Xerox Gets Generic!

After 40 years the company has decided to update their brand by designing a new logo (shown above).

I think that it would be hard for anyboy to think of a copy machine and not think of xerox, yet you have probably never even noticed their simple old logo.  I guess that is what drove the company to design a new identity after 40 years and to deliver in ways that is almost flashy. 

But flashy isn’t always a good thing.  The xerox logo went from looking dull and well fitting for a copy machine company, to bright, bubbly, and hip which is where it became generic.  It seems to me that xerox has jumped on the web 2.0 bandwagon hitting on a trend that is very popular right now, but most likely doesn’t have much staying power.  Don’t get me wrong the logo looks beautiful, but how different is it from every other web 2.0 logo you see running around.  Not much is it?  And when was the last time you saw an internet fad stay, other than email and chatting not much has remained a constant in popularity. 

Xerox took an established brand and destroyed it.  They are starting over with a new design and a new feeling, but it lacks the very thing their original logo had.  Staying power.  For over 40 years that logo made you think xerox and you never batted an eye at it.  It wasn’t pretty or bubbly but it got its job done and made me recognize the brand.  Now we welcome the new age hipster xerox, and we hope that their new logo isn’t going to gogo out the door with the web 2.0 trend.