MAD Magazine | First Logo Redesign In 63 Years

It’s been years since the Satirical magazine MAD made any sort of headlines in the design world. When I saw that they had redesigned their logo, I squinted.

The first logo was created in 1952 by Harvey Kurtzman, Cartoonist. The logo hasn’t been changed since then.

This year, they decided to freshen things up. The most obvious change is the use of a san serif approach. One must admit that the logo is an eyesore. Notice the “M” and all its crooked points. Doesn’t it make you itch?

It’s not my kind of logo, however, once I saw how the logo was used in the brand’s collateral, I kind of got it. It being filled with flaws, works with the MAD brand perfectly. It’s oddness is charming.

I must also say that i LOVE that there is no default color palette. The color changes depending on the environment and surroundings of the logo. Talk about flexibility and versatility.

The logo comes in 4 variables: “a solid fill with contrasting stroke, no stroke, stroke and fill the same color and an outline only,” - MAD design director Doug Thomson said.

Here are some samples of how the new logo has been applied.