How Jaguars logo lost its roarPublished inThe Medium BlogSent as aNewsletter3 min read1 hour ago-- [this is where we hold space]Issue #215: Dorothys silver slippers and your win binJaguar just got rid of the jaguar. I saw the rebrand and was reminded of Facebooks 2019 logo (before it became Meta) both feel cold and robotic, as if these companies are trying to become Eye of Sauron-style Tech Giants instead of what they actually are. Heres Jaguars before and after:When you see a rebrand this drastic, its (sometimes) a cry for help. Jaguar is an 89-year-old brand whose sales have dropped 80% since 2017. Its too uncool to compete with Bentley, too retro to rival Tesla. After years of declining relevance, Jaguar is suspending new car sales for a year before it reincarnates as an electric-only car manufacturer. Its a brave strategy: Instead of incrementally improving their product, theyre going all-in on a vision they believe will save them long-term.Thats why theres no car in the ad.Marketing vet Madelaine Lucy Hanson thinks the rebrand will alienate Jaguars core customer base: conservative men. Brand designer Aakansha Raj feels underwhelmed; now Jaguar looks the same as everyone else. And its true so many brands have sanded down their edges over the last decade. Why is everything bland?via Flux BrandingOne reason: Simpler shapes play better across todays screens especially on an internet where low-resolution images travel widely.Still, if you want to stand out, maybe add some detail? In the words of design leader Himanshu Bharadwaj, the decision to ditch the iconic leaping cat feels like swapping a timeless tuxedo for a tech startup hoodie. It whispers relevance but risks losing the roar of rebellion. Harris Sockel Plus: How Wicked became a $1 billion franchiseWicked began as a 1995 prequel to L. Frank Baums now-famous childrens book. Its essentially a cautionary tale about labeling anything evil, and it was Gregory Maguires first novel for adults (hed written 10 childrens books already). He was 41. None of his childrens books had caught on, and he was desperate. So he started Wicked, naming the protagonist, Elphaba, after L. Frank Baums initials. I thought that I had to throw everything that I cared about into this book, he remembers, because I would never write another one.It didnt sell well at first. But it was a sleeper hit, finding more readers each year until it was adapted into a $1 billion-grossing Broadway musical (the second-highest-earning show after The Lion King). The movie has already made more money than any other non-sequel film opening in 2024. Its themes female friendship, good vs. evil, political propaganda are evergreen yet timely. Also, everyone feels like an outsider.One Easter egg: Dorothy makes a brief appearance in the film, and her slippers are silver! Turns out ruby slippers are copyrighted by MGM (which is now owned by Amazon) until 2035. Your daily dose of practical wisdom: the win binCreate a folder on your desktop called wins. Did someone just compliment you on Slack, Teams, email, or text? Take a screenshot and drop it into your own personal win bingreat for inspiration or writing self-evaluations. (Melissa DePuydt)