Designers in uproar over #NewVerizonLogo

The new logo has caused instant controversy

Verizon this week launched a new logo design (above), which it describes as "a cleaner, more human design and the checkmark, the universal symbol for getting things done, uniquely expresses the reliability of Verizon".

The old logo

The release of the new logo was somewhat overshadowed by Google's new logo in the same week. But it's now hit the headlines again due to T-Mobile boss John Legere wading in with a pithy tweet (see below).

The rival CEO's schoolyard name-calling has given rise to the #NewVerizonLogo hashtag. And while Legere wasn't actually talking about the logo design itself, many creatives have hijacked the trending hashtag to express their disapproval...

However, Michael Bierut, partner at Pentagram's New York office has defended the logo, saying the company hadn't wanted a complete redesign but an update that would allow it to scale easily across different media.

"It isn't intended to be clever or flashy," he told Adweek. "It's really supposed to acknowledge its role as being ubiquitous as a kind of brand with a big footprint and one that isn't trying to add to the visual noise around us."

So what do you think? Is the Twitter backlash just knee-jerk moaning at anything new, or could Pentagram have done better with this one? Let us know your views in the comments below!

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Tom May is an award-winning journalist specialising in art, design, photography and technology. His latest book, The 50 Greatest Designers (Arcturus Publishing), was published this June. He's also author of Great TED Talks: Creativity (Pavilion Books). Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine.