DuPont's new logo drops a major feature to signify its more 'collaborative' approach

The U.S. industrial giant DuPont this week unveils a fresh global brand identity and logo that loses the distinctive "oval" that it has carried since 1909. The new branding, which features red curved "caps" rather than a border, signifies a more collaborative approach, according to the firm. The makeover, by branding agency Lippincott, comes as part of changes at the company. DowDuPont announced in February 2018 that its Specialty Products Division would carry the DuPont name when it becomes an independent company, which is expected about June 1, 2019. Beginning today, the new logo will appear and be featured on DuPont's digital channels. Packaging and signage will be changed over gradually following the launch of the new company. “Our new branding is one of many steps we are taking in DuPont’s transformation and amplifies what we do; help our customers solve complex problems, and turn their best ideas into real-world products and solutions,” says Barbara Pandos, chief communications officer, Specialty Products Division of DowDuPont, in a statement. “It preserves the legacy shape of the iconic DuPont Oval, which for more than a century has provided a seal of quality, performance and trust, but it will no longer be constrained by an elliptical border--signaling a collaborative and open flow of ideas and innovation.” Brendan Murphy, senior partner on Lippincott's Design team, tells Creativity that designers from Asia, Europe and the U.S. all worked on the project, alongside the board and management team, the DuPont family, and both new and long-standing employees. "The team took a macro and micro view, looking at both a broad expanse of new ideas including symbols and colors, and closer in typographic refinements to strengthen some of the functional challenges of the existing mark," he explains. "The newly designed mark emerged from DuPont’s tremendous equity in the oval, and its desire to signal a more open and collaborative approach to partners and innovation. The end caps, which help define its shape, reflect DuPont’s unique end-to-end expertise from product development all the way through its manufacturing application." "The challenge for a heritage brand like DuPont, which has done a very effective job of defining itself, is figuring out how it will continue to evolve and reinvent itself to stay relevant and to serve its markets," he adds. "Many of us are old enough to remember DuPont's “Better things for better living,” or its 'Miracles of Science' campaign. These campaigns and their products are an unerasable part of our history and our lives. This means they have tremendous market recognition, but they also need to work that much harder to shift legacy perceptions."

DuPont's new logo drops a major feature to signify its more 'collaborative' approach

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