NCL Logo Evolving?

[Beezo]

Hello!

 

I was curious on everyone’s thoughts here - I’ve noticed an adaptation/evolution of NCL’s logo.

 

You may notice on the Prima that the funnel simply has “NCL” and the wave, but does not have the formal NCL logo (blue) like all the other ships in the fleet.  I’ve also noticed this is the same at their new terminal in Miami.  Yes, they do have the primary logo blasted on the parking garage, but on the building itself and within you only see the actual letters.

 

I’m wondering if they are slowly moving away from the current logo? Not saying I love the current logo, but it’s significantly better than the bland-looking letters on their own….

 

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Beezo

[Karaboudjan]

Given that the Prima still has the wave I would not say that the terminal is an evolution.  

 

As for the Prima, I can think of a couple of reason why they just went with the letters and the wave:

 

1. The funnel shroud is curved so it might be more complicated that it's worth to fashion the background piece of the logo.

2. The funnel shroud is an artistic element and the full background of the logo would have covered it up excessively.

[Beezo]

16 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

Given that the Prima still has the wave I would not say that the terminal is an evolution.  

 

As for the Prima, I can think of a couple of reason why they just went with the letters and the wave:

 

1. The funnel shroud is curved so it might be more complicated that it's worth to fashion the background piece of the logo.

2. The funnel shroud is an artistic element and the full background of the logo would have covered it up excessively.

Great point. Thank you for sharing!

[Beezo]

What I do find interesting as well is how they’ve maintained the dark purple funnels with light blue logo on top, even though most of the ships (excl Sky, Sun, maybe Star) today were not in service with the old purple and gold branding. Nothing against it - Just always figured they’d paint all the funnels the light blue color. 
 

For those interested, here are some logos of past. Any favorites? 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Beezo

[cruiseny4life]

9 hours ago, Beezo said:

What I do find interesting as well is how they’ve maintained the dark purple funnels with light blue logo on top, even though most of the ships (excl Sky, Sun, maybe Star) today were not in service with the old purple and gold branding. Nothing against it - Just always figured they’d paint all the funnels the light blue color. 
 

For those interested, here are some logos of past. Any favorites? 

I actually prefer the bottom one, which I believe is the current one? It's crisp, the block letters are pleasing to my eye, and it has elements of the first logo you posted (which I guess was the first logo?). 

 

 

[Beezo]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

I actually prefer the bottom one, which I believe is the current one? It's crisp, the block letters are pleasing to my eye, and it has elements of the first logo you posted (which I guess was the first logo?). 

 

 

Completely agree! Current logo is my favorite out of the NCL's logos. Didn't realize how many "waves" have been a theme within the logos/branding throughout the variants and decades.

 

One I never really liked was the one right above the current.  Didn't look that great on a funnel and always thought it looked like it belonged on a bar of soap, lol.

[Karaboudjan]

48 minutes ago, Beezo said:

Completely agree! Current logo is my favorite out of the NCL's logos. Didn't realize how many "waves" have been a theme within the logos/branding throughout the variants and decades.

 

One I never really liked was the one right above the current.  Didn't look that great on a funnel and always thought it looked like it belonged on a bar of soap, lol.

 

Is it just me or do the two waves on the next to last logo suggest motion in a not-so-good way?  The single wave on the current logo seems more serene.

[2 Fun Guys]

Love this topic! I find logos to be fascinating.

Of the examples above, the current one is my favorite by far!

[cruiseny4life]

Rough seas ahead is what the three waves looks like to me! One is good for singularity, unity, that vacation bliss we all desire on NCL! 

 

Well at least we know what should be stamped on the bar of soap if NCL ever makes a branded soap line. 🙂

[Sand and Seas]

A trip down memory lane for me!

 

I've sailed NCL with all of these logos except maybe the first?   Guess I'm getting pretty old!

My latitudes number is just 6 digits, although my DH's is a standard 8 digits and all of our cruises have been together.   

 

The 6 digits has confused a couple of agents I've called.  It was hard to convince them I had it right!

 

[Beezo]

Also - Can see the last two logos in the example below. On the Star, you can still see the shaping of the previous logo painted over in before/after:

 

 

 

[Beezo]

With my earlier comment regarding using the same purple funnel with the old gold logo - you can see it here on the S/S Norway as a point of reference.  While it is a very nice contrast with the light blue/dark purple like it is today (even with the purple on the background of "NORWEGIAN STAR" above).  I always wondered what it would've looked like with the whole funnel the light blue color - even a mix like the Norway before going purple gold:

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Beezo

[Beezo]

1 hour ago, 2 Fun Guys said:

Love this topic! I find logos to be fascinating.

Of the examples above, the current one is my favorite by far!

Me too.  I like the color, approach, and simplicity.

 

I'm not opposed to change either, I'm just trying to decipher what/where they are going.

[Cruise Wonderland]

On 8/19/2022 at 12:18 PM, Beezo said:

What I do find interesting as well is how they’ve maintained the dark purple funnels with light blue logo on top, even though most of the ships (excl Sky, Sun, maybe Star) today were not in service with the old purple and gold branding. Nothing against it - Just always figured they’d paint all the funnels the light blue color. 
 

For those interested, here are some logos of past. Any favorites? 

 

I also found this picture of logo evolution at a corridor on Norwegian Getaway.

 

[Beezo]

On 8/25/2022 at 10:35 PM, Cruise Wonderland said:

 

I also found this picture of logo evolution at a corridor on Norwegian Getaway.

 

Thanks for sharing! That’s really cool!

[Beezo]

On 8/19/2022 at 12:17 PM, Beezo said:

I always wondered what it would've looked like with the whole funnel the light blue color - even a mix like the Norway before going purple gold:

 

 

This angle and lighting… looks like they went with the light blue on the whole funnel! Never noticed how much it really popped like that over the past few weeks. 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Beezo

[Karaboudjan]

12 hours ago, Beezo said:

This angle and lighting… looks like they went with the light blue on the whole funnel! Never noticed how much it really popped like that over the past few weeks. 

 

That photo looks highly edited.  From all of the other photos I have seen I think the actual color is darker and less saturated.

[lepidoptera]

2 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

 

That photo looks highly edited.  From all of the other photos I have seen I think the actual color is darker and less saturated.

I think the photo is quite zoomed in (or possibly taken from a drone) and that might be affecting things. This is the Skarfabakki cruise port in Reykjavik, and the islands are much further out than they look in this photo and there isn’t anything super high nearby. The colors of the scenery and other things in the photo look correct compared to when I was there a few weeks ago, so I don’t think it is super edified. 

[marktwothousand]

I like the new logo and actually starting to think the whole brand needs a bit of a refresh at this point. The dailies, the restaurants, even the in-house TV promo videos…all could use a make over. And they can probably drop the “freestyle” language too. It’s a little outdated now. 

[cruiseny4life]

On 8/28/2022 at 1:31 AM, Beezo said:

This angle and lighting… looks like they went with the light blue on the whole funnel! Never noticed how much it really popped like that over the past few weeks. 

From this angle, it looks amazing...but I'm afraid @Karaboudjan is right that this is an edited photo. Definitely a cooler looking funnel than some previous ones. Not gonna lie though, I might not be old school in a lot of my thoughts, but I do love the old funnels from way back in the day (like 1950's). 

 

[amygutman]

Favor to ask of @Beezo and @Cruise Wonderland - can you tell me where you found the logo evolution frame on the Getaway? We are sailing at the end of this month and this would be an awesome little find to share with my kiddo.

 

My son loves logos and logo design; in his graphic arts training he spends a lot of time in not just animation but looking at shapes and colors and how they relate to expressing a brand's "concepts and mindset". The psychology of logos is fascinating. If you've ever go on Fivrr or or similar sites to try to build a brand logo it's amazing how an artist can take a few important words, core concepts, meaningful colors, and come together to find a perfect logo for a brand. As somebody with no artistic skills whatsoever I truly appreciate both the art and science of this form of graphic arts.

 

Warmest, Amy

[laudergayle]

Logo creation is so much more difficult than what we see on the surface.  In addition to the branding elements @amygutman mentions, there is the execution factor. What might look perfect on a brochure has to be scalable to outdoor building signs, highway signs, smokestacks, all the way down to an imprint on soap. Loose elements (like the NCL waves) are very difficult to manage on signage. Spaces between elements may look great on paper…but when scaled up or down, they can look outrageous or disappear all together.  Same with words or typeface with serifs.
 

I find it interesting that the registered trademark now follows the words “cruise line” vs. earlier logos where it followed “Norwegian”.  They must have updated their registration to now own the whole name.  Typically you wouldn’t be able to register a generic phrase like “cruise line”.
 

I, too, find the current logo the most pleasing.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I took my first NCL cruise in 1976 on the Skyward and remember all of these logos. One of my all-time favorite ships was the S/S Norway (cruised aboard her in 1980, 1987, 1994 and 2000). Although it now seems dated, I still have fond memories of the first logo (the bold wave logo) shown above. I like the way that most of these logos have a wave element that seems to reference the original logo.

 

I will be cruising aboard the Norwegian Prima later this month. 

 

Chuck

[Cruise Wonderland]

On 4/6/2023 at 12:36 AM, amygutman said:

Favor to ask of @Beezo and @Cruise Wonderland - can you tell me where you found the logo evolution frame on the Getaway? We are sailing at the end of this month and this would be an awesome little find to share with my kiddo.

 

In 2017 it was displayed at a corridor on Deck 6, near to the card room / meeting rooms. I am not sure if it still exists now.

[amygutman]

1 hour ago, Cruise Wonderland said:

 

In 2017 it was displayed at a corridor on Deck 6, near to the card room / meeting rooms. I am not sure if it still exists now.

Well...that gives me a place to start the hunt. 

Much appreciated. After reading this thread, I hit Google for past NCL logos and had a fun time watching the evolution. The more "plain block" font is now favored by many brands and there is lots of discussion online re: "brand blanding". Super interesting (for those geeky enough to appreciate such dives into brand psychology). 

Warmest. Amy