Commerzbank

New:  Symbol and visual system

Launched:  October 28, 2009

Story in brief:
This rebranding expresses the transformation of Commerzbank, in celebration of its acquisition of Dresdner Bank.

Designed by MetaDesign, the new logo puts Dresdner's green delta into Commerzbank yellow, and converts its solid graphic form into a soft 3D moebius ribbon. The wordmark letterforms are redrawn, eliminating stroke-weight variations.

Commerzbank has graciously provided a three-minute film on the making of the logo, an unusual degree of recognition of design and designers.

Credits:
C.E.O. - Martin Blessing, Chairman, Board of Mng. Dir's
Identity design - MetaDesign

First Impressions:
Strategy:  The Dresdner acquisition is really an excuse for a freshening and strengthening of Commerzbank's identity, perhaps overdue.
Design:  Clean and engaging. Friendlier for sure; but the stark, flat Dresdner symbol was a far more authoritative, confident presence than this soft new ribbon. (Even so, the ribbon is an improvement, in appeal and even functionality, on Commerzbank's previous sunrise.)

Other Comments:
In America, where a yellow ribbon has come to be a symbol of remembrance of a missing person (from a song, "Tie a yellow ribbon on the old oak tree") this solution feels a little stranger; but we'll get over it.
 

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