I was sad to see today that Yale University Press has tossed out their long-standing, distinctive logo in favor of simply using the university's name in their straightforward "Yale Design" typeface. The family of Yale typefaces was designed by School of Art faculty member Matthew Carter. The face is beautiful, but as the publisher's identity on the spine of a book, in my opinion, it just isn't enough.
A "mark" should be an at-a-glance identifier, and the Yale University Press logo, designed in 1985 by Paul Rand (I thought it was longer ago than that...) was certainly that. Compact and succinct like a brand burned into the hide of a book.
Apparently what's behind it all is the Yale's desire to bring the Press back into the fold, and not have it exist quite as independently as it had. So, I guess that's the way it goes. I'm happy to say we have a few examples of the old logo to look at fondly, as Yale University Press is the publisher of this wonderful book by my co-blogger and husband. – GF
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