7 Must-Follow Tips For Redesigning a Company Logo

Change is one of the few constants in life. Perhaps your company is undergoing drastic changes that demand a major rebranding effort. That means changing some of the most recognizable aspects of your company, including its logo.

There are plenty of reasons why redesigning a company logo becomes necessary. For instance, your original logo may have looked great 5 years ago, but it looks outdated now. Perhaps you designed your own logo on a shoestring budget and now your company is successful enough to finally have one professionally made. Or maybe your competitors simply have better logos, and it’s time to play catch-up.

Whatever the reason, revamping your company logo can breathe new life into your brand. But for many companies, such efforts aren’t a walk in the park. The following highlights a few important tips to keep in mind as you give your logo a major makeover.

Tips To Follow When You Redesign Your Logo

1. Understand Why You Want a Logo Redesign

Before you even think about redesigning your current logo, think about exactly why you’d want to change it. Perhaps your current logo seems like a relic of an era long past and it’s due for an update. Or your logo simply isn’t reaching the same audiences it once was and needs a new direction. Another reason for a logo redesign is a complete brand redesign. If you’re starting your brand over from scratch, then chances are you’ll also want a complete revamp of your logo.

Remember the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” A drastic redesign simply for change’s sake could prove devastating for your brand, especially if the retired logo has a significant mind share among your loyal customers.

Keep in mind that a logo redesign is not the same as a logo refresh. The latter involves relatively minor changes that don’t have a drastic impact on your current logo. That includes adding a slogan or message to your logo or updating its colors.

2. Think About Your Business Past and Its Story

Every business has an origin story, and it’s up to you to decide how that story is reflected in your company logo. Some ideas include incorporating a historic element of your company into the logo itself. Others include font choices that also provide some connection to the company’s past. The famous Coca-Cola script does this well thanks to its iconic cursive typography.

The present Bacardi logo is just one example of how a company took inspiration from tradition. The present logo is actually a fresh take on the company’s old logo dating back to 1931, harkening back to its colorful past while remaining both modern and instantly recognizable.

Traditional cues aren’t the only way for your redesigned logo to reference your company’s past. Color choices and other subtle, yet noticeable details can tell the story without the logo itself being stuck in the past.

3. Make A Brand Audit and Check If Your Audience Has Changed

Change is an ever-present part of the business. Audiences also change and what worked with one may not work as well (or at all) with a different group. This is where a brand audit comes in handy for guiding your logo redesign process.

A brand audit gives you an opportunity to reevaluate how your logo performs in your marketing efforts. You can use a brand audit template to pinpoint the critical areas, pay close attention to how your brand identity resonates with its intended audience. Study all visual aspects such as your logo, fonts, colors, and also your brand voice and messaging, and take note of their individual impacts on your audience.

A brand audit can unveil some interesting insights into your current logo, which could help guide your redesign efforts and help your business stay competitive. Don’t be afraid to expand your brand audit to other aspects of your marketing efforts, including your website, social media, and direct mail marketing.

4. Decide Which Elements You Want to Keep

Your loyal customers are used to your logo, which can make it all the more difficult to change it without making the redesign seem so jarring. That’s a common problem with logos that are remained unchanged for generations.

To minimize that issue, consider all the basic elements of your logo and see which elements are worth keeping and which elements can be safely discarded. This could mean reducing the number of colors used in your logo to just one or two eye-catching shades, for instance. These can include elements that you simply don’t like and think the logo could do without.

Above all, you don’t want to make too many changes to your brand’s motif unless you intend to make a complete break from tradition. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you decide which elements are worth holding on to:

• Bring out your logo’s best qualities. Identify what makes your logo stand out from the rest of the pack and bring it to the forefront. The current Marriott logo does this by making the distinctive “M” its most prominent element.
• Strive for simplicity. When you have a logo with multiple elements, sometimes whittling those down to the basics can help make that logo look fresh and modern. The current Pizza Hut logo traded the four colors of the previous logo in favor of a simple, yet tasty white-on-red logo.
• Optimize for readability. In some cases, subtracting certain elements can help improve a logo’s readability, making it easier for people to remember.
• Don’t lose too much too quickly. The 2009-2012 Kraft Foods logo is a classic example of a drastic change gone bad. The last thing you’d want to do is lose your brand identity in the redesign.

5. Focus on The Colors That Matter the Most

Colors are an incredibly crucial element in any logo design. Different colors convey wildly different ideas and emotions, especially when associated with a specific business. It’s no secret that many tech firms use different shades of blue in their logos since it’s a low-intensity color that conveys collaboration and communication. Financial firms often stick with grays and other relatively boring shades that nevertheless signify dependability and strength.

Consider how your business is reflected in your logo’s current color scheme. Consider the type of emotions those colors convey and how those colors impact your audience.

Too many colors can prove confusing to viewers, so you want to avoid making your logo overly colorful unless there is a specific reason for doing so. The old NBC logo used multiple colors on purpose to reflect its status as a broadcasting company, for example.

6. Maintain Simplicity

The best logos are often the simplest. That’s a fact proven time and again by some of the most iconic logos in the advertising and design world: IBM, Nike, Apple, etc. Those logos succeed by conveying everything one wants to know about the brand while using as few elements as possible.

Even if your old logo was already simple enough, you’ll want to maintain that simplicity. After all, simple logos are not only easier to read, but also easier for customers and clients to remember. Simple logos are also easier to reproduce for different types of media since they can be resized over and over without losing their meaning or clarity.

Sometimes it only takes removing a single element to successfully simplify a logo. For instance, many companies have revamped their logos simply by removing their name. However, that only works as long as the original logo had lots of exposure in the marketplace and a sizable mind share among loyal customers.

7. Add Interest

Want another way to successfully redesign your company logo? Consider adding something that’s interesting to it. We’re all visual creatures by nature and seeing interesting elements is one surefire way of your logo sticking in the minds of onlookers.

This could mean hiding a visual gag or pun right inside the logo. Other ways of creating interest in a logo include the clever use of color to highlight a specific element. Adding a hidden meaning can help pique

Take a closer look at the FedEx logo, for example. Chances are you’ve already seen the cleverly hidden arrow tucked away between the “e” and “x.” Not only is it a clever visual gag, but it also signals that the company is always moving forward.

Start The Redesign Process

1. Draw different designs

The first step on the road to logo-making success is creating a concept design. But even the best designers rarely get it right on the first try. Not only should you make as many different concepts as possible, but also several different versions of those concepts.

A good idea to help you understand how you want your new logo to look like is to play around with some design alternatives and see what you think works best. Start out by making different designs using an automated logo maker, and focus on creating at least a few options that aren’t too similar in their colors and style.

Having multiple concepts to choose from gives you multiple options to explore. Perhaps there’s something about one concept that you love and something from another that you’d also want to use. You can combine both into a brand-new concept and see how effective it is compared to other designs.

2. Ask for feedback

No one said redesigning a logo was easy. The entire process can seem like a tough task at times and even the biggest of firms can get it wrong. One of the most common reasons for marketing disasters involves miscommunication when it comes to the design process.

Don’t be afraid to ask your customers what they think about your proposed logo. You’ll gain valuable feedback from your intended audience and have an opportunity to make changes for greater impact.

3. Create a brief for your designer

Once you have an idea of what your logo should look like, it’s up to the designer to turn your concept into a finalized product. Designers aren’t mind-readers, however. You’ll want to explain to the designer exactly what you have in mind for your logo, even if you’re still a bit fuzzy on details.

A well-written logo design brief can help spell out your idea and keep your designer on the right track. A typical brief may contain the following:

• Information about your business, including a description of your products and services, target audience, and brand values.
• Information about the project itself, including the deliverables needed at each stage of the project and the specific dates they’re needed.
• Project details include logo style, color preferences, and font styles.
• Information about your budget, including provisions for cost overruns.

Conclusion

There’s no reason to fear change, especially when it comes to your logo. A successful redesign can pay dividends for your business, whether it’s capturing a new audience or improving brand awareness overall. The above tips can make creating that new logo a smoother process for you and your loyal customers.

 

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Author Bio

Abhay is a Digital Marketing Guru and an accomplished entrepreneur with an experience of a decade working with various businesses varying from startups to established brands. He co-founded many companies like Logicsofts, PrintYo, CrazyRise and more. He is passionate about SEO and Online Data Analytics, which plays a vital role in any business to grow and mutate as per the data results.
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