After stammering onto the WGN-AM 720 website this morning, I quickly noticed a new piece of artwork at the top. Is this going to be the new logo the station uses going forward?
What happened to the unique “W” logo that WGN sported on their front-page Chicago Tribune spread early last month?
The file they have uploaded on the existing website right now is just awkward. Why the slanted edges on a gray to dark gray gradient background floating in mid-air? Leaves me wondering if this specific art file is meant to sit on top of a new design template that could soon be going live, if not in the next few days then sometime after the New Year.
The new logo reads as “WGN 720” even though the station has continued to identify itself on air as “720 WGN.” Also missing is the word “radio,” which has been included in their various logos in recent years (except for the ill-fated “News 720 WGN” used for a few months in late 2010).
The new logo is also being used on the station’s Twitter and Facebook pages, except with some color differences. The logo on the website has blue text on-top of a gradient gray background, while the logo on the station’s Twitter and Facebook pages shows white text resting on-top of a gradient blue background.
The blue logo looks somewhat better and may even look better on a new website design/template that better accommodates the blue background. As a stand-alone logo though, at first glance, it seems a bit odd. The “WGN 720” text with the single lines above and below has potential though.
UPDATE – 12/20/13
Within the last 12 hours, WGN uploaded another alternation of their logo to their Facebook and Twitter pages. This one combines the classy looking “W” that was unveiled in a Chicago Tribune promtional spread on Nov. 2, with the logo unveiled just days ago. The large block “W” includes the banner plate above it with the included words “WGN 720.”
This logo variation, as shown below, is what I like the best and the one I hope will turn out to be their final and completed logo. I think this version is quite unique, classy and does a great job at properly identifying the station.
