Logos Mean More than You Think
It is shocking that companies do not seem to recognise the profound influence logos can have.
Airbnb, the home rental service and latest darling of Silicon Valley, launched a new logo in mid-July to much fanfare. As part of a rebranding campaign, the new logo was named Bélo and was said to signify people, places and love. But internet users saw something entirely different.
Gizmodo wrote that “The New Airbnb Logo Is a Sexual Rorschach Test For Our Time”! And the BBC reported that “Airbnb’s new logo faces social media backlash”. And the problem didn’t stop at internet users photoshopping the logo into all kinds of strange adaptations. It also emerged that Airbnb’s logo is almost identical to an existing one used by an IT company called Automation Anywhere. The two companies are apparently “working cooperatively to address the issue.”