Did Black and Decker lose a nut
with its modernist redesign?
Zachary M. Seward
Black & Decker would now like to be known as
BLACK+DECKER, part of a corporate refresh that aims to
“modernize the brand.” The American toolmaker’s new logo
is definitely sleeker. Below is the before (left) and after (right):
The new packaging almost looks… fake.
The redesign is most striking in the real-world context where
most consumers will first encounter it. Doesn’t this power drill
look a bit like it’s from the future?
As Quartz’s Christopher Mims noted (the rest of this piece
is drawn from chats and tweets with my colleagues) the
modernist aesthetic seems like an attempt to shore up Black
and Decker’s market position in the face of lower-cost
competitors like Ikea, which sells an electric screwdriver for
$25. The list price of the tool pictured above is more like
$89.
It’s reminiscent, actually, of Tropicana’s ill-fated redesign of
its orange juice cartons in 2009. The new look wasn’t bad at
all, but customers found it generic, a reminder that there’s a
fine line between sleek and soulless.