Branding Can Be Usable - Or Not!

An old post on Khoi Vinh's blog Subtraction shows an abandoned change in Tropicana's branding, which apparently failed its brief trial because it was less usable for consumers. In the image here, the old branding is on top - it shows the various types of orange juice differentiated with a large block of solid color. So if you like Vitamin D medium-pulp, for example, you learn to look for the purple box. However, the failed branding shown at bottom relegates the variety indicator to a teeny tiny line of text - so that all the boxes look the same unless you put a lot of effort into scouring the details. Designers of the modern "clean & spare" aesthetic may prefer simple sameness - but consumers need usability! This one's a victory for the good guys.
[via Good Experience]