New Man is a French ready-to-wear brand created in 1967 by Jacques Jaunet in the Cholet region of Maine-et-Loire, France. The brand is best known for its distinctive ambigram logo, a wordmark designed to be read identically when viewed upside down or rotated 180 degrees.
Design and History
The New Man logo was created by Raymond Loewy, the French-American industrial designer whose portfolio includes logos for Shell, BP, Exxon, and LU, as well as the Air Force One livery and Concorde interiors. Loewy’s work for New Man is documented in a University of Southern California research project on his logo designs, which lists New Man among his notable corporate identity work. [1]
The logo is an ambigram, a graphic figure readable from different viewpoints through a play of symmetry. In this case, the wordmark “NEW MAN” can be read both right-side up and upside down, using 180-degree rotational symmetry. [2] The design was created in 1969, according to the file description on Wikimedia Commons. [2]
The Musée du Textile in Cholet, which holds a collection of New Man garments, describes the logo as a “célèbre ambigramme pivotant” (famous pivoting ambigram) and notes that Jacques Jaunet commissioned the logo from Loewy as part of an innovative marketing strategy. [3] The same source confirms Loewy’s role as the designer and notes that advertising campaigns were handled by Jacques Séguéla. [3]
In 2012, under the direction of Michel Silvy, the brand underwent a repositioning that included “redonner des couleurs au logo” (giving the logo color again), along with new packaging and a new slogan. This work was done with the agency BETC. [4]
In 2022, the brand’s relaunch continued to emphasize the ambigram logo as a key heritage asset, with FashionUnited noting that the logo “a contribué à son succès dès les années 60” (contributed to its success from the 1960s). [5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The ambigram design functions as a visual puzzle: the word “NEW MAN” reads identically when inverted, a property that makes the logo memorable and distinctive. The Musée du Textile describes it as a “pivoting” ambigram, emphasizing its rotational quality. [3] GQ France notes that the brand’s friends were “habitués à lire leur logo à l’endroit comme à l’envers” (accustomed to reading their logo right-side up and upside down), underscoring the logo’s playful, reversible nature. [6]
Typography and Design
The logo uses block letterforms, described in the book “Le livre des marques” as “caractères bâton” (stick or block characters). The same source dates the logo’s creation to late 1968. [2] The design achieves its ambigram effect through careful letterform construction, with the “N” and “M” shapes designed to work symmetrically when rotated. The logo has remained in use since its creation, with the brand continuing to feature it in its current identity. [5]
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