New Ahli Bank Logo

ABK Logo

I thought the Burgan Bank logo was bad but the new ABK logo is even worse. Where do I start? First the typography, why is the letter “a” in lowercase while “BK” in uppercase? The Arabic and English types also don’t match, I think the English should have been based on the Arabic one and both should have at least been the same weight. Currently the English type is too heavy compared to the Arabic while in the old logo they were more balanced. The new icon also looks very generic and flat compared to the old one. The new icon is simply a square box while the older one had a more interesting open shape to it. I am sure they changed the logo because they wanted something that looks more modern which has actually worked in this case but I think thats the only thing that has worked. I would have posted about this logo Friday when I first saw the billboards on the Gulf Road but I couldn’t get a hold of the new logo since up until now their website hasn’t been updated. I had to get the logo from Fonzy’s blog who has also posted about the new logo. If anyone knows the name of the branding agency behind the new logo please post it in the comments.

Feb 10, 2008

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27 Comments, add your own...

1. Tan Go | February 10th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

Hey Mark,
Please display some of your agency’s work done in Kuwait,
Something you consider GOOD! Thanks
2. Buddy | February 10th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

Its proffessional and simple in a very modern way! I love it!
3. Mark | February 10th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

Tan Go my agency mostly deals with above the line work. We have sister companies that deal with branding, Landor, Fitch and The Brand Union (used to be called Enterprise IG) for example.
http://www.landor.com/
http://thebrandunion.com/
http://www.fitch.com/
4. Moey | February 10th, 2008 at 4:02 pm

Mark, I said the same thing about the A on frankom’s blog this morning…

the logo is wrong visually man, they changed the capital A letter to a small one, and that is totally wrong, it is an initial. not a regular character to mess around with, plus the new logo is overused, not a single designer like it, even the use of the fonts.

the rebranders are Intermarkets, I think because they hold the abk account.
5. Mark | February 10th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

Intermarkets don’t have the ABK account, Bates Pan Gulf do but I don’t think Bates did the rebranding. Usually branding jobs as big as this get given to branding companies not their advertising agency.
6. Moey | February 10th, 2008 at 4:06 pm

I forgot to mention that the logo doesn’t follow the golden ratio, the typo is way bigger than the logo and no correctly aligned, I prefer the old kinky 80s logo on this one, looks similar to saudi telecom logo, and many other logos… I saw the logo with different colors somewhere, I can’t remember where
7. Moey | February 10th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

Mark, are you sure BPG still have Ahli? I think Intermarkets too over, http://www.ads2blog.com/2007/12/10/tower-branch-with-longer-working-hours/
8. Ahmad | February 10th, 2008 at 5:20 pm

what is going on with rebraning now a days so many companies, banks have changed their logo!!!
9. steve_leb | February 10th, 2008 at 6:18 pm

the arabic font is more like shari3 il mata3im style.. it is a very nice logo for “time out restaurant” re-brand.. walla i can do a way better job with my eyes closed.. I’m fuckin serious.. try me.. lol..

you know what mark.. let us all work on different aBK logo and you post them all under “aBK the open re-brand” how does this sound..?? each logo will have the designer’s signature under it.. this way we wouldn’t be bunch of assholes criticizing peoples work but professionals showing them how a job should be done.. yalla i can create some time for this shit.. it would be fun.. what do you think?
10. K.theKuwaiti | February 10th, 2008 at 7:04 pm

I actually like the logo ..
11. Moey | February 10th, 2008 at 7:25 pm

It reminds me of Kuwait financial house somehow, don’t know why…
12. Hamitaf La Bookay | February 10th, 2008 at 7:37 pm

I don’t like it and I don’t hate it… the old one was getting rusty .. but the new one is very childish…
The colors in the old one look very vintage…
The new colors feel like a kid chose the colors… very – dunno – bright

I believe that a bank logo should show a bit of maturity.. and the old logo sort of represented that… When people choose a bank.. they are not looking for something that’s hip and funky…

Maybe I’m exagerating shway.. :)
13. jo | February 10th, 2008 at 9:19 pm

hate it nothing good about it. simple mistakes for simple job.
14. Lucky_Boy | February 10th, 2008 at 10:25 pm

Its looks good compared to the ugly old one
15. suspic | February 11th, 2008 at 2:23 am

I’m with Hamitaf. Banks are “serious business”. The old one was very professional and classy looking.

The new one looks like an Alahali football club t-shirt with sponsors.
16. logoman | February 11th, 2008 at 6:36 am

the logo is fine. its much better
17. mahi | February 11th, 2008 at 8:54 am

Mark, check this Bank site, this re-branding done by Brand Union India, a month back. (post their logo here and see the rest:)
http://www.canbankindia.com/
18. Equalizer | February 11th, 2008 at 11:21 pm

New Logo = Better Bank ? Pointless without a pivotal shift in their business strategy. Speaking of uncorrelated arabic / english logos look at mothercare’s logo in english / arabic.
19. Patrick Semaan | February 12th, 2008 at 12:06 am

I like the Logo (its way cleaner and more simple) and the English typo, but not the Arabic, it would look good for a news paper or an Egyptian soccer team, they use this type of typo in Egypt a lot. And i think it does not match with the English as you said.

I saw some of the BTL’s in a printing press when I was checking out some stuff for our company, I took snap shots but then I felt it would not be nice if I talk about it..
20. ZAINAB | February 12th, 2008 at 8:21 am

I really need more of your opinions, as i work in the Bank :)
21. shopa | February 12th, 2008 at 8:59 am

Origin based in Dubai did the new logo
22. Rejoys | February 12th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

Look at this logo

http://www.joomla.org/
23. Louai Alasfahani | February 12th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

the old logo is a copy cat from the “New Canaan Community Foundation” which i published in Awraq, Communicate and Arab Ad :) the new logo is not a step forward.
24. najeeb | February 13th, 2008 at 12:20 am

The new trend in Kuwait for changing the cooperates logos is because we are having new CEOs coming on top of those new cooperates. Burgan Bank (newly joined CEO), Ahli Bank (Newly joined CEO)… etc.
So, when you see a logo change, ask them and check who joined recently, you will discover why the logo is changed!
They are empty with new ideas, so they started with changing the image and wasting time and money here and there. This is my personal opinion. Who knows!
25. Alaa | February 20th, 2008 at 12:56 am

In Assessing a logo, we tend to ignore certain factors that has nothing to do with objectivity. The Ahli Bank’s bad reputation and outdated management methods, the rebranding job being done in Kuwait with the abundance of bad jobs executed, and the reluctance to the importance of executing the rebranding job and its appearance to the public, working as if they have all the time in the world.

Saying that, I have noticed that marketing and advertising profesionals disliked the logo, while ordinary people liked it. ALL agreed to how ugly the arabic typography is.

To najeeb: the dichotomy between core change and shell change is a part of the business culture that has developed in Kuwait. Whenever you see an intention of changing the core, you see the management ignoring it and directly changing the shell, thus reaching a satisfactory effect via the primitive reaction of witnessing change of looks and colors. you are right.
26. h Naser | March 11th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

Hey Mark, Great post,

But you didn’t mention the mix of 2 languages in one logo?
How about that? is it wise for a big brand like a bank? (generally speaking)
Personally I don’t like that, whither they use Arabic version alone or separate them in two versions… what do you think?
27. James | June 23rd, 2009 at 9:55 pm

As Shopa said in post 21. Origin Communications in Dubai did this rebrand.

(they also did the Salhia rebrand which you liked in another one of your posts).

I worked at Origin while this job was going through the studio. I won’t go into the ins and outs of the process, but like many jobs in the region it wasn’t approached by client or agency in a ‘traditional’ (read: professional) manner.

I like the new symbol, I think it has achieved a ’simplification’ of the existing marque in-line with many bank’s desires to appear approachable and easy to deal with. And it works well as a ’supergraphic’ which can be used interactively in TV commercials, signage, exhibition displays, etc.

The type marque… oh dear.

I agree this was an exercise in taking something bad and not making it much better.

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