BrandKnew September 2013 April 2014 | Page 30

Manhattan Neighborhoods Turned Into Corporate Logos Dan Nosowitz ONE DESIGNER SEES THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS TURNING INTO A 24-HOUR DUANE READE. Designer James C. Taylor of Pennarello Design created these great corporate logo versions of Manhattan neighborhoods, from the Lower East Side to Harlem. The Lower East Side, formerly home to dive bars, is recharacterized as the Gap logo. SoHo, the classic industrial-zone-turned-artist’s-haunt, is now given the logo of Japanese behemoth Uniqlo. Chelsea, the theater district, is rebranded as a Chase Bank logo. It’s a statement on, if not a protest of, the corporatization of Manhattan, in which the formerly distinct neighborhoods are taken over by enormous brands, thanks in part to the extralong, extra business-friendly Bloomberg administration. Says Taylor: The project itself was borne out of my increasing frustration and disillusionment with the deteriorating state of Manhattan’s retail landscape. I’ve only lived in New York for se