Hasta La Ideas

Wolff Olins New York has created a new identity for one of the internet’s pioneering (but now ailing) brands, AOL

The brand, which introduced millions to the wonders of the world wide web, has struggled to stay relevant in recent years. A New York Times report reveals that AOL chairman and chief executive Tim Armstrong even considered dumping the AOL name altogether as it prepares to be spun off from Time Warner.

Instead, he asked Wolff Olins in New York to help turn it around. Wolff Olins’ solution involves using a set of hundreds of different backgrounds to sit behind the new mark in which AOL is written Aol. (don’t forget the full-stop).

Its use of interchangeable imagery is a similar approach to that employed by WO for New York whereby the basic logo could be filled with various images to add freshness, while the goldfish is somewhat reminiscent of a piece of work by one of WO’s founders – Michael Wolff’s logo for The Consortium.

More will be unveiled at the official launch on December 10.