Designers React: Carter’s

Today, the designers share their thoughts on the Carter’s brand redesign.

DEVON:

I love when children’s brands are fun, and these updates are fun! I like how they revisited their past logos to help inspire a new look. The crossbar in the T works really well as the tail of the shooting star. When you pair that illustrative style with a script font, it definitely reads as playful and youthful.

The brighter colors also succeed in breathing more energy into the brand’s identity. The patterns and illustrations are fun and expressive—I really enjoy how they’re using the pattern in the clothing!

The tagline works well too, adapting to their growing audience. Tonally, the photography feels elevated yet relatable, channeling today’s families. The only miss for me is the inclusion of the supporting serif font—it doesn’t feel like the right choice.

Overall, I enjoy the redesign and can’t wait to see how the new identity continues to roll out!

MEGAN:

Such a playful and modern look for a 161-year-old brand. It’s easy to remain joyful, energetic, and fresh when you draw inspiration from the smiles and laughter of children. However, the new campaign, centered around allowing kids to “shine bright,” is doing most of the heavy lifting in an otherwise underwhelming and generic rebrand.

The new logo is certainly an improvement from the previous stale, corporate sans wordmark. The kinetic and optimistic script is a modern homage to previous iterations of their logo. The shooting star apostrophe makes a great icon and pattern, giving the logo new energy. I just wish they brought this same energy throughout the rest of their rebrand. The new patterns and palette are uninspired and their applications fall flat.

Carter’s never had a distinct brand presence in its category and mostly relied on generational recognition from parents who were dressed by their parents and so on for almost two centuries. This rebrand hasn’t fully been launched yet, so I’ll hold on further critiques until I see this rolled out to other applications. However, so far, this rebrand could use some vigor to illustrate how their product allows Carter’s-dressed kids to shine brighter than others.

With such an iconic and enduring prominence, this new rebrand blends in with younger competitors, or even gets overshadowed by private labels, when it should be glowing with distinction and legacy.

RENEE:

It’s so refreshing to see a brand bring its personality back! The previous logo felt sterile and lacked character, while the new branding captures the magic and playfulness of childhood so well. I think bringing a nostalgic feel into a children’s brand works beautifully, and I love that they looked to their past logos for inspiration when developing this refreshed identity.

The playful script font paired with the star illustration feels so fun and whimsical. I also love how the star ties into their messaging, “making clothes that let children shine.” It’s such a clever and meaningful way to bring the visual identity and brand story together!

Overall, I really love how this rebrand turned out and would like to see more brands embrace this kind of thoughtful, personality-filled design.

Images sources for this article: Amazon • Facebook • Carters • Instagram • R&R Partners