Last year, numerous recognizable logos underwent a transformation: Seattle's Best Coffee, Yellow Pages, Wikipedia. But none garnered the attention quite like Gap, the specialty clothing retailer. Fans revolted. News media buzzed. Criticism flew.
Your logo represents your organization's identity. It symbolizes what you offer, where you're headed, who your audience is, and who you are. Changing your logo, even a little, can alter the way people perceive your organization. And not necessarily in a good way.
So when, if ever, is it a good idea to redesign your logo? Although the most effective redesigns are the ones you probably don't notice—they maintain the general look and emotion of the original but with an update—redesigns are likely needed when you find your organization in one of the following situations:
• you need to rebrand your company and reposition it to better suit an existing or new market
• your business objectives change
• your organization merges with another and changes your mission or operations
• your logo doesn't convey the right message or includes irrelevant language or images
Redesigning, however, not only involves risk, but it also involves expense. Think of all the places your logo currently appears: letterhead and envelopes, packing material, marketing material, trade show displays, business cards, etc. Generating new material with an updated logo costs money, so make sure your reasoning and projected benefits justify the change. Don't mess with your logo just because your organization's leadership changes or because "all the corporations are doing it."
If you do redesign, Ellen Hamilton, graphic designer and owner of Yellow Dot Designs in Alexandria, Virginia, says the biggest decision you can make regarding your redesign is your designer. She recommends choosing someone trained in logo design who will sit down with you to discuss your goals, your services, your business plans—everything—to create a logo that's both visually and technically sound.
"A good designer delves into the vision of your organization," Hamilton says. "A good designer also knows how things get printed and how colors work. In the end, your logo has to work in one color, in various sizes, on a website and on a fax, and it has to be printable in a variety of formats."
