Understanding Brand Logos:

Xerox Corporation

Submitted to Professor Chittaranjan Bhattacharjee

This assignment is part of an internal evaluation for the paper Marketing Research. For the

purpose of this assignment, I have studied the Xerox Corporation’s Logo, followed by a primary

research and secondary content collection and the results are presented in this document.

Submitted by Anjan Sen| JBIMS| MMM | 121 | 2nd Year | IV Semester | 28th January 2014 |

No

Topic

Page Number

1

About Xerox Corporation

3

2

How was the data collected?

3

3

Evolution of the Xerox Logo

5

4

A trivia

10

5

User Feedback

11

6

Results of the Primary Research

13

7

Conclusion and References

16

ABOUT XEROX CORPORATION:

For a layman, any machine that provides that offers ‘photo-copying’ facility is Xerox. To the

extent, that ‘Xerox’ like Google was used as a verb, and not a Noun or an adjective. Xerox

however, is the name of an American multinational corporation that is in the business of

document management. Its history dates back to 1906, when it was founded as ‘The Haloid

Photographic Company’ in Rochester. Since then, it has pioneered many innovations in the

area of document management. It is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, though its largest

population of employees is based around Rochester, New York, the area in which the company

was founded.

An interesting anecdote, which circulates around Xerox Corporation, is how it lost its way into

the personal computing world. Legend has it that the Researchers at its Palo Alto Facility had

invented several important elements of personal computing. The then Board of Directors,

couldn’t fathom how it was relevant to their business and ordered it to be shared with Apple

engineers. The rest as they say- is history. The features were taken over by Apple Corporation

and subsequently Microsoft Corporation, who till date duopilize the personal computing

industry.

HOW WAS THE DATA COLLECTED?

The data was collected through three sources:

Xerox Corporation’s Community Manager: I communicated with the Xerox

Corporation’s Community manager on digital platform, James Mignano, who provided

relevant documents and link which has been used and mentioned in the references

section at the end of the assignment.

Internet: Xerox Corporation being in the Fortune 500 companies in the US and also

pioneer in the area of document technology a lot of relevant content was available on

the internet. Press Releases, Critical Review, Comparison document etc., contributed to

the making of this assignment.

Online Survey: An Online survey was conducted on January 28, 2014, asking elementary

questions to establish the awareness of the Xerox Brand and the Xerox Corporation’s

logo. 114 respondents participated in the survey. The reports of the survey are

mentioned in the document to demonstrate how the brand is perceived by the users.

The questions asked were:

Age Group

Have you heard about Xerox Corporation

How often do you use the 'Xerography' in your daily life?

Do you know what the Xerox Logo looks like?

What are the colors used in the Xerox Corporation's logo?

In the logo, how is the name Xerox Corporation written?

Do you know the significance of the colors used in the logo?

The data collected was not subjected to any statistical variances analysis but represented only

pictorially to give a broad idea of how the brand is perceived by the respondents. Most of the

respondents were from India, 1 from Nepal and 1 from Westland USA, 1 from San Jose, USA.

Within India, the concentration was more in Mumbai as the survey questionnaire was spread

within in the network first and gradually on social media.

EVOLUTION OF THE XEROX LOGO

To quote Ursula Burns, “Our customers, our employees and our shareholders connect the most

with what the brand stands for -- quality, innovation, customer-focus and a values-rich

culture. Today, we’re strengthening all our attributes and giving our brand a contemporary

look that is more relevant for business today – a bit less formal, a lot more lively with links to

our heritage and a nod to the future.”

(Ms. Burns is currently the Chief Executive at Xerox Corporation. The above quote is from a Press

Release, in 2008, when she was occupying the chair of the President)

An organization’s logo has to be contemporary, talk to its customers, stakeholders, base d on its

values and mission. It is undoubtedly the most prized asset for an organization as millions are

spend on collateral marketing to get visibility for the brand logo.

In the same vein, the Xerox Corporation’s Logo has evolved over the last 109 years, with the

last change coming into effect in 2008. The image below gives an ostrich view of how their

logos have evolved over the last century. Each of the logos will be dealt with separately in

detail in the following pages.

The table below has brief details (whatever could be sourced from the internet and after

writing to Xerox Corporation’s Community Manager on Social Media, both duly cited at the end

of the report)

No Year Logo Description

1 1906

As mentioned earlier in the ‘About Xerox

Corporation’ section; the organization was

founded as ‘The Haloid Photographic

Company’, which originally manufactured

photographic paper and equipment in 1906 in

Rochester. The brand logo thus had “Haloid”

distinctively mentioned in its imagery, also the

area of operation- Rochester, New York. The

adjacent image shows how it appeared on

brand collaterals from 1906 to 1938 before it

went under the knife for its first change in 32

years.

2 1938

In 1938, the first change happened to the

logo, Haloid became more prominent. It had

rounded edges this time around. Rochester

still kept being a part of the logo. They added

‘Photographic Products’ to the logo on the

rounded edges.

3 1948

Joseph C. Wilson took charge of the company

from his father in 1946. With an idea to

differentiate its new system, Haloid coined the

term Xerography, which was derived from two

Greek roots meaning "dry writing". The logo

had “XEROX”- wordmark written for the first

time. It also had “Trademark of the Haloid

Company”. The location and products offering

went missing in this change.

4 1949

In 1949, ‘Rochester’, ‘Haloid’ and ‘Products

were Xerography was all introduced in the

logo. The red “X” was used for the first time as

well. The 2008 logo though in smaller case,

and rounded still has the red element and

looks much elegant.

5 1958

“Haloid” came back prominently on the logo.

And the uppercase “X” in the background and

to make its way out. Products for photography

continued as the earlier version.

6 1961

A paradigm shift was delivered in 1961 was

Lippincott. This was also the first design after

the company decided to drop “Haloid”

permanently from its design. The word

corporation was also used for the first time.

And of course, not to forget the change in the

color. From black, white and others to a

vibrant blue.

7 1968

Seven years later, in 1968, Chermayeff &

Geismar updated the wordmark. Corporation

got dropped and the edges lost the extra

stretching for the alphabet “X” both at the

start and the end of the wordmark.

8 1994

In 1994, Landon introduced the digitized X and

for the second time, red was used in the logo.

“The Document Company” appeared, taking

completely over the wordmark — and

employees started answering the phone as

“The Document Company, Xerox”. A conscious

effort to be seen as a document corporation?

Maybe.

9 2002

In 2002, the wordmark became the more

prominent visual. “R”, registered was used

too. The font type similar to the one in 1968,

except the blue color, nothing changed.

10 2004

Later, in 2004, “The Document Company”

disappeared and it continued till 2008, when

the most paradigm change of all time till date

happened.

11 2008

Designed by Interbrand. Details mentioned

below. (As it is too long to be written in the

table format)

{2008- Present}

The change designed by Interbrand in 2008, was meant to make Xerox “a more approachable

brand without compromising its reputation for engineering.” Xerox’s press release, on January

7, 2008, describes it as the “most sweeping transformation of its corporate identity” in the

history of the organization.

Features:

Font Type: FS Albert font

Case: Lower Case

Color: Vivid red Pantone 1797 (Chief color, there are many platelets used though)

Design Company: Interbrand

Design: A red sphere that is trying to convey a sense of the globe. The intersecting

graphic ribbons encircling the sphere signify the worldwide connections between

Xerox’s customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

Significance of the design: “A sphere-shaped symbol sketched with lines that link to

form an illustrative “X,” representing Xerox’s connections to its customers, partners,

industry and innovation.” The sphere is designed to be more effectively and innovatively

used in animation while using on multi-media platforms.

Other Key Highlights:

An internal document circulated between Interbrand (which did the brand

reengineering) and Xerox Corporation calls the new graphic font this way: “I am FS

Albert. I am a modern and approachable font. My rounded corners make me more

human and less technical.”

Maryanne Stump, Interbrand’s senior director of brand strategy was quoted saying,

“The sphere symbol will be especially used on the Internet and will spin in other

animated applications.” (How the users have reacted to this, can be read in the User

Feedback to the Logo)

What Interbrand has to say about Xerox’s new logo

“Signaling a clear change and evoking a dramatic shift in the world’s perception of this iconic

brand, the visual and verbal identity system for Xerox has undergone a massive redesign. The

“connectors” are super-graphics that appear as reoccurring design elements.”

TRIVIA:

Xerox has been trying to stop people from calling photocopying "Xeroxing" for years. "Use

Xerox only as an adjective to identify our products and services," said a 2010 print ad, "not a

verb, 'to Xerox,' or a noun, 'Xeroxes.' Something to keep in mind that will help us keep it

together." Here’s a screengrab of it.

Print Ad, 2010, with the new brand logo.

FEEDBACK ON THE NEW XEROX LOGO:

I screened several blogs and portals to identify what people have to say about the new logo

that Xerox introduced in 2008. After scanning over 250+ responses, here are some responses

which not only gives the brand managers at Xerox, but for that matter, any company, an insight

that should be considered while planning brand changes. The below table has excerpts of

positive and negative reviews on the latest change to the Xerox logo from the blog Brand New.

No Feedback Written By Positive Feedback

1 Jon

“I really liked the old logo. Maybe it could have used and

update, but they definitely went in the wrong direction. I think

the worst change is the switch to lower case. The old logo is so

clean, and to me just says "This is serious. Let's get down to

business." Unless they're planning on focusing on the

consumer market in the future, the new one is too friendly and

too generic. They needed a little more IBM, and a little less

Kodak. On second thought, without the marble it ain’t that

bad.”

2 Christian Palino “Their use of "super-graphics" was clear – mine was just a play

on words :-) I like their use of the flag element!”

No Feedback Written By Negative Feedback

1 JonSel

“Wow...I can't for the life of me figure out why they need a

symbol. I agree that they need to do some major education

concerning their market position, but what does this symbol

add? The new wordmark is nice and contemporary. That whole

criss-crossing patterning would serve much better as part of a

visual language, anchored by the wordmark.”

2 Julio

“My gut reaction was, simply: this gives branding a bad name,

and drags us all down with it. Given Xerox's high profile, I

almost fear that people out there will see this and assume this

is what I do for a living when I say I'm a graphic designer that

focuses on identity. At least with the recent rebranding of UPS

and AT&T (as much as I disliked them), you could find a thread

of logic in their execution: the new marks resembled the old.

Sure, the new ones were strange, bubbly badges carrying the

unfortunate debris of trendy, marketing-savvy, web 2.0 design

aesthetics, but at least some remnants of the previous brand

remained. But this? Where does this marble come from? This is

what 5,000 interviews and 24 months of work gets you? A

completely new, unnecessary, poorly-crafted element that

builds on none of the existing strengths of the brand for the

sake of asserting itself into the world? Welcome to the time of

full embrace of senseless, three dimensional corporate

branding, indeed.”

3 Willis

“The new logo looks like a bocce ball the factory messed up.

It's not helped by the fact that, should that object exist in

actual three dimensions, the "super-connector" criss-cross

lines would be completely lopsided and awkward-looking.

Is there a two-color version?

The old pixel-X was fantastic - easy to recognize, conveyed

rather complex meaning, and easy to represent.”

RESULTS OF THE PRIMARY RESEARCH:

As mentioned earlier, a survey was conducted on 28th January 2014, and the link to this survey

was distributed on online platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. 114 respondents

took the survey, the results of which are presented below.

Age Group of the Respondents:

Have you heard about Xerox Corporation?

Out of the 114 respondents, 8% (9) said, they haven’t heard about Xerox Corporation and a

staggering 92% (105) said they have heard about the company Xerox Corporation.

Less than 20years

Between 20- 30years

Between 30- 40years

Between 40-50years

Above 50 years

Respondents 0 82 30 2 0

0

20

40

60

80

100

Re

spo

nd

en

ts

Age Group of the respondents

Yes 92%

No 8%

Have you heard about Xerox Corporation?

Do you know what the Xerox looks like?

What are the colors used in the Xerox Corporation's logo?

Only 58, out of 114 respondents (51%) guess the chief colors correctly.

Yes, 73, 64%

No, 41, 36%

Do you know what the Xerox looks like?

Red Red and White Black and White Red and Black Blue

Responses 12 58 32 7 5

0

20

40

60

80

Re

spo

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ts

What are the colors used in the Xerox Corporation's logo?

In the logo, how is the name Xerox Corporation written?

Some comments received to the question: Do you know the significance of the colors use in

the logo:

1. No....now that this is asked, I am going to check it out :).

2. It must have been to replicate the paper i.e. Black and white

3. Red implies strength; don’t really know if there is another angle to it.

4. The color red means vibrant energy but in this case it means connecting people

innovation and being tech savvy

5. Nope, don't remember the logo, but i can recognize it

6. The X on the sphere signifies the connection between Xerox and its end-users.

7. I know what the red and white means

8. Just guessing, since the logo has red as their core color may be they want to portray

themselves as vibrant, pioneers and leaders in the segment

9. Reflect transformation of company from photography to hi-tech IT

10. Earlier the company's logo used to be black and white which is now red and white. Don't

know of reason. Maybe it's just eye-catching -- the red colour. That's a presumption

Lowercase (xerox) Uppercase (XEROX) Sentence case (Xerox)

Responses 42 39 33

42 39 33 0

10

20

30

40

50

Re

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In the logo, how is the name Xerox Corporation written?

CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES Despite an honest attempt by Xerox to be looked as an energetic and more-customer focussed

company, the feedback received on multiple blogs do suggest that the change has not gone down

well for everyone. However, in business, you cannot make everyone happy! But a lesson for the

brand managers, at both Xerox and Interbrand, 5000 may also not be a very good sample!

REFERENCES

1. http://www.office.xerox.com/latest/XOGFL-18U.PDF

2. http://www.xerox.com/downloads/usa/en/n/nr_Xerox_Logo_History_2008Jan7.pdf

3. http://logoblink.com/new-xerox-logo-theory/

4. http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Xerox

5. http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-01-07/xerox-gets-a-brand-makeoverbusinessweek-

business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

6. http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/xerox_the_very_very_very_shiny.php

7. http://www.adrants.com/2008/01/xerox-unveils-beach-ball-as-new-logo.php

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=347756

9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14296469

10. http://www.knlxeroxassociation.com/