SMART has just introduced their all-new logo that is far cry from the one it replaces. Gone are the diagonal lines which were part of the original logo. The new type retains the uniqueness of the letter A but now stands upright and has that organic and smooth feel to it. I can’t say I love the new typeface specially the juvenile looking S - but as with other logos, maybe it just grows on over time. They could’ve made the new logo lower-case (like the AT&T rebrand) but they didn’t and I’m wondering what it would’ve looked like if they did.
I have always been a SMART subscriber since owning a mobile phone before the turn of the century. Back then they had that memorable TV ad with a business guy smashing prices and other on-screen graphics with a baseball bat. That was the old Smart, just new in the game, crazy mad, and trailing late behind Globe on the GSM race.
The SMART of today is different. It now has its claws on almost all major aspects of communication. From landline (PLDT), mobile phones, broadband, VoIP, and enterprise solutions. It has been lording over once leader, Globe, for a number of years now and is in talks of gobbling up another major player, Sun Cellular, which I believe is still pending NTC decision already finalized.
The type used on the video looks good, looks like Nokia's Pure font with a touch of Intel’s Neo sans.
The logo change may be a part of their corporate and branding strategy come 2012 moving forward as they embrace fully the mobile age - considering that late 2010 to early 2011 was the period that smartphones outpaced PC sales for the first time, adding to that are those who are dumping their dumb phones and moving on to smartphones.
The new logo is quirky, bubbly (dots) and off-beat. It does reflect the young mobile generation that thrives on Facebook and Twitter. Its colorful dots also symbolizes the diverse services the company is into, like atoms floating in one ecosystem. It looks as if the logo had teens and young adults in mind (perhaps seen by the pimple breakout above)
Since this is a fresh and young rebranding, I really can’t judge it as it is right now because so far, all I’ve seen is the logo and the video above. But what’s up with the bouncing/stationary braille-looking dots? I can’t help but see the Smart Araneta Coliseum sign now as one big, sesame seed-laden, hamburger. Yum.
Thanks for all your tips!
