Time to dish out the worst of the year. Some for their execution, some for their concept, some for their strategy, some simply because the stars didn't align in their favor in 2012.
See also:
Part I: The Best
No. 12: The Brooklyn Nets
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By now it's no secret that I personally do not like this logo. But despite evidence to the contrary I am not 100% stubborn and I can see the appropriateness of the approach and the result. I wish it were executed in an actually competent manner and I guess it could probably be worse. My inclination was to put this logo higher up in the Worst rankings but by giving it the No. 12 spot I acknowledge that my dislike for it is more personal than thoroughly rational.
On Primary Logo (2,796) | 17% | 27% | 56% |
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On Secondary Logo (2,756) | 20% | 37% | 43% |
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On Apparel (2,754) | 28% | 39% | 33% |
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No. 11: Stedelijk Museum
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A few readers claimed that I just didn't get it or didn't see the genius in this. Maybe I don't and I can live with that. What I do know is that I can't look at this and not shiver.
On Concept (2,062) | 23% | 16% | 61% |
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On Execution (2,045) | 17% | 13% | 70% |
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No. 10: Senac
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While the icon might get a passing grade the typography is simply some of the most horrendous letterforms crafted this century — and that's counting 2009's No. 1 Worst logo, Bing.
On Icon (1,075) | 12% | 38% | 49% |
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On Typography (1,075) | 7% | 15% | 78% |
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No. 9: NFL Media
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The Terminator called, it wants its typography back.
On Execution (745) | 5% | 22% | 73% |
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No. 8: State Farm
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I really wonder if, at any point in this redesign process, no one ever asked "Doesn't the logo look like eggs?" Especially considering how many questions like this you hear in an identity project like this. The logo went from serving a purpose — framing the three insurance offerings (auto, fire and life) — to mere, meaningless decoration.
On Icon (1,040) | 8% | 33% | 59% |
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On Typography (1,011) | 16% | 53% | 31% |
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No. 7: Island Air
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This was the right idea: a lei and friendly type. Unfortunately the lei looks like something you would pick out of a Google Image Search line-up and the all-black typography is anything but friendly, islandic, or airy.
On Icon (875) | 9% | 36% | 55% |
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On Typography (862) | 7% | 33% | 60% |
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On Livery (833) | 9% | 35% | 55% |
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No. 6: Czech Republic
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Employing a social media behavior as part of a pun-y name to brand a country is not a good idea.
On Concept (1,630) | 13% | 24% | 63% |
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On Execution (1,491) | 9% | 38% | 53% |
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No. 5: National Restaurant Association
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If there is a case to be made that there is no such thing as bad swooshes just bad designers, this logo isn't it. And its introduction video further proves that swooshes are not meant to be used for anything except for logos that depict saturn.
On Icon (759) | 3% | 12% | 85% |
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On Typography (733) | 6% | 49% | 45% |
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No. 4: Galavisión
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The end — in this case an abstract "G" — could potentially justify the means, but these weird forms and cheap, 3D extrusions are just too clunky to be justifiable. To make matters worse, the typography is almost the same as that of its parent company, Univisión, yet it's different in all the wrong places.
On Icon (748) | 9% | 36% | 55% |
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On Typography (745) | 8% | 35% | 57% |
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No. 3: Arby's
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A picture of roast beef inside the cowboy hat would have been better than the flavorless sans serif that they stuck in there to replace the Western type. Add to that the pedestrian extrusion to the hat and you have a real downer of an upgrade.
On Execution (3,544) | 1% | 5% | 94% |
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No. 2: eBay
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To be fair, there is nothing inherently wrong with this wordmark. It's not as graphically offensive as many of the other logos and identities above but it ranks for me at the bottom of the pile for potential wasted. To have such a playful logo to build upon and to arrive at the equivalent of dry oatmeal is too depressing. Bonus (if you can call it bonus): the identity launch had some of the most gratuitous concept and prototype images that didn't even attempt to approach believability through competent Photoshopping.
On Logo (2,103) | 5% | 27% | 68% |
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On Launch Strategy (2,541) | 5% | 25% | 70% |
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No. 1: Comcast
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Sneaking in at the last minute for consideration into our list — and taking the least wanted No. 1 spot — was this heretic approach to giving a parent company some prestige by taking one of the most respected and well known icons of our time and wearing it like some piece of jewelry. It's simple math executives: The peacock = NBC. The peacock ≠ Comcast.
On Peacock (1,545) | 6% | 18% | 76% |
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On Execution (1,510) | 6% | 34% | 60% |
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