It's a bit bit like moving dog shit to a different part of your lawn.
It's a bit bit like moving dog shit to a different part of your lawn.
Now it looks like the sort of name tag you'd put on a primary school jumper.
Poor old CW, they really are cocking their image up.
April 1st came around again quickly.
I've seen the book already - How to destroy your brand in two logo changes.
I was wondering why I like the look of that watch so much, and then I remembered: Sinn 556i
Wondered where I'd seen that font before
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
It's clearly a message aimed squarely at those who criticised the abbreviation - "Do you see now? It doesn't bloody fit!"
Not as bad as changing Benarus to Steve & Gerry or whatever it is now.
It can't be that difficult to create a nice looking logo based around a C and a W? Be confident that people will know it's a Christopher Ward without spelling it out.
Bad, just plain bad.
One has to ask, why??
Mmmm - Well I'm not one to bash CW without my own reasons (indeed I own a couple), but I really don't think that's any kind of improvement...
Not sure the derivative, Wordpress style website is either...
The watch is fine, though!
M
Last edited by snowman; 6th May 2016 at 15:24.
Not bad.
Would probably pick over Explorer 36/39mm,Aqua Terra or Railmaster.
CW can do nothing right in the eyes of some here.
If it were someone else, people would be like -
Such a clean design
Great size
Slim enough to slip unders dress cuff
Blah,blah...,
Good grief! One might even say "from bad to worse".
That really is quite some rebrand. Brave, very brave.
I think it looks fine as long as your name is Christopher Ward. I'd obviously expect mine to say Astonandy.
I did like the race circut inspired ones, specifically the blue. But they just come across as a fashion brand for the masses, but that is dull
On every watch, they always seem to screw a design feature up. This could have been quite good (noting the black date window) but taking a vintage look and mixing it with a modern, off centre logo just ruins it. CW needs to employ some better designers...copying Swatch's font just doesn't cut it.
Last edited by Christian; 6th May 2016 at 12:12.
If any of my designers used a font that unsympathetic to the overall design and that poorly balanced with the overall composition they would be looking for a new job..... preferably not in design.
Looks like I'm in the minority but I think it's a massive improvement over the C Word, sorry C Ward logo. Let's just hope they don't go down the Rolex route and decide to print every minutiae of the watch on the dial though.
I also like the watch design, it looks like a good utilitarian timepiece with just enough detail to make it interesting in a good size. 150m depth rating too so plenty good enough for the vast majority.
Cheers,
Gary
Now looks like a Kickstarter watch. They've obviously picked up on "the kids" liking the whole graphic design aesthetic and thought this would appeal to the bright young things. A huge misstep in my opinion.
Love everything about it with the sole exception of the 9 o'clock brand positioning. Classically sized and designed, then they try to make it trendy with the final detail - daft, and a missed opportunity.
Apart from the logo, the watch looks nice. And the daft second hand. I would still pick a Hamilton or Tissot instead of it for less money I suspect though.
What irks is how out of place the typeface is. It's called the 'trident vintage' and yet the blurb says:
Perhaps the most significant detail, however, is the new Christopher Ward logo at 9 o’clock which adds a contemporary twist to a watch which will appeal to men and women alike. A future classic.
'Vintage' watches don't need a contemporary twist. It's like 19" rims and LED running lights on an MG A.
They've gone from one quite extreme typeface to another, from RIGHT CLASSY to OOH SOFISTICATED
That's a very good looking watch overall but the branding/logo does not work so well for me (either).
The one in my OP is only 38mm - strange to have so much difference between the two versions. I think the 38mm version looks much more balanced. But then I would, so.
It's a shame because the case and bracelet look really good from every direction. The dial (excluding logo) and hands are ok-ish. The logo ruins it.
Marketing-wise I can't imagine why you'd pitch your logo for the style of watch that CW produce at a younger audience in the style of Swatch.
There's something very *Swiss* about the new logo and placement: the right justification of the two words reminds me of the Helvetica watches.
Perhaps it's deliberate.
It's so bad I actually find it slightly painful to look at.
I assume that's meant in the Yes, Minister! sense of the word "brave"?
I can live with the watch, the full-name logo, and even the positioning at 9 o'clock - but the logo's typeface is so out of character with the rest of the watch that it's horrible.
(Full disclosure: I normally like Christopher Ward, and have a number of their watches).
The Malvern Chrono looks ok (old logo) and that new logo looks better on the white face watch as oppsed to the vintage
What the actual f**k. I like CW, I have a CW but that is amazingly bad.
I have a few CWs that I quite like, however I really don't like the new logo/typeface or its position on the dial.
Looks like some crappy kickstarter watch.
To be honest I don't think the new logo looks that bad, on that particular watch it looks out of character and having "automatic" also on the watch doesn't help either. The main problem I see with CW now is that they have had three logos in the space of only a few years which is going to confuse potential customers. They have a new website up with the new logo but most of the watches have the old logo on them. Add to that some of their sales can always pop up with an archive watch with the original logo and it makes it even more confusing. Its not like someone said with Tudor when you had a rose or a shield this is the actual name of the company. The only other comparison I could think of was the logo changes with Kemmner watches but as he is very much a micro brand selling to a WIS audience I don't think it matters very much for him.
All being said I question how often you look at a logo on a watch. For all the uproar about Stowa changing their logo of the 2 Stowa watches I have with the old logo I cant even think of a time I have bothered to look at the logo on the watch and the new one seems to be quite subtle. On the CW watches I have with the new now old logo its likewise quite subtle and not really noticeable it would be interesting to see how this logo looks in real life.
Tempest in a teapot. To be honest, those who like the brand probably won't be bothered and those who don't won't be affected as they are unlikely to ever own one.
No, never visited the CW forum to be honest. Not a brand that ever captured my imagination.
If they used Comic sans it would be an improvement on that new effort!
Last edited by Bootsy; 6th May 2016 at 17:24.
No. Am serious.
Partly because Explorer has never appealed to me ( inspite of loving Rolex sports watches ) and partly because I do like this one. I have no problem with branding or name or logo or location and font there of. Fortunately, am not of herd mentality, which is on display in full form on this thread, with people tripping over each other to say something more derogatory and dismissive than the last person ( and funny IN THEIR MINDS).This watch is a bit small but other than that, I Would wear it with joy.
Last edited by RAJEN; 6th May 2016 at 18:00.