Critics in a spin over Absa's 'copycat' logo

It’s almost like an argument going round and round in circles: this is the discussion revolving around Absa bank’s brand new logo, which social media users say is way too similar to that of Telkom subsidiary Open Serve. But designers – and Absa – beg to differ, saying theirs was even created with a font specially designed for the bank, called “Absa Brave”.

Absa made sure its rebranding grabbed the attention last week with 300 drones flying at the launch to showcase it. But what it probably did not predict was that Twitter users would have a field day comparing the new Absa logo with Open Serve’s logo – and they seem to show many similarities, with some suggesting they even share the same font.

The logos for Telkom’s fibre company and Absa were both designed by the South African branding agency Grid Worldwide.

Grid Worldwide founder Nathan Reddy and brand experts say, despite what consumers believe, the two logos are very different. Consumers just see a circle and think they are the same, Reddy explained.

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