Arby's has a new logo ... again

As we draw close to the end of 2013, it must be time for Arby's, the fast food purveyors of roast beef
sandwiches, to debut yet another new logo.

The 2013 version, though, at least harkens back to the original which has been around since the restaurant's inception. A few things were finally done correctly in the 2013 version of the Arby's logo. The return of a slab serif font is a welcome change. Gone, too, is the poorly conceived extruded / 3D western hat and in its place is a slightly modified (and thankfully flat) version of the original western hat. The logo again feels unified and cohesive both in its colors but also its elements. No variations in colors between elements which were a result of the wretched extruded hat. No mish-mash of styles between western and modern. Lastly, the new red used in the 2013 version of the Arby's logo is a happy middle ground between the too-dark red of the 2012 version and a rather dated and too yellow mix (seems to be 100 M/100Y) in the red of the original logo.

Gone as well is the sans serif font which, along with the poorly conceived apostrophe which was supposed to represent the blade used to slice their signature roast beef.

I could go on forever about how much better the 2013 iteration of the Arby's logo is when compared to its predecessor but I won't because there were so many shortcomings with the short-lived 2012 version. While I do not know the name of the agency which created the 2012 version, I sincerely hope that that particular agency did everything in its power to distance themselves from that logo. It looked like it was the world's most perfect example of what happens when the input of everyone is incorporated. It looked like the design team was trying to please everyone involved and ended up with a design worthy of a high school student.