Competitive Landscape!

Media Design MFA Program!MDM615 Design Strategies and!Motivation 7.1.2 Design Project

Name:!Karen Walsh"Date: April6, 2014"

Logo Competitive Audit for American Apparel 1

Evaluation of Current Logo!Content of Signature:!Current logo is a bold brand mark with no"pictorial elements or symbol. It currently"stands out as a bold brand mark however,"the fact that one of the competitors utilizes"color in their logo may suggest an introduction of some color to update the logo"

Relevance to the Industry:!The current logo is relevant to the industry in "the sense that all of its competitors seem to use"the same type of word mark however there is"not really a relevancy to the apparel industry per se."

Longevity:!The current logo isn’t likely to go out of style anytime soon. It is a classic word mark that."

Level of Distinction:!The current logo is distinguishable from its competitors because of the typeface which"is memorable and bold whereas the competitors"typeface is not particularly."

Versatility:!ularly. The logo is very versatile and can be easily scaled and utilized with embroidery and or silkscreen. It translates well across all media,"however the lack of any color don’t differentiate"from the other competitors to the degree that"it could. The transparency can be easily adapted"at any percentage and in motion it would work"fine. The only issue really is the updating of the"brand and the addition of some color."

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Evaluation of Competitor Logo!Content of Signature:!Current logo is a brand mark with no pictorial elements or symbol. It currently is somewhat"less memorable than American Apparel’s logo"because the typeface isn’t quite as bold and"there is not the same memorability factor."

Relevance to the Industry:!I believe this logo could benefit from a change!of font, perhaps some sort of graphic however!the way it stands at the moment, it isn’t terribly memorable and therefore since every brand has the goal to stand out and differentiate itself, one!would think that they may want to think about a change."

Longevity:!The current logo isn’t likely to go out of date simply be cause of its simplicity however, there is a difference between longevity and relevance.!The balance between obsolescence and being!classic and timeless is a delicate one. "

Level of Distinction:!The current logo is distinguishable from the competitors by virtue of the line between the!two words Casual and Male. Otherwise, it doesn’t really have a distinguishing factor with the exception of the choice of font."

Versatility:!The current logo can be used in a variety of applications, at various scales and in different degrees of transparency without a problem. It can also translate across media such as embroidery and/or silkscreen."

Evaluation of Competitor Logo!Content of Signature:!The current logo is a brand mark with no pictorial"elements or symbol. It currently is less memorable than American Apparel’s logo as well since the font "chosen although it may be appropriate for the brand, doesn’t really stand out nor is it very memorable."

Relevance to the Industry:!I believe that is could improve the brand image if there were either a different font, or a symbol, or both. It just doesn’t have the dynamic element!or a bold font or anything that really makes it stand out from its competitors."

Longevity:!The current logo isn’t going to go out of date anytime soon since it is a classic font, although not very memorable, it is not a trendy type or!logo."

Level of Distinction:!It is distinguishable in the sense that all the letters are capitalized. This is also the case with the Casual Male logo however, the other two!competitors use Upper and lower case letters in their logos. !"Versatility:!"The current logo can be used in a variety of applications, at various scales!and in different degrees of transparency.!It can also translate across media like!embroidery, silk screen and other !forms of media without a problem because it is a scalable, simple word mark."

Evaluation of Competitor Logo!Content of Signature:!This would probably be considered an abstract mark because it incorporates the abstract image of some sort of fabric as well as the corporate name or signature."

Relevance to the Industry:!I don’t think this logo should be changed. It has recognition and is memorable because of the!differentiating factor of the color red which none of its competitors has."

Longevity:I don’t think this is going to go out of date and it is not a trend but instead is a classic, memorable logo."

Level of Distinction:!The distinction with this logo is the color red and also the utilization of an abstract graphic. None of its competitors utilizes any sort of graphic."

Versatility:!Yes, the logo can be used in a variety of applications and would translate well!in different media and transparency.!It can also be used in embroidery,!silk screen or other forms of media.!It is scalable, simple and memorable."

Industry Sector:!Apparel Manufacturer"

Selected Company for Thesis (with Ranking):!American Apparel"

Competitors (with Rankings):!• Casual Male # 75"• Hanes # 77"• The Limited # 78"

Theme for Campaign Project for Thesis:!

American Apparel has been in business since 1997 and has become the largest manufacturer of clothing in North America. They pride themselves of being “sweatshop free” and aging a fair wage to their workers. The unique value proposition of the company is that they practice the triple bottom line business model of people, planet, profits !"3 Directive Words to Describe the “Look and Feel” of the Campaign:!• Sophisticated"• Bubbly"• Bold"

Summary Evaluation of the Current Logo for the Selected Company:!

When business starts to stagnate and you keep generating the same amount of profit, the company may decide that it needs a new company image to generate some new excitement in the market. Since American Apparel was on there verge of bankruptcy from growing so fast, it may be a good time to redesign the logo..!

Competitive Landscape!

Media Design MFA Program!MDM615 Design Strategies and!Motivation 7.1.2 Design Project

Name:!Karen Walsh"Date:!April 4, 2014

Logo Swipe File for American Apparel!

Industry Sector:!Apparel Manufacturer"

Selected Company for Thesis (with Ranking):!American Apparel"

Competitors (with Rankings):!• Casual Male # 75"• Hanes # 77"• The Limited # 78"

Theme for Campaign Project for Thesis:!

American Apparel has been in business since 1997 and has become the largest manufacturer of clothing in North America. They pride themselves of being “sweatshop free” and aging a fair wage to their workers. The unique value proposition of the company is that they practice the triple bottom line business model of people, planet, profits !"3 Directive Words to Describe the “Look and Feel” of the Campaign:!• Sophisticated"• Bubbly"• Bold"

Summary Evaluation of the Current Logo for the Selected Company:!

When business starts to stagnate and you keep generating the same amount of profit, the company may decide that it needs a new company image to generate some new excitement in the market. Since American Apparel was on there verge of bankruptcy from growing so fast, it may be a good time to redesign the logo..

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/07/21/designing-­‐style-­‐guidelines-­‐for-­‐brands-­‐and-­‐websites/ "http://saatchidesign.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/20-­‐top-­‐tips-­‐for-­‐designing-­‐effective-­‐brand-­‐guidelines/ "http://www.lynda.com/Business-­‐Color-­‐tutorials/Understanding-­‐style-­‐guides-­‐branding-­‐process/110287/114461-­‐4.html "http://www.lynda.com/Business-­‐Color-­‐tutorials/Understanding-­‐style-­‐guides-­‐branding-­‐process/110287/114461-­‐4.html "http://www.lynda.com/Business-­‐Color-­‐tutorials/Understanding-­‐purpose-­‐style-­‐guide/110287/114465-­‐4.html  "www.logopond.com "www.AmericanApparel.net "