Feeling misdirected or have we missed the point?

I have been waiting with bated breath for the next few copies of Design Week since Patrick Smith’s letter was published (DW 21 March). Not for the usual columns of hot industry news, but for the torrent of outraged letters in response to Smith’s clarification and justification of the new Cancer Research UK logo.

Imagine my disappointment when I’ve opened the DW Letters page to discover no-one has even raised an eyebrow.

I have been following with great interest the development of the new logo, and must say I found the article in your Diary section very amusing indeed. What a shame Smith didn’t seem to appreciate a) the humour and b) the polite dig at an ineffective and misleading piece of design.

The thought of customers or associates actually being directed the wrong way (and even to the wrong store – worse still, to a competitor’s store) because of the logo itself is farcical.

What justification too. To be in the client’s shoes when told that the marque is a ‘piece of work we are proud of for all kinds of reasons’ must be a truly enlightening experience.

Are we really expected to accept this level of justification for the ineffectiveness of such a prestigious and sensitive logo for such a recognised charity?

Doesn’t the design industry and, even more importantly, the charity’s supporters deserve better?

Paul Burgess

Creative director

Wilson Harvey

London EC4

paulb@wilsonharvey.co.uk