Opinion BY Armin

People Banking

With six million customers and 35,000 employees across the world but primarily in Australia and New Zealand, ANZ (or Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, for long) is one of the top fifty international banking and financial services groups in the world and certainly one of the top banks in Australia and New Zealand, now with its sight set to expand on Asian markets. After conducting a reportedly “record amount of research — 1550 interviews in seven countries in three successive waves,” ANZ began rolling out a new identity and advertising campaign over the weekend, both created by the Auckland, New Zealand office of M&C Saatchi and its internal identity design group Re.

With the tag line “We live in your world” the TV campaign and the logo itself revolve around the idea of people. While the TV ad is kind of charming and captures the essence of people and their banking worries, the logo is quite disappointing in all aspects. The old logo had that vintage patina that becomes endearing over time, and it had a nice depth to it with the white stripes playing a nice game in the “N” but it wasn’t anything fantastic. The new typography strips everything that was remotely interesting about the old one — the multiple lines and the italics — and all that is left is a set of unsightly letters.

The three shapes in the new signage reflect ANZ’s three core markets — Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific - while the central human shape represents customers and staff.
— News.com.au

The icon has what appears to be the leftovers from Cingular knocked out of three random shapes that, all together, form a very strange alien-like form. The shapes of the icon have no reference to the typography and the overall lock-up is downright unpleasant. Unfortunately, the whole thing looks like bad 1980s bank identity work and for a financial organization going head-first into the twenty-first century into new markets, there is no sense of innovation to be found.

To boot, the “logo” has been reported as costing $15 million and, as usual, the media has had a field day in mocking that amount. As we all know, this is the cost of rolling out the identity and implementing.

Thanks to Jordan Gillman for first tip.

DATE: Oct.26.2009CATEGORY: Finance 92 COMMENTS

Josh’s comment is:

I see the ANZ logo so many times everyday in melbourne, and it's a shame this is what it will become, especially after the great NAB rebrand (another australian bank). This is a bad one.

On Oct.26.2009 at 07:20 AM

Saylor’s comment is:

Great TV ad!
non-great typography + icon.
eeeek.
Why did they drop down to one line going through the letters? It looks so awkward and puny. And speaking of awkward, the 'person' just tops it off.
Sorry for those who have to see it a lot.

On Oct.26.2009 at 07:27 AM

Dale Campbell’s comment is:

Not very inspiring work.

That poor icon - looks like someone decided the identity needed one at the last second and whipped it together...

On Oct.26.2009 at 07:52 AM

SuitCase’s comment is:

NAB did indeed have a better rebrand, but their old logo was quite dated and forgettable. ANZ's logo aged a lot better.

As a loyal ANZ customer from 9 months on, I'm quite upset about this. I was dismayed walking past the ANZ branch near Sydney's Barrack St and seeing it on some posters this afternoon. Armin's assessment of it having that vintage patina is absolutely accurate. I kind of feel like this would just be another by-the-numbers "friendlier" adaptation of a more authoritative, better-designed logo from a few decades back (say AT&T) if not for the weird flower-man logo at the end. That's at least a little inventive for ANZ to adopt, but is fairly meaningless and ends up looking like a blue version of the Cingular guy.

And, uh, sorry to be such a negative nancy but the ad is atrocious. Patronising "Life is meant to be easier these days, right? But it never seems that way.. let us simplify things for you." messages are in every second ad campaign these days, and right now belong to NRMA's "Unworry" campaign in my opinion. This is just another bland implementation of that idea and doesn't warm me to the identity at all.

I'm glad my credit cards were issued recently.

On Oct.26.2009 at 07:55 AM

Rob’s comment is:

I'm loving the afro on the person. Groovy, baby, yeah!!!

On Oct.26.2009 at 07:57 AM

Gertrude’s comment is:

Such a poor spacing.
No balance in the typography (a falling A, total loss of dynamic).
A very poor icon which barely reprensents anything but something human.

Worse to think is that with a little resize and thinking on white space, the logo could be at least decent.

Statistics speak for themselves.

On Oct.26.2009 at 08:05 AM

igjoe’s comment is:

I'm not a fan of the update, but it appears that they wanted to update their look without losing their identity..

On Oct.26.2009 at 08:21 AM

Dan Walkington’s comment is:

A poor attempt at looking friendly.

To me it says staid, boring and weird. Definitely not a logo that invokes trust.

I'm a current ANZ customer, but if management can screw a brand up this badly, I'm starting to wonder how innovative they really are.

I hope that this result has been caused by Committee Design and not M&C Saatchi's strategy/creative.

Please, please, please let this be a Tropicana Case and go back to the old branding pronto.

ANZ rebrand - 1/10

Old ANZ brand - 7/10

On Oct.26.2009 at 08:25 AM

Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:

What a weird little icon. Looks like a baby Darth Vader.

On Oct.26.2009 at 08:42 AM

Adam Haase’s comment is:

More Australian business getting a mention on here.

Keep it up.

Earlier this yr, retailer The Warehouse became Sam's Warehouse.

On Oct.26.2009 at 08:45 AM

Nathan Adams’s comment is:

I always felt the previous logo (itself a minor revision of the logo below) struck a great balance between 'friending it up' and a degree of seriousness. I could be wrong, but I always took the horizontal lines to be reminiscent of magnetic strips. The single line doesn't seem to mean anything now.

The 'person' is apparently a lotus - with ANZ looking to expand their presence in SE Asia.

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:01 AM

kalleboo’s comment is:

It gives me associations to that gas mask symbol sign http://rlv.zcache.com/gas_mask_sticker-p217840682830758138qjcl_400.jpg

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:02 AM

Tina’s comment is:

Just plain wasteful and awful. For some reason (to me) the mark looks unwell. I absolutely agree with your comments. Sometimes I wonder about thought processes with (unnecessary) rebranding. For a bank that's won 10 Home Loan Lender of the Year awards, you'd think building trust over time is something they'd value since that's what their logo has grown to represent.

Sadly I'm an ANZ customer as well.

Oh well, there's goes another one.

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:07 AM

Ainsley’s comment is:

Yeah, the logo looks like a screaming leaf baby. I kind of see the lotus. Could have been much better, though.

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:11 AM

TheJimmy’s comment is:

The "person" part of the logo looks like someone who just flopped into a big, comfy chair after an upon finishing something exhausting. Not exactly communicating "we make your life easier" to me.

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:21 AM

soully’s comment is:

You're certain the new design is the one on the right? Are you sure? ...Really?

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:25 AM

Martin Kuplens-Ewart’s comment is:

Hmm – that symbol looks to me like someone caught mid-wail. Rather appropriate, then.

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:42 AM

Smirker’s comment is:

The key words here are "record amount of research — 1550 interviews in seven countries in three successive waves".

Nearly any design that relies so heavily on consumer research will end up talking to the lowest common denominator. Relying totally on research is spineless and infuriating. To a certain extent it's up to designers to tell the consumer what they want. Of course people aren't going to respond emotionally to a word-mark. They respond to the bank itself, the service and personality communicated through store, advertising and literature design.

And creating a logo that's a person with his/her arms in the air? Sheesh! I chuckle when I think of logos like that I designed in my first few weeks at college.

This logo is beyond useless.

On Oct.26.2009 at 10:12 AM

Fionn’s comment is:

The mark looks like someone gasping or screaming.

I liked the old typography, it reminded me of Rand's IBM logo.

Shame.

On Oct.26.2009 at 10:25 AM

Brad Neal’s comment is:

This seems like a classic case of design, for designs sake. There seem to be no clear goals in this refresh, other than at the end of the process the client can say "we refreshed our logo!" Only it looks much worse than before. All the interesting details and elements that gave it character are stripped away. Fail #1. The addition of the icon only serves as eye clutter, bringing nothing to the party at all. There are more effective, simpler, cleaner ways to represent the three core markets than this. Fail #2. The icon should be killed from the identity asap. Now that I think about it... maybe kill the whole thing, go back to using the much more competent older logo and go get your $15 million back. You've obviously been robbed.

On Oct.26.2009 at 10:28 AM

Dennis Van Staalduinen’s comment is:

Having travelled in the region twice - once by backpack, once on business - I really identified with this logo as the mark of a trustowrthy place to do banking, Not gorundbreaking, but I don't want groundbreaking in a bank.

The new one fails to be either groundbreaking or trustworthy.

Very weak. Fail.

On Oct.26.2009 at 10:31 AM

oklahoma city personal injury lawyer’s comment is:

I like the television advertisement but agree with a few of the above commenters about the typography. Little lacking in the review.

On Oct.26.2009 at 11:30 AM

Paula’s comment is:

I too, see a screaming baby.

On Oct.26.2009 at 11:51 AM

Kári Emil Helgason’s comment is:

I prefer the old one. I actually like the old one.

On Oct.26.2009 at 12:10 PM

Doug Bartow’s comment is:

From retro bad to alien bad...

On Oct.26.2009 at 12:28 PM

Nate B’s comment is:

Apparently Disco Stu DOES advertise...

On Oct.26.2009 at 02:35 PM

BlindAcreMedia’s comment is:

I have rarely seen this logo. Looking at the re-branding I immediately see the odd human form made of the white space. This has a really unsettling feeling. I wish there was more contrast with thick and thin lines.

On Oct.26.2009 at 03:42 PM

bkpr’s comment is:

Is this what happens when an advertising agency tries to do the job of a design agency?

On Oct.26.2009 at 03:46 PM

Flogging a dead horse’s comment is:

ANZ have a rich history of wimping out when it comes to developing their own visual identity.

Instead of being brave enough to do a real rebrand, they have always done these cheap renovations that attempt to resuscitate, what essentially is not worth saving.

This new iteration, is just another reinterpretation of crappiness.

Disappointing, but not unexpected.

On Oct.26.2009 at 04:42 PM

Manny’s comment is:

That symbol looks like it should be for a christian youth choir.

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&sa=1&q=youth+choir+logo&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&start=0

On Oct.26.2009 at 04:49 PM

I see dead people.’s comment is:

The symbol look positively ghostly.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n6/n30531.jpg

On Oct.26.2009 at 05:29 PM

daniel’s comment is:

I was looking forward to seeing this talked about on here. first saw it a few days ago on the ANZ website (I'm a customer). I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I mean really? the alien thing? the lame typography. they've even moved away from "ANZ blue" - they trademarked their old blue and really owned that colour. It had strong recongition. Now they've even moved away from that, to a much darker colour. The typography, the logo are bad - but so is the logic behind the rebrand.

I've read that they were trying to present themselves as a friendlier face, in the wake of the financial disaster. but this really doesn't do it. trying to keep legacy elements of the old logo yet add the bizarre logomark just doesn't work.

as a customer I'm dismayed - they are a really good bank. but the competitors are looking better and better.

On Oct.26.2009 at 05:37 PM

Jess’s comment is:

Yuck. Didn’t they only just get all their branding updated with the slightly rounder corners on the letters? This is simply woeful. Why? WHY?

On Oct.26.2009 at 06:33 PM

Quan’s comment is:

it looks like an upside down mask from the scream movies

On Oct.26.2009 at 06:35 PM

David Goldstein’s comment is:

The symbol ads nothing. The acronym is already an abstraction of three words why then another puzzle to be uncoded by the masses. Unecessary. However, if they really really wanted to go with a symbol they possibly should have removed the line from the type to help emphasize the change.

On Oct.26.2009 at 06:43 PM

Chris Thorpe’s comment is:

ANZ have really missed the mark on this one. There really is not much nice to say about it—even the blue that they've run with feels wrong. There's still a freshness in the old logo, and, partially due to its ubiquity here, it has a very Australian feel to it.

I can get that they wanted to have a friendlier image, as this has been a direction that the industry has been heading in for a while (see the Bank West advertisements), but I don't think this is the way to go about it. The Commonwealth Bank (also one of Australia's "Big Four") have worked very hard with regards to their customer service and marketing, yet have managed to keep the brand equity associated with their excellent identity.

ANZ had a reputation for being quite customer focused, so I'm not sure why they needed a new logo to represent this. I wonder when corporations will realise that their actions have as much impact on the way they are perceived as their logo does?

Overall, I can't really see a reason for this update—and it's a terrible one at that.

On Oct.26.2009 at 06:55 PM

Trevor Hutchison’s comment is:

The first thing I see is a screaming baby. Or maybe a screaming customer? I only noticed the figure in the negative space much later. Also I find the angles between the A and the N quite awkward with the italics semi-removed.

I think criticism of new branding is often an over-reaction to change, this this is a big fail to me.

On Oct.26.2009 at 07:11 PM

Adaski’s comment is:

Worst rebranding move by an Australian bank - rivalling even the National Australia Bank's moronic decision to rebrand as 'nab'.

I too see the logo as a screaming person, with hands held up in despair. It is just ugly. And what is with the right hand side of the A?

On Oct.26.2009 at 07:30 PM

Tayfun Ozturkmen’s comment is:

Well I'm changing banks. This is an embarrassment.

I'm also embarrassed to see 2 poor Australian bank rebrands in the last 10 years those being this and National Australia Bank/NAB with their web 2.0 effect.

The comments posted here already reflect my criticisms of it - terrible typo - no flow, retro bad and looks like it was designed for a church or youth group. I would find it patronising if I was from asian nation that ANZ defaulted to a lotus for it's symbol. I guess it was either that or a Yin Yang.

On Oct.26.2009 at 07:31 PM

misty’s comment is:

The type is plug-ugly.
The white line looks like the inkjet printer skipped a beat.
The color looks dusty.
The symbol looks like a Christmas tree angel, with halo, gown and wings.

What's not to like?

On Oct.26.2009 at 08:14 PM

local-lad’s comment is:

This just reinforces my long time view that Advertising agencies don't give a stuff about good design as long as that get a big media spend.

Client - "Our customers hate the new logo"
Adman - "Not a problem, you just need to spend more on a brand awareness campaign"

Sorry I don't have much respect for the Australian advertising industry

On Oct.26.2009 at 08:43 PM

jmk’s comment is:

for the icon, i see an "i dunno" figure, like this...

¯\0/¯

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:02 PM

jmk’s comment is:

...with the head being the blue circle and the hands being the blue half circles

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:03 PM

Trevor Hutchison’s comment is:

Jmk - That is exactly the way I see it

On Oct.26.2009 at 09:25 PM

Ben’s comment is:

The icon is either a woman with an afro in the throes of childbirth, or a child vomiting into its hands.

On Oct.26.2009 at 11:01 PM

Jeff Thornton’s comment is:

Guy's, stick to advertising, your good at it. Leave the identity design to responsible branding professionals who understand identity and that can create something truly memorable (no matter what the research says).

It's distressing that this appears to be a trend for Banking identities. Strip out the detail from the original brand and make them bland and characterless (first the NAB, now ANZ).

I would also question the bank's marketing team..... was the previous design so wrong for the Asian market? In a time when bank's integrity is being questioned all over the world, surely it's not a time to change the identity of one of the banks that has weathered the storm exceptionally well. I would have thought that it was a time to build on an already very well established brand through other mediums and not to mess with the ID.

A backward step, arguably. A lost opportunity, definitely.

On Oct.26.2009 at 11:24 PM

Ash’s comment is:

Am I the only one that sees a Lemming (from the popular computer game) bent over and flashing it's chocolate starfish?? With the cresecent shape being the body, and the two semi-circles being his feet??

On Oct.26.2009 at 11:48 PM

Sergie Russian’s comment is:

I was thinking to myself "havent i seen this logo before?" Different industry but still. Here it is:

(source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/423069987/)

On Oct.27.2009 at 12:15 AM

Koodoz Design’s comment is:

Completely agree with Nathan Adams’ comment re the older logo.

I think it's safe to say, New Zealand's M&C Saatchi really screwed the pooch on this one. There is absolutely nothing going for this 'update'.

The colour palette of the new brand is dull and I.T 'techy'.

The lotus/person symbol is pure wank and utterly pointless.

The single line through the bland typography is awkward.

Even the new website - which I thought might have been able to make the new brand look better - looks boring!

With the previous logo, there was energy and drive offering a real sense of friendliness with it's angled, curvy type and bright colouring. Now it's just a really forgettable brand. I wonder if this rebranding will get the same uproar that Kraft's iSnack 2.0 got. We seem to be on a roll down here, at the moment.

I've been an ANZ customer for a long time now, but I think if this branding sticks - and if they've spent $15 million - it's likely it will... I might have to find me another, cooler bank. Perhaps NAB - or should that be nab?

On Oct.27.2009 at 01:48 AM

binoygopal’s comment is:

corporate tv ad concept is good.
not agree with typo & icon

On Oct.27.2009 at 02:21 AM

Brownstone’s comment is:

What an embarrassing, terrible logo. Apparently the three blobs are also meant to represent a lotus as well as a person. The idea for the icon was so that the bank could be easily recognised in markets where Latin characters are not used. (Because the previous logo was such a difficult thing to remember... those three letters.)

I was driving on the M1 the other day and saw that both ANZ towers in Melbourne had the lotus-cum-person already positioned.

As far as banks go (for those not in Oz or NZ), the previous logos worked nicely in the sea of (trademarked) blue. Lots of blue and heaps of friendly lifestyle images adorn the walls of every ANZ branch. Not to mention the colourful furniture and uniforms. The previous logo on its own-- an update of an older logo-- is just OK, but when positioned on signage, ATMs, and in the branches it worked quite well.

Shame on you ANZ. I think this is worse than National Australia's "nab" re-brand.

On Oct.27.2009 at 02:23 AM

brandsimplicity’s comment is:

Love the ads, but the icon looks like most peoples feelings towards banks these day...WTF!

On Oct.27.2009 at 02:52 AM

andyRespire’s comment is:

I think this redesign is a decent attempt - likely a compromise to please all the hands in the honey pot.

New logo feels rushed & non-cohesive. With all other corners rounded, the small sharp corners cut by the thin single line in 'ANZ' don't feel right. The icon (or fro-con?) is much bubblier than 'ANZ' which is only half as round. Odd.

If the new campaign focuses on person/lotus-icon alone (w/o 'ANZ'), why did they try to salvage elements of previous logotype? Why not just start over?

On Oct.27.2009 at 02:55 AM

jordsta’s comment is:

Oh come on, I submitted this to you too! Why no credit for me?

On Oct.27.2009 at 03:37 AM

Brook Townsend’s comment is:

Though i think the new logo and icon are poor at best, ill reserve final judgment until i see design application of the logo.

I find the success or failure of a re-brand in often in its execution in application. (although, i find it hard to see how they can apply this with great success)

On Oct.27.2009 at 04:17 AM

Yathi’s comment is:

The stick man seems to be screaming yeah?? Didn't think recession i sthi sbad that Logo's are reflecting them too :)

On Oct.27.2009 at 06:08 AM

Armin’s comment is:

> Oh come on, I submitted this to you too! Why no credit for me?

Whenever we get dozens of e-mails about a specific case I add "for first tip" in the thanks. The early worm gets the early credit.

On Oct.27.2009 at 08:49 AM

Brendan’s comment is:

I like this! I was an ANZ customer when I was in Australia, and I always thought that the logo looked horrendously outdated, especially in comparison to the other members of the Big Four (NAB, Commonwealth, and Westpac). I just didn't think that the ANZ mark had the timeless look that a great logo has, so it needed to be freshened. It feels more informal, something that isn't out of place in the Australian design scene.

So yeah, thumbs up!

On Oct.27.2009 at 09:33 AM

M. Smith’s comment is:

What a poorly crafted ugly pointless piece of design.

As a customer of ANZ for 20 years, I have always felt they have never got their visual identity right. This is just another smoke and mirrors, minor shift, that achieves nothing. In fact M&C Saatchi design have somehow managed to make an ugly logo even uglier.

Time for the ANZ marketing team to get serious and engage a real design firm, do a real redesign.

On Oct.27.2009 at 01:13 PM

VVV’s comment is:

Looks like a person being squeezed - isn't that what banks do?

Again, a bad move to hire an advertising company to do a design agency's task. Based on personal experience, the difference in mindset between the two tends to be very different.

On Oct.27.2009 at 05:32 PM

Pater Jackson’s comment is:

I think this is a conspiracy by New Zealanders to *uck off Australians on a day-to-day level.

On Oct.27.2009 at 07:17 PM

Daniel’s comment is:

^ u could be right Peter Jackson

On Oct.27.2009 at 10:05 PM

John’s comment is:

Considering changing banks if I have to look at this design travesty every day…

On Oct.27.2009 at 10:26 PM

Tez’s comment is:

At $AU 15mill what a con job! firstly I'm in the process of moving my accounts from ANZ partly because of their crap new logo and secondly because they seem to have had a bit of an ethos change.

But in Terms of the Logo the icon looked like my face in reaction to the epic crapness of this god awful attempt at design even Ken cato who designed the commonwealth bank's logo back in the 90's did a far better job at a fifth of the cost of this and the commonwealth bank is the biggest bank in AU! As for the brand and how it works together what a dogs breakfast there is no cohesion and link between the word mark and the ID and the typography or should I say typo-crappy I almost wept at the sight of this vomit! As for the ad... Yeah it has a few bells and whistles thrown in to make it look big and epic but really people? working in branding and television myself I'm very sadly under whelmed. What a grossly wasted opportunity for something truly great for the ridiculously massive price paid!

On Oct.27.2009 at 11:08 PM

babu’s comment is:

reminds me of an indian toilet
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1292980404051271757NHGkXq

On Oct.27.2009 at 11:22 PM

Nik Daum’s comment is:

Wow, that really did strip any of the character out of the old logo. I miss the italics and horizontal lines and am a little creeped out by that Tremors worm face at the right.

On Oct.28.2009 at 03:19 AM

cARLO’s comment is:

Wow! this is a unanimous thumbs down.
(bar the one Saatchi employee)

I think ANZ's Chief Executive Mike Smith has a lot to answer for, this is an outrageous waste of money.

On Oct.28.2009 at 02:30 PM

Aaron’s comment is:

To the ANZ marketing team.

M&C Saatchi do ephemeral advertising,
not brand strategy,
not identity design.

Sorry no one told you this earlier.

On Oct.28.2009 at 02:35 PM

Daniel Whyte’s comment is:

Reminds me of a blow up doll

On Oct.28.2009 at 03:13 PM

Robert’s comment is:

One mans lotus flower is another mans:
(an anthology from above)

Screaming customer

Screaming baby

A child vomiting into its hands

Person being squeezed

Tonsils

Upside down pig

Afro man

A woman with an afro in the throes of childbirth

Baby Darth Vader

Gas mask symbol

Someone who just flopped into a big, comfy chair

Someone caught mid-wail

Disco Stu

Christian youth choir logo

I see dead people

Christmas Tree Angel

Upside down mask from the scream movies

A Lemming bent over and flashing its chocolate starfish

An Indian toilet

A blow up doll

On Oct.28.2009 at 07:49 PM

Robert’s comment is:

...and road kill

On Oct.28.2009 at 07:51 PM

M’s comment is:

Looks like it belongs to a bank in Indonesia. Where the logos have to sell really hard and be really literal leaving no room for imagination. I feel it's a real missed opportunity to be progressive. Instead they went for something quite run-of-the-mill and nothing innovative nor challenging about this. It really looks design by committee. When i joined ANZ, they had just changed to their last logo, which was fresh and suggested a forward thinking bank. But now they seem to have gone backwards. I know they want to break into Asian market.. but at least set some bench mark that they are banking innovators and not a follower which is what it looks like now. Poor poor rebranding excercise. I might switch banks now.

On Oct.29.2009 at 07:55 AM

Michael Halligan’s comment is:

I recently returned from a holiday back to my home in Australia to find the new ANZ logo waiting for me on my bank statement. I instantly thought that I was receiving mail from a healthcare company.
Never mind that the new logo removes the decades of history and brand equity associated with the original logo, the logo will do nothing to serve their intentions without a complete change to their customer service and culture.

On Oct.29.2009 at 10:00 AM

Save the Children?’s comment is:

I really struggled to see what the icon was supposed to represent until I saw it on a darker background on ANZ's website. It's a bit more obvious with the gradient in it (http://bit.ly/5czbA).

Is it just me that finds the logo similar to the Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org) logo?

On Oct.29.2009 at 03:58 PM

Chad Johnston’s comment is:

Immediate reaction was a crying baby.

On Oct.31.2009 at 12:46 AM

Shin’s comment is:

one question:
why?? why???

best answer:
"hmm.. we got $15 million to waste... Let's not let it burn into Maddoff's account"

On Oct.31.2009 at 02:34 PM

Nathan Driskell’s comment is:

M&C Saatchi must have pulled out the mother lode of semantics to convince ANZ this was a good idea.

On Nov.03.2009 at 05:00 PM

Matt’s comment is:

Students, THIS is bad design.

On Nov.04.2009 at 07:00 PM

Jef Tan’s comment is:

Awful. Awful. Awful.

On Nov.05.2009 at 03:02 AM

Jeffry Pilcher’s comment is:

ANZ published its rationale for their new logo months ago. It's described as combination of a lotus and a person. The strategy according to ANZ is that they will be expanding in Asian markets, thus the allusion to the lotus.

Criticize this strategy all you want, but it should have been included in the original review. Otherwise, this is nothing more than a debate about design aesthetics.

On Nov.05.2009 at 02:26 PM

Manny’s comment is:

"The readers of Under Consideration (the site you linked to) are all designers who think (1) their own work rocks, and (2) everyone else’s work is crap. Every day, a new logo gets reviewed, and every day, flocks designers (who are wayyyy better than you)"

More here:

http://thefinancialbrand.com/2009/04/21/anz-new-logo/

On Nov.05.2009 at 07:19 PM

JM’s comment is:

Jeffry,

Just because the intended meaning of the symbol (a lotus / person) was not stated in Armin’s review, does not make everyone’s negative response invalid, and it certainly does not make the design any more appealing.

I agree, it would have been nice to know this, and I am sure it was just an oversight and not intentional. Either way, the simple fact is the symbol looks nothing like lotus flower, not even in the abstract.

To most here, the symbol is a superfluous addition, its intended meaning vague and confusing. The simplification of the logotype makes sense, though the end result is dull.

This logo will appear everywhere throughout Australia and NZ, I think we have a right to be critical of its short comings.

As far as commenting on the strategy behind the change.
Take over Asia, sure why not!

On Nov.06.2009 at 03:42 PM

Ivana’s comment is:

Snow angel with an afro.
I find the type unpolished too.

I just ask why? Beyond the need to be international – the symbol adds nothing, at least the type before was more universal.

On Nov.08.2009 at 12:51 AM

Levinson Axelrod’s comment is:

I agree with the mob on this one, that leaf baby part of the logo has no purpose on this one. They would have done better with just the typography.

On Nov.10.2009 at 11:50 AM

pete’s comment is:

Fly buys NZ already did that floating above peoples head, concept . It was Clemenger BBDO . http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/fly-buys-dream-a-little/

sad to see a concept recycled

On Nov.10.2009 at 02:34 PM

WTee Banker’s comment is:

M&CSATCHI

I thought you were supposed to be one of the best in the field??

Looks like a Japaness lady in kimono holding a fan on each hand! WHAT HAS THAT GOT TO DO WITH BANKING???????

On Nov.16.2009 at 09:25 PM

Simon’s comment is:

This is a hoax right? Seriously...this is bad. Not bad, but really bad. Surely everyone can see that? Uninspiring to say the least. What a pity. I honestly don't think ANZ will roll this new identity out. I think it will be reassessed.....It has to be! Just because you are Saatchi, Landor, Interbrand, Pentagram or whoever, no matter how much research you do, everything comes down to the big core idea, the big moment. If that idea is weak, you are doomed to fail.

Oh dear oh dear, this needs to change and fast!

(I still think someones taking the micky!)

Simon

On Nov.21.2009 at 08:08 AM

Adam Haase’s comment is:

Unfortunately for you Simon it's not a hoax.

On Dec.05.2009 at 11:11 PM

The Dazzler’s comment is:

It's so bad, you should see the signage on head office.
The icon reminds me of an alien astronaut from "Chariots of the Gods"
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/arqueologia/gold_gods/images/gold_g16.jpg

On Dec.15.2009 at 06:22 PM

dsi r4’s comment is:

The logo does look good but still there could be lot many things done with the logo. There is not much difference in the logo.

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:49 PM

norwegian’s comment is:

why did they change the logo? The old one only needed a touch up perhaps. BTW i see an afro dancer with batwings :)

On Dec.22.2009 at 07:00 PM

Humanised Websites’s comment is:

the icon just seems so cliche and non-distinct ... it's a shame really -- they could have just modernised the existing logo without losing the distinctive quality that the original had ... thumbs-down to this one!! :(

On Jan.17.2010 at 12:21 AM