A Revolutionary New Brand for Payless

A little more than a year ago, Payless Shoe Source unveiled a new identity for use at its 4,600 stores nationwide. While this identity has had some time to be absorbed by the mainstream, and is not necessarily “new” anymore, it has been on this critic’s “to do” list for quite some time (a bi-monthly newsletter has its disadvantages in that it only allows for so many critiques per year!). The simple fact of the matter is that this new identity is so different from the old that it immediately demands attention…which brings us to my main criticism: is the new identity too "revolutionary," and too far of a departure from the old? When dealing with a nationally know and recognized brand, sometimes it is best to implement a new identity in stages, as more of an "evolution," so that customers are not confused.

The previous iteration of the Payless Shoe Source logo had been in use for around 20 years—and certainly looked the part. Comprised of a simple yellow logotype, made up of Cooper Black (which was one of the most popular fonts used on product labels in the 1960s and 70s) set on a black field with solid, orange circles as the “o’s.” According to Matt Rubel, CEO of the company, the “logo pigeon holes and dates us.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

The new logo, designed by Desgrippes Gobe, is comprised of a stylized “P” set within a circle, which according to the firm is “suggestive of dynamic movement”. An updated and contemporary sans serif typeface prominently displays “Payless,” with “Shoe Source,” set in smaller type beneath it. This is to help customers identify the brand not as something different, but simply improved—the consistent element, supposedly, is the “color orange, for which Payless is known.” Huh? The color scheme of the old logo would lead this critic to believe that yellow was the dominant color of their identity, not orange. Furthermore, orange is more of a color associated with fast food, not shoes, and the baby blue used in the identity seems a bit trendy.

There is no doubt that the new Payless logo is a dramatic improvement over the old. The problem is that if someone knew nothing about the company, and had never shopped in its stores, they might think that it is completely different, and not the same. With the old logo, you knew you were walking into a shoe store, as there is equal emphasis on all parts of the company’s name. By choosing to emphasize “Payless,” the new identity suggests a discount store, but for what product? This identity is a classic case of why "evolutionary" is sometimes better than "revolutionary."