No logo lasts forever.
It’s true. Even logos for brands that are iconic and ubiquitous – like Apple, Starbucks and Coca-Cola – have undergone changes over the years. In fact, many marketers recommend that you take an objective look at your logo every five years and consider whether it has become dated and should be refreshed or renovated.
The goal of any logo renovation is to make it feel new and relevant again. When we’re asked to help with a logo refresh, it’s usually because something about a client’s existing logo isn’t quite working anymore.
Here are 4 signs its time for a logo renovation:
1.The logo’s typeface is too busy, fussy or outdated.
When it comes to creating a logo, selecting the right font is the most important decision. More often than not, a logo fails because of a poor font choice (like these infamous examples below).
2. Elements of the design that were once innovative now feel overused and unoriginal.
A good logo should avoid over-used and dated trends. Swooshes anyone?
3.The logo is too detailed and is not easily viewed on a mobile device or reduced size.
A logo should be simple enough to still be legible when reduced to a smaller size. Too much detail will get lost and in some cases, look like a mistake.
4.The logo does not exist in a high-quality format and can’t be utilized in various media.
Best practice when designing a logo is to use vector graphic software, such as Adobe Illustrator. A vector graphic will ensure visual consistency across multiple sizes and allow more flexibility when used in your branded material. The alternative, is a raster graphic which consists of pixels. The risk of having a raster logo is that if its enlarged enough, it will appear pixelated, making it unusable.
Renovation versus Demolition
In almost all cases, a logo renovation is better than starting from scratch. With a renovation, the client won’t lose all elements of their existing brand, or worse yet, confuse their customers with a totally new design and risk losing that valuable recognition factor.
With a logo makeover, we take the most relevant or recognizable elements of an existing logo and freshen them up. A remodeled logo can give you a professional, more cutting-edge look and keep up with changes in taste and design sensibility. However, we do recommend treading lightly when it comes to remodeling or your efforts could defeat the purpose of having a brand in the first place. One or two remodels can be seen as an improvement to your company image, but too many and you may start to seem flaky.
In most cases a remodel means refining colors, updating typefaces or simplifying design elements. Here are a few examples of renovations we’ve completed:
Ready for your own logo renovation? Contact us to get your logo remodeling job done dust-free, and professionally.