Early last year, AT&T made a big change to it’s corporate identity by revising their logo.
Though the company’s identity has undergone several revisions since it’s establishment in the late 19th century, this most recent change is a subtle iteration on the previous 2005 version of the logo. We know that companies choose to rebrand themselves for a variety of reasons, but this decision from AT&T is largely due it’s recent acquisition of satellite television provider, DirecTV. Recognizing that both AT&T and DirecTV are household names, the process of developing a new brand identity for both companies presents unique design challenges.
In the internet era, we’ve seen companies of all shapes and sizes rebrand themselves with some regular frequency. A few examples come to mind: Google traded shine, shadows and serifs for a flatter, wider logo. Yahoo dropped it’s playful, cartoonish font for a sleeker, more evenly scaled type. And Pepsi, which redefined it’s signature brand mark entirely while still managing to stay true to it’s predecessor.
As designers, we love the idea of throwing everything out the window and beginning fresh with a blank art board. But when it comes to an identity as iconic as AT&T, choosing to start over completely could greatly sacrifice brand value among consumers. For this reason, the company opted to refine it’s existing logo which was first introduced in 1983. The latest version features a brighter blue which helps it stand out, and better balance between the positive and negative space, helping with legibility at all sizes.
These design decisions help AT&T achieve their goal of being more flexible and functional in a variety of environments including both light and dark backgrounds as well as overlaying images.
