The New SAM Identity—Everyone Has an Opinion

The Seattle Art Museum otherwise known as SAM, launched an updated version of its logo early this summer. The new identity was created by local company Hornall Anderson. I think the update looks stellar. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I found out about the SAM update via “Brand New”, a popular site for brand lovers like myself. New logos are posted to the site daily. Users are then encouraged to post their opinions, insights and insults. As a designer I’m fascinated by the user feedback and can’t help but compare it to the type of feedback that I receive from clients. Sure some of the feedback is brutal and, inevitably there are many more opinions but I tell ya, it’s uncanny how similar the site’s feedback is to much of the client feedback I receive. For me it’s a living example of some of the waters that we, as designers, have to navigate.

Client feedback can be great, constructive, brutal, insightful and painful. I’ve been doing this for almost 2 decades and I still find that the balancing act my opinion vs. the clients opinion vs. how much *more* work we do continues to be one of the most challenging aspects of my job.