It’s common for companies big and small to go through a logo revamp process after some time, and it’s important to know when that time is for your company. Logos come in all shapes and sizes, and uncovering the one that represents your business can be a difficult and time-consuming undertaking. In this post, we’ll be going through the 5 reasons that you need a new logo and some examples of popular companies who have done redesigns successfully.

Why Is Your Logo Important?

Typically, your logo is one of the main brand resources that your customer or potential customer associates with your brand. So having a logo that stands out amongst the rest plays a huge role in how consumers interact and perceive your brand. With your logo, you have the opportunity to evoke emotions whether it be through the stylization of the typography or the way the logo comes off symbolically. As a business professional, you may have been the one that created the logo originally and now you’re enlisting the help of professional designers to bring it into the 21st century. Regardless, knowing when the time is right is important when crafting a logo that represents you in today’s market.

Without further ado, let’s jump into the list!

5 Reasons You Need A New Logo

1. You made your logo yourself, or hired a student

Being a bootstrapped entrepreneur means limiting your expenses in as many aspects of your business as possible. Most business owners tend to neglect their logo, saving a little money by designing it themselves or having their daughter’s aspiring graphic design student friend do it for free. This can work in the initial stage of your business, but once your business starts gaining some traction, it becomes rather apparent that you need to consider enlisting the help of a professional.

The famous Nike logo (below), originally crafted by graphic design student Carolyn Davidson — who was paid $35 by Phil Knight — has been adapted and iterated on over the years. Phil Knight, who famously mentioned that he wasn’t “in love” with the logo, stuck with it and over the years it has been redesigned with updates to its typography and eventually to just the famous “swoosh” that we know and love today.

Don’t worry, Carolyn was awarded a ring and 500 shares in Nike after its years of success for her conceptual design from 1971. You can see in the image how simply tweaking the typography and positioning of elements can make the world of difference.

2. Your Logo Is Outdated

Many companies outgrow their logo. When they created their first logo it was “cool”, “trendy”, and at times “riveting”, but it no longer meets that criteria.

Below is Apple’s logo transformation over the years, and you can see how they’ve made such drastic changes from their original logo. Apple has simplified their logo over time, and their current logo is a single-colour vector that can be placed on any medium and changed into any colour. Their very first logo made in 1976 shows a picture of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree and the Apple about to fall, which outlines the iconic “aha” moment when he discovers gravity. Oh, how Apple has come a long way since then.

3. You’re Still Using Comic Sans

If your logo is still using Comic Sans or another outdated font, please for the love of logos get it redesigned! Fonts play a huge role in the feeling that your logo emits, and we want to ensure your logo isn’t dismissed as childish or old school.

Below, you’ll see 2 popular logos designed by the renowned Russian designer Oleg Tarasov Full List of Popular Logos Recreated In Comic Sans  who’s recreated a number of famous logos in Comic Sans. We have these 2 designer brands Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel, which have been comically converted into Comic Sans (pun intended). These may not look too terrible, but in comparison to their real-life counterparts, it’s a joke. This goes to show that font choice can make a world of difference.

4. Your Logo Is Too Complicated

When your logo has too much going on, a new logo redesign is required. An overcomplicated logo can be distracting to consumers and even harder for them to remember. With all of the noise in the marketing world, a clean, simple logo cannot be ignored, but a complicated one can be.

Take a look at Starbucks’ logo back in 1971 and tell me you’d be going there for your morning coffee. If you’re laughing and thinking “No Way José”, you’re not alone. Starbucks has been knocked for their overcomplicated logo design for years, and they listened. Take a look at their current logo. It’s still has complicated elements, but in comparison to previous years has really come a long way. They boast a simpler, cleaner feel and it took small tweaks that impacted the brand in a big way.

5. You Don’t Love Your Logo

One of the simplest ways to know you need a new logo is if you don’t love it. If you don’t love your logo, chances are that your customers and potential customers don’t like it either.

Take the London 2012 Olympic logo (below) created by Wolff Olins, a renowned designer, which took an immense amount of social hate for its legibility concerns but also it’s outlandish interpretations. On one hand, the logo is really hard to make out if you don’t know what you’re actually looking at, but social media had a bone to pick with so many legitimate (and hilarious) claims. Some were concerned it resembled Lisa Simpson engaging in fellatio, or that the logo actually spelt “Zion”. Worst of all, someone noticed it resembles a swastika. Social media squabbles aren’t always to be taken too seriously, but this logo is easy to hate on. Time for a new logo much?

Takeaway

Knowing when it’s time for a new logo redesign can be difficult. Hopefully you can relate to these 5 reasons and decide if the time is right for you. But even with all 5 reasons, creating a new logo can be quite the cumbersome undertaking. I recommend you enlist the help of a professional team to really nail the look and feel of your future brand. Sometimes a few tweaks to your brand is more than enough to give it the update that it needs, but don’t overthink it.

Happy designing! Learn more about how we brand for our clients by checking out our branding services Branding services available at Ankit Designs .