How to Successfully Redesign Your Logo

Why do a redesign?

 There are several reasons why you are probably ready to redesign your logo. Your current one may be out of date, your business or customers have changed, your current logo doesn’t look good on the web or you simply don't like it anymore. All these are normal in the life of a company. There is no shame in wanting to update one’s brand image. It's also a good idea to have a new logo when there's an important event in your company like a merger or when you're releasing new products. In short, redesigning your logo can show that you are ready for new challenges.

For example, let's think of the McDonald's restaurant chain. In the 1990s, this American company relied on families to come into their establishments. They promoted their playrooms and their children's meals that came with a toy. These children have now grown and the restaurant has adapted by renovating their facilities now offering different options of coffee. In their case, it is not so much their logo that has changed, but their entire brand image. Their mascot Ronald has not been used for a long time.

 Get your Customers Ready

Few people like change. Your customers are no exception. It is therefore important to prepare your target audience accordingly if you want your logo to be quickly accepted by your community. Most of the time, when a company announces its new logo, it's a surprise. If people are attached to you, then they may feel blindsided and lost. Sometimes they will proclaim intensely that they don't like this change, especially in this age of social media. We recommend that you tell them that you are working on a new logo and even show them some sketches if necessary. This will help you understand your customers and they will feel involved. That's what the team behind Mozilla Firefox did for their new logo. They remained transparent and took into account what their users had to say during the redesign process.

Analyse Your Business

Before you get to the drawing board, we suggest taking a moment to analyze your business. This will help you create a new logo that will better meet your current needs. Chances are your company has changed since its inception. For that, we only have to think of companies like Netflix that initially rented DVDs by mail. Next, answer these questions: What are your values? Have they changed since your launch? Who is your target audience? What do they like, where are they located? What are their concerns? If you want to break into a new market, it would be helpful to use a new logo to reach these new consumers. However, it is important to never forget the people who have supported you from the start. A logo that is too different could put them off. This is what happened when an English soccer team nicknamed the "Bluebirds" began to use the dragon as a symbol. No one understood it.

 If you want to know more, read our article: 3 redesigns that went wrong.

 Keep a Connection to the Past

Similarly, if you are redesigning your logo, it is important that your logo maintains a direct connection with previous versions, especially if your brand image is already strong. As in the example mentioned above, if you try something completely different, it may very well be that the customers you already have simply do not go along with the change. When people see your new logo, they need to know that it's you–even the first time seeing the version. Consider reusing the same shapes, icons, fonts or colors when redesigning. This will create a common thread between your logos. Maybe you just need to simplify the current logo since this is the trend at the moment.

To illustrate this, we can think of the sports brand Adidas. This German company has had several different logos during its existence, but they have always kept the three stripes regardless of the version. 

Try Different Versions

Finally, our last piece of advice for a successful redesign of your logo is this: make several versions. Modify your logo in different ways, remove details, add more... Let your creativity go! Don't forget to create a logo that can be used for both the web and print. When you have some interesting choices, don't hesitate to ask for feedback. Now, show with pride who you are!

In conclusion, if you want to successfully redesign your logo, it is important to know who you want to connect with. So, take the time to understand your target customers and ask them for their opinion. You could also explain why you need to change your logo, as Slack did. They simply mentioned that it was too complicated to use 14 colors for their branding and people understood. While it will probably take some time to get used to, your company deserves a new logo.