Cats & Ninjas

Urban Outfitters breathes new life to the usage of word art.

Urban Outfitters recently updated their logo (after the wild success of the new Gap logo). I don’t know about you guys, but this new logo speaks volumes and I think is a huge improvement over the old one. Look at the word URBAN. Set in all caps, the condensed letters personify the New York skyline — the hallmark of urban environments. Unbounded by traditional font weights and letter spacing, the word literally reaches for the stars. But the sky is not the limit. The text treatment of the word Outfitters draws inspiration from the curvature of the Earth — a sentiment that screams, “We are not only urban, we are out(of this world)fitters”.

This logo is a beautiful blend of groundbreaking design and rich story telling. In this new age of social engagment, I hope other boring brands like American Eagle Outfitters and Banana Republic jump on this bandwagon. They are missing tremendous opportunities to capitalize on their eagle and/or banana symbolism.*

^{*Just kidding, this logo is shit.}