Rebranding a logo can be a daunting task, especially if the original logo is well established and well loved. Sometimes, however, there isn’t really an excuse for mucking up a brand design.
On the other hand, when a logo is rebranded well, it simultaneously encapsulates a brand’s past, present and future. While it’s no simple task, the best redesigned logos are usually the simplest.
Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the contributing author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Hensher Creative.
5 Botched Rebrands
Tropicana
Tropicana made a huge blunder by replacing the deep greens and thick lines of the original font with a skinny, minimal sans serif. They also nixed the classic orange with the straw that sparked the imaginations and tastes of so many past consumers. The redesign had all of the life and brand history sucked out of it, with a minimalism that echoed the starkness of generic brands. At $35 million for this redesign, Tropicana made one expensive mistake. Thank goodness they had the brains to revert to the original.
Sprite
I admit that there is something quintessentially 90s about the former Sprite logo, but it evoked a kind of throwback nostalgia that I personally really dug. The rebranded image takes the gradient transfers between blue and green and squeezes it into a small starburst banner trimmed in silver. Instead of topping the “I” in Sprite with the classic lemon layered over a lime, the new logo attempts to create a new hybrid lemon-lime fruit that is cradled in the arc of the starburst banner. Oh yeah, and the background is green. Way too complicated, Sprite.
Pepsi
For some reason, beverages seem to take the cake in rebranding, but hey, not everyone can be Coca-Cola. I get that, and so does Pepsi. It seems that this company has an almost comic obsession with rebranding, and I think Forbes said it best: “Pepsi needs to find itself before it can find the new Pepsi Generation.” Again, we see a light, airy sans serif font take center stage to replace the bold ALL CAPS Pepsi of before that held a lot of intensity and sense of motion. Instead of the symmetrically satisfying red, white and blue logo with a simple wavy line inside a circle, the can now sports a circle that looks like a laughing mouth in the corner. Oh yes, and the “e” in Pepsi now has the classic wavy line of the former emblem. It is a rebrand that sways between generic and cheesy.
London 2012 Olympic Games
One of the best examples of how an extremely classic logo can fall to pieces when tampered with on a large scale. I’m not even sure I can describe what happened here. The backdrop for this logo is a red and white “2012”with the 20 stacked on top of the 12. It is almost as if a kindergartener was given a pair of scissors and some construction paper and told to try to cut numbers from it. The 2s look like Zs, and the zero is a jagged square. The one resembles an arrow. Then, to make matters worse, they chose a font that looks like comic sans for the “London” portion of the logo. It came in a variety of horribly garish colors.
Gap
Could this be an example of the bar simply being too high? Where do you go when asked to redesign one of the simplest, most classic and most recognizable American brands of the 20th Century. Yes, we know that it’s a new millennium, but does Helvetica really have a place in the Gap? The rebranded logo says nothing. There is no meaning and the white space inside of the “p” feels crowded by a random, floating square. Another instance where the new brand design was scrapped due to a general outrage among consumers.
5 Brilliant Rebrands
ubank
Originally a small banking company, this South African bank was developed to support the needs of the region’s poorly educated working class. Originally called Teba, ubank changed its name and image to promote easy pronunciation (There are 11 indigenous languages in the region) and the company’s original specialization in customized services for their clients. What could be more appropriate to suggest services tailored to suit the customer than a fingerprint? In the “U” of the ubank logo is a fingerprint image. The sleek, modern design puts the company at the doorstep to the future.
Apple
This logo is on everyone’s favorites list. The simple graphic — an apple with a bite out of it — spent the 90s wearing colorful stripes. For the new millennium, the apple got a chromed makeover, with a sleek metallic gradient and swooshing patches of light and shadow that give it an almost liquid, mercurial feel.
Google has tweaked its logo a few times over the years, and as a logo that breaks a lot of design rules in the first place — it actually began with a lot of room for improvement. (planned obsolescence, perhaps?) The updates feature fewer color gradients within the logotype, as well as a reduction in the drop shadow. Basic, simple improvements for a simple and powerful logo.
KFC
Perhaps my favorite rebrand is the recent update in the Colonel’s image for the KFC logo. The new logo features an almost identical Colonel, but by nixing the blue tints the palette becomes warmer and more inviting. The lines are bolder and in black, making the face more distinctive and jollier than before. Instead of an all-white coat, the Colonel is also now sporting a red apron with white lines down the breast, just enough white space to provoke a sense of movement within the logo.
Amazon
It was a good logo before, but Amazon’s new logo says so much more. The original logo had the classic swoosh below the “amazon.com”. The new logo keeps the swoosh, but turns it into an arrow that points from “a” to “z”. Thus, the swoosh takes on meaning. Customers who look at this logo can instantly feel the comprehensive nature of the site (from a-z) and the logistics of sending items to another location (the arrow). There is also a smile in that arrow, which is cheerful and inviting.
Rachel Sanders is a graphic design lover and artist who writes for webdesignschoolsguide.com. You can reach Rachel by leaving a comment below! Tags: branding, design, graphic design, logo, rebrand
Some of the rebranding were so awful. I wonder how could these big companies make a such a huge mistake that definitely cost them a lot! Didn’t they make a survey before finalizing their new logos? For the brilliant rebrands, what I love most is from the Apple.
Twitter: technreviews
says:
The redesign of Pepsi looks really awful and I like its older design the best. Apple has added glamor to its design and I vote it the best among all.
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Twitter: MiamiLuxCondos
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I always buy Tropicana, and I agree with you the original box design being way better, and meaningful than the new one. I think they switched back to the old one. I have been seeing the old box design.
Google’s first design was terrible like someone just started to use shadow, and bevel features on a photo editing tool.
Wow, those are some really botched rebrandings! Sometimes it pays to clean up a design rather than completely tear it down. In my addiction counseling business, I have rebranded several times, but always taken care to make sure new clients wouldn’t be alienated.
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Rebranding is quite dangerous if you don’t know what are you doing. I saw many examples like yours and noticed that sometimes customers are so disappointed that they don’t use anymore or go to the competitors.
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Twitter: method2earn
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Hi Rachel
A few of the rebranding had been therefore terrible. We question how do these types of major brands create a this type of massive error which certainly price all of them a great deal! Did not make the study prior to finishing their own brand new trademarks? For your excellent rebrands
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My take is Tropicana, Gap, and Apple are terrible, but Sprite, Pepsi, and KFC, and Google aren’t that bad seeing as they still have a remnant of their former logo.
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Tropicana’s new design reminded me of generic brands…thought they did a horrible job and was glad when they went back to the original. Also agree with Apple…though I am not an Apple brand buyer, the new logo looks much better! Up to date and sleek. I agree with what others have mentioned too about surveying. Many of these companies would do much better if the tested out their designs before spending millions re-branding!
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Twitter: mauiresearch
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I disagree, I think that Pepsi did a phenomenal job in its rebranding – going retro, old-school, quintessential. I know for me, it sparked my interest and I started drinking it again, after going a decade without.
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hey nice collection of logo remakes it interesting to see how few company fails to improvise. While some did manage to do a great job
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Twitter: leenasidea
says:
Hi,I think I like the most is London 2012. I like your collection and concept both. Keep shearing your marvelous ideas. Thanks
Twitter: EpicMiamiCondos
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They should have not change the pepsi logo, the old one is more appealing than the new one.
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Twitter: chrisjvi
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For me apple looks good, but KFC really fail.
very interesting article, and loved how you had the before and after image of each logo. I do agree, if the wheel is not broke, don’t fix it. Thanks for the piece.
Rebranding products is a very successful idea.That is to say when we creat new name new term concerning a product we also creat new strategy of producing the products.With time we explore more things we give an intention to more things our minds is changing all the time so rebranding is being hand hand with the develpoment of our world and our minds our ideas our way of saying things.
there’s nothing wrong with the contemporary look. I personally think it is refreshing. However, when you tinker with a well known iconic logo that has been around for many many years… then that’s a different story
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personally i really like Apple redesign, and this design go in hand to hand with rebound story of Apple, Simple and Classy.
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Twitter: Heliciculture
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Nice article, but I think that the Apple and KFC logos are better than the old ones.
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Thankx For This Articles i appreciate your work :) <3
just aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesomeeeeee work brother <3
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“The only thing constant in life is change”. It’s true. All these changes are good. Nice article, Thanks for sharing.
Amazing post and amazing blog to share with my friends.
Nice post, rebranding is a tough call in my opnion, I hate it when products I buy have been rebranded.
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rebranding is one of the activities that are known and necessary.That’s why it should be done the right way!!Rebranding means creation, hardworking, adn invention.Also, it is needed to choose the right way of making a good advertisment for the right product!!!thank yu for sharing this post.It is useful!!
Rebranding is good, and I don.t agree with you regarding Sprite. The new logo looks more polished.
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Hi,
I learned a lot from this post.It takes me almost 10 mins to read the whole post and to understand. Definitely this one is the informative and useful post to me.
Thanks for the share.
the sprite rebrand is the worst of all. It’s sad to say, I always loved sprite, but this time the wrong move is clear and so easy to understand. They didn’t.
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nice post.. reading about re branding was an immense reading experience..
Hello,
I learned a lot from this post.It takes me almost 10 mins to read the whole post and to understand. Definitely this one is the informative and useful post to me.
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thank u a lot.i think i really like Apple redesign..
For me KFC was the best in redesigning and the worst was PEPSi.They hardly done any justice :O
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A year and a half old now but “contemporary” still holds up! I think GAP was the worst change and agreed Apple is the best. Amazon is king no matter what
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Twitter: wisestepp
says:
Nice post
A post about rebranding is very rare.I agree that ‘rebranding a logo can be a daunting task’. The logo plays a major part in the company’s value. As discussed in the above post about botched up re branding it could effect the sales of the product.
One issue can be that mostly people are used to some logos like the pepsi’s. When it changed we could not accept it .I think ‘ubank’ and ‘amazon’ has done a wonderful work.
Thank you for sharing
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Some re branding of logo is good and some are not because some might confuse and some are good looking. It does depend on the people on how they adapt or how they can see the new logo. Thanks for sharing this article. I had fun reading this post. Some logos are much better in original than re brand.
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Very informative post about Rebranding. I really love Apple redesign. This post very useful for online readers.
I appreciate your efforts.
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Appreciating the commitment you put into your website and detailed information you present. It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed material. Fantastic read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my website.
Me too. I love the old Sprite logo.
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I Think Pepsi did a mistake, i like the old logo it’s more powerful for me but it’s subjective point :P
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Super rocking post. I am very glad that I read this.
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that’s right admin, to make you brand more popular colors and logo is must. Most companies also focus on these post.
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This unique post is pretty interesting. I will definately be coming back to your website.
Twitter: Kitty_Canuck
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I love the Amazon logo. So smart!
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nice The redesign of Pepsi looks really awful and I like its older design the best. Apple has added glamor to its design and I vote it the best among all