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The Hague — beyond being beautiful in a way that only European cities can and besides being the third largest city in the Netherlands and a cultural haven in its own right — is home to three of the most exciting and wildly innovative type designers/collectives in the world: Peter Bilak, Underware and Letterror. With such a well of talent in that city — because beyond these typographers there are many designers as well — you would think that The Hague’s new marketing identity would reflect a modern, cutting-edge sensibility that catapults it into the 21st century. Not the Middle Ages. As is the case with the new logo designed by “famous pop star photographer, film director and graphic designer” Anton Corbijn and unveiled back in November 1, 2006 (yes, we are a little late) to much fanfare. To briefly explain the logo: The red mark is an outline of the city, the rest… Who knows, but Corbijn wanted his design to “express feelings of security, life, progress and playfulness.” And the stork, the city’s official symbol, was not required, although I could easily picture flying somewhere in that logo. Which would not be a bad place to start actually: If I were in charge of this project — something I like to daydream about on all these projects — I would call UnderWare and say “Please design a typographic logo for Den Haag with the stork as inspiration”. Sit back. Wait for an e-mail with an attachment. Throw big party. Move forward — not backward.
Jump to Most Recent Comment
Seth Aldridge’s comment is:
I'm not really sure what to say? With such talent in the area it's a wonder they ended up with this. Are we even going to call it a logo? My nephew could knock this out with some water color paint and a ball point pen.
Then again, I'm not cultured :)
On Feb.19.2007 at 11:52 AM
Mary’s comment is:
I would really hate to have to deal with this logo on a day to day basis. This mark looks like a horror story for any designer who has to figure out how to apply it to whatever they are working on.
On Feb.19.2007 at 12:32 PM
Jackson Cavanaugh’s comment is:
is that a drop shadow on the black?
On Feb.19.2007 at 02:51 PM
5000!’s comment is:
Holy cow. This is hard to believe.
You've got to love this except from the announcement:For the time being, the name ‘Den Haag’ will appear on the logo, but Mayor Wim Deetman expects that with the passing of time it will vanish of its own accord as the logo becomes established worldwide as the signature of The Hague as International City of Peace, Justice and Security.
This is certainly a recognizable and memorable mark, but, sadly, not for the reasons they believe.
On Feb.19.2007 at 06:42 PM
David E.’s comment is:
I used to think all it took was a Mac to turn anyone into a designer. Now I realize that wasn't true at all...you need a Wacom tablet too.
On Feb.19.2007 at 07:01 PM
Mr. One-Hundred’s comment is:
Hey, now that the doors are open, next time U2 require some promo photography, I can step in for Corbijn. I’ve got a digital camera!
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t mind the demarcation lines being blurred a little, but when the results are as uninspired and directionless as this, one can only say “stick to your day job”.
Here are my technical critisisms of this logo. It sucks. Maybe the whole thing will vanish of its own accord.
On Feb.19.2007 at 07:16 PM
Feldhouse’s comment is:
My one comment is about the real estate the mark takes up. That mark will be really small on signage around the city and therefore might fail as a visual mark. Maybe it won't because it is so unique... who knows. I'd be interested to hear from the people living in the city to see if they notice it and have "adopted" it since it's been out a few months now.
And Armin, Kudos for going beyond the USA for identities.
On Feb.19.2007 at 09:27 PM
Danny Tanner’s comment is:
The Hague's official logo for reference.
Danny Tanner’s comment is:
This new logo...
It's a nice drawing of a
kite with magic markers.
But the website, logo aside,
is kinda nice www.thehague.nl
[tom]’s comment is:
I must be crazy, but I find myself very much drawn to this. While I hate how much real estate it takes up, creating difficult situations in the future, as a stand alone I find it quite beautiful.
Even lost at what it means it is in fact peaceful to me, maybe even more than that. It creates a sense of longing, like a place I've forgotten and want to find again.
I can't give a single concrete reason to like it; but I like it anyway.
On Feb.20.2007 at 08:31 AM
Kosal Sen’s comment is:
While you may "like" the logo as you wish without any concrete reason, from an objective design solution standpoint (what we should all be discussing anyway), this logo fails horribly. From the texture in the green, shadow on the black, barely legible letters, and inconsistent line weights, there is absolutely nothing in this logo that makes it work. Agh! Armin, was it really worth a post?
On Feb.20.2007 at 10:07 AM
Greg Scraper’s comment is:
"famous pop star photographer, film director and graphic designer"
No one is all these things, at least not well. I have a vision of this person as a guy who travels with an entourage and they all tell him that everything he does is wonderful. Clearly, someone told him this was good design. That someone was wrong.
This is why people think they can design without any sort of training or knowledge of the design field; this is why some think they can attach "graphic designer" to the end of their long list of undeserved accolades and job titles; this is why design is undervalued.
That said, there are salvageable portions of this logo, that could actually be good with some more pushing. The "H" (if that is what it is) inside the weird scribble on the right has potential, as well as the script type on the left. But otherwise, there's way Way WAY too much postmodernism being tossed about without a clear understanding of what's being said.
On Feb.20.2007 at 10:11 AM
[tom]’s comment is:
While I don't claim to be a knowledgable designer what I was trying to get at is that *maybe* it does succeed at what it was designed to be.
This design works visually (for me). Sure the weights are a little awkward, the script is a little hard to read. But in a sense that's why it works for me, I want to try to read the script, I want to decipher the odd shapes. I anticipate a trip to Den Haag and seeing this waving on an awkwardly elongated flag, maybe marking a city center with a large mural. This isn't a corporate mark, and it isn't meant to be. This is a city, where creating a feeling a "of a place I've forgotten and want to find again" is the purpose. That's why it works, for the very reason I like it, I think that allows it to be successful.
Maybe I'm trying to say our audience is people, and if a design speaks to them, then it's pretty successful. If the mark of a city makes people want to find that place, then how could it be more successful?
On Feb.20.2007 at 01:05 PM
Darien Birks’s comment is:
This logo is terrible...terrible.
It feels Middle Eastern (while it should feel European), and looks like a scribble version of Papyrus.
...I hate Papyrus. lol.
On Feb.20.2007 at 02:57 PM
Matt G’s comment is:
At first glance, I had no clue what it was. I agree that there could be something made out of this. But how does a logo like this stand for something like a city? I don't see the mystery as a good thing. The script is too small...the idea of a kite is not a bad one.(it is a kite right?) But the shape on the right looks like nothing to me. I don't see the reasoning. Maybe I'm naive. Just don't see how it works. That's commenting on the idea behind it and not even touching on the execution and colors and etc...
On Feb.20.2007 at 05:55 PM
Von Glitschka’s comment is:
Ben seems to like it. I think his prescription has expired though?
no trendy name’s comment is:
that's the big dipper, right?
On Feb.20.2007 at 09:49 PM
Ed’s comment is:
yay! my first ever quip turned into a Brand New thread...
On Feb.21.2007 at 06:35 AM
C-lo’s comment is:
At first this logo had me ready to lose my lunch. What kind of malarkey is this thing? How do you implament this thing? Looks like a 3rd grade art project. Then I kind of thought of it as a signature. Such as if you saw a HUGE mural for an event, and then in the lower right hand corner this as the siganture of the town. Like how a painter signs a paitning at the bottom corner. But apparently it's signed after a 9 hour painting bender and looks scrawly. I know my signature looks like I drew it with my foot compared to the rest of my writing, and maybe this is the same. But if your trying to attract people to your town, and not jut for the 61¢ biscits, I would suggest you get your behinds in gear and figure out something that works. Maybe pickup a book or two on design and learn something
On Feb.21.2007 at 01:25 PM
Bryan Wootan’s comment is:
There are no words I can say to make this better.
On Feb.21.2007 at 02:14 PM
4’s comment is:
i don't find it nearly as disgusting as you pesky modernists who seem to dislike things for the sake of disliking things. it just doesn't strike me as an unsuccessful logo.
On Feb.21.2007 at 07:01 PM
Terry!’s comment is:
I have no idea how this made it through any kind of design process.
On Feb.22.2007 at 06:42 AM
stock_illustration’s comment is:
I'd pay to see the other concepts presented.
On Feb.22.2007 at 10:02 AM
Tony’s comment is:
Yes to all the above. It's flakey. And it's fun.
And it's disfunctional. Except that it's not an institutional brand, it's a place-promotion brand, designed for one-shot gee-whiz impact and certainly not for everlasting identity. We should create a new category to judge things like this. Flashbrands, maybe?
Devin’s comment is:
pretty sure they aren't just marketing to designers
also pretty sure that the designers had to alter their designs st some point during the project, as no designer really gets free reign
so why not hate on the Hague?
thirdly, i'm pretty sure that you guys will hate on anything you didn't do yourself
i guess my point is that i think you are all wrong
On Feb.22.2007 at 06:33 PM
ed’s comment is:
"The diamond shape contains an outline of the city in red and also an allusion to the world-renowned painting Victory Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondriaan, which holds a prominent place in the Gemeentemuseum The Hague."
"Mr Corbijn explained that the inspiration for his design came from the sea, the dunes, the culture and the heraldic colours of the City of The Hague."
i think this is a pretty unique idea that he tried to use something other than your traditional landmarks. the hague, i can imagine, has a good amount of boogie woogie to it. when i first saw this, i thought olympics, which gets at the idea of internationism and fairness (ideally). that's what the hague is all about!
"from an objective design solution standpoint (what we should all be discussing anyway"
fuck that, if a logo didn't have subjectivity about it, then you can forget about stickiness.
"I used to think all it took was a Mac to turn anyone into a designer. Now I realize that wasn't true at all...you need a Wacom tablet too."
i don't think that "designers" should own the market of making logos, because, honestly, a lot of very notable designers have created bad logos...
could it be that you guys are pissed that a designer didn't get a chance to botch this logo?
On Feb.22.2007 at 06:54 PM
Danny Tanner’s comment is:
Well, it seems like some people are getting emotional. I've been to Den Haag a number of times, I've spent months of my life there. Analytically deconstructing this, here is my opinion:
NEGATIVES
• This will be very difficult to implement across mediums.
How can I etch this in metal (glass, stone)?
How can I emboss this in material?
• This will loose a lot of its meaning when it goes into one color.
The splotch that is the shape of the hague will just be a black, splotch. it will loose its international "Olympics like" appeal in one color.
• How will this logo look smaller than four inches wide?
-The splotch, indistinctive shape that represents den haag will just be a pinpoint.
-the mark will look its impact as all of its lines become the weight of a pen stroke.
POSITIVES
• The idea of a kite IS reminiscent of den haag, especially the beach where it is windy and there are sand dunes.
• The hague has lots of playful, colorful, postmodern aspects to the city. (The architecture, the museums, the trams, the squiggly nature of the streets, the interesting shops)
COMPROMISE
This idea may have played out better if the mark were simply a wordmark. If the wordmark currently imbedded with the kite form has the same feeling of wind, free spirit, dunes, (this could have color), etc. Just a thought. It would be much bolder, with more impact, and being that this is meant as a marketing tool, everyone, even those unfamiliar with the mark, would know it represented den haag.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Making a good mark is necessarily about if anyone thinks it's pretty. It's not about making a painting or a happy drawing. It's about function. And I can not envision this functioning the way it needs to in the real world to do its job well, from a marketing, communicative, or physical implementation viewpoint.
Danny Tanner’s comment is:
Last paragraph I meant:
"Making a good mark is not necessarily about if anyone thinks it's pretty."
On Feb.22.2007 at 10:39 PM
Danny Tanner’s comment is:
And to ed who wrote:
"i don't think that "designers" should own the market of making logos, because, honestly, a lot of very notable designers have created bad logos..."
I wouldn't ask an architect to design me an aircraft even though a lot of aircraft designers have designed bad planes. I mean really ed, thats just silly logic...
On Feb.22.2007 at 10:59 PM
Greg Scraper’s comment is:
I love this blog for the fact that in its short life, it's already managed to get someone to spit out a sentence like this:
the hague, i can imagine, has a good amount of boogie woogie to it.
On Feb.23.2007 at 09:36 AM
Effendy’s comment is:
Oh dear oh dear!!
This is very bad. As some one mentioned, with the talents available why oh why did they choose to work with Anton Corbijn? The designers there must have been pulling their hair out. (I would if this happened at my city)
I love Corbijn's photography & videos as I'm a big Depeche mode fan. But I never quite like the album/singles covers he did for Depeche. I much prefer when he collaborated with Richard Smith of Area on Depeche's covers.
Great photographer does not make great designer.
On Feb.27.2007 at 10:09 AM
David B.’s comment is:
He looks really happy with his werk...
Shane Guymon’s comment is:
One of the worst logos I have ever seen. they would of been better off going to the governor's cousin who has a pirated copy of photoshop to do the logo for free.
As is, it looks like they went to a local "elementary" school and had a contest. (winner gets a big bag of candy)
It looks like a kite to me, and perhaps thats what he was going for, for all we know the city could share a very popular brazilian past time of kite wars, where you can walk around a neiborhood and the skyies are covered with small hand made kites, where the string is lined in a mixture of glue and crushed glass, as the object of the game is to see how many kites you can cut down until you are the only kite left flying....
On Mar.01.2007 at 10:35 AM
Mark’s comment is:
I like it it's unusual and simple, however it could do without that red smudge in the kite.
Theres something about it that most logos don't have, maybe looks like something not easily made by children or on a computer, it very restrained (in a good way).
Surprisingly this mark isn't pretty, yet it is unique.
On Jun.16.2007 at 07:39 PM
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