HP rebuffs rumored brand redesign

By Jamie Keene on December 16, 2011 01:14 pm 49Comments

via tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com

Remember that sleek, minimal new HP logo that we saw a couple of days ago? HP's said that's not going to happen. A company spokesman told Brand New that:

In 2008, HP asked marketing agency Moving Brands to propose new ideas for various elements of HP’s brand identity, including fonts, graphics, and logos. HP is one of the world’s most valuable brands and has no plans to adopt the new logo proposed by Moving Brands. HP did implement some of the other design elements shown in the case study.

It seems that HP wasn't best pleased by the rumors circulating, as the videos showing elements of the redesign have now been set to private. Moving Brands's own website explains that the HP case study has been temporarily removed in order to better distinguish between the ideas which were floated as part of its creative vision for HP, and those which were implemented into the computer giant's current brand strategy. Personally, we're a little disappointed — we certainly appreciate the sharp design that could have acted as a figurehead to HP's latest and greatest.

Source Brand New
Related Items brand logo concept design identity graphics moving brands minimal abstract redesign rebranding branding HP

There are 49 Comments. Add yours.

Disgustoid says:

This should surprise absolutely no one considering HP doesn’t seem to have any clue what direction the company will take in the next few years.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:17 PM EST reply Recommend (23) Flag actions

Dylan Spronck's reply:

Indeed. A reboot of the HP brand could make consumers and investors clear that they have a new direction, instead of all the trouble they had this year.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:03 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions

Intel's reply:

HiP.

The intersection of Hewlett and Packard.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:38 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

abgenx's reply:

HP’s direction is crystal clear: Infrastructure, Software, Services and Solutions.
HP is the world’s largest provider of technology infrastructure, software, services and solutions for customers of all sizes around the world. There’s a lot of work to do, but the team knows what needs to be done.

Sure, there has been turbulence in leadership and some highly visible challenges in mobile devices, but the notion that the company doesn’t know where its going is a popular talking point that just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny when you unpack it. Organizations go through tough times and emerge stronger and more motivated to face the future.

HP is #1 or #2 in almost every market segment it plays in; from servers, storage, networking, enterprise services, printing and computers. Its highly trusted enterprise infrastructure reliably runs tens of thousands of organizations around the world from NASA to clinics in Africa.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:37 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Intel's reply:

Wasn’t that Apotheker’s plan?

That was last year, now they’re juggling with PSG and WebOS in the mix. Clearly HP wants a slice of consumer life: desktop, living room, phone and potable media.

HP’s already good at infrastructure, (enterprise) software, services, and solutions. That’s not exactly a direction, it’s what they have and are good at. Now they just need to figure out where they want to go from there.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:40 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions

Luis_de_Camoes's reply:

Hi abgenx!

How is the HP PR department doing? Its been a while since I spoke with you guys. Times are crazy aren’t they? Do you think you guys will get downsized under Meg? I hope not, it seems like there is some serious PR work to be done.

Anyways, this post was some nice work! It doesn’t read like it came from a spin team AT ALL! If I hadn’t looked at your only other comment here at the Verge, I might not have recognized you!

Lets have lunch next week. I’d love to pick your brain on how my new company can have the same level of marketing effectiveness as you guys.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 3:21 PM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions

hblackwood's reply:

If the text for that comment wasn’t copied off of the HP website, then they should really put it on there.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 3:32 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions

abgenx's reply:

The fact of the matter is every time someone explains HP’s areas of focus, someone comes up and mocks the explanation by saying there’s no direction. I’ve just explained who and what HP is in a paragraph and HP’s employees are no doubt proud that they make a difference in the world with their work.

It’s a free country, and I can’t force anyone to acknowledge what I say. But that IS HP’s strategy. HP’s employees are very clear on the company’s mission and the notion that the company doesn’t have a defined direction is an outdated talking point.

I’ll expand on it some more:

1. Infrastructure is the core of HP ( Hardware is 70% of what HP does)
2. Software expands, optimizes and manages the core
3. Services add value to the core and deepen relationships
4. Solutions focused on customer needs e.g, cloud, security, application modernization, convergence, make it all work together.

It will take some time, and hard work, but you can be sure HP will be back.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 3:46 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Luis_de_Camoes's reply:

You are really good at staying on message! Which PR school did you go to? I’m really impressed.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 5:28 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions

abgenx's reply:

Meg Whitman at a recent customer event explaining HP’s strategy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH7nKLZai4E

HP is very clear about its strategy and direction. There’s a lot of work to do, and it will take time, and one day the derision fade as the hard work pays off.

HP is a great company and nobody should feel ashamed of getting up in the morning, making an honest living by working hard for customers, even when sometimes things don’t go as well as planned. You’ve probably noticed that I won’t shy away just because you make fun of me. Have a great day.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 8:43 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Luis_de_Camoes's reply:

I agree that no one should feel ashamed of getting up in the morning, nor should they feel ashamed of making an honest living by working hard for customers.

However, I see the forums and comment threads as a place to comment on the corporate speak, as opposed to a place for the corporate speak to appear masquerading as a comment from any old person.

Notice that I have not made fun of you personally. I have attempted (through humor, although I probably should have tried harder to be funny) to point out that your comments don’t move the discussion forward and are not on topic. Also they sound as if they were written by a person who is being paid to write them. I am fine with people being paid to do PR, but it would be nice to know that up front. Its a little like the awkward feeling you get when one of your friends tries to get you to buy into an investment opportunity. I typically feel like the person has used my relationship with him/her to make offers that now will be harder to refuse. And I despise them for it. (See! Humor!)

tl;dr—You’ve probably noticed that I won’t shy away just because you won’t shy away just because I make fun of you.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 11:11 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

abgenx's reply:

Sorry, I hate to tell you this, I don’t work for HP PR at all, I just happen to be fully informed by publicly available information about the company’s direction and strategy. When people make flippant and untrue claims about the company, it’s only fair that they have the facts presented to them. It’s a forum, and folks are discussing branding, strategy and corporate direction, so it’s a little weird for one person to appoint himself/herself the arbiter of what’s appropriate or not when false information isn’t being balanced by facts.

Posted on Dec 17, 2011 | 1:25 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions

Luis_de_Camoes's reply:

You’re certainly not dispelling any myths here.

Posted on Dec 17, 2011 | 2:27 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

abgenx's reply:

Customers spent nearly $130 billion buying HP’s products and services in 2011. That’s a big, undeniable number. They had alternatives and yet they selected HP enough to bring in that number, it must mean that HP is doing some things right. Let’s see what the mockers on this page say about the company’s strategy in 5 years.

Posted on Dec 18, 2011 | 5:54 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions

Luis_de_Camoes's reply:

zzzzzzzz

Posted on Dec 30, 2011 | 12:50 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

aThingOrTwo's reply:

Thanks Meg.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 7:24 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

jonbruck's reply:

“HP- give us two weeks, and we’ll change our minds.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:58 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions

Cris says:

I have to say that is really disappointing! I really liked the “new” logo. Oh well, Disgustoid said it, they don’t know what they’re doing.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:22 PM EST reply Recommend (6) Flag actions

red grenadine says:

Yeah I really liked it

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:23 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Aken says:

Good. now I can steal the logo for my KIRF brand, lili. mwahahhahahahaha

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:27 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions

toejomino's reply:

I was thinking liji, or maybe Iiji, because the third line dips below the baseline.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:10 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

toejomino's reply:

It should be noted – since the sans serif font makes it non-obvious – that my first proposed KIRF name begins with a lowercase L while the second has an uppercase i.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:11 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Mediaright says:

Good, what a horrible logo.
Sleek, maybe, but horrible for brand recognition. Not memorable, even if it is pretty, but…half the people will be like…what is it unless someone explains it.
Good on HP.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:32 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions

brianb722's reply:

I loved the way it looked on a piece of tech but yeah, horrible for recognition anywhere else.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:37 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

chrisarchitect says:

Silly Internet. this was total jump-the-gun business the past few days. It was just an experiment, nothing serious. It’s way too out there for a consumer brand I think Too many basic problems with the logo dynamic.
How about http://www.themill.com/ .

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:32 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

dashiel's reply:

That in no way was experiment.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:52 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Generalguy41 says:

This is disappointing news. I really liked the new logo.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:34 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

UnknownWeirdo says:

the logo is too good for hp. they know they don’t deserve to use it. their guilt has rightfully kept them down.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:34 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions

justfinish says:

A shame. This is exactly what HP needs right now, even if it’s not perfect.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:36 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

haenck says:

Really now, how long until they backtrack on the backtracking?

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:44 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Deprogrammer9 says:

very blade runnerish, I like it!

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:45 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Suhail says:

Well, this redesign was actually quite nice in my opinion. Should’ve gone with it HP.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:52 PM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions

awesomerobot says:

That’s a shame – HP really suffers from the lack of cohesive branding.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 1:55 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

PhoenixP3K says:

I would not of minded that new logo. But I could easly see bp when I look at it. British Petroleum isn’t a hot brand right now.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:14 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

Boolean Corporation says:

AFAIK Moving Brands could be sued by HP under charges of misleading public, misuse of the name HP and brand materials. I’m a graphic designer and CAN’T publish unapproved logos without an extensive disclaimer and with all the approved elements moved elsewhere.
All the work you make for a client is copyright of the client. It is their property.
Normally it wouldn’t be a fuss at all, barely a footnote or an article about a curiosity —the logo that could but wouldn’t— but since the latest events surrounding HP are so anti-climatic, shareholder’s psyche is a fragile commodity for the company.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:20 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

thejalapeno's reply:

Who says they did this without HP’s authorization? This is just another example of a company without a clear direction, where the right hand does not know what the left is doing.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:45 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

jrtorrents's reply:

I work in advertising for sometime now and I know that if you work on a idea or a concept , the client which in this case is HP has rights to the finished product.. but any by-product which in this case was the unused logo agency belongs to the creative agency, so they couple use it in anyway they like, .. Unless the client decides to buy other unused ideas outright.. So no HP can’t sue them.. Only thing it might be bad for future business.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 4:18 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions

Trespeak says:

This is disappointing. HP needs to, for lack of a better term, reinvent its image and make itself stand out more if they want people to buy their products.

Well, that and they needed to make better webOS phones and tablets but aside from succeeding the TouchPad I guess that’s not happening.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 2:50 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions

abgenx's reply:

More people buy HP computers than any other brand on earth. In fact, HP’s PC business grew both market share and profitability in 2011, despite all the negative headlines.
More people buy HP servers than any other brand on earth.
More people buy HP printers than any other brand on earth.
HP’s Software business grew more than 20% in 2011, excluding Autonomy.
HP’s Storage and Networking businesses (already top 3 in the world) are growing much faster than the market.
HP is improving its Enterprise Services business to serve its global customer base better. It’s already the second largest such business in the world at $35bn/yr.

No company is perfect and everyone runs into tough times every now and then, but the numbers don’t lie, people around the world love buying HP’s reliable products and services.

I could go on… and there’s room for a lot of improvement, but I’m just pointing this out so that you recognize that it’s superficial to generalize how a $130 billion/year revenue company is doing because of what happened in one or two groups inside it.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 4:00 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

jaywontdart's reply:

who “loves” buying HP products? Who would camp out for the newest HP laptop? Are there “HP Rumours” websites, podcasts? Do people get tattoos of the HP logo, or put bumper stickers about the car on their car?

I thought about this yesterday, how the Verge forums just have “gaming”, rather than “Sony”, “Playstation”, “Xbox” etc sections. Why? Because they are becoming too small, the hype is around Android and Apple these days, who really cares about new CPU’s, GPU’s?

Its Tablets and Phones, neither of which HP can remotely handle.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 9:05 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

abgenx's reply:

jaywontdart,

Without the stuff companies like HP make, the stuff you take for granted on phones and tablets wouldn’t work with >99% uptime, it wouldn’t be secure, or fast, or backed up, your carrier wouldn’t know how many minutes you’ve used, your credit card transaction wouldn’t work as fast, etc..

It’s important to have a wider view of the world than what people line up to buy, because the world is much, much bigger than that.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 9:31 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions

NigelTufnel says:

That logo is pretty cool, but maybe a bit too abstract. They could maybe keep the basic design but just slightly round off some corners to hint at the letters a little better.

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 | 3:30 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions