Since I’ve been in the business of branding and logo design for many years, I’ve been asked by my clients to update a logo, redesign a website or polish a speaker one sheet. I respond first by saying we should re-evaluate their current brand message before proceeding with any graphical changes.
Many times the direction of a small business will change and grow into new markets with new product lines, different services and clientele. My clients know their logo’s graphic image, typography, colors and tag line should always support their overall brand. So if the logo doesn’t change with the business it will look out of place. Sometimes all we need to do is just update the style of the logo to bring it into the modern era. Other times we will use more appropriate imagery that better represents the evolving business model. The following are some important guidelines.
What to Consider Before You Update a Logo
- Do a brand assessment to clarify your current business goals, services, and target market.
- Evaluate your key benefit message. Is it the the same now as it was years ago?
- Do you have an outdated tag line, or should that be revamped too?
- Work with a designer to determine if your main graphic element should remain part of the logo, or if a different, more appropriate image would be a better choice. Maybe the graphic just needs to be illustrated in today’s current style.
- Determine if you need to change your colors and fonts too.
When your logo is done, be sure to apply it to all the tools in your marketing toolkit, including your website. Follow suit with all your corporate identity pieces too: business cards, letterhead, etc.
With the Super Bowl upon us, I thought it would be interesting to see the how the logos of the NFL teams have changed and progressed since the league was formed in 1920. The infographic shown below was created in 2013 by Rachael Fernandes of LogoTod, with the written content coming from Wikipedia and posted on Visually.com.
In general, what I’ve noticed is the logos have moved from thin, sometimes complicated illustrations toward a more clean and simple style. Modern logos often have forward motion, usually to the right, with bold curvy lines and shapes. Also a bold outline is often added around the entire logo make it more visible against various color backgrounds (for merchandising purposes). What do you think about your NFL team’s current logo?