going in the wrong direction. So when some change comes along that isn't the thing they want for the product they are personally invested in, it is immediately a negative. That seems like a general trend on social media and the internet - if something isn't exactly the thing folk want, they will be extremely negative about it. Polarisation is pervasive these days.
If it was my choice, I would probably have gone with a refinement/modernisation of the old logo, but NI clearly wanted a clean break from their old brand identity, so they want with this. I'm personally not sure that the change is a good thing, but for me, that is separate from the qualities of the replacement logo. I suspect for many folk it is not so easy to separate those things because emotion gets in the way, and many folk will kneejerk to a polarised opinion, and then be stuck there!
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I don't know why but this change has really irked me. Taking a look at my F1's, X1 and Z2 and thinking that any future hardware I buy is going to have this new wonky design on it has really got my goat.
For reference, here's the old and new taskbar icons for Native Access and Traktor, alongside the Traktor branding which appears on the left hand side in the Traktor UI. (there's a slight blur on the image because I think uploading it has stretched it slightly)
The new Traktor icon is not even legible.
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It's just not right....the lettering is plain wrong, it doesn't translate to scalable UI's etc. Looks like a graphical designer that only works for print was involved or something..blech...
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I like the logo. Even more seeing it next to the old – I think it's much nicer. I immediately recognised what it was trying to represent (and it doesn't look like 'AI' to me). If I was considering t-shirts, one with the old, one with the new, I'd buy the new. But I like abstract minimalism. As do many other people.
The font for the names is interesting. I did not like it at first but seeing it in context here vs the old, it has much more personality. The old font looks generic. The new looks different, more recognisable.
But the R in 'Native Instruments' looked so obviously wrong that when I am reading the word 'Instruments' my eye sticks on it for a moment while my brain tries to figure out what it is. From context it's an R but it doesn't look like one.
Even seeing it in context of 'Traktor', which validates my impression that the dodgy looking leg was intended to match the position and angle of the lines on the K, while it looks better and more obviously an R, it still doesn't quite work for me. I understand this is subjective. But it does not bother me the way it does some people, and I wouldn't care if I had hardware with that showing.
Regarding the iconic logos posted, I think the Tesla logo is one of the ugliest I've seen. It looks like a skimpy one piece swimsuit with arms attached to a hanger. This is just my opinion and in no way intended to represent what most people see.
While most people who've posted here may dislike the changes, as with negative reviews it's always best to understand that people who are satisfied with something are less likely to post about it than people who are unhappy. This is why we don't see lots of posts from people saying 'all my NI products installed and are working' or 'Native Access has given me no problems'. We don't have enough information to say 'many/most don't like it'.
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Colin, this starts to sound both condescending and negationist. Not all people with opinions and perspectives different to yours are "emotional" about them. Some may not even care that much, and still not agree with you. I really say this from a place of respect. The idea that management has been sinking the company for some years now has broad support. You can of course think otherwise, or consider the discussion itself harmful. Personally, I couldn't care less about this or any logo, I just honestly hope this was backed by some solid market research.
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It feels like that instance a new manager comes on and changes for the sake of change... like "I AM HERE and this is MY WAY". Change this and this because, I said so. lol
Add to that now my checkouts are now translated from Deutsch to English and even adds an accent to my last name.. instead of just being in english. I had to erase the "de" part from the url for it to be in english.
The "Experience" has taken a hit, not the end of the world but nah, feels like you wasted time and money on this instead of focusing on the what brought us here. -JMO
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Money doesn't grow on trees. If NI are paying people to do marketing, then that money is not being spent on developers wages. NI doesn't have an unlimited bucket of money to pay people with. If they're spending it in one place, they're not spending it in another.
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Not a fan. I prefer the old branding. It was classic. I feel like the new branding is trying too hard.
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Most of the logos you posted aren't just 2 letters, they are iconographic, hence can't be easily confused with anything else, I like that. Natives old logo having that icon around the letters made it way more unique in this sense than the new one, the old blue color too. Like Orange amps being orage, or Focusrite having red interfaces.
Yeah that's a fair point, possibly the need to redesign is a way to try and reinvent a visual appeal with logo that isn't just the letters. Like you say, the recognition for most companies comes from the logo, in some cases you may even know the logo, it seems familiar even if you dont know the company or even use their products, just subminimally.
In any which way, seems they have probably been discussing and arguing about all of this for a while in the background and what we have is someones final decision and like most things us users complain about, makes no difference what we think or feel, it is what has been decided so best just get on-board if you want to ride the train...
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Quite a number on this thread have stated how they hate it, or words to that effect. If that's not an emotional reaction, I don't know what is!
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