Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The World Trade Center's new logo is a confusing mix of allusions

Symbol references 9/11 and soon-to-open luxury shopping mall

Christopher Hooton
Friday 15 August 2014 12:34 BST
Comments
The new World Trade Center logo is seen on a fence outside the Ground Zero construction zone in New York City
The new World Trade Center logo is seen on a fence outside the Ground Zero construction zone in New York City (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Given the unenviable task of trying to fuse corporate strength, architectural shapes, the mourning of tragedies past and the promise of consumerism, an advertising firm has come up with a new logo for the World Trade Center, and it’s a bit baffling.

The 'W' sign comes as part of a $3.5 million rebranding for the centre by Landor Associates, and, as Co.Design notes, plays on negative space in a similar way to the Rubin vase.

The five bars in the logo represent the five towers that will form the 16-acre World Trade Center, with the downward-facing bottom two referencing the pools of the September 11 Memorial and the empty spaces in between the top three bars alluding to the fallen Twin Towers and the Tribute in Light that marks them each year.

It's an almost poetic, if a little dizzying logo, though it is soured somewhat by the fact it can also be seen as an advert for a luxury shopping mall.

The top of the logo slants at a 17.76-degree angle, a nod to 1 World Trade Center’s 1,776-foot height (Picture: Getty)
The top of the logo slants at a 17.76-degree angle, a nod to 1 World Trade Center’s 1,776-foot height (Picture: Getty) (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

In addition to standing for 'World Trade Center', the W is also a nod to the 'Westfield World Trade Center' which is due to open next year.

Like it or loathe it, the logo is a fair representation of the disparate and competing interests that have been involved in the development of the site since the 2001 attacks.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in