[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="200"] The Pringles logo circa the Clinton administration[/caption]
This is a post about the history of the Pringles logo and its alignment with branding trends. Sorry to disappoint, but there's nothing to see here on flavors or tastes. I've enjoyed Pringles my whole life. But over the last 10 years, I've become increasingly dissatisfied with their packaging. What was originally something echoing a barbershop quartetist is now some animated fluff with less character.
If you don't remember how awesome the Pringles logo was, you're probably under 20. A little online research unearthed several examples of the former majesty of the Pringles logo. This Prezi by Brian Guila provides the best summary of the downward spiral.
Everything went to hell around 2002:
1. They stopped keeping the parted hair inside the oval. That was part of the joy. A turn-of-the-century strongman who'd been out in the cold too long contained within a perfect round icon.
2. They took Pringles name out of the bow tie.
3. They gave Mr. Pringle (Julius, if I recall correctly) pupils. Pupils!
Although none of these decisions have curbed my Pringles consumption, they pain me as a lover of branding and design. Pringles are just one of the hundreds of corporate logos that have fallen pray to Skeumorphic Design.
As design tools added more features, designers had the means to give more dimensions to these (intentionally) two-dimensional icons. Too often, logo designers have edicts to add more "air" or gradients to their styling. An easy way to "refresh" a brand is to give something more curve, or more fluff, or subtle color changes. These decisions do little to elevate the brand. The most endearing corporate logos are those that have changed the least over time. Think Mobil, IBM, CBS or General Electric.
Perhaps the tipping point that will bring us back to "Mr. Pringle's contained ovular face and bowtie" will be...iOS7. Mobile phones are ushering a reintroduction of flat design. Microsoft and Apple are embracing this fully.
I can only hope it makes its way to to the branding gang at Kellogg's.
Image credit to Logopedia.