In defense of the “Be Best” Logo

Despite the fury that has erupted over Melania Trump’s new anti-cyberbullying initiative’s logomark, I think it’s just ok. In fact, I think the reactions to it have said more about the level of design critique in our community.

While I am not at all a supporter of this administration and I groan at the irony of the First Lady’s pursuit while her husband is the biggest cyberbully of them all, this logo isn’t that bad. In fact, it could be a lot worse.

And what’s almost as frustrating is that it has been hard to find real critiques of this mark outside of a quick tweet saying “sigh” or “really?”.

Brand New released a write up on it today with some of the first real critiques of the logo itself and I think all their points are valid:

• The name is terrible and almost seems like a parody of itself.
• The letterforms are a little awkward and unrefined, especially the lower arm of the E’s and the size of the T.

And that’s kind of it. I haven’t seen anyone else back up their outrage with more analysis, which leads me to think the uproar is more political than technical.

The mark was made by Melania herself and, from the looks of it, by using her finger on an iPad. Not exactly sophisticated. But setting the type in easy Comic Sans or a poorly-made handwritten font with repeat characters screaming machine-made origins would be more offensive. In a digital age of cheap, cloned design, at least this mark looks unique.

Furthermore, it seems appropriate for the audience: kids. I’ve seen a lot of brands out there that make something aesthetically pleasing to the designer or the client without it resonating with their main viewer. I think kids will pay attention to this kind of brand as opposed to, say, all gold capital letters on the side of a building.

And when you look at the work of celebrated graphic designers with more grunge, hand-drawn aesthetics this mark doesn’t seem like blaspheme, just more amateur.

James Victore’s graphic for MoveOn.org (September 2016) which shares some general aesthetic similarities to Be Best.“Shock and Awe” (2005) by iconic Paula Scher also makes use of imperfect hand drawn typography.

I’m not saying it’s a great mark and I think it speaks volumes that this initiative didn’t even spend the time or money to explore the brand identity with professionals who might’ve amplified the group’s impact. But I also want to see the level of critique from the design community dive deeper into technical merits rather than guffawing on Twitter with no follow through. We get enough of that from the White House.