To Redesign Your Logo, or Not to Redesign Your logo, That is the Question.
Identifying When a Logo Update Can Propel Your Brand Forward.
Brand identity stands as the fortress of a brand's visual and emotional appeal, with its logo serving as the flag atop this fortress. This exploration delves into the significance of logos, the subtle differences between redesigning and rebranding, what I have done for a particular client that I took through the journey of redesigning their logo to better represent their 25-year-old brand, and the potential drug fueled, misguided rebranding involving none other than Elon Musk.
The Importance of a Well-Designed Logo
A well-designed logo is not just a symbol but the face of a company, encapsulating its values, mission, and personality. It's the first interaction potential customers have with a brand, making it a crucial element of company identity. A logo can convey the company's vision and set the stage for its branding and marketing efforts. It's a visual representation that needs to resonate with the target audience, be memorable, and stand the test of time.
Encapsulation, in a broader sense, refers to the idea of wrapping up or summarizing something essential—much like how a logo encapsulates a company's essence. It restricts direct access, allowing only what's necessary to be communicated through design. This concept applies to logos by capturing and conveying the essence of the brand’s identity, values, and aspirations to the public.
However, the journey to a perfect logo is filled with humorous pitfalls, especially when brands take their symbolism a tad too literally. Imagine a delivery company with a logo that's an actual snail, humorously undermining the speed and efficiency they aim to represent. Or the flipside of that coin, something so literal as a delivery truck, slightly leaning forward with lines coming off the back, to indicate speedy deliveries. These anecdotes serve as light-hearted reminders that while it's important to encapsulate a company's mission and values, the symbolism needs to be clear, relevant, and open to positive interpretation, rather than being too on the nose or inadvertently conveying the wrong message.
a well-designed logo is a powerful tool in the arsenal of brand identity. It serves as a succinct, visual encapsulation of a company's values, mission, and personality, playing a pivotal role in how the brand is perceived by the world. The challenge lies in creating a logo that balances creativity with clarity, ensuring it captures the essence of the brand without taking its symbolism too literally.
Deep Dive into Logo Redesign
A logo redesign is a crucial process that involves updating and refining a brand's visual identity to stay relevant and appealing in a constantly evolving market. This process goes beyond mere aesthetic changes; it's about reinforcing the brand's essence, values, and connection with its audience while adapting to new trends and expectations. Effective logo redesigns consider how the brand's identity is visualized and perceived in social contexts, ensuring that the logo communicates the desired message and values of the organization.
The essence of a successful logo redesign lies in the delicate balance between modernization and maintaining the core identity that customers recognize and trust. Will Paterson, a renowned figure in the design world, emphasizes this point, stating, "The key to a successful logo redesign is to keep the soul of the brand alive, while gently pushing its visual identity into the new age." This approach ensures that the logo remains recognizable to existing customers while appealing to new demographics and staying competitive in the digital era.
Screen capture of Will Paterson, from his latest YouTube video course on Adobe Illustrator.
The process often involves research, conceptualization, and collaboration to ensure that the new logo accurately reflects the brand's current positioning and future direction. A well-executed logo redesign can rejuvenate a brand, enhancing its visibility, relevance, and connection with its audience.
The Need for a Logo Redesign
The necessity for a logo redesign often stems from various factors that signal the evolution of a brand's identity or market position. Paterson likens this process to giving your brand a haircut: "Redesigning a logo is like giving your brand a haircut. Sometimes, all you need is a trim, other times it's a full-on makeover." This perfect analogy to explain the spectrum of change that a logo may undergo, from subtle updates to a complete overhaul.
One of the primary reasons for a logo redesign is an outdated design. Just as fashion and technology trends evolve, so too do graphic design trends. A logo that was cutting-edge a decade ago may now appear tired and dated. Refreshing a logo can reinvigorate a brand's visual identity, making it more relevant and appealing to contemporary audiences.
A shift in brand values or direction also necessitates a logo update. As businesses grow and evolve, their core values and target markets may shift. A logo redesign can reflect these changes, ensuring the brand's visual identity aligns with its current ethos and aspirations. Additionally, a logo redesign can be instrumental in differentiating a brand from its competitors, addressing changing market dynamics, or signaling a new strategic focus. It's a powerful tool for repositioning a brand in the minds of consumers, stakeholders, and the market at large.
A logo redesign is not merely a cosmetic change but a strategic business decision. It can signal a brand's growth, evolution, and future direction, ensuring it remains relevant, competitive, and aligned with its core values and market positioning.
Humphry Property Management’s Logo Redesign
Taj Humphry and her daughter Justine Humphry came to me to designer their real estate side of their business of which, Justine is heading up. They have been in the real estate industry for several years now, but it didn’t have a logo to distinguish it from their well-established property management business. The Humphry’s have serviced Boise, ID and the greater Treasure Valley area for over 25 years. Over those years, they have gone through two logo redesigns and they have been using the logo that I redesigned for approximately 15 years.
The Humphry’s manage hundreds of properties across the valley, spotting their signage in a yard with their logo and a big “FOR RENT” is as common as coming across a gas station. 15 years ago, it was popular to have a house or a roofline within a real estate logo, begrudgingly, I still have my clients ask for that. I find the nicest way to emphatically say “Nope, not gonna happen”. If you like to know why I have this reaction, feel free to read my previous article Why Your Logo Doesn't Need to be so Literal.
Knowing this about their current logo, I suggested that we redesign their logo, then design their real estate logo around it. This helps with several key branding elements when a business has more than one branch to its’ offerings: Firstly, they’re not two separate companies. They offer very similar services and most of the time, they should be marketed together. It also helps to carry the 25 years of established branding over to their real estate services. Lastly, I’m taking one more roofline out of a logo!
Can I get a hallelujah from my brother and sister designers! Luckily, Taj and Justine were a dream to work with and I didn’t have to play a game of tug-a-war to drop their roofline. When asked about her experience, Taj replied “We were very open minded going into it and were very pleased with the outcome.”
Using the green and blue for Humphry’s updated color pallet, helps to create a simultaneous separation and uniformity for their two branches.
The key factor in a logo redesign is to not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Keeping (sometime salvaging) key elements is crucial. I lock on to their blue, which hasn’t changed in all of their 25 years of business. The text was also not in all caps, but needed to be modernized. For their brand icon, it needed be separated from the text so it could also be used for their real estate branch. Their new brand icon still has a subtle nod to their previous roofline. The two off shoots from the H’s top and bottom illustrates the two business branches shaped to form a hexagon, showing congruity.
To distinguish the two (besides the different text below Humphry), my first thought was to have different colors. Going with a complimentary color meant orange. That’s too close to our beloved Boise State Bronco’s. This is also a very big cliché here in Boise. I moved over to a triatic combo. Redish orange didn’t feel right, but green, jackpot! Green symbolizes renewal, rebirth, growth, and peace. We all need a little bit of all of that in the current real estate market.
The separate branches with use the others color within their marketing to further emphasize unity and cohesiveness. After we finalized everything, I asked Taj if she felt her new logo honor her 25 years of history and does it better represent where and who you are now? She replied with a resounding “Absolutely!”
When Not to Redesign Your Logo
When contemplating a logo redesign, it's paramount to consider the scenarios where maintaining the original logo is more beneficial. The adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" holds true, especially when a logo has established significant brand heritage and recognition. Chris Do, a renowned figure in the creative industry known for his expertise in helping creatives build businesses and business leaders build brand. His advice suggests that unless the logo significantly detracts from the brand's image a redesign might not be necessary.
Chris Do in his interview for Typeform presents...Meaningful with Paul Campillo’s “Do what allows you to grow, the money will come later"
Choosing to preserve an original logo can be the best strategy when it already embodies the brand's essence, values, and story in a way that resonates deeply with its audience. A well-established logo can act as a symbol of trust and reliability, qualities that are cultivated over time. Redesigning a logo without a compelling reason risk diluting these associations, potentially alienating existing customers and eroding brand equity.
Moreover, Chris Do emphasizes the balance between modernization and preserving brand identity. His statement encapsulates the nuanced decision-making process involved in logo redesigns—suggesting that while updates might be considered for aesthetics or relevance, they should not be undertaken lightly. The decision to redesign should be driven by a strategic need to align the logo more closely with the brand's evolving direction or to correct design elements that are objectively outdated or ineffective in communicating the brand's message.
Maintaining the original logo often makes sense to leverage the accumulated brand equity and recognition. Changes should be considered carefully, ensuring they genuinely enhance the brand's communication with its audience rather than merely following trends or making changes for their own sake. One of my favorite quotes from Chris Do that I tell my clients from time to time is “"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if it looks like it was designed in Microsoft Paint in 1995, maybe... just maybe, consider a tweak."
The extreme nonsensical side to this is Elon Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter to "X". This complete logo alteration might as well have been concocted in a fever dream, akin to plotting the colonization of Mars with nothing but rubber dinghies as transport, while high on acid and snorting lines of Adderall for good measure in an ego driven delusion. Much like his audacious visions for interplanetary travel, Musk's logo redesign was met with less enthusiasm and more raised eyebrows, mirroring the skepticism of experts who view his Mars ambitions as "romanticized" rather than "realistic”. This is a prime example of why you need scavenging what you can in a logo redesign or a rebranding. You should have at least kept the blue dude!
What should You Expect From Your Logo Redesign
When embarking on the journey of a logo redesign, businesses should anticipate a transformative process that not only refreshes their visual identity but significantly enhances their brand's cohesion and relevance in the market. A well-executed redesign can breathe new life into a brand, making it more appealing to current trends and customer preferences, thereby ensuring that it remains competitive and resonant with its target audience.
The primary expectation should be a logo that represents the evolved ethos and values of the company, reflecting its growth and future direction. This visual evolution is crucial for maintaining a strong connection with existing customers while attracting new ones. An updated logo can also signal to the market that the business is responsive to changes and committed to staying contemporary, which is essential in today's fast-paced world.
Increased brand cohesion is another critical outcome. A new logo can serve as the cornerstone for all branding materials, ensuring consistency across various platforms and touchpoints. This consistency strengthens brand recognition and enhances the overall perception of the company, making it more memorable to consumers. Take Eddie Bauer’s redesign last fall, they chose their redesign because Gen Z was never taught to read or write cursive. I’m also guessing that their cursive logo isn’t readable as a favicon or something similar. Their new goose brand icon is significantly better.
Moreover, businesses should expect their new logo to elevate their market relevance. By aligning the redesign with current design trends and consumer expectations, the brand can demonstrate its awareness and adaptability, key qualities that appeal to modern consumers.
Chris Do encapsulates the spirit of this journey perfectly: "Expect magic, but remember, even magicians need to know what rabbit they're pulling out of the hat." This quote underscores the importance of having clear objectives and understanding the strategic purpose behind the redesign. It's not just about creating something visually stunning; it's about strategic transformation and relevance, ensuring that the new logo accurately represents the brand's vision and values while captivating the audience.
Conclusion
The journey of brand identity and logo design is a testament to the dynamic interplay between visual symbolism and strategic branding. This exploration underscores the significance of a well-designed logo as not just a mark of identification but as the embodiment of a brand's core values, mission, and vision. It serves as a beacon that communicates the essence of a brand to its audience, encapsulating its ethos in a single, memorable image. The distinction between logo redesign and rebranding is crucial, each serving distinct purposes in the lifecycle of a brand's evolution. While logo redesign focuses on updating the visual representation to stay relevant and reflect current values, rebranding encompasses a comprehensive overhaul of the brand's identity, signaling a new direction or vision.
The evolution of Coca Cola’s logo.
As brands navigate the challenges of staying relevant in a rapidly changing market, the decision to embark on a logo redesign or rebranding should be approached with careful consideration, strategic foresight, and an understanding of the brand's relationship with its audience. The ultimate goal is to enhance brand cohesion, elevate market relevance, and ensure a strong, consistent brand identity that captivates and retains the target audience. In this endeavor, businesses are reminded that while change is necessary for growth, it must be grounded in the brand's foundational values and vision, ensuring a seamless transition that strengthens, rather than dilutes, the brand's identity and market position.
Is your logo redesign long overdue? Not sure were to start or how to get the proverbial ball rolling? Hit me up to schedule your free evaluation today! Think of me as your brands personal trainer. I’m here to make your business look and feel its absolute best.
