Logo and branding redesign of ebay.
by Mitchell Eismont
I was one of the pioneers of ebay before it became the success it is today. When I was in high school I started selling antiques on ebay for my friend’s father. This is the first time I learned about product photography and a few aspects of web design. The ebay icon at that time was a very friendly icon, and encompassed what ebay was all about. Ebay has since changed, I am not here though to talk about my great disdain for all things ebay. I am here to talk about the new logo.
First we must take a look at their old logo and branding. The typeface of the logo isn’t on the baseline. The letters overlap each other, in remind me of wood type printing. They use mostly primary colors to give it excitement and energy. This logo was designed by Bill Cleary at CKS Group. They used the typeface Univers and modified it for the logo type you are seeing above.
I am not so sure I like the new ebay logo. Logos take a long time to get used to. In this new logo, there isn’t as much play, the typeface is all along the baseline and also there are no uppercase letters. You should note that the typeface is a lot skinnier and the letters don’t overlap. It does retain some of the features of the original logo, like the colors and san serif typeface. I imagine in about 10 years this logo is going to look old again. The new design of their website I will talk about in a few weeks.
Written by Mitchell Eismont
Branding Expert and Graphic Designer located in Cincinnati