We have covered many topics in our summer-long graphic design blog series, some logo-specific, like why your brand fonts matter and why your logo design matters.
If you have a business, especially one that has been around for a while, chances are you have a logo. And if that is the case, you may also think you’re all set on the branding side of things. But, a logo redesign can be crucial to your marketing efforts if the conditions call for it.
Branding is a lot like fashion—one day, your elements (like font choices, brand colors, and logo design) are engaging your audience and serving your message well; but the next day, they are seen as stale and outdated.
Logo redesigns are a necessary part of keeping up with current marketing trends and thriving in the world of commerce. To help you determine if you really need a logo redesign right now, take a look at these three indicators:
1. Your Business Has Shifted, Expanded, or Refocused
If you have been in business for a decade or longer, your current business model probably looks different from when you first started. Your business changes over the years as you introduce new services and products to best serve your customers and grow your company. Your efforts or focal points have likely evolved, but your branding may not have been updated to reflect those shifts, expansions, or changes in direction.
If your logo still accurately represents the brand you were when you first started, then now might not be the time to rethink a logo. But, if your current logo speaks to the company you once were and not the company you are now, it’s time to consider redesigning your logo and achieve coherence between who you are and how you represent yourself.
Take Apple, for instance. When it first launched in 1976, its logo was busy with a scenic image of Isaac Newton sitting at the base of a tree and an apple dangling overhead. The wordmark was also busy with “Apple Computer Co.” in all caps featured on a ribbon wrapped around the logomark.
It’s a lot for a logo and looks outdated, even for the ’70s. The logo didn’t last long since Apple rebranded a year later with the first version of the bitten apple we recognize now. Steve Jobs wanted something more simplified and sleeker to reflect the trend toward modern computer design.
It only took Apple a year to rebrand, but had it stuck with the Newton logo, its outdated logo would have conflicted with its modernized products and could have hindered sales, proving how important it is to update your branding elements to match your current business efforts.
2. Your Audience Has Changed
Whether your company is branded to reach a highly specific demographic or anyone and everyone, your logo design should keep your target audience in mind. Typically, designs include relevant, modern, or trendy elements and speak to the younger consumers in your target audience. But as it goes, preferences change, styles become outdated, different trends take over, audiences age, and new generations show up.
When the time comes, it’s crucial to market to the next generation of consumers to stay in business and grow as a company. Oftentimes, a logo redesign is necessary to appeal to a newer, younger audience without losing the attention of your existing audience.
Take the current minimalistic design trend, for instance. The past decade or so has seen ultra-simplified logo designs that are clean, monotoned, and minimalistic to reflect the simplified processes created by the Information Age. Thanks to technological advancements and innovations, pretty much everything has become user-friendly and user-focused—in other words, simplified—and is what younger consumers have always known, generally speaking.
Before, designs were busier, often three-dimensional, and saturated with brighter colors. Now, brands have clean, modern, and minimal logos that convey simplicity and sophistication.
Eventually, these logos must be redesigned to speak to whatever trends the next generation of consumers will inspire, and the cycle will continue.
If you want to capture the attention of a new or younger audience, talk to the design pros at M&R! Call 478-621-4491 to get started!
3. Your Current Logo Is Decades Old or Has Outdated Elements
Directly related to reason #2, you may want to consider a logo redesign if your current design has been around for decades or has outdated elements. An old or outdated logo can tell audiences several things:
- You don’t care about your brand enough to keep it up to date and modern.
- You don’t care about your audience enough to update and improve your brand messaging.
- You are an old, outdated company, or at least that is how you want to be seen.
Old or outdated logos can create a sense of stagnancy or staleness among your audiences, even if your products and services are neither.
So, what is an outdated element? Anything that is not a staple of your brand, evergreen, or on trend with today’s designs can be viewed as outdated. Examples can include:
- Serif fonts
- Cursive fonts
- Three-dimensional designs
- Frames around the entire logo
- Busy logomarks
- Loud, saturated colors
This list is in no way exhaustive, nor does it mean you should avoid outdated elements at all costs. One way to recapture your audience’s attention is to use something normally considered old in a fresh, new way. When executed well, a logo can keep an older element or two while changing other outdated elements, putting a unique and interesting twist on an old design.
Need a Logo Redesign? Our Graphic Designers Can Help You Update Your Branding and Gain the Attention of Soon-to-Be Customers! Call Us at 478-621-4491.
If it’s time to redesign your logo, turn to the branding experts at M&R Marketing. Our graphic designers have created logos for companies across Georgia and the southeast and can help you boost business with a fresh, updated look. To start the logo redesign process, contact one of our friendly account managers today.
Did you love this article? Make sure you sign up for our monthly eNewsletter, so you never miss one.
We love good design, and we’re sharing that love this summer. From now through September, we’ll share tips, information, and best practices for using high-quality graphic design to build and promote your business.
Other posts in this series:
- 4 Ways Your Design Choices Can Help or Hurt Brand Perception
- Want to Spread Your Message? Don’t Ignore Your Message Design
- How Branding and Graphic Design Has Served Abbeville Commissioning in South Georgia
- How To Enhance Your Digital Ads with High-Quality Visuals
- What Do Your Brand Fonts Say to Your Audience?
- 4 Graphic Design Facts that Can Help Boost Business
- Does My Logo Design Really Matter? 3 Facts that Prove It Does
- Logo Trends to Consider When Branding Your Company