BY Brand New

Taking the Fuji out of FujiFilm

Guest Editorial by John Feldhouse

The new Fujifilm identity was released on October 1st and carries a major update from the 1980s Landor design. The highly recognizable “film box” has been replaced with a stark typographic treatment with one minimal element of color. One should ask, “Is less really more?” Fujifim was founded in 1934 as Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. From 1962 to 1990 Fujifilm established a number of divisions worldwide. It was in 1960 that Fujifilm updated their logo to the now familiar red and abandoning their original mark. In 1980 Fujifilm again changed their logo to the recognizable film box logo created by Landor. As Fujifilm continued to grow and become a juggernaut in the film industry, they decided to update their logo in 1992 with adding text to the film box. And in 2006, Fujifilm decided to abandon the Fuji Box and go with a pure typographic treatment.

It should be noted that after continued attempts to contact Fujifilm, they never responded back so the designer or firm still remains unknown.

With such a classic identity recently leaving the shelf with Kodak, Fujifilm wasted no time in updating theirs as well. With Kodak going to a typographic mark, one would think Fujifilm would steer in a different direction, however, this is not the case. Both marks are extremely similar: they are both geometric sans typefaces, both use red as a graphic element, they no longer use a symbol in the identity, and both draw from their predecessors. The ironic part about these identities is neither one is ground-breaking in an industry leading the way with ground-breaking products.

Fujifilm’s new mark uses a trendy typeface while creating a rough-looking box. When scaled to various sizes the mark works well large, but fails at a smaller size. The box is lost at the smaller size, as shown on their web site, but the typography seems to work very well. The attention to detail with the typeface proportions is remarkable. The kerning is nearly perfect and the weight ratio works very well. In the press release, Fujifilm states that they will continue to use the traditional green for its corporate color which may help with the branding aspect. Only time will tell how well the newly implemented logo will work.

So the once familiar identity landscape in the film industry has been turned upside down in a matter of months. It seemed inevitable as many major corporations are refreshing their look to keep up with the times. Whether we as designers like or dislike the new Fujifilm identity, one thing remains constant with it: change. It is this change that we as designers struggle with especially when our so-called “treasured identities” are touched. Fujifilm has gone through its own evolution with its identity and we should expect more changes in years to come. Rather than dismissing the new logo outright, we should embrace the changes and realize what we can take from the new identity. Each one of us will see something that can be improved, however, we can’t change it. The only thing we can do is keep challenging ourselves to design at the highest level possible.

John Feldhouse graduated from Auburn University in 2005 and is currently working at Radiant Systems, a technology company based in Atlanta, GA.

\n\nGuest Editorial by John Feldhouse\n\nThe new Fujifilm identity was released on October 1st and carries a major update from the 1980s Landor design. The highly recognizable \"film box\" has been replaced with a stark typographic treatment with one minimal element of color. One should ask, \"Is less really more?\" Fujifim was founded in 1934 as Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. From 1962 to 1990 Fujifilm established a number of divisions worldwide. It was in 1960 that Fujifilm updated their logo to the now familiar red and abandoning their original mark. In 1980 Fujifilm again changed their logo to the recognizable film box logo created by Landor. As Fujifilm continued to grow and become a juggernaut in the film industry, they decided to update their logo in 1992 with adding text to the film box. And in 2006, Fujifilm decided to abandon the Fuji Box and go with a pure typographic treatment.

Many thanks to our ADV @ UnderConsideration Partners