BY Armin

When the Going Gets Taf, the Taf get Rebranded

While Foot Locker (despite its horribly crowded stores) and Champs are the most ubiquitous and “cool” sporting good stores across the nation, the lesser prominent The Athlete’s Foot has always felt, at least to me, like the ugly duckling of the industry. Never quite shiny, nor the music loud enough and, if I remember correctly, they had a dopey running track going around all their stores. In an effort to position itself better, The Athlete’s has been trying to implement “next generartion” stores that their franchises are encouraged to adopt. Coupled with a new retail presence is a new logo and a push to be known for the odd acronym of “TAF.”

I have always been a little yuck’d by their name, as when I hear athlete’s foot I think of stinky feet with nasty cuts and stuff, so the idea of buying footwear from a store named after a fungus has never been too enticing. Which is why I kind of understand the push to be colloquially known in a different way, but Taf (or taf, or TAF, or however they decide to spell it) just doesn’t sound cool enough to roll off the tongue like Champs or Foot Locker. But Taf it is.

The new logo is a direct evolution from the old one and, unfortunately, that is not completely a good thing. The old logo had clunky typography and that red stroke around the blue that just seemed more appropriate for your local, small town pharmacy. Keeping Hermes’ winged feet icon, the new logo is certainly bolder and tighter as a unit but all the elements feel completely different. The new winged foot is, in essence, a better drawing but the white stroke around it is too thin to make any difference when reduced and it’s uncomfortably positioned on top of the new Helvetica bold that just feels like it’s trying to escape. The good thing is that it now feels like a national, small pharmacy.

In another push to give Taf some more flair, they will be opening new kinds of stores called “tafUP”, where the UP stands for Urban Premium and will specialize in sports fashion and urban wear. As it stands now, I don’t think the logo can support that kind of positioning. The only redeeming thing I’ve seen so far in this new identity are the promotional images above, which feel refreshingly different from what Champs or Foot Locker are doing — and employ the super chunky Black Slabbath.

Thanks to Jon Selikoff and Jerry Kuyper for the tip.

DATE: Jul.17.2008CATEGORY: Retailers 51 COMMENTS

Remy Overkempe’s comment is:

Mweh overall. Is the brandname really that well-known that they had to keep it? If anything calls for a good renaming, it's Taf.

On Jul.17.2008 at 06:53 AM

Isha’s comment is:

AUTHOR: Isha
EMAIL: ivana_@hotmail.com
IP: 200.122.47.147
URL:
DATE: 07/17/2008 06:58:38 AM

On Jul.17.2008 at 06:58 AM

Andrei’s comment is:

Lol @ TafUP.

In the future they can also have:

TafDOWN (Discounts On Women's Nike's)
TafOFF (Overruns For a Fiver)
TafON (Other Non-sellers)

and of course,

TafENAF (Extremely Non-Attractive Footwear).

Love the brand. Just love it. Lols.

On Jul.17.2008 at 07:39 AM

Kristina’s comment is:

Ugh. Looks like an airline logo. Very Northwest Air meets Lufthansa. Strange choice for a shoe store.

On Jul.17.2008 at 07:42 AM

Alfonso’s comment is:

I agree wholeheartedly with Armin's review.

BTW, that's Black Slabbath.

On Jul.17.2008 at 07:47 AM

Rob’s comment is:

My friends always do this to me so I'm just passing it on! The typeface is "Black Slabbath" (see the pun)

Sorry! I hate being a pretentious dick!

I poor designer had no chance with this one! I mean who would actually name a company after a fungal infection!

On Jul.17.2008 at 07:48 AM

Jw’s comment is:

This company still exists? Wow.

TAF sounds uncool... but maybe it's one of those things where it's so uncool that it becomes cool. Admittedly, I can imagine the kids in my neighborhood saying "taf" without embarrassment.

On Jul.17.2008 at 07:51 AM

What?’s comment is:

I didn't think this place still existed, either. The new foot looks like it's in the way rather than being a part of this logo, but at least it isn't blue. Not sure why they kept the circle, either.

On Jul.17.2008 at 09:04 AM

Armin’s comment is:

> BTW, that's Black Slabbath.

Thanks. Don't want to anger the Heavy Metal gods.

On Jul.17.2008 at 09:07 AM

rickyaustin’s comment is:

The shoe on top of the type doesn't help the legibility much.

I do think just the shoe icon inside the red circle could be a nice lil' secondary mark.

On Jul.17.2008 at 09:08 AM

ray’s comment is:

the posters are cool, but the logo looks extremely claustrophobic.

On Jul.17.2008 at 10:04 AM

Prescott Perez-Fox’s comment is:

I'm a little confused: I worked on some brand materials for TaF last summer! We were working with the new logo and mark, so apparently it's been around for a while. I guess I should pay closer attention, 'cause I thought this was already in the wild.

On Jul.17.2008 at 10:24 AM

Matthew Taylor’s comment is:

This winged foot and this troubled name and logo reminds me that a wing can be a pretty successful solution for a shoe related company. http://www.logoblog.org/nike_logo.php

But as others have pointed out, the name just saddles this with all sorts of difficulties. Not an easy design task.

On Jul.17.2008 at 10:57 AM

anon’s comment is:

do you guys like anything, ever? this logo might not be the most amazing thing ever, but it's certainly a step forward.

looking the past posts, it seems like you have nothing but shrill criticism for absolutely everything, which is a little frustrating. surely you are professionals and understand that these projects always operate under many constraints, and that despite the best of intentions, the go-to-market solution is rarely going to meet the standards of armchair Paul Rands.

On Jul.17.2008 at 10:58 AM

Daniel Campos’s comment is:

I love logos with wings!!!

On Jul.17.2008 at 11:10 AM

anon2’s comment is:

I agree with 'anon' - I would never want anything I've done on this site, because no matter how good it is, 99% of the people still would flame it. 'Armchair Paul Rands' - love it.

On Jul.17.2008 at 11:39 AM

Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:

Looks like these stinky feet could use some Lamisil.

On Jul.17.2008 at 12:14 PM

Darrel’s comment is:

"surely you are professionals and understand that these projects always operate under many constraints, and that despite the best of intentions"

Yep. We all understand that.

Surely you understand that this is just a blog, and these are just comments.

TaF is a lame name. But a lot better than emphasizing an affliction of fungi.

I do love the graphic elements and typography of the ads, though.

On Jul.17.2008 at 12:31 PM

Amanda’s comment is:

I think it works really nice on the ads, I really enjoy them. However, I definitley do not think the logo stands well alone.

On Jul.17.2008 at 12:56 PM

Amanda’s comment is:

I also agree that the shoe inside a logo would work realy nicely. Perhaps the type underneath the circle. (sans the TAF acronym)

On Jul.17.2008 at 12:57 PM

Amanda’s comment is:

^^ I meant circle not logo :-X

On Jul.17.2008 at 12:58 PM

Amanda’s comment is:

Sorry for the repeat posting...but I think it looks a lot stronger here for some reason. Perhaps because it is on a white background. I can't quite put my finger on it.

On Jul.17.2008 at 01:00 PM

Joe Moran’s comment is:

Ha! TAF -- The Agony of d-Feet.

VR/

On Jul.17.2008 at 02:07 PM

Darrin Crescenzi’s comment is:

I think what bugs me most about it is the space between the "a" and "f"… I get that it is probably there because of the back-facing crossbar on the "f," but since that is hidden by the winged foot, some optical adjustments could/should have been considered.

It sort of reads as ta'f…

On Jul.17.2008 at 02:49 PM

JL’s comment is:

The mark looks much better above in the black and white. Put any mark similar to this in red and white and they will all look pharmaceutical.

A definite improvement, I agree with Darrin tho, the space there does throw you.

On Jul.17.2008 at 03:04 PM

dg3’s comment is:

Amanda’s comment is:

"...I can't quite put my finger on it."

You mean your foot. =]

Cool posters. Bad logo.

On Jul.17.2008 at 04:34 PM

Chris’s comment is:

It looks like it stepped in a big pile of dog doo and it can't shake it off.

On Jul.17.2008 at 04:55 PM

dg3’s comment is:

"Rob’s comment is:

I mean who would actually name a company after a fungal infection!"

Exactly.

I'm guessing that's why they're going with the initials more prominently. I'd assume they'll drop the actual name after awhile.

On Jul.17.2008 at 05:12 PM

Adam Western’s comment is:

Why are everyone's comments bolded?

On Jul.17.2008 at 05:53 PM

Anonymous’s comment is:

I hate it. It looks old and not in a good way...the type is boring and the whole thing reminds me of this:

Also, The Athlete's Foot isn't a great name, but TAF is even worse.

On Jul.17.2008 at 06:12 PM

Joe Szczepaniak’s comment is:

I'm with Darrin on the ta'f. They should've eliminated that back-end stroke on the "f". The icon doesn't bother me, but I dislike it's placement. I think it's placed quite illogically.

On Jul.17.2008 at 06:50 PM

Armin’s comment is:

> Why are everyone's comments bolded?

Because I forgot to close a tag in the post. Sorry!

On Jul.17.2008 at 08:12 PM

Bendy’s comment is:

Wait... TAF... isn't that an airline? And isn't their logo Hermes' winged feet as well?

On Jul.17.2008 at 08:17 PM

Sean’s comment is:

I've never shopped at The Athlete's Foot here downunder - the name always had that cringe, gross out factor.

As a designer I also thought the branding was- cheap and tacky.

As for the new look?

My attitude remains the same in both instances.

On Jul.17.2008 at 10:38 PM

Wünderwoman’s comment is:

The posters are sweet! Nice work!

The logo/brand/name was troubled from the start...TAF will never be cool. But,for the problem (new name + existing brand equity) they were given, I think they solved it pretty well.

On Jul.17.2008 at 10:48 PM

sixtoe’s comment is:

Thanks for the comments on the posters. They were designed recently by some of my colleagues at 160over90 in Philly. Not sure which shop is responsible for the acronym and logo, however. I'll ask around tomorrow.

On Jul.17.2008 at 11:19 PM

TonyN’s comment is:

The logo is a huge improvement from before. I agree with Armin on the white stroke around the foot - it may have been better without outlining the full shape, just a portion to show depth.

One other element that may have been nice to keep was an oval containing device rather than the circle. It may have contained the elements better, and it offers the feel of more movement by its nature.

Obviously the client did not want to lose specific equity elements (i.e. Hermes' winged foot), so I like the simplification overall.

On Jul.18.2008 at 08:52 AM

Oisín’s comment is:

I will never call it taf.
This logo isn't going to make me either.

On Jul.18.2008 at 11:15 AM

koyo’s comment is:

Mmmm... don't like the older one... neither the newest.

On Jul.18.2008 at 12:21 PM

Jessica’s comment is:

The angle of the new foot makes it look more like a ballerina's foot than an athlete's. And I guess ballerinas could be considered athletes, but last I knew, taf wasn't selling ballet shoes.

On Jul.18.2008 at 02:34 PM

ivan’s comment is:

So....no one sees Goodyear here???

On Jul.18.2008 at 05:58 PM

Corey Buckner’s comment is:

I think their new mark is better than the old one in the same way that being $100 dollars in debt is better than being $1,000 in debt. I don't like the pegasus foot because it looks more like a sock than a shoe.

Red and white are such ubiquitously bland sports team colors. I can be biased in this way as NONE of my fav teams or teams I played on wear red and white, but many nemises (esp. in HS and College) did. My feelings about the color scheme could be a study of one.

Compared to foot locker's referee logo, and champs' bold r, w, & b logo; this looks rather generic. Looking at the pegasus foot, I think they missed an opportunity to flip it and better integrate it with the "a" and "f". That as opposed to juxtaposing it in the middle as if it was falling out the sky.

Plus, all I can think of when I hear the word TAF is..."Shake the laffy taffy... that laffy taffy." T-A-F is better than The Athlete's Foot; but seeing TAF eliminates any benefit there. Overall I think this was a wasted effort.

I agree it looks better in b&w.

On Jul.19.2008 at 12:23 AM

Von Glitschka’s comment is:

AUTHOR: Von Glitschka
EMAIL: von@glitschka.com
IP: 71.59.234.253
URL: http://www.glitschka.com
DATE: 07/19/2008 01:34:08 AM

On Jul.19.2008 at 01:34 AM

Jerry Kuyper’s comment is:

Ivan,

certainly more Goodyear than:

Santander

Northwest Air meets Lufthansa.

Nike

flaming tires

On Jul.19.2008 at 09:34 AM

Jerry Kuyper’s comment is:

http://www.goodyeartires.com/

On Jul.19.2008 at 09:36 AM

Dylan’s comment is:

Is the price you pay for the shoes called a "taf-Fee"?

On Jul.20.2008 at 11:51 PM

Jean Claude vanMammal’s comment is:

GY™

On Jul.21.2008 at 12:32 AM

john’s comment is:

As much as I despise this new logo, I have to acknowledge that my utter disdain for it is driven mostly by how much I loath this decision to become "taf." Who is the dullard who thought that was a good rebranding move? Bad bad bad bad BAD.

On Jul.21.2008 at 08:51 AM

von K’s comment is:

Von Glitschka, you just made soda come out of my nose. Thank you.

I think the logo is better, but still not "good." It seriously needs to do some catching up with the posters, which I really like.

On Jul.22.2008 at 01:41 PM

Todd’s comment is:

all lowercase letters does not look right for this logo or type of store.

On Jul.23.2008 at 06:23 PM

Daniel Rowley’s comment is:

Their name is part disease and part foot. How about using a work like "Shoes" instead. The branding is sheer stupidity, if you are going to rebrand, why not change the sh(itty name while your at it. Arg.

On Jul.29.2008 at 07:26 PM