Saturday, 14 September 2013

The Best and Worst Logo Redesigns




#20 Bad: Yahoo!

After 30 days of hype from the famous search engine, they finally unveiled their official new logo to a displeased audience. Something about this logo already feels dated. The old design was a little whimsical and unexpected, seeming to sum up all of the joys of the internet but this one looks dull and corporate.


#19 Good: Starbucks

We know what you’re wondering: is Starbucks redesigning their logo? Nope, they did that back in 2011. When the coffee connoisseurs redesigned their logo, it didn’t ruffle any feathers. In fact, it didn’t seem to have any effect all. All they did was de-clutter the design by removing the green ring and name.


#18 Bad: American Airlines

Our favorite critique of this one is that it looks like a pair of 3-D glasses you get at the movies. Maybe it’s a sign of things to come. Perhaps they’re installing 3-D theaters in the planes now but they wanted it to be a surprise. If that’s the case, this is genius!


#17 Good: Target

Target’s logo hasn’t really changed much in years. This is probably because if it’s not broken, why fix it? All they did was remove the name from the logo, leaving the simple target graphic intact. They made this move in 2011 around the time when other brands were simplifying their look. It worked.


#16 Bad: WGN America

Chances are good that you've probably never noticed WGN’s logo before. Although they’re not really known for their original programming, they give you a pretty good line up of sitcoms. It’s certainly not “can’t ignore” TV but it’s still pretty good so when they updated their logo to this creepy set of eyes with the caption “TV You Can’t Ignore”, it was pretty off-putting.


#15 Good: UPS

It was probably a hard decision to make but UPS was very smart in their re-design. Realizing that their company has outgrown its roots, the redesigned logo makes it clear that the brand has evolved with the business. The new logo looks cleaner with an added silver background, but it keeps the brown and yellow colors with the lowercase lettering.


#14 Bad: Animal Planet

Just because the channel is kid friendly, doesn’t mean it has to look like a child designed the logo. The old design was great, it didn’t need any help. This one just looks cheap, unoriginal and what’s up with the sideways ‘M’?


#13 Good: Nike

When it came to a re-design, the company decided to just do it! Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel, they kept with the clasics. They simply removed the text from the logo and left the iconic symbol. It was a simple, smart move that other companies could learn from.


#12 Bad: Brooklyn Public Library

Here is a rule to live by if you’re ever in the library business: Your logo should be spelled correctly. Does anyone think that by leaving out letters, it’s going to make anyone want to come inside to read?


#11 Good: iTunes

The original iTunes logo featured a CD and a musical note. It was a great design, especially during a time when people were still converting all of their CDs to mp3's. Since the early 2000’s, the application is used more for digital purchases than anything else. The new logo is much more contemporary and respects the fact that CD's are now largely irrelevant.


#10 Bad: The Olympics (2012)

This will forever go down as the worst Olympics design in history. This was created by Wolff Olins for the 2012 London Olympics. In 2007 as the design debuted, it was met with harsh criticism. When it had been decided that this logo was going to be kept, people went crazy over it. It even made design critic Stephen Bayley call it "a puerile mess, an artistic flop and a commercial scandal". Snap!


#9 Good: T.G.I. Friday's

It feels like it’s almost too simple when compared to the first two logos but after considering it again, this logo is genius! Everyone is going to see it and instead of thinking “let’s go to Friday’s place”, they will think “let’s spend our Fridays here” Let’s see if this will be a profitable move for the 48-year-old company.


#8 Bad: eBay

Is eBay still stylized like eBay when it’s typed? Big B, little e? Who even knows anymore. It feels like both eBay and Yahoo! are in the same boring boat these days.


#7 Good: VH1

They’ve seemed a little lost in their rebranding efforts but one area that’s always a hit with them is their passion for nostalgia. Shows like I love the 80s got people watching again so it’s really fitting that the new message from VH1 is that they’re music “plus one” other thing like nostalgia or references to pop culture.


#6 Bad: Euronews

Before the logo looked like a colorful puzzle made entirely of planetary rectangles. Their old logo highlighted the idea that the channel covers global issues in a respectful way. The new logo looks like unfinished clip art. Or better yet, a DIY mobile app.


#5 Good: Apple

Apple’s logo redesigns have all been very subtle ones. They always change the inside (or filling, if you will) of the apple and leave the general shape and logo alone. This is probably why no one ever seems to mind when they change something in the look.


#4 Bad: University of California

The original 144 year old symbol was much more than just a logo, it was a seal representing higher education but it got a ill advised redesign in 2012. The internet had a field day with the poorly designed logo, comparing it to an egg yolk being flushed down a toilet. After a week of complaints, a petition boasting 50,000 signatures protested the “update”, ultimately halting plans for the new design.


#3 Good: Florida Lottery

The Florida lottery began business in 1988 and it is now the third-ranked state in yearly lottery revenue. That means that the people of Florida love their lottery! The 2013 redesign breathed some new life into the logo. It now shows a cartoon flamingo and uses similar colors as the previous logo to show the sun in the background and the text on the logo.


#2 Bad: Gap

In 2010 Gap had the brilliant idea that they needed a new logo. Gap has had one of the most innovative and iconic logos for years so naturally the re-design was a major step back. It didn’t take them long to scrap it though. After listening to the complaints from their customers, the company quickly put things back in order.


#1 Good: JCPenney

When JCPenney switched their logo to the box in 2012, it was a genius move. It played on all of the existing ideas that consumers had about the existing logo. The new design implements all of the original elements but does so with a modern twist. The new CEO says the brand is “fundamentally re-imagining every aspect of the Company’s business,”.

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