BY John Feldhouse

Sodexo Turns A Smile

In a world of streamlining, it seems like a lot of companies have gone to the so-called “web 2.0” look. See: xerox, at&t, Holiday Inn, wacom, etc. However, some identities have stuck to the traditional flat color look. Sodexo, one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, recently updated their name and image and is one of the companies to evolve with a more traditional logo, designed by W & Cie in Paris.

Sodexo changed the spelling from Sodexho, noting that “in certain languages an ‘x’ followed by an ‘h’ is difficult to pronounce”. There seems to be a good strategy behind the redesign, however, the execution falls short. It was obvious the old mark needed to be updated as it didn’t seem refined. How many stars do you really need? Is that ligature really necessary? Does that red bar really add value to the logo?

Condensing the mark seems to be a natural step in evolving the logo. A nice hue change makes it bolder. Incorporating the red from the prior logo makes sense. Keeping the notion of the “ex” ligature… okay, I see where they are coming from, but it is still awkward. And the red stroke of the “x” is supposed to represent a smile. Sodexo has fallen into the trap of thinking lowercase makes for a friendlier logo. I don’t see a rational reason behind this change. Speaking of the lettering, the type does not look fully developed or refined. Perhaps it is because the ligature creates points while the rest of the type seems a little more unified. While I have some issues with the refinement of the mark, I think the overall concept of the mark enhances Sodexo’s image.

\n\nIn a world of streamlining, it seems like a lot of companies have gone to the so-called \"web 2.0\" look. See: xerox, at&t, Holiday Inn, wacom, etc. However, some identities have stuck to the traditional flat color look. Sodexo, one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, recently updated their name and image and is one of the companies to evolve with a more traditional logo, designed by W & Cie in Paris.

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