Logo Redesign - Swiss Watch Company

Upgrade. Nicely done. 

Thx man 🤙

Agreed, looks much better! I bet it would be a stunner of an applied logo.

Personally, on this specific watch I wish they'd drop all text from the dial and move the logo, automatic, and swiss made to the caseback. Ultra-minimal text makes the ideal field watch imo

Thanks! Its a bold decision to drop all the text when you’re trying to build a brand - definitely gotta be confident in your product. In this case, I’d say they make a pretty compelling watch with the only criticism I ever see is the name/logo… so I think they very much benefit from your suggestion. Kudos to Serica for doing this too.👌

Yeah, that's a really good point about brand building. I can see why brands keep their logo on the dial (it makes sense!), but for this style of field watch I just think it looks better without. When the numerals are extra big and the 24 hr track is added underneath, I find that the logo and dial text just look a little cramped towards the pinion. I've seen it on more than just the SWC field, and it always looks odd to me.

Maybe using the logo as a 12'o clock index would fix my qualms, but idk.

I think Serica succeeds in dropping the logo because their design language is strong enough that their watches are recognizable without branding. Would be a little tricky to build brand identity with a classic, established design.

MUCH improved. And good enough that I would buy one of their watches were that their logo. 

But (and there's always a "but" and in this case a "butt").....

I'm going to admit something that maybe I shouldn't? The original logo, when squinting at it from afar, for some reason reminded me of the human "derriere" with a very prominent "rusty spider." With that preconceived notion of what the original logo looked like, this one appears even more like an anatomical asterisk. It shouldn't, and doesn't deserve to, but because of what I saw in the original logo, it does.

My criticisms (and 6 year of architecture school has made me overly critical of anything design related) is that the density of the graphics, the positive and negative spaces, at the scale of a watch logo, might lose definition. Full scale samples look good, or good enough, but at the 3mm tall scale, they will look muddied and scrambled. There's not enough scale detail in a logo that size to do yours justice. And that's where the squinting interpretation becomes most powerful. It looks like an intersection of fine creases...

I like the allusions to the Swiss Cross, and turning the "W" into a cross by re-using a part of the wordmark. But, the "W" is only one component of the wordmark. I'm not sure it has enough gravity to carry weight as a symbol. I mean, their whole name is generic, so it's hard to give any of it gravity. It would be like Timex calling themselves the "American Watch Company". I'm surprised SWC can even trademark it, if they can. The W repurposed misses the S and the C as part of the brand. It's well done, but not inclusive enough of the brand for my liking.

I don't know what the original 4 pointed star represents in the original logo/company but it's there and deserves to be acknowledged, more so than the gluteus maximus parts of the old logo. And you've done that very well, except (even in your watch face rendering) it gets lost at that scale. 

Before going on, let me say that your logo is better. More considered, better history and design philosophy, more refined. It's a good logo. But I don't think it translates well to the scale of a watch dial. To that end I would offer the following. I didn't spend much time on it (and it shows) and I wouldn't have gotten here if I hadn't seen your logo first. I stole your cross (that we both stole from the Swiss) and embedded the 4 point star in it like you did. I put the SWC at the bottom like you did. I ripped you off every step of the way. But I think this would look better on a watch dial with another 20 hours of font design and manipulation. I adjusted the C to make the SWC closer to symmetrical, but it needs to be reflected in the wordmark and maybe it looks awkward in the word mark. And maybe the S needs to be a bit wider too. I played with the kerning a bit but would want to spend more time with the actual words than just the space between words. The SWC needs to be slightly bolder. etc. and so on. If you thought I was being critical of your design, I'm even more critical of everything I do.... 

Anyway, it's a fun exercise. I'm curious to know if any of your redesigns have reached the watchmakers themselves and if they've taken your designs seriously? I've seen your other works on here and they are all great. Even this one, as I write about how I would change it, I like a lot. I hope that comes across. Thanks for inspiring me to do a quick design maquette as a result. I'm looking forward to seeing your next one...

OP had a good version...this one is better, IMHO -- less busy.

I, too, come from an architectural background… so no worries, you are in good company.👍

the density of the graphics, the positive and negative spaces, at the scale of a watch logo, might lose definition. Full scale samples look good, or good enough, but at the 3mm tall scale, they will look muddied and scrambled. There's not enough scale detail in a logo that size to do yours justice.

This is absolutely fair criticism. My design does include some elements that when reduced may not retain the same definition that is represented at the scale I have shown (though I think it’s possible). Having said that, I don’t think the detail in question (namely the star) is critical to be legible at that scale. I know this sounds probably blasphemous when discussing logo design but the goal of my mark is to be seen as a whole rather than a dissection of its parts. While I’ve highlighted how I constructed the mark, it’s not necessarily my intent for people to see the W’s or the star but to see a fairly distinctive cross.

I like the allusions to the Swiss Cross, and turning the "W" into a cross by re-using a part of the wordmark. But, the "W" is only one component of the wordmark. I'm not sure it has enough gravity to carry weight as a symbol. I mean, their whole name is generic, so it's hard to give any of it gravity.

The concept, which I clearly haven’t done a good job of explaining, was to create a mark that adopted the similar iconography of those precedent crosses - to pull in those meanings to the brand. The W’s and the star are the simple elements that breathe life into its distinctiveness/identity but by themselves are just blocks. Good analogy might be that they are the legos I selected to construct the larger design - they lend what small weight they have to the larger mark.

If you thought I was being critical of your design, I'm even more critical of everything I do...

This made me chuckle… this is how my mind works. It’s aggravating when your constantly scrutinizing the “design” of things, and I honestly think that’s just how designer’s mind works. It’s unhealthy… or at least thats what my wife says every time I point out something and ask her “why do you think they did it this way?” Yes, I am blessed with a very forgiving partner, lol.

To that end I would offer the following. I didn't spend much time on it (and it shows) and I wouldn't have gotten here if I hadn't seen your logo first. I stole your cross (that we both stole from the Swiss) and embedded the 4 point star in it like you did. I put the SWC at the bottom like you did. I ripped you off every step of the way. But I think this would look better on a watch dial with another 20 hours of font design and manipulation. I adjusted the C to make the SWC closer to symmetrical, but it needs to be reflected in the wordmark and maybe it looks awkward in the word mark.

Your design would definitely highlight the star far greater than mine ever would. Held within, it creates an even dichotomy with the larger Swiss cross. Before proposing this concept, I’d like to know if the star held any importance to the company originally - or in the very least, I’d come to the table with some strong narrative as to why it’s important to retain. As a mark though, I think it succeeds in being both distinctive and appropriate.

I'm curious to know if any of your redesigns have reached the watchmakers themselves and if they've taken your designs seriously? I've seen your other works on here and they are all great. Even this one, as I write about how I would change it, I like a lot. I hope that comes across. Thanks for inspiring me to do a quick design maquette as a result. I'm looking forward to seeing your next one...

I don’t think it’s very likely they’ve seen my designs at all - nor would they take them very seriously if they did. I’ve been pretty upfront that these are quick exercises - so I don’t think what I put together in a couple of hours in one afternoon would hold much weight in the eyes of these larger companies. Thats not to say these aren’t useful and maybe if I get lucky it may lead to working with someone in the field one day. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and discuss the details, as well as designing your own mark - I thinks it’s great having these conversations! Not sure which brand I might attack next, but hope you’ll share your take/rendition again too! 🤙🍻

I think out of all of the logo designs, This one is way better than the original.

Appreciate the kind words! 🍻