September 17, 2007

Photoshop gets a new logo

I've been remiss in not sharing the news sooner, but I wanted to give it a chance not to get overshadowed by the Photoshop Express excitement.  In any case, I'm pleased to report that the Photoshop family of products now has its own logo and tagline: See What's Possible™

As you no doubt know, "Photoshop" has grown far beyond the side project of Michigan grad student, and even beyond a single application, to encompass a range of functionally different apps--Photoshop CS3, Photoshop CS3 Extended, Photoshop Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Album Starter Edition, and soon Photoshop Express--that all share a solid core of imaging smarts.  As the press docs say,

To represent this rich family of products, Adobe is introducing the Photoshop visual logo. This logo will soon appear in all Photoshop-related marketing, so keep an eye out for it. The Photoshop logo on a product, service, or technology, represents the rich legacy, technical quality, and attention to detail that has made Photoshop the gold standard in digital imaging.

Or, as The Dude might say, "It really ties the room together." ;-) Here's a quick screenshot of the main variations on the logo. [Update: Jeff Schewe has posted a giant version, complete with E.T.]

So, whaddya think?
J.

PS--In light of the above, I can't resist passing along a totally different example of "Photoshop branding."

Posted by John Nack at 06:21 PM on September 17, 2007

Comments

Rene — 05:39 PM on September 17, 2007

I have to say that I don't really get it, while on the other hand I understand the motivation.

As for the logo itself, it will take some getting used to. Just feels wrong to me somehow, but that's after years of being used to not seeing a PS logo.

Alex — 05:43 PM on September 17, 2007

I don't like it! Doesn't read well to me.

Michael Williams — 05:52 PM on September 17, 2007

How does a thought bubble with a hole in it represent imaging?

Peter Witham — 06:36 PM on September 17, 2007

I think it's terrible! And thats putting it nicely ;)

Plus changing the logo so quickly after re-branding all of the product logos and icons suggest indecision and lack of focus...yeah I read too much marketing technique stuff lately.

Seriously, this is beyond bad and looks like something I'd expect to see on a $30 Text effect package or something.

My two cents.

Ben — 06:37 PM on September 17, 2007

Awful.

David — 06:50 PM on September 17, 2007

Thought bubble? I thought it was a single-quote mark with a hole punched in it.

eric dolecki — 07:01 PM on September 17, 2007

I love Photoshop and have used it every day for many years. This logo looks like iChat reversed and doesn't speak to what Photoshop is to me. I don't get this one either... it looks so out of place with the current CS3 icons that I have gradually accepted. Now this flys in the face of those. I don't see consistency here at all.

Jim — 07:42 PM on September 17, 2007

Yuck. What happened to the periodic table logos??

[Those aren't logos; they're application icons. --J.]

Joseph Labrecque — 08:17 PM on September 17, 2007

I was a pretty staunch defender of the CS3 icon set when announced... but this makes no sense to me.

What is being conveyed by that logo? Not Photoshop- at least not to me :(

Eric Smith — 08:19 PM on September 17, 2007

I have to agree...I hope this is still changable because it doesn't have the prestige to represent the application that has revolutionized the digital world so much.

Noah — 08:32 PM on September 17, 2007

What is it? A speech bubble with a hole in it? What does that have to do with Photoshop? The tagline is confusing too. How does it relate?

On one hand, I think it's a good idea to give each of the Adobe products their own logo but why another one separate from the huge set of the Creative Suite?

Has anyone done any testing for this logo? I formally challenge Adobe to ask at least 25 average people if they can figure it out.

The direction that Adobe's been going with the identity of their products has been increasingly disappointing. Nothing is consistent. The look and feel of the boxes is completely different from their logos and now with logos like this, they're even less consistent. What's going on, Adobe?

Josh Gordon — 08:33 PM on September 17, 2007

Ugh --- really not a fan of this. Why does Photoshop need a tagline? Are Illustrator and InDesign next? Illustrator: See what's vectorable.

Also am I the only one who is reminded of the PBS logo when they look at this? See link:

http://www.lasc.be/media/images/pbs_logo.jpg

Landon — 08:38 PM on September 17, 2007

Michael, I think the hole is to make a "P", and the dialog bubble is... okay... I don't get it either.

The logo's shape feels retro for a forward thinking company. The first thing I thought was that the bubble reminds me of the "everyman" PBS logo (1971-1985). On the other side of the logo, the text screams "Microsoft". The combo is bad news (but I love PBS). Additionally, the blue glassy texture seems geared for consumer flair and makes me think a little less of Photoshop as a professional program.

Of course much of the "Photoshop" line is now geared toward the average consumer, so I guess that's who Adobe needs to be marketing to. I think I'd be happier with something along the professional, crisp lines of the adobe logo.

(It also looks a little like the National Captioning Institute logo. Nothing new under the sun as they say)


Ben Hansen — 08:39 PM on September 17, 2007

it kinda reminds me of the pbs logo

Stephen — 08:43 PM on September 17, 2007

I'll start by saying that I love the new CS3 application icons and where Adobe is going with those but I really don't understand this one. I keep thinking there must be some story or meaning behind it.

Personally, I don't see a glossy styled gel pill in the shape of a speech bubble representing rich legacy and technical quality.

but... I'm sure I'll get use to it.

Bryan — 08:45 PM on September 17, 2007

Oh heck. I remember the uproar when you previewed the new CS3 icons. I hope everybody keeps in mind that it's just a logo.

Tom OKeefe — 08:48 PM on September 17, 2007

thats one ugly logo. Did the logo / branding get farmed out to another ad firm or was it done internally?

Hey at least Photosop kicks ass that it doesn't need a good logo. :)God I hope I dont get picked on at Adobe now.

Mark Thomas — 09:00 PM on September 17, 2007

Huh. Well, it's a "P" for Photoshop and also, maybe, a dialog balloon? In aqua. Not sure what I think, exactly. A great logo should have nothing superfluous or meaningless and should convey meaning directly, and stylishly if possible. I guess I'm just not really sure if I get it or not. I didn't get the Bank of America logo at first, but once it clicked I thought it was pretty ingenious.

Sol — 09:29 PM on September 17, 2007

Honestly, I had to stop reading for a minute and think whether it was April 1st. I just couldn't believe it.

Not trying to be overly critical, but that is such a bad logo for such a great product.
It's like someone took the Mac aqua-era look and paired it with some web 2.0 nonsensical-ness.

I'm sad.

(Really, I'm not trying to be a troll, but I, like many longtime Photoshop users, am very passionate about this tool Adobe has created. Personally, I don't see any point to branding something that already had so much street cred. Maybe a good logo would have been okay, but by doing it with this logo, it's feels like it's being branded as some kinda toy.)

Gervaise Davis — 09:42 PM on September 17, 2007

Nice color and nice try, but to be honest, it does not do much for me. It really does not convey anything, but looks like an Art Director's luncheon doodling. Sorry.

Kyle — 10:01 PM on September 17, 2007

Not feeling it. At a quick glance, it reminds me of one of the incarnations of the RealPlayer logo.

Phillip Kerman — 10:23 PM on September 17, 2007

Wait a second--I don't like the Ps logo either! Gimme the old eye, I say.

Brajeshwar — 11:27 PM on September 17, 2007

I don't really like it either. It looks more like an immature jump to the Web 2.0, aqua-ish, design without the finer finishing details.

Anonymousse — 11:34 PM on September 17, 2007

I do not have the words to express how much I dislike it. Not only does the speech bubble have nothing to do with photo editing, but everyone and their grandma is using it. It's the #1 resort of the creatively deficient and I'm very disappointed Adobe took this route. Just look here: over 61 speech bubble logos!
http://blog.eachday.com/2007/8/1/bubble-logo-insanity/

Kakaze — 11:51 PM on September 17, 2007

I'm sorry but I hate it.

The speech bubble is so web 2.0 and cliche and the "see what's possible" is one of the most incredibly hackneyed taglines possible for software in this genre.

The only thing I do like is the typeface.

Stephen — 11:53 PM on September 17, 2007

Looks very much to me like a logo for a Microsoft product. Not that I have anything against Micrsoft but you'd expect something a bit more creative from Adobe.

John Peterson — 11:56 PM on September 17, 2007

Um, ok, a Henry Moore comment bubble represents digital imaging...how?

Shunjie — 12:06 AM on September 18, 2007

Hmm, I rather see the Periodic table PS logo. This one looks so 'silverlight'

Eric — 12:25 AM on September 18, 2007

Ugh. Seriously, what does it mean? A "P" on steroids?

On the brighter side, it's slightly less annoying than Clippy, and will no doubt go over better than Bob did.

[Remember that the prize for PM'ing Bob is getting (?) to marry Bill Gates. --J.]

Johno — 12:32 AM on September 18, 2007

It's a pity that an application suite traditionally reknowned for cutting edge, professional creative media use, has been given such a hackneyed logo and tagline. Truly awful!

Michael — 01:03 AM on September 18, 2007

I was able to zoom in on the new logo above, and discovered the secret message inside the bubble (nicely done). For everyone's benefit, it reads: "Adobe invites the community to show us what's possible, by designing a real logo for the new Photoshop line of products. The winner's name will be placed in front of Thomas Knolls on the loading screen." Very cool! ;)

[ ;-) --J.]

Yong Hwee — 01:15 AM on September 18, 2007

I'm not a huge fan of the new logo but it's not too bad.

Aaron Spence — 01:45 AM on September 18, 2007

I have to agree with everyone else. Love the product. Have used it daily for 11yrs, hate the new logo.

Apart from anything else, the logo, text and tagline are 3 disparate objects sitting on the page. Lots of space between them, nothing drawing them together or showing they're a group. On a page of logos in a conference brochure etc I think this logo will look especially bad.

Sorry, Aaron.

Niklas B — 01:52 AM on September 18, 2007

Look just like E.T.! And seriously, someone should phone your marketing department and ask them what they were smoking.

What happened to the well-known eye? Why are you dilluting the Photoshop brand like this?

Ian Tomey — 02:27 AM on September 18, 2007

If you turned the text round, kinda reminds me of this

Must say I don't like strap lines, they are a bit redundant. People care about as much as they do about a company mission statement.

If you are going to have one, why not make it a little more specific? Suggestions:

"We make B3TA.com possible"
"Super filters for bad photographers"
"Swapping celebrities heads since 1987"
"Why loose weight?"

:D

Christos Chiotis — 02:42 AM on September 18, 2007

If photoshop is going to be an Instant Messenger then i think it looks ok.

But hey, this is Photoshop, not a web2-ish application. It should stand at the top of the pile, and it doesn't.

Poor result

chemic — 02:55 AM on September 18, 2007

Comon, its 2007 and you guys come out with something like that? I have allways liked Adobe product logos.. but now this?! Comon guys.. just let it be like it is atm..

Jerry — 02:56 AM on September 18, 2007

Horrible. :( Please don't stick with this. Seems someone forgot Adobe is catering to creative professionals and not to myspace kids. And you know how unforgiving we designers can be. You're hurting our baby.

I understand marketing's need for a logo, but this is just ugly. I'm not going to go into details, as others have already mentioned some of the issues (such as Sol). Meh. :(

John Waller — 03:17 AM on September 18, 2007

What are the concepts that this logo is supposed to encapsulate or express, John?

I can't see how it's related to Photoshop.

Chris Harrison — 03:37 AM on September 18, 2007

There's an even bigger problem looming here... and it's the dilution of the Adobe Photoshop brand. Don't get me wrong... I love the idea of having a Photoshop for every person, but where do you draw the line? There are 5 versions of Photoshop right now: Photoshop Album Starter Edition, Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, Photoshop and Photoshop Extended. And that's not even including the forthcoming Photoshop Online (or whatever you all will choose to call it). It's madness, I tell you.

But I digress...

RE: New Photoshop logo
The logo itself is going to take some getting used to. My first thought was that it reminded me of PBS. It also looks like someone just discovered Layer Effects. (From previous comments here, I see these thoughts are not all uncommon.) Overall, I don't think it's bad, but as I said earlier: It's going to take some getting used to.

RE: Slogan/Tagline
"See What's Possible" isn't bad. I'm very interested to see what sort of direction the advertising will take. (I hope, for our sakes, the creepy jester won't make an appearance in any of it!)

[Heh--no comment about that crazy thing. (Wait, I think I just commented.) ;-) --J.]

Nick Watts — 05:20 AM on September 18, 2007

While i think it is terrible, no logo would have impressed a bunch of graphic designers. Photoshop's market is graphics professionals. Graphics professionals will hate it, and think of how they could have done an infinitely better job. Whoever in the Adobe PR department thought this was a good idea needs to be fired.

Carsten — 05:31 AM on September 18, 2007

The CS2-feather may represent PS much more than this. There is no direct line between the functionality of PS and the logo.

jimHere — 05:38 AM on September 18, 2007

Judging by all the negative comments (which I agree with), maybe this logo thing is actually a joke. Surely J. Nack, who admits to some marketing interests (as well as the PS "boss")

[Hah--I'm the "boss" of two things, "...and Jack just left town." Also, for reference, I don't control logos, icons, etc. --J.]

would want something more contemporary than Apple's original year 2000 Aqua blob style.

Or is it a retro thing? But Photoshop should not be viewed as retro. You guys should focus on Healing Brushes and things we can actually use.

David — 05:38 AM on September 18, 2007

hate it

Danny Smythe — 05:42 AM on September 18, 2007

This stinks of Microsoft. Logo and tag line. Why not go to an Apple team and catch the huge creative wave they're on?

Steve S — 06:50 AM on September 18, 2007

I have to agree with everybody else. It's ridiculous.

I'd really like to get in the heads of the marketing geniuses that came up with this. Does anybody remember the New Coke?

Steve S — 06:53 AM on September 18, 2007

I have to agree with everybody else. I don't know what it is, I don't know what it's supposed to represent...It's ridiculous.

I'd really like to get in the heads of the marketing geniuses that came up with this. Does anybody remember the New Coke?

Justin — 07:18 AM on September 18, 2007

Terrible. Just terrible.

You'd think Adobe could afford to hire some more creative people than that. At least if you're trying to create a family within a family, expand on the solid square icon system. Possibly variations on the blue PS square.

[Well, having absorbed some 500 comments on that subject, almost all of which were aggressively negative, I do find it a little funny that A) almost no one seems to have a problem with the icons now that they've used them & seen the full CS3 branding, and B) folks would now suggest that Adobe further leverage that imagery. I'm not saying we should or shouldn't; I'm just learning to take public tongue-lashings with some grains of salt. --J.]

Justin — 07:21 AM on September 18, 2007

Also, it looks like E.T.'s head (profile shot)

http://www.citypaper.com/sb/49593/371.jpg

[Heh heh--and who doesn't like E.T.? (Just don't tell Mr. Spielberg's people...) --J.]

francisco — 07:22 AM on September 18, 2007

I think I just threw up in my mouth. Gross! GEBUS Adobe, WTF were you thinking?

Nat — 07:34 AM on September 18, 2007

I wish it was April 1st.

Alton Marsh — 07:49 AM on September 18, 2007

I'm a writer so I will speak to the slogan. It looks like someone tried to slightly alter the smoother phrase, "Explore the Possibilities." So "See What's Possible" becomes the awkward alternative. Not sure what the answer is, but Michael Freeman, in his book "The Photographer's Eye," notes that digital imaging has created an as-yet undefined revolution. For example, color was initially seen as inferior to black and white, but the public demanded it. Kodachrome got the public used to underexposed saturated color, and it was extolled in a song. What will the digital revolution do? Create a demand for HDR photos and the elimination of shadows? Create a demand for panoramas? We don't know yet. Something that acknowledges the digital revolution, primarily led by digital technology and, second, Photoshop, might be considered. Turn that over to the ad agency.

Ted — 08:08 AM on September 18, 2007

I was going to comment on the new marketeering, but I see that everything I wanted to say has already been said. So I'll just add my "thumbs down" to the vote tally.

I can only add that I hope this abomination (along with the PsCS3 Windows printing fiasco) doesn't augur the senility or ossification of once-venerable Adobe.

Tom OKeefe — 08:12 AM on September 18, 2007

http://www.makezine.com/blog/PBS_logo.jpg

I think 2007 is the year of the ugly re-branding.

jimHere — 08:36 AM on September 18, 2007

Did the Adobe Corp people ask you before they did it? It's your world they're messing around with.

But not to fear, Adobe Corp. Myself and others will continue to pay cash-money for the apps even if their boxes are designed by the San Jose Jr. High School art class.

["Crowdsourcing" is the hot thing these days, you know. ;-) But ultimately, yeah, this has no bearing whatsoever on the capabilities of Photoshop. --J.]

Klaus Nordby — 09:02 AM on September 18, 2007

Well, John, I think you now should be really happy you're not in marketing -- or you'd at least be partly responsible for that weird, clumsy logo symbol, which communicates nothing of the solid, professional product we all know PS to be. Whatever happened to the tasteful, stylish Adobe Systems Inc. which Warnock and Geschke founded?

[Oh, I don't know: was the original logo *that* stylish? --J.]

Jerry — 09:13 AM on September 18, 2007

As my creative director pointed out to me earlier today, here's another version of this concept already in use:

http://designdirektorat.de

He went so far as to use the word "plagiarism" but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. ;)

@John Nack: regarding the CS3 application icons and public tongue-lashings: yes, those did take a while getting used to, but they're ok. They make sense considering the large amount of apps in the suite. That doesn't mean it's the same for every design, however. For instance, I still think the uninspired glossy-effect redesign of last.fm sucks. It's a pain to look at. Just because people stop complaining doesn't make something less mediocre.

Sorry, but this thing just feels so cheap.

jared — 09:27 AM on September 18, 2007

The first thing I thought of was PBS as well, but with less class. I hate to be a critic, especially of a company and product I use and love so much, but this just doesn't convey a the professionalism and high-quality I have come to associate with Photoshop.

monica klos — 09:39 AM on September 18, 2007

Wow. Is this for real? I'm embarrassed to be a designer...Photoshop has sold out to appeal to every mom who wants to "photoshop" photos of their kids.

It doesn't fit the CS3 brand at all. We go from colored smoke and square application icons that look really nice in the dock to goofy gel pills. Please tell me you didn't change the application icon and this is all a cruel joke.

A. Dias — 09:50 AM on September 18, 2007

Why a logo now? and this thing?
It was either a slow work day at Adobe? or a new Photoshop executive came into the scene and, as usual, decided to make her imprint. Very bad mark! :)

Mathias Vejerslev — 09:51 AM on September 18, 2007

Puh-leese.

Take a some 'aqua', mix it with a M$-inspired tagline... Was it an intern that designed this new logo?

I really hoped this was a joke. Mostly because its just more (bad, useless) marketing from adobe.

Sorry, no like!!

Mariusz — 10:18 AM on September 18, 2007

This is ugly. Looks like done by 15 year old graphic designer wannabe. ;-|

Bri — 10:20 AM on September 18, 2007

What?! Does not Adobe have the financial resources to hire professionals? Poor dears must be pocket-drained from rampant piracy! Too bad they didn't implement an activation system to stop that. Oh, waaait a minute...

Robert — 10:30 AM on September 18, 2007

Here's a test. Paste that logo onto PS CS3 and see if you still like it.

My opinion is that it looks like the Quark toilet paper logo (the one stolen from some university in Europe) that they've since abandoned. You guys sure you want that association?

The CS3 icons still suck, BTW. They're not unattractive and they're unique, but they're also irredeemably arrogant.

MIke — 10:37 AM on September 18, 2007

Definite thumbs down. This is really bad. My first impression (like others) was a single quotation mark. I go the feeling of writing, text or speech. Non of which have anything to do with Photoshop.

I have done a lot of corporate re-branding projects and understand it's difficult to build consensus. But this is just strategically off the mark.

Of course I also don't agree with how you are diluting the photoshop brand by extending it into lesser apps and web-based editors.

Dino — 10:38 AM on September 18, 2007

I don't like it. It looks like a variation of the PBS logo. Not very inspiring or creative.

Danny Smythe — 10:39 AM on September 18, 2007

Could it be, that 100% of the comments will be negative?

I wonder if Adobe is paying attention.

Dino — 10:39 AM on September 18, 2007

I don't like it. It looks like a variation of the PBS logo. Not very inspiring or creative.

Jeff — 10:59 AM on September 18, 2007

Congratulations! You've managed to make the (still horrifyingly bad) CS3 application icons look good by comparison!

Seriously, is there anyone with any taste still in charge over there?

BJ Nicholls — 11:16 AM on September 18, 2007

Mine Got are you guys confused. You dive into the periodic table with zeal to integrate the product line and reduce individual product identities to a minimum. A few holdouts like Acrobat had either too much equity or some effective internal opposition, so a complete molecularization didn't happen. Although I'm not a fan of the periodic non-identity, I've had to admit that the simple icons are relatively easy to identify - so they meet my basic needs for functionality.

Now it looks like the generic approach has been trash-canned for distinct product logos and even taglines. How do you change identity directions so drastically? Is there any kind of a coherent Adobe identity touchstone, or do you guys just hire a new marketing manager or outside pitchster and turn on your heels to follow?

The new logo sux, and the tagline is mundane. But I'm more worried that Adobe, the fountainhead of tools for design, is visually schizophrenic. Was it something Adobe ate? I thought the periodic table scheme was just prolonged Macromedia indigestion. The symptoms are getting worse and it'd better get an exam.

Charles Lai — 11:30 AM on September 18, 2007

It appears other people have already noted that the new logo looks like a sideview of E.T. - the thing is, just like E.T., the logo looks a bit top heavy.

Tom Murray — 11:59 AM on September 18, 2007

So how about fixing Bridge, to go with the new logo?

[Please be more specific. --J.]

Tom Murray — 12:23 PM on September 18, 2007

My favorite is;
Saved workspace doesn't stick when changing to a different one, then back.

[I'm not aware of this one, but I'll ask the team. Workspaces are presets: if you apply one, then change palette/panel locations, then apply the workspace again, those changes wouldn't be applied to the saved workspace definition. That is, workspaces aren't modes. --J.]

Another popular complaint is, a not sharp preview.

For more see the Bridge/Mac forum.
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bba3d51/

[That's a known issue, and we'll fix it. --J.]

Ken — 12:31 PM on September 18, 2007

Um. Yeah. You know, the Dude abides and all that, but...that icon is poop. Plain, fly-drawing, stinking poop. And the flurry of trademark/registered symbols on it really does a lot to emphasize the poopitude. They should change the name to iPhotoshopChat™©® and throw in some pinstripes and an IM client to make the image complete. Cripes, to think this is the product of the company that actually develops Photoshop. Wow. Boil my eyes now, please.

[Heh--that's colorful, anyway. --J.]

Lonnie Kees — 12:31 PM on September 18, 2007

Adobe should have just put PS with the S sideways, like its broken, similar to CS3 with the problems... that have yet to fixed.

thumbs and toes down!!!

Pedro Estarque — 12:47 PM on September 18, 2007

I'm sorry but I'll have be another one to complain. It looks like a cyanized iChat. Maybe they are really replacing dialog boxes with phone calls after all :)

I still think the new icons don't work either. They sure look sober and unify the suite, but icons shouldn't need letters to be differentiable.

I must admit that I have a slightly unhealthy attachment to this things. Just yesterday I got really pissed by the new "decoration" in a bar I usually go to. It now looks like a back to the future II scenario, full with horizontally stretched soccer games in their plasma TVs. But I digress.

Thankfully, Adobe has shown that their marketing team's excessive pragmatism doesn't affect their products quality wise. Photoshop 10 is solid, faster than its previous versions (even on PPC) and full of new inspiring features. Though I would really love to glance at The Eye or Venus in my Dock. When Adobe and Apple get frequently criticized by their design choices ( 3D dock, transparent menu ...) things start to get creepy.

Mark — 01:04 PM on September 18, 2007

PBS (Public Broadcasting System) is the very first thing that popped into my mind when I saw that logo. My 2 cents says it's not a good idea specifically for that reason. If many people immediately think of PBS when seeing that logo, it seems a better concept should be considered to give Photoshop it's own, well deserved identity.

Anders Skovgaard-Petersen — 01:09 PM on September 18, 2007

On the periodic icons:
I think anybody who's seen the way the Adobe icons stand out in the dock will realize that the preriodic/non-pictoral way was a great idea. It looks smart, professional and solid.

On the new logo:
I also first looked around for signs of it being a joke. Like everybody else I fail to find anything that really works about it.

I also have a hard time seeing how it ties in with the icons and Adobes corporate identity at large.

I hate being negative - and usually when I enter at room full of a crowd all agreeing, I tend to take the opposite view. But in this case I can't play the devils advocate. The logo simply sucks. :-(

Chris — 01:44 PM on September 18, 2007

You're kidding right ?

*checks to make sure it's not April Fool's day ....

Rachel Maxim — 01:48 PM on September 18, 2007

Wow. I popped over to your site after seeing this in my RSS reader just to comment about how great I thought the logo was, and was totally SHOCKED to see the negative responses! Tough crowd!

To me it blends all together everything that is Photoshop. A P, a camera (that's what the hole is, right - a viewfinder?)...and the comment-ish shape seems to look towards a social/community future (for PS Express).

Honestly, all you designers just don't know what you're talking about. You're too quick to criticize, just because you're designers. I've interviewed many designers and I can say I'd be hard pressed to find many who could do a better job. If any.

I do kind of wonder why it was necessary to create a different logo when the "elements" icons are used for everything else, but I'm guessing that you felt the need for a "stand alone" logo as Photoshop becomes a more mainstream product with Express. People who only use PS but not any other Adobe products (except maybe Reader) - you know, the ones who call it "Adobe" - won't get the integrated logo scheme.

Laurie Naiman — 02:09 PM on September 18, 2007

I like it.

photoshop worker — 02:11 PM on September 18, 2007

this is prototype of photoshop logo?

http://smoking-room.ru/blog/uploads/paper_toilet.JPG

greg — 02:38 PM on September 18, 2007

sigh. Sorry, John! On a related and somewhat lighter note: speech bubble

[Nice. Here's one from me: "Designers love comma splices, they look so great. --J.]

greg — 02:39 PM on September 18, 2007

sigh. Sorry, John! On a related and somewhat lighter note: speech bubble

sryo — 03:27 PM on September 18, 2007

looks like a simpler version of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Silverlight.png

Jim — 03:43 PM on September 18, 2007

It just says PowerPoint to me...

Klaus Nordby — 04:01 PM on September 18, 2007

Granted, John -- the first Adobe logo wasn't *that* stylish (and it should be a dire warning to all CEOs of pulling the "my wife's a designer, I'll have her do our logo" routine). But Adobe wised up within a few years. Until now. Was this new PS logo perhaps done by Bruce Chizen's "very talented" nephew from Brooklyn? :-)

Ricky Irvine — 04:10 PM on September 18, 2007

This logo is entirely wrong. The flat version doesn't look so bad (in and of itself), but the aqua-pill effect turns it to absolute rubbish. A big weird P? Uninspiring, to say the least.

You can start charging about half for your software. This logo makes it's worth look that much less.

Mark Thomas — 04:12 PM on September 18, 2007

almost no one seems to have a problem with the icons now that they've used them

Not so fast. They're still basically loathed, but what's left to do now that the entire CS3 suite has, for the time being, been tarnished? Move on, get back to work, try to ignore them, and hope for less foolishness somewhere on down the road.

Mark Thomas — 04:24 PM on September 18, 2007

Clearly the Adobe graphic design team uses not Photoshop but iChat as its primary design tool:

Blue P Prototype

Grey Hodge — 04:40 PM on September 18, 2007

As someone who has used Photoshop for 15 years, I have to say this is brain damaged. Aside from looking like Real Networks went all "Web 2.0!" with their logo, this has NOTHING to do with anything related to Photoshop's abilities and goals. If you have to explain your logo, your logo is not a logo, it's just a blob.

Please, do what Palm did, see that your userbase is telling you you're going down the wrong path, and FIX IT.

s13 — 04:59 PM on September 18, 2007

horrible...

Tom Murray — 05:40 PM on September 18, 2007

[I'm not aware of this one, but I'll ask the team. Workspaces are presets: if you apply one, then change palette/panel locations, then apply the workspace again, those changes wouldn't be applied to the saved workspace definition. That is, workspaces aren't modes. --J.]

If I choose a canned workspace after my custom workspace, then choose my custom workspace preset.
Click out of Bridge.
Bring it back up.
My custom workspace does not come back.
I have to choose it again.

The only way I can have the custom workspace available every time I bring up Bridge is to choose it then quit Bridge.

But if I want to see another workspace, it starts over again.

This is the same kind of problem seen with the last folder used issue.

[Thanks for the details. Let me see what I can find out. --J.]

Richard™ — 05:52 PM on September 18, 2007

I® typed out a comment™ but that's just ridiculous©.

I® don't care anymore.™

Brian — 06:20 PM on September 18, 2007

Re: nobody complaining about the CS3 icons--

Those of us who hate them have probably replaced them. I used some CS2-style ones from Deviantart (or whatever it's called), but I'm still looking for the old Eye and the Venus.

[Yeah, I hear that. It is perhaps not coincidental that the Lightroom beta splash screen featured a very prominent eye near the name "Mark Hamburg." --J.]

roger — 07:51 PM on September 18, 2007

I thought the Periodic thing had some merit. I am surprised by how pedestrian the PS logo is. That is my positive view. The only thing dumber than this logo is the notion that we will be alright with it after awhile. The views here are more than designer snobbery; the logo does not have any redeeming quality.

Dave — 09:49 PM on September 18, 2007

You know, y'all need to stop whipping a winning horse.

Phosphor — 12:26 AM on September 19, 2007

Dead solid amateurish crap.

Like I used to do, ohhh, 9 or 10 years ago when I first bought Photoshop

I'd be ashamed to even show that among an array of different ideas to a client.

John Joslin — 12:40 AM on September 19, 2007

Did anyone outside the boardromm and the designer(s) say they liked it?

An awful implementation of a pointless idea!

Andrew Smith — 04:59 AM on September 19, 2007

Well, if it is of any consolation, at least they have not messed about with the Adobe logo. Yet.

vx — 06:01 AM on September 19, 2007

The flat version kind of reminds me of toilet paper ... the idea too! It's insane to rebrand again!

Axertion — 07:27 AM on September 19, 2007

geeze...that logo looks like crap. No offense but if your trying to represent one of the most popular graphic program with that, you will fail :P

Jim Monaco — 07:35 AM on September 19, 2007

I see a lot of comments mentioning the table-of-elements graphic along with this new one, and I'm hoping for a bit of clarification... I had assumed when I got PS CS3 and saw this graphic that you guys were re-branding, and that this was the new emblem for Photoshop. (Ironically, I really liked it. It's a step back from the overly shiny interfaces everyone's into these days, and it's clean, smooth, and professional. I love the typeface). Now, I see that there's a "new Photoshop logo." Where does this fit in? Are you guys moving away from the 2 letter boxes already? Is this like a second, additional PS identity? Will I be downloading an update with a new splash screen?

I was impressed with the way that Adobe generated a simple, clean, unified way to bring together all of its legacy and newly-acquired products graphically. But now I'm a bit confused...Is there more info coming?

Final parting shot: I agree with one particular criticism of the new logo very strongly: it's based on a speech box. Something we don't know about PS CS4? :D

terrible — 07:35 AM on September 19, 2007

That is terrible! Photoshop is finally coming of age more and more and integrating with various other technologies and becoming more and more cutting edge.....

and now a logo that looks like a 1994 Alienskin plug-in first attempt!

I am sure Microsoft is happy that Adobe is breaking it own new brand image it founded with CS3, nothing can help competitors more than confusion in a product line.

Terrible.... what is even the need ?

+ -1 YUCK!!

Aegir — 08:31 AM on September 19, 2007

Photoshop is a premium product, and yet this logo looks like it would fit perfectly for a bit of shareware.

Photoshop barely even needs a logo, it's a strong brand! Even if you were to give it a logotype, you certainly don't need a brandmark.

Takeshy — 08:31 AM on September 19, 2007

Is it me or it looks awful like Microsoft Silverlight (colors, font except silverlight is way better on the subject and ideea) and a bubble that has no meaning whatsoever in this context?
Bad choise.
Make a contest for a new logo, it's trendy and might get something good also.

Chris Poly — 08:41 AM on September 19, 2007

Well, how you do be-little and commercialise an industry already plagued by talentless hacks?...An industry plagued by under-qualified, "photoshop" dabblers that claim they are professionals?

You market a program with a logo that looks like PBS' with a glass/gloss effect, & has the makings of a consumer focused campaign.

Call it a speech bubble with a hole, call it a 'P' with an embellished triangular stem and off-centre hole..or a human/alien like head formation...I don't care what you call it..

the bottom line is it's not appropriate for the true audience, but it is obvious, Adobe wants to make Photoshop mainstream...so every man woman and child is using photoshop in some way shape or form. Good for bottom line..but bad for brand.

Loyalists are not pleased.

Kevin Pilasky — 08:42 AM on September 19, 2007

Microsoft Silverlight, anyone?

Landon — 09:02 AM on September 19, 2007

John,

Just curious given the overwhelming negative opinions, does Adobe read this kind of feedback or is it a done-deal?

[Everything is read, certainly. As to what happens as a result, that's decided by other folks, at a pay grade above my own. --J.]

benswift — 09:39 AM on September 19, 2007

meh, thumbs down.

anon — 09:45 AM on September 19, 2007

I participated in a focus group regarding this identity update. Can't say much more than that, except that perhaps we should think of photoshop as a brand beyond an imaging program...

Ben Darlow — 09:54 AM on September 19, 2007

Are Adobe incapable of excellence nowadays? Or indeed, anything remotely original? First the new app icons, and now this. That logo strikes me as a cross between the branding for the MS Expression apps and the Open University logo.

The flat colour versions are particularly insipid. And exactly what does a speech bubble have to do with image manipulation?

Ben Darlow — 09:56 AM on September 19, 2007

Are Adobe incapable of excellence nowadays? Or indeed, anything remotely original? First the new app icons, and now this. That logo strikes me as a cross between the branding for the MS Expression apps and the Open University logo.

The flat colour versions are particularly insipid. And exactly what does a speech bubble have to do with image manipulation?

Beerzie Boy — 09:56 AM on September 19, 2007

Underwhelming.

Ian Smith — 10:06 AM on September 19, 2007

The first think I think about when I see this is a chat application with a dated icon. I think it's terrible. The box designs are amazing, why can't you guys just use those designs?

Ted — 10:11 AM on September 19, 2007

I don't understand why Photoshop needs separate branding from the CS3 suite branding. It doesn't make any sense to me. I didn't initially like the CS3 branding, but after seeing the suite in its entirety, at least it all goes together. Now you have this graphic/icon that looks like it came out of Redmond, and it goes against the branding you just asked the public to accept.

Whomever is running the marketing/creative on this stuff needs to be flogged.

Wolf — 10:13 AM on September 19, 2007

All the negativity aside, I love my Photoshop and couldn't live without it.

I just don't understand the need for a new logo right after the CS3 rebranding.

John Laur — 10:14 AM on September 19, 2007

Wow, nobody has a positive thing to say about that horrible logo? I'd have wanted to slip it in under the radar too.

Anyway I will give some positive feedback:

It looks like a "P" which is cool.. you know because the product is called "P"hotoshop.. so people will see the letter and think of words that start with "P" like.. "P"hotoshop. Brilliant!

How about you change the tagline to "'P' is for 'Photoshop'" to go along with it though? Since it's blue people will think of Cookie Monster, and honestly, who doesn't like Cookie Monster?

I'm also really happy that I have to type the word photoshop again to prove I'm a human. I really love "P"hotoshop!

Ted Wood — 10:17 AM on September 19, 2007

Weak attempt. Invite the community to submit suggestions.

rhesuspieces — 10:18 AM on September 19, 2007

Well, if they want something generic and ambiguous, they succeeded. Its simultaneously reminiscent of the PBS logo:

http://www.nss.org/images/pbs_logo.gif

and the ichat logo:

http://media.arstechnica.com/images/tiger/ichat-icon.png

It also looks sort of like a the end of a pipe, snaking around a corner...

Or my favorite: a pac-man sort of thing gobbling up the TM sign.

However, any connection to a graphic editing program seems pretty oblique to me.

Matt Turner — 10:20 AM on September 19, 2007

Adobe seem just to have an emphasis on [bad] marketing. Tag lines, meaningless drivel about solutions, and new crappy logos.

Case in point: compare
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family/

with a bunch of actors showing you how they somehow manage to utilize every whiz-bang feature of adobe products into their imaginary projects, dreamed up by marketing to show case features.

Compare that to http://www.apple.com/pro/

Where they still focus on mac products, but the primary emphasis is on some amazing visionaries and the work that they do. REAL PEOPLE and how apple products help them kick ass (but mostly it's about them being awesome).

One focuses on their own products and feature sets.. one points to the pros and says - all you need to know is that the best of the best do it with our stuff.

Apple still have the feature tours that show off every bell and whistle. They just don't try and dress them up with the fake customers.

Adobe need to stop insulting their users with all of this crummy marketing and just get on with showing their apps and some of the awesome work (it's out there!) that's been done with them.

Charles — 10:25 AM on September 19, 2007

BAD design.

STUPID marketing tag line.

Go hire someone good.

[I'm just learning to take public tongue-lashings with some grains of salt. --J.]

I still don't like them.

Matt Turner — 10:26 AM on September 19, 2007

Adobe seem just to have an emphasis on [bad] marketing. Tag lines, meaningless drivel about solutions, and new crappy logos.

Case in point: compare
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family/

with a bunch of actors showing you how they somehow manage to utilize every whiz-bang feature of adobe products into their imaginary projects, dreamed up by marketing to show case features.

Compare that to http://www.apple.com/pro/

Where they still focus on mac products, but the primary emphasis is on some amazing visionaries and the work that they do. REAL PEOPLE and how apple products help them kick ass (but mostly it's about them being awesome).

One focuses on their own products and feature sets.. one points to the pros and says - all you need to know is that the best of the best do it with our stuff.

Apple still have the feature tours that show off every bell and whistle. They just don't try and dress them up with the fake customers.

Adobe need to stop insulting their users with all of this crummy marketing and just get on with showing their apps and some of the awesome work (it's out there!) that's been done with them.

Jade Ohlhauser — 10:27 AM on September 19, 2007

All it needs is a lens flare...

Given where the product and company are at, it's a let down that reeks of cheap. (Of course you'll still get my money)

Renaud — 10:29 AM on September 19, 2007

Adobe, you forgot to put a mirror effect on the logo. Gell is out...

Nik — 10:29 AM on September 19, 2007

This looks like a logo Microsoft would make, complete with it's own vague aspirational headline. Please leave the big-ass blue P's for Depend adult diaper absorbability demos.

joecab — 10:35 AM on September 19, 2007

Not TERRIBLE, but I don't get the point either. And why have different symbols for the app and Photoshop itself? I wish they had just stuck with Aphrodite: by now it would have been truly iconic and the point moot.

Dustin — 10:36 AM on September 19, 2007

I think the logo is terrible, but I have never liked any branding Adobe has done, and wouldn't expect anything else from them. Their company logo is decent, some of their type is really good, but I think we should all just look at Adobe as a technical software company that makes decent, overpriced software with the features we ask them for (and some useless ones we don't).

Raj — 10:41 AM on September 19, 2007

Someone want to let me in on why an application needs a logo above and beyond its own icon? It seems the overall logic here is that Photoshop has so many spinoffs, that there is a need to tie them back together in the minds of the buying public (like a "Photoshop seal of approval,") but doesn't that REALLY mean that Photoshop's been splintered and shorn down so much that it has lost some of its identity, and that fashioning a logo to spot-weld them back together is, you know, NOT a good idea?

Josh Emerson — 10:41 AM on September 19, 2007

I think this is a very poor symbol for Photoshop. It lacks elegance and a sense of "timelessness."

Rob Marquardt — 10:44 AM on September 19, 2007

And from a purely practical standpoint, based upon the shadow depths and highlights at the left and top compared to those on the inside and right, the logo would have to be made from a seriously deformed chunk of glass, if not an impossible object entirely.

Bryan — 10:44 AM on September 19, 2007

It took me a while, but I think I've got it, finally. It's a stylized painter's palette, molded to look a bit like a P.

For those stuck in a digital mindset, here are a few sample images of what I mean.

Matthew Hale — 10:47 AM on September 19, 2007

Might as well pile on.
The Photoshop "brand" was already confusing as hell (Lightroom?), but now, with a logo completely unrelated to any of the app icons... gosh.
Tag line is insipid.
Who's driving the branding bus over there?
Maybe some of the resources spent on this sort of nonsense could be devoted to engineering app updates that install correctly.
Sorry John, you're a good sport, and I appreciate the fact that you're hanging it out there by soliciting feedback on this, but Adobe has other issues... Really good software, but the details so often get screwed up. : /

Mrad — 10:48 AM on September 19, 2007

I don't know why, but it reminds me of the Sliverlight logo.

salzbrot — 10:54 AM on September 19, 2007

This logo apparently does not only come in the Aqua feel, but there is a brushed metal version, too.

Just for reference, here is the original design template.

I keed, I keed...

Stephen R. Smith — 10:57 AM on September 19, 2007

With the previous versions of the CS Suite, I always found it frustrating that the Icons seemed to be designed to look pretty rather than be functionally recognizable. I don't need decoration on my dock, when I'm dragging a document to an application I need to find the right application quickly - feathered Icons just impede my productivity.

The CS3 icons were the first where it was immediately obvious which Icon represented which product, and those Icons further stood out on the dock. This one is going to disappear into the clutter of 'Guess what this app is' Icons made so popular by Microsoft Office.

Whatever happened to 'Fit in, Stand out'? This seems to be branding Photoshop in a way quite contrary to the Creative Suite Integration that's presented so effectively everywhere else.

Gabe da Silveira — 10:59 AM on September 19, 2007

I don't get the logo either, I don't get what it's trying to convey, and it's a direct bite off Aqua which wouldn't be so bad if it was 5 years ago and it hadn't already been done to death.

I've always loved the Adobe icons through the years, but I understand the need for a real logo. They really need to bring in some new people and start from scratch, and hopefully keep the suits out of it as much as possible.

As bad as the logo is, the real travesty here is the tagline. This is the kind of tagline that I expect from a bank. It's so vague as to be meaningless. All it says is, "we're a giant corporation with a bigger marketing budget than R&D." I think a tagline for Photoshop is a mistake... why not build the brand around the "silent superiority" for which Photoshop has always been known?

Craig — 11:04 AM on September 19, 2007

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? Are you kidding me... what did you goto the local highschool and ask some kids to create a logo? I don't get it? The logo you have groups the family, uh, brings reference to the related product line... and doesn't this have the same type face as 'silverlight'? yeah. Again. What? You must be kidding right?

Brady J. Frey — 11:06 AM on September 19, 2007

Not a fan at all. It feels like Adobe is losing touch with it's design base; you can't argue against this looking close to a Microsoft logo. Silverlight style icon, Tradmark or Registered symbol on every little element they could, type is similar... don't they know that this branding has been frowned on for some time?

Ben Richardson — 11:07 AM on September 19, 2007

Cheap. Really cheap.

And it's going to look dated in about, um, oh, it already does.

Josh Hughes — 11:13 AM on September 19, 2007

It reminds me a bit of the Scottish Arts Council logo ;)

Tom — 11:15 AM on September 19, 2007

What does it mean?

Mark — 11:15 AM on September 19, 2007

You guys seem so stoked about your "range of products," but most people just use a couple of them, and we don't care about whether the identity works across four or five or thirty products, most of which we've never heard of.

Just come out with one or two Photoshop versions as indendent releases, and give it a decent icon, that looks like it's worthy of such an expensive program. It really toasts me to look at that P-in-a-box in my Dock everyday.

Did you know that Mac users will have a few new choices when Leopard comes out? You sort of have your users by the balls because of the learning curve and features of Photoshop, but I'm going to take a serious look at those new apps based on Leopard's new graphics underpinnings.

Anyway, more and more, Adobe is starting to smell like it's doing a Quark, with marketing considerations and security paranoia overshadowing a good overall user experience.

Miles Deep — 11:16 AM on September 19, 2007

I love it, it actually makes a clear statement about...OK I HATE IT, I just figured there should be one person that doesn't hang Adobe out to dry on this. I tried...and failed. But at least I'm not the first (see iChat meets Pac-Man logo above)

David Ham — 11:17 AM on September 19, 2007

I'd like to say that I LOVE the periodic table app icons. I thought it was a brilliant idea and I think they look cool.

Not a fan of the logo above, or the tagline, or the type treatment, I agree with whomever said it looks too much like Silverlight. But I've already bought the thing, so I don't care so much about the marketing of it.

Tod — 11:23 AM on September 19, 2007

I wish they would spend some of the money they're making with Photoshop to buy a book like "designing brand identity". This logo is a disgrace. Design is a profession! Why don't the people at Adobe take it seriously?

Marco — 11:24 AM on September 19, 2007

The logo notwithstanding, the very phoney video testimonials are just completely laughable. Why even pretend these are actual imaging professionals? "I'm a professional photographer" - she holding that camera about as comfortably as a rattlesnake. Their agency is out of its mind...

Hawkman — 11:25 AM on September 19, 2007

I wasn't a fan of the CS3 icons, but next to this they look like genius.

Sorry, but it's awful. It was obviously a very bad day when this got designed.

Photoshop doesn't need a crap strap line either. It's ubiquitous, and the only thing that could be achieved by something so naff as See What's Possible™ is to make people embarrassed to talk about the app.

Please, the reaction here isn't neophobia, it's the ten-thousand-strong voice of reason.

Guntis — 11:29 AM on September 19, 2007

It looks ugly, it's not really a logo, nor it is symbol. It looks like it's taken from some puzzle book. This blog has much better logo (lion or dragon) - I'd applause of Adobe had taken something like that for Photoshop logo. Photoshop is the king (or lion) of all photo-editing applications. But this new logo is just plain stupid...

David — 11:32 AM on September 19, 2007

pathetic logo, tagline, marketing.

J Ellis — 11:32 AM on September 19, 2007

This move is just bizarre to me. I have always been a big fan of Adobe branding -- the launch graphics, the Creative Suite family, and recently, the color swatches. However, this strikes me as completely foreign.

To start, the mark looks a bit goofy. It doesn't have that timeless quality that I expect from Adobe.

And how will this translate to the greater Creative Suite? Will every CS product get a similar cheese-treatment?

Why the tagline? Adobe has built an empire without throw-away taglines -- why start now? Will every product get a useless tagline? Illustrator - "Go for it!", After Effects - "Magic in Motion!", etc.

Adobe has always been selling to a smart, professional audience. This treatment just doesn't feel appropriate to me.

-j

Joshua Emmons — 11:40 AM on September 19, 2007

Why a dialog balloon? Even in the limited domain of comic lettering where such a logo would make sense, it's confusing. Everyone uses Illustrator to make their balloons.

Blain — 11:43 AM on September 19, 2007

Love it or hate it, does it matter? Seriously, who's left that you have to convince, 'Oh, hey, what's this photoshop thing?' You could label it any way you want, and it'd still sell because, well, photoshop.

Try this: Use a plain recycled-brown cardboard box, with no labels except 'Photoshop: the lesser one' and 'Photoshop: the really good one'. Add in the tagline: "Yeah, we changed the icons again. What'cha gonna do about it, hunh? Try color correction in Gimp? I don't think so.™" It'd still sell.

I would have added in using Comic Sans for the text, but people with bleeding eyes don't buy as much.

Andy — 11:58 AM on September 19, 2007

This logo says to me :

Adobe ™ © ® - the New ™ © ® Microsoft ™ © ®


:-/

Joe Clark — 11:59 AM on September 19, 2007

I trust you realize it resembles the registered service mark of the National Captioning Institute, designed by Diana Graham circa 1979.

modeps — 12:07 PM on September 19, 2007

It is a sad, sad day when Photoshop is taking design advice from MySpace.

Ben — 12:10 PM on September 19, 2007

I agree with many of the others. I think it's a terrible logo. It really does NOT do justice to the most influential app in the history of Graphic Design and Photography.

Poor poor job Adobe.

Kelsey — 12:32 PM on September 19, 2007

At first glance, i really did not like the new PS logo. But then looking at it more, I feel like it represents speaking through photography because the logo reminds me of an abstracted camera mixed with a speak bubble. I do agree that there could have been something a little more creative though, coming from an Adobe product.

George — 12:37 PM on September 19, 2007

Periodic table to Web 2.0 pastiche. I'm trying to be constructive and the only thing I can think of is that it will probably change gain in 8-12 months anyway.

The logo is also completely the wrong shape for the mac icon bar - horizontal not vertical icons no?

The design has no relation to what it will be used for.

Sorry..

Mark Obcena — 12:38 PM on September 19, 2007

Let's stop being negative and think about this for one second: many of us have been using Photoshop for many years and it has become a staple in the design industry. Even if Adobe decides to recreate it's logo (or branding, whatever you like to use), will that actually stop us from using it? Of course not.

Photoshop, and many of the other Adobe Products, are now at the level where the branding is of lesser importance. We can blabber on and on regarding how ugly the logo is, but the truth is people will buy and use Photoshop simply because it is Photoshop. We don't buy this application because the icon will look cool with our new Leopard dock or because the identity design is so fab.. No, of course not.

The problem with many people is that we confuse the product with the branding. Whine all day long, but see if a friggin' blue holed speech bubble will keep you from actually opening Ps.

And from the number of the things people said the new logo looked like, it seems that the new tagline really did work.. You already saw what's possible.

Alphab — 12:41 PM on September 19, 2007

Like many, when I saw the new PS CS3 icon in the beta, I assumed it was a placeholder...
But once the suite got realease, and I put them in my dock , it really make sense! It's actually much closer to the old macromedia icons than the Adobe ones, but it's a good thing.
OK, Ps and Ai and very emblematic icons (eye & venus), but else how do you intergrate them with so many others products ?
And now, I can instantly recognize the correct icon. Think not only of the big and pretty OSX dock, but also of the tiny windows taskbar: when you have 10 icons of 16*16 px, the letters really help.

No regarding this new photoshop "brand"... I see what you're trying to do, getting some "halo effect" © from the world famous photoshop name. It makes sense for Photoshop Elements (the best idea to smartly fight piracy ever, IMHO)), much less for Photoshop Album or Lightroom. My guess is that this "new" common branding and it icon make much more sense with the futur Photoshop express (the online one) : if they try to make it not only as an image editing tool but also image sharing and commenting (à la Flickr), it could make sense...

I'm afraid that by overusing the photoshop brand, you'll delude it. Again compare to what apple did with Final cut: they use the same name in Final Cut express for their light version of it, but use a totaly different name for the related product when it is too different (iMovie). Same thing for Lgic, Logic express & Garage Band).

Now that's a long comment :-/

Clay — 12:48 PM on September 19, 2007

Granted, the mark is not terribly original, but honestly, if the other core apps (Illustrator, InDesign, Flash...) end up with nice, simple marks like that, I think the core suite could be visually differentiated better than it is currently.

All that seems odd to me is the masthead doesn't look like it's set in Alber (though I'm not familiar enough with the family to say for sure).

Brad Maglinger — 12:52 PM on September 19, 2007

1. Is this supposed to encompass all elements of PS, and then you'll have a separate CS logo?

2. Why does it look like a chat bubble? I get the 'P', but you have to admit it looks like the iChat logo. What does chatting have to do with PS?

3. This thing smells of practical joke. Is it?

Josh S. — 01:04 PM on September 19, 2007

While I appreciate the work that must have gone into this, the logo looks far too much like a reversed iChat icon. (Or is it the RealPlayer logo?)

Why a talk bubble for Photoshop? It seems to have nothing to do with photos or what photoshop can do, other than it might have been made in it.

The tagline seems unnecessary. It doesn't tell me anything about the product.

I do like the font, though. Nice and clean.

nathan — 01:07 PM on September 19, 2007

I'm getting some "cheesy Photoshop tutorial site's easy aqua button trick" vibes off it. With a hole. And a drop shadow. What's weird is that I can think of at least a half dozen more check boxes in the Layer Style dialog that could've been used as well. Tsk.

I'm also 99.9% sure the TM is unnecessary.

nubero — 01:14 PM on September 19, 2007

the idea to make a logo like this and the way it's came out fit perfectly into my perception of the company today.

a huge company with way too many products that has completely forgotten what their basis is.

- the applications are not much more than bloatware these days.
- customer service is nonexistent.
- european prices are up to 2.6 times of what they are in the u.s.
- the different groups inside adobe seem to fight each other and it shows through the products
- adobe says it's not tested the CS3 suite yet on Mac OS X Leopard (which has to be a complete joke)
- products get separated to increase margins (Vista home, vista business, vista ultimate - photoshop elements, photoshop CS3, photoshop CS3 extended)

i can only wish for apple or another third party developer to get their act together and create real competition to this stuff. adobe is being the worst mix of quark and microsoft these days.

and it's sad. it's just very sad. i've been using photoshop on a regular basis since version 2.5. that and many of the other apps.

and now it has come to this. your basic focus group marketing company...

Daniel Drucker — 01:26 PM on September 19, 2007

Wow. This logo is insanely bad. I hope this is some sort of joke.

Samson — 01:28 PM on September 19, 2007

I simply can't believe that a company of Abobe's stature would hop on the "speech bubble logo" trend wagon. Read this and you will clearly see and understand how pervasive ridiculous this trend is:

http://blog.eachday.com/2007/8/1/bubble-logo-insanity/

Enough said.

oleng — 01:32 PM on September 19, 2007

I think it's great!!

It looks like a question mark, so i think it matches the whole "Gee i don't know... Oh, wait, See what's possible? YEA!" vibe, thingie, stuff.

Brett — 01:39 PM on September 19, 2007

HAHA! I guess Adobe missed this. It was the top story on digg a couple months ago - "STOP THE SPEECH BUBBLE LOGO INSANITY"

Link: http://digg.com/design/Stop_the_speech_bubble_logo_insanity

Dang Adobe is clueless. Talk about hanging your hat on a bad trend at the worst possible time.

headsign — 01:42 PM on September 19, 2007

To me, the photoshop logo has always been an eye within a frame and I don't see any reason to change it. I was used to it for years like that, as an icon on my Mac desktop from my old Mac Plus to my G3 Mac until they change their icons to all that fancy butterfly and flowers stuff. The new logo says nothing to me. It could belong to a chat client or something similar. I don't understand why big companies adopt such bad logos. I make logos and they are not like that. It's pityful.

Mark Thomas — 01:43 PM on September 19, 2007

This is what happens when you give an app a bad icon. It then needs a logo. If anybody had given any sort of rational thought to this re-branding process, the app icon would be the logo, and it would convey the purpose of the app in an attractive and meaningful way.

Icons and logos are worthless if they don't convey information about the purpose and function of the thing they symbolize. What does the blue [Ps] icon say? It says that the letters "P" and "s" appear in the word Photoshop. That's it. What does the blue gumdrop say? It says "P." So that makes it half as effective as the icon.

The sum of a meaningless icon plus a meaningless logo is not clarity. It is confusion.

For Adobe's next design experiment, may I suggest the image of a train wreck?

Neven Mrgan — 01:50 PM on September 19, 2007

The problem with many people is that we confuse the product with the branding. Whine all day long, but see if a friggin' blue holed speech bubble will keep you from actually opening Ps.

If the mark or icon actually stopped me from using the app that would be absolutely disastrous. I'm pretty sure I can comfortably use Photoshop AND complain about this crummy logo.

Is your defense of this design that it's at best irrelevant?

Jim Goings — 01:58 PM on September 19, 2007

Looks great if you're making Photoshop a chat or discussion forum application. If photoshop is for image design still, then it's awful.

James — 02:15 PM on September 19, 2007

Until now I always thought that Microsoft held the title of the King of Ugly for their icons for Office 2004. But step forward the new champion - Adobe has done the impossible, made Microsoft look stylish!

Matt — 02:16 PM on September 19, 2007

The quill/feather from CS2 wasn't a Branding Triumph or anything, but I thought it was pretty good.

This new one is just bad. I've never seen any icon that screams "we got lazy and stole this" and "tries too hard" at the same time.

Wiley Wiggins — 02:22 PM on September 19, 2007

This smacks of the lowest dregs of cliche corporate marketeese. Guh.

Mario Aeby — 02:41 PM on September 19, 2007

I don't like the logo. Looks like the CEO's son did it on a lonely afternoon

Mikkel Abrahamsen — 02:49 PM on September 19, 2007

Terrible, I hope that is a joke!
Seriously, centuries ago it might have worked, but now? no!

vote NO on the new logo!

VOTE NO

Ben Hoskings — 03:19 PM on September 19, 2007

Adding my voice to those who don't really get this new logo. Maybe it could be enhanced using Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) software?

Jakob — 03:32 PM on September 19, 2007

The logo has the shape of the letter 'P', and is also a conversation bubble and an eye.

But no, I don´t like it either.

Natalie — 04:21 PM on September 19, 2007

I get what the logo is trying to do but it misses the mark - and widely. The bubble is poorly executed and is very much early 2000s.

I guess I just don't understand Adobe's need to basically re-brand Photoshop for every release. Are they that confident of user loyalty? This communicates that they aren't humble or modest at all to me.

JD Razor — 04:41 PM on September 19, 2007

That logo has Web 2.0 written all over it: it's a round, shiny blue speech bubble, for crying out loud. WTF does it have to do with Photoshop--besides that, oh, it sort of resembles a 'P' if you look at it for a while.

Abstinens — 04:45 PM on September 19, 2007

Good techniques, bad idea. Keep the simple Ps Fl Ai etc.

[No one said that those were changing. The logo is meant to cover the whole Photoshop family of products. --J.]

David — 05:38 PM on September 19, 2007

Wow.
Didn't know photoshop was turning into a Chat room (hence the logo).

Harvard Irving — 05:41 PM on September 19, 2007

Truly awful.

The same can be said for the whole "rebranding" affair. Like changing the name of "Lightroom" to "Photoshop Lightroom". What's wrong with simply calling it "Lightroom"? It is a different application to Photoshop, after all.

I've loved Photoshop for a long time, but I really hate what Adobe is becoming - vapidly corporate, rather than smart and personal.

Graham — 08:25 PM on September 19, 2007

Wow, so tallying up the comments we have a more than 99% negative response rate, with 1 commenter saying she likes it, and 2 people who neither like nor dislike it. Really, I think that says everything. When the CS3 icons were unveiled, there was an overwhelmingly negative response, but there were plenty of people here and elsewhere defending it. I hope Adobe's paying attention to this...

(For the record, I think it's terrible)

Splashman — 08:29 PM on September 19, 2007

Oh my.

Where's the reflection? Where's the lens flare? Fire that intern!

I try to avoid posting "me too" type comments, but to all those who have trashed this already-dated, aqua-fied, web 2.0-ish, dumbed-down, consumer-pandering, steaming pile of Silverlight-ish marketing poop . . . me too.

john manoogian III — 08:39 PM on September 19, 2007

this logo shits all over the legacy of thomas + john knoll and the photoshop team. horrifically bland. please post the "just kidding" message now and show us the real logo :-)

[unless i missed an announcement? did microsoft take over creative direction at adobe?]

Matt Chaput — 09:16 PM on September 19, 2007

All the trenchant commentary in the world on how bad this logo is is wasted on Adobe. A sales guy is in charge and marketing rules. The people in power don't care about computers or design, what the sell are just widgets to them. To those people, this logo looks great. After all, it's aqua! That's cool right now, right? Plus, it looks like it must have been hard to do. Whoever did it must really know Photoshop! That's their thought process.

mediumstairs — 10:40 PM on September 19, 2007

NO!

Landon — 10:44 PM on September 19, 2007

John, just so you know, got nothin' but love for ya. I know the flamethrowers have been out on this one. Nothing personal, just a lot of people like myself unhappy with the sales/marketing direction of a product we know and love.

jd — 10:59 PM on September 19, 2007

The feather, I thought was the defining logo for Adobe. Why not keep it? This new one to me says blogs not image editing.

Tom Murray — 11:02 PM on September 19, 2007

Ever notice how angry designers tend to be? ;)

My vote for the funniest comment so far:

"I think I just threw up in my mouth. Gross! GEBUS Adobe, WTF were you thinking?"

Spiros Klironomos — 11:50 PM on September 19, 2007

Christos Chiotis said:
"If Photoshop is going to be an Instant Messenger then i think it looks ok.
But hey, this is Photoshop, not a web2-ish application. It should stand at the top of the pile, and it doesn't.
Poor result"

and i couldn't agree more

Richard Earney — 11:51 PM on September 19, 2007

First thing I thought was that it was a way of making everyone love the periodic table icons!

Elja Trum — 12:00 AM on September 20, 2007

Hmm, this new logo doesn't seem to be of much liking. I don't like it much either and don't really see the added value. It would be better if it was based on the wheel of colors (http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/images/wheel-o'-icons.jpg) if you ask me.

And a '3D' in a logo.. That never works right.

Damjan Mozetič — 12:05 AM on September 20, 2007

WTF?! Gimme back my blue stylish minimalistic icon!

Van Anh — 12:29 AM on September 20, 2007

It's a no-feeling logo! I like the old one.

kolt — 12:32 AM on September 20, 2007

oha. normally i'm such a positive guy.
but this logo is n.o.t. c.o.o.l.
sorry.