Logo Redesign or Refresh: What’s Right for Your Business?
Your logo needs to work hard, it’s one of the most important branding elements of your business.
With a well-designed logo proven to be effective in building brand loyalty and driving sales, it’s important to assess your logo on a regular basis, as an outdated logo could actually be detrimental to your business.
Does your logo actually need updating?
Perhaps your business has expanded or changed direction recently. Maybe you have new competition or indeed a new audience. Your brand’s values or mission may have been rewritten or maybe your existing logo is just dated.
If any of the above applies to your business, then the chances are that a logo update is in order. Your logo needs to deliver the best results possible and a refreshed or a completely redesigned logo might be just the breath of fresh air your business requires. It’s essential to know the difference between a refresh and a redesign, so below are the main points to allow you to make the choice that’s right for you.
A logo refresh
Think of it like a mini logo makeover, a light touch approach, working with design elements that are already in place with your existing logo. During a logo refresh a designer will make small changes to what’s already there by updating colours or simplifying the entire look and feel.
A logo refresh might include:
- Tweaking your current design or logo
- Changing your colour pallet
- Refreshing marketing materials
- Using a new font
Below, Calvin Klein revealed a new all-caps logo, but stayed true to their minimalist design and skinny sans-serif font.
A logo redesign
A logo redesign is much more involved and time-intensive, this approach may include new messaging, a new colour scheme, maybe even a new take on your company’s name. This is more akin to a brand redesign by looking at how your logo fits into all aspects of your business.
Altering your logo doesn’t always require that you undergo a complete rebrand — but if your logo or your brand as a whole hasn’t been updated for some time, it isn’t a bad idea, either.
A logo redesign could involve:
- Updating your slogan
- Creating a new personality
- Designing a new identity for your company
- Establishing yourself within a different market
- Overhauling your entire image
When Instagram quietly unveiled their new logo in May of 2016, some loved it, some loathed it, and most of us thought a new app had appeared on our phones. Everyone was talking about it, and creating a conversation with your clients is exactly what a rebrand can achieve.
Often, successful businesses retain at least some elements of their original logo design. It can make good business sense to keep certain elements with a strong, timeless and relevant design, IBM is a really good example of this. It can also help to tie the new design to the old one in the public consciousness, so you don’t have to start from scratch in building the reputation of your business.
So, take a good hard look at your logo and see if any of the points from above apply. It’s easy to get attached to a logo; after all, we use them to build up our entire businesses and set the tone and personality for who we are. But, eventually, there always comes the right moment to make a change for the success of your company.