This week in New York City, commuters in lower Manhattan got a first look at the new World Trade Center logo on construction fences near the site. According to the New York Times, the logo was created by Landor Associates as a part of a $3.57 million dollar branding contract awarded to the firm in 2013. So many references were included when designing project that some said was an "impossible task." But did the designers go over the top?
The logo features a series of alternating white and black bars, each with its own significance. The two spaces in the upper half of the logo represent the Tribute in Light memorial beacons. The two bars on the lower half represent the reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial. The "abstract trident" represents the beams that were still standing after the attacks on 9/11. The five bars together are said to reference the five towers (both completed and planned) at the site. Each of the bars is slanted 17.76 degrees to reference the height of One World Trade. And the entire logo forms a shape that resembles the letter "W." The words "World Trade Center" do appear next to the logo in Helvetica, though it is unclear if the trademarked logo will ever be used without the text.
Fast Company calls the logo "confusing" and says that Landor did too much with the "mind-melting series of visual allusions." At first glance, we noticed the "W" but completely missed the other stuff. Are we the only ones who see a mix between an 8-bit Punisher logo and a Space Invader mosaic?
1.
What are your thoughts on the logo? Did you get everything that Landor alluded at first glance, or are you still confused by what's going on with this rebranding? Leave your thoughts below.
[via New York Times / FastCo Create]
