Name Drop

After re-branding in 2016 Mastercard has decided to move forward and continue to re-brand its logo. Research stated that 80% of people recognized the logo from the colored circles alone. With this research Mastercard and Pentogram have decided to drop the name/word mark that runs under the logo. In the announcing of the change Mastercard posted on Facebook "We usually don't like to name drop, but we think we can make an exception…". From this year on, mastercard will no longer use their word mark but will only use the overlapping circles icon.

New Mastercard Logo. Click for more information.

You might ask, why is name dropping such a big deal? The answer to that is really up to debate. Nothing is wrong with dropping a word mark from you logo as long as you logo is easily identifiable by its icon alone. A lot of the brands we know and love no longer contain a word mark. Brands like Target, Nike, and Apple no longer need a word mark because of how easily identifiable their logos are and their successful branding. Mastercard's research showing that 80% of people can identify the brand from the icon alone is great reason to embrace the decision to remove the word mark.

The re-branding timeline of the Mastercard logo. Click for more information.

Today's world is image heavy, we identify images a lot quicker than we do words, and an icon alone fits the modern style that is prevalent today. That being said, it is almost impossible to create strong branding that will stand the test of time without accompanying a word mark with the logo for a period of time. Icons are important but alone without any known meaning attached to the icon makes the icon just one is millions of icons. The reason why companies like Apple, Target, Nike, and now Mastercard can eliminate their word mark is because the icon and the brand have become one, and are now interchangeable. Branding like that does not happen overnight, and removing a word mark can be a risky move. It is a big deal when a company can make the decision to remove their word mark. Its a way of saying to the world "our company is known so well we don't need words to define us, our brand and what we stand for can be represented by an icon alone". How neat and exciting is that!? Congratulations Mastercard.