Armin Vit on the new PayPal logo by fuseproject:

The new logo is a really good evolution that unquestionably modernizes the previous logo. The double-P monogram has a nice rhythm to it and the two “P”s assemble together warmly — they are spooning. The typography, a modified Futura italic (or, actually, oblique), is a perfectly acceptable solution that reads more cleanly than the previous whateveritwas. The brighter blue hues help the logo compete better against the livelier identities of other payment gateways like Square.
I disagree with Vit. The new logo is shitty. My beef is specifically with the dark blue shape formed from the overlapping “P”s. It’s muddy and too close in value to the blues around it. I’m fine with the letterforms comprising the logo mark and the word mark (you know there’s a difference between a word mark and a logo mark, right?).
Call me old school, but I think a logo should activate the space in and around it. Let me dig into my Graphic Design 101 bag….. gestalt! Yeah, this thing has no gestalt, there’s no dance between negative and positive space. If you’re looking at a logo you should have an active role in deconstructing and understanding it.
Why am I wasting this critique on PayPal of all companies? As Vit notes in his post, this is the company that hasn’t updated its logged-in dashboard view in 12 years.
Update: Happy I’m not the only one who isn’t impressed with the new logo