Nostalgia is trending, “defense” is for betas, and the Department of War needed a fresh look. David Coveney examines the terrifyingly polite world of totalitarian client management.
Important bit:
Until recently, the US government department responsible for the military was generally known as the United States Department of Defense. Technically, it still is. It had a sub-brand, however, that nobody had used since 1947. You jokingly say “well, let’s not use the name ‘Department of War’ hahah!” and you spot that look in the client’s eye that says “brilliant! You’ve nailed it! Let’s!”
They didn’t get the joke. OK, but you crack on. Consequently, the branding team must have felt mortified when the mood board that was titled “Avoid these” was displayed with the heading set in too small a font and the government officials went “Yes! Please! That’s brilliant!” It probably looked something like this:
[…]
They are, of course, not the first leaders to use imagery in such a style; they’re merely looking back on nostalgic, heart warming times. It’s only a coincidence that this new branding just happens to have similarities to the less pleasant parts of European history. It’s almost certainly just a consequence of the trend towards simplifying branding for easier reproduction across multiple media types from screens and paper to large fabric banners that can be clearly seen from a distance by your
enemiesvictimsallies so they know what to expect when you’re in charge. And it’s definitely not at all alarming. Oh no. Definitely not.As someone from not the US it was not clear what’s going on.
The point is, this was the Seal of the United States Department of Defense since 1949:
The new “simplified” version is the one on the header image of the article:
The leaves on the right of the old seal are olive leaves, and they’re supposed to symbolize a desire for peace (extend the olive branch, etc). The leaves on the left are supposed to symbolize honor in combat. The arrows in the eagle talons are supposed to be readiness for war. The new seal has no leaves.
What did the stars stand for? There are fewer of them too.
The internet says the original 13 US colonies. Anytime you see 13 of something on US iconography that’s a pretty good first guess about what it stands for.
It’s been 19 days since this article dropped and the only different article I could find is an older newsweek article talking about the same event. The official branding guide still shows the old stuff.
The five stars probably represent the five major branches of the US military if you want to take what I asked google ai and wash it through my brain. The AI doesn’t appear to have much to work with, either, since it linked me to the branding guide with the old material. It knew about the rebrand but I don’t know if that’s because it can learn fast enough from my questions or it was drawing from the same material we already had.
pete- low-t hesgeth needs all these strong men and no women in the military.
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