Native Instruments new brand identity

De Hutch

To be honest.... It looks to much like the new Kia and Andromeda Initiative logos... Boring

colB

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/74980#Comment_74980

I really don't think it does, ther are a few superficial similarities, its black lettering, there are some curves and some corners, and one of the letters is an I, but otherwise it's not close. There is no way anyone would mistake one for the other. Graphically they are quite different IMO.

EDIT: The thing it reminds me of most is the Sony vaio logo. I did wonder if maybe NI had tried with the upstroke of the N being represented by a dot (which would also echo a dot above the I), but it would then be too similar to the A of Vaio... ?

...maybe something like:

..but maybe it's too VAIO then?

... Boring

Ha, yes, logos are often boring, they are functional first. simplicity and recognition are much more important than looking 'fancy' or 'cool'.

Many famous logos are 'boring' that Nike swoosh is very simple and pretty boring, adidas is just three stripes - boring!. McDonalds golden arches - simple and boring. mercedes logo is just a circle with three spokes - boring ,what does that even mean? Boring is good as long as its simple and immediately recognisable.

There are a few really great logos that are simple and boring, but also clever, but they are rare. Stuff like FedEx where there is that lovely forward arrow hidden between the E and the X, and the Amazon logo where the swoosh points 'from A to Z' inferring that they sell everything, but it is also a cheeky smile. That is a great piece of design for sure... I don't think NI have the funds to pay for design that good though

Z Gabr

...maybe something like:

Colin! I like your version much more... It's more balanced and conceptual

Ju.de

so for me it will mean :

can we haveUPDATE OR UPGRADE for potential new products; Maschine3, iMaschine3, Maschinestudio2, MaschineMK4, Komplet kontrol S3 MK3, MaschineJAM2 if possible yeahhhh ?

hopefully we can expect to have new features, new revolutions in hardwares/software or what are your suggestions of features you would like to be ?

I hope at least a new Maschine3,iMaschine3, Maschine studio2 will be release very soon, its nowthat 10years NI or SOUNDWIDE I should say now

LostInFoundation

I agree that colB version is already way better than the original one.

Incredible how a simple dot can change things that much.

I can finally see an N now.

And I don’t know why, but with this dot and the rounded ending of the first bent line and it not surpassing the horizontal bottom line this looks like a logo to me, instead of just 2 lines casually put there.

Good job (even if now it looks even more like someone bowing praising a vertical line, if you interpret the dot as an head 😂)

Psyearth5

It is best to be who you are . New NI is OK and it's recognizable and R is just happened to look different similar to Music that's evolving and in that Transition it have many different parts together forming something good successful because it has everything good and something authentic.

colB

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/75034#Comment_75034

Good job (even if now it looks even more like someone bowing praising a vertical line, if you interpret the dot as an head 😂)

Yes, I did notice that it looks like a person doing yoga.. which is problematic. It probably doesn't scale as well to a small size either. There are so many considerations!

krabbencutter

Recently got fired from a DJ gig because I accidentally started playing Tomb Raider instead of firing up Traktor. Thanks NI.

Paul B

The version with the dot looks to me like the dot from a lowercase 'i' fell off and got stuck in the valley between the letters.

LostInFoundation

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/75217#Comment_75217

I agree the icons are the worst part. If before you looked at them and immediately knew what program you were launching, now they just seem like the generic icons you can do in Windows when you don’t have an image to put on them, therefore the letters are putted there to fill the absence of something specific

AudioHawk

The new logo... honestly reminds me to much of the failed KIA rebranding. I can appreciate the need or desire for a clean aesthetic, and even support it. But, this one? No... to much like KIA.

rez_azel

New branding looks like AI, not NI

icons look terrible

and wow - the new font in the logo in Kontakt also looks truly terrible..... just WHY?

mickeyl

I don't like it. Much less legible than the old one. Besides that I question the usefulness to spend money on a rebranding at this point of the lifecycle, i.e. being an already established brand (that has many more useful investments to do in their software and hardware platform).

raphaël_

i like the typeface, and the icon works i guess, but overall, theres not much of a new brand identiy to be seen excpet for that. no clear direction or vision. a new brand identity should be more than just throw a new typeface on some software UI and header of the website or whatsoever...

i also feel, that if a company is not able to get it's software products retina ready, the focus should be on that, rather than try to be slick with a new typeface thats doing nothing for it's customers.

Franke86

1. never ask people what they think of a rebrand. You will likely get a lot of silly opinions that mean nothing for actual brand effectiveness. “I don’t like this because it means this, or doesn’t convey that.” Logos don’t have to mean anything and are usually more effective when they don’t. Think Apple, Dominos, Nike, etc. Their logos are entirely meaningless to their respective categories. That’s why they work.
2. Why would you ever redesign your logo if you already had a distinctive, simple, and timeless logo?
3. I wouldn’t be surprised if you encounter a loss of sales due to consumer confusion.
4. Logos are a tool to grow brands. They are not meant to communicate, but identify. This logo will do a poor job identifying your brand. Regardless of what tone or change in the business you want the new logo to convey. Because it goes against your current identity and is quite generic.
5. Most rebrands are unnecessary. They are rarely a good idea for established companies. Some are even harmful if they stray too far from the original. This is definitely one of those cases.
6. It’s not too late to pretend it never happened!
7. For evidence, read Building Distinctive Brand Assets by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. They have actually empirically studied logo effectiveness. As opposed to most creative agencies who just try and give companies what they want, even when what they want harms their brand. If you came to me, I would have said don’t change anything and fight the urge to get bored with your brand. Unless you have very strong evidence that your current brand is ineffective or harmful.