The Société Générale’s new logo is a giant minus sign. Or, for the artistically-minded an horizon of bloody skies and dark earth. In either case, the signal that this piece of corporate identity sends to retail clients in front of branches is hardly a positive and welcoming one, close to a “No Entry” road sign.
Cynics may of course say that this is exactly how banks want their retail clients to feel: unwelcome. However, this is probably not the intention behind this latest evolution of the bank’s logo.
So how can corporate identity come to this? Simply by failing to see the simple semiotic change of meaning that removing the words “Société Générale” which used to sit on either side of that line. With a word above and one below, the thick white line was simply a divider, hierarchically a subset of the wording. Take away the wording, and the line becomes the only element in the foreground of the graphic design, making it the one carrying most meaning.
In the case of Société Générale, putting back the words in, or getting rid of the white line would be welcomed.

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