Competitive Landscape

Media Design MFA Program

MDM615 Design Strategies and
Motivation 7.1.2 Design Project
Name:
Karen Walsh
Date: April6, 2014
Logo Competitive Audit for American Apparel
1
Evaluation of Current Logo
Content of Signature:
Current logo is a bold brand mark with no
pictorial elements or symbol. It currently
stands out as a bold brand mark however,
the fact that one of the competitors utilizes
color in their logo may suggest an introduction of
some color to update the logo
Relevance to the Industry:
The current logo is relevant to the industry in
the sense that all of its competitors seem to use
the same type of word mark however there is
not really a relevancy to the apparel industry per se.
Longevity:
The current logo isnt likely to go out of style anytime
soon. It is a classic word mark that.
Level of Distinction:
The current logo is distinguishable from its
competitors because of the typeface which
is memorable and bold whereas the competitors
typeface is not particularly.
Versatility:
ularly. The logo is very versatile and can be easily
scaled and utilized with embroidery and or
silkscreen. It translates well across all media,
however the lack of any color dont differentiate
from the other competitors to the degree that
it could. The transparency can be easily adapted
at any percentage and in motion it would work
fine. The only issue really is the updating of the
brand and the addition of some color.

Evaluation of Competitor Logo

Content of Signature:
Current logo is a brand mark with no pictorial
elements or symbol. It currently is somewhat
less memorable than American Apparels logo
because the typeface isnt quite as bold and
there is not the same memorability factor.
Relevance to the Industry:
I believe this logo could benefit from a change
of font, perhaps some sort of graphic however
the way it stands at the moment, it isnt terribly
memorable and therefore since every brand has
the goal to stand out and differentiate itself, one
would think that they may want to think about a
change.
Longevity:
The current logo isnt likely to go out of date
simply be cause of its simplicity however, there
is a difference between longevity and relevance.
The balance between obsolescence and being
classic and timeless is a delicate one.
Level of Distinction:
The current logo is distinguishable from the
competitors by virtue of the line between the
two words Casual and Male. Otherwise, it
doesnt really have a distinguishing factor with
the exception of the choice of font.
Versatility:
The current logo can be used in a
variety of applications, at various scales
and in different degrees of transparency
without a problem. It can also translate
across media such as embroidery and/
or silkscreen.
Evaluation of Competitor Logo
Content of Signature:
The current logo is a brand mark with no pictorial
elements or symbol. It currently is less memorable
than American Apparels logo as well since the font
chosen although it may be appropriate for the brand,
doesnt really stand out nor is it very memorable.
Relevance to the Industry:
I believe that is could improve the brand image if
there were either a different font, or a symbol, or
both. It just doesnt have the dynamic element
or a bold font or anything that really makes it
stand out from its competitors.
Longevity:
The current logo isnt going to go out of date
anytime soon since it is a classic font, although
not very memorable, it is not a trendy type or
logo.
Level of Distinction:
It is distinguishable in the sense that all the
letters are capitalized. This is also the case with
the Casual Male logo however, the other two
competitors use Upper and lower case letters in
their logos.

Versatility:

The current logo can be used in a

variety of applications, at various scales
and in different degrees of transparency.
It can also translate across media like
embroidery, silk screen and other
forms of media without a problem
because it is a scalable, simple word
mark.
Evaluation of Competitor Logo
Content of Signature:
This would probably be considered an abstract mark
because it incorporates the abstract image of some
sort of fabric as well as the corporate name or
signature.
Relevance to the Industry:
I dont think this logo should be changed. It has
recognition and is memorable because of the
differentiating factor of the color red which none
of its competitors has.
Longevity:
I dont think this is going to go out of date
and it is not a trend but instead is a classic,
memorable logo.
Level of Distinction:
The distinction with this logo is the color red and
also the utilization of an abstract graphic. None
of its competitors utilizes any sort of graphic.
Versatility:
Yes, the logo can be used in a variety of
applications and would translate well
in different media and transparency.
It can also be used in embroidery,
silk screen or other forms of media.
It is scalable, simple and memorable.
Industry Sector:
Apparel Manufacturer
Selected Company for Thesis (with Ranking):
American Apparel
Competitors (with Rankings):
Casual Male # 75
Hanes # 77
The Limited # 78
Theme for Campaign Project for Thesis:
American Apparel has been in business since
1997 and has become the largest manufacturer
of clothing in North America. They pride
themselves of being sweatshop free and aging
a fair wage to their workers. The unique value
proposition of the company is that they practice
the triple bottom line business model of people,
planet, profits

3 Directive Words to Describe the Look and

Feel of the Campaign:
Sophisticated
Bubbly
Bold
Summary Evaluation of the Current Logo for the
Selected Company:
When business starts to stagnate and you keep
generating the same amount of profit, the
company may decide that it needs a new
company image to generate some new
excitement in the market. Since American
Apparel was on there verge of bankruptcy from
growing so fast, it may be a good time to
redesign the logo..
Competitive Landscape
Media Design MFA Program
MDM615 Design Strategies and
Motivation 7.1.2 Design Project
Name:
Karen Walsh
Date:
April 4, 2014
Logo Swipe File for American Apparel
Industry Sector:
Apparel Manufacturer
Selected Company for Thesis (with Ranking):
American Apparel
Competitors (with Rankings):
Casual Male # 75
Hanes # 77
The Limited # 78
Theme for Campaign Project for Thesis:
American Apparel has been in business since
1997 and has become the largest manufacturer of
clothing in North America. They pride themselves
of being sweatshop free and aging a fair wage
to their workers. The unique value proposition of
the company is that they practice the triple
bottom line business model of people, planet,
profits

3 Directive Words to Describe the Look and Feel

of the Campaign:
Sophisticated
Bubbly
Bold
Summary Evaluation of the Current Logo for the
Selected Company:
When business starts to stagnate and you keep
generating the same amount of profit, the
company may decide that it needs a new
company image to generate some new excitement
in the market. Since American Apparel was on
there verge of bankruptcy from growing so fast, it
may be a good time to redesign the logo..
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