Skip to content
supertechspain.com
Menu
  • Gadgets
  • Graphic Design
  • Network
  • Programming
  • Software
  • Technology News
Menu

This twist on an iconic logo has sparked a furious design debate

Posted on 07/11/2022

The best logos tend to be simple, memorable and versatile. Some are so versatile they can be put to uses the original designer never imagined. That’s the case of San Francisco’s ‘worm’, as the logo of the city and county’s municipal transport network is affectionately known.

The San Franciso Municipal Railway’s classic wiggly logo is the star of a new ad campaign in which its distinctive form is used to represent more than the network’s train lines and its abbreviated name – muni. Some think the campaign is ingenious design, but not everyone agrees. In fact, some are arguing that even the original logo is a stinker. But even it does break some of the rules of how to design a logo. But does that really matter?

The Muni logo on a bus in the 1970s

The Muni logo in sunset colors on a bus in the 1970s (Image credit: SFMTA)

The Muni logo is often hailed as a design classic. Created by Walter Landor in 1975, it represents transport lines but also spells out the network’s abbreviated name. And while it’s clearly a product of its era, with smooth, almost psychedelic lines reminiscent of the early 70s, it’s stood the test of time. It proved iconic enough to resist change when the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) was created in 1999 and it remains in use today.

Now a new campaign cleverly reworks the Muni logo into different shapes. The “Muni Moves You!” campaign is designed to draw commuters back to the network in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic with print and digital ads that see the abstract Muni worm morph into icons representing noodles, art, dating and shopping (see below).

Image 1 of 5

An advert from a San Francisco Muni campaign
Train lines turn to noodles in this Muni ad. click right for more (Image credit: SFMTA)
An advert from a San Francisco Muni campaign
Muni at the movies (Image credit: SFMTA)
An advert from a San Francisco Muni campaign
Another ad from the Muni moves you campaign (Image credit: SFMTA)
An advert from a San Francisco Muni campaign
The Muni logo claims its place in a gallery (Image credit: SFMTA)
An advert from a San Francisco Muni campaign
Adverts from the Muni moves you campaign (Image credit: SFMTA)

The designs have been delighting many in Reddit’s r/DesignPorn (opens in new tab) community – particularly people who know San Francisco. However, others have rubbished both the new designs and the original logo, describing the former as “confusing” and the logo as “unreadable”. One person has pointed out that the ramen icon looks like a toilet.

“Seriously, what is this supposed to be?” one person asked. “That logo is horribly unreadable,” someone else protested. Even some San Franciscans admit that they never realized the original logo was supposed to spell ‘Muni’.

The debate raises some interesting questions about logo design. I’d usually agree that readability should be a primary goal – unless you’re designing for a metal band. But should we always be so prescriptive?

Perhaps you have to know San Francisco to make the connection and understand the new ads, but then the campaign is entirely at San Francisco residents who’ve seen the Muni logo for decades and will immediately recognize it in the new icons through the forms and the colors. “To San Franciscans (like me), the Muni logo is everywhere,” one San Franciscan has pointed out in the debate on Reddit. “The tie-in was obvious and fun.”

As for the original logo, we’ve been quick to criticise logo designs for a lack of readability on occasion, but I wonder if it really matters here. A logo represents a brand, not a word. Those that don’t see the ‘Muni’ in the design, simply take the logo to represent a public transport system, which is what it is. The ‘Muni’ hiding in there is almost a bonus, like in several logos with a hidden meaning. Sometimes the rules can be broken and still result in a classic design, otherwise, people start asking why all logos look the same.

Read more:

Recent Posts

  • Could Dooku Have Been Behind The Clones’ Order 66 Programming?
  • How to Watch: Buccaneers vs. Browns
  • North Korea Sees More Use of Cell Phones, WiFi Networks
  • Pi Network Prepares for Open Mainnet as Enclosed Period Winds Down
  • Gege Akutami Hints at Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Ending ‘Probably’ Within 1 Year – News

Archives

  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022

Categories

  • Gadgets
  • Graphic Design
  • Network
  • Programming
  • Software

About Us

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise Here
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Sitemap

Partner Links

Partner Links

©2023 supertechspain.com | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme