No, it’s not a faded shirt or a floppy hat that looks like it came from my grandmother’s attic. The ugliest thing you’ll find at Urban Outfitters is the new logo/look of the website. In a surprising move, Urban Outfitters has changed the color palette of its website and debuted a new logo that looks like it was created with Word Art.

Though the store is in good company–Gap and Belk have also unveiled new logos this year–the move doesn’t fit the Urban Outfitters brand. Urban Outfitters is all about being hip, cool and ahead of the curve. Refreshing its logo after so many “mainstream” stores have already done so makes Urban Outfitters look like a crowd follower, rather than a trendsetter. There is also nothing particularly unique, edgy or very cool about the new design or website. The font and color palette are fairly generic looking, even boring.

On the other hand, the new logo is pretty fitting for a store full of retro styles. It looks just like the cover my fourth grade book report.

UPDATE: Urban Outfitters changed the look of their site to something more streamlined less ridiculous.

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Much of October’s design buzz was focused on the new Gap logo. With the change came die-hard Gap customers commenting on blogs, Facebook sites, and within the design community.

Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, initially defended the logo, writing that the move brings Gap into the modern age. “We want our customers to take notice of Gap and see what it stands for today,” she said. “We chose this design as it’s more contemporary and current. It honors our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward.”

Hmm. The iconic blue box of Gap was actually diminished, rather than honored in the new design. Adding a gradient and moving it into a submission position does nothing in my mind to ‘honor its heritage.’ After only a week, Gap decided to revert back to the original logo.

Belk Department Store debuted its new image right around the same time, but was somewhat overshadowed in the media. Both Belk and Gap stated that they wanted to move their respective brands into a more updated space, and redesigned the logos to coincide with the modern feel of the apparel and the stores. So why was Belk’s change more widely accepted (individual design critiques aside), and Gap’s new image was met with such passionate disapproval?

A couple of ideas:

1. Regional awareness. Belk is a regional brand, with a smaller target audience than the global presence of Gap. While Belk isn’t just “your Grandmother’s store” anymore, the company hasn’t been as active over the years in building and defining their brand image, so their change could be met with less resistance.

2. Belk is a collection of individual brands. Gap IS a brand.

3. Lack of connection to the audience. Belk had a plan for change and is systematically making the change market by market, and Gap introduced the logo to the entire world without so much as a hint that something new was coming. For such a devout target audience and such a large presence, you have to be prepared for the response – positive or negative. No market research to find out what customers think prior to launch?

4. Redefining the brand … consistently. The Gap logo is/was classic. “Classic” is actually what their brand was all about. If they wanted to modernize or talk about their new modern jeans, they could update their collateral, or use social media in a new way to talk to their audience. Create a contest to have customers help design the new logo. The same can be argued about Belk: the iconic script was regarded as a logo with “class and character” that many argued should have been retained. However, Belk complemented their change with a tagline: “Modern. Southern. Style.” which helps to reinforce the overall change.

What are your thoughts on refreshing a brand? Total re-definition through a new name or logo? Change the tagline? Update your social media efforts? Any other positive examples?