Flap Over New Duane Reade Logo Continues

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Local pharmacy chain Duane Reade has quietly been revamping its image of late. First we noticed the new store layout they were experimenting with—which is quite nice, actually. Even sophisticated. But now, they've gone and released a new logo and everyone's freaking out about it. From NYC Grid: "This is not a defense of the old logo, and I also don't expect Duane Reade to push the boundaries of modern identity design and come up with something that makes us rethink our life direction. In fact, I applaud their decision to freshen up their image. But this damn thing is a mess. This mixture of sans and serif faces, complete with upper and lowercase confusion all wrapped up in a nice cliché circle create for a critics dream." Arbiters of taste the Racked commenters are split: one thinks the new logo looks like Radioshack, another likes it ("it's much cleaner in design) and a third thinks it is "not offensive." But that last person is from California, so their opinion is moot.
· Jury Is Out on Duane Reade’s New Look [City Room]
· 72nd St Between York Ave and 1st Ave [NYC Grid]
· Now Open: New Duane Reade Stays Up 'Til Midnight [Racked]