A logo is a graphic symbol used as the face of your company. It should be a visual representation of your brand’s identity and personality. Logos allow you to be recognised and can have the sheer power of your business model failing or succeeding!
Some people don’t agree with rebranding, but most companies do refresh and rebrand their businesses over the years. I’m sure after seeing these famous brand’s original logos you will see why!
Morrisons
Morrisons is a famous supermarket, and their logo is recognisable from miles away! But it took a while to get to its beautiful form today. Rebranding can be dangerous, Morrisons even changed up the colours! But it’s worked for them as they have become such a successful company.
Rebranding can offer stimulation to create new growth in an ever-evolving market. If Morrisons old red logo were to go up against the likes of Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s – some of the UK’s largest supermarkets, then it would not just look outdated but also unappealing!
In 2007 Morrisons wanted to attract a more extensive national customer base and so decided to ditch the black and white and go green/yellow. With a more modern brand image, they could encourage/become more appealing. By looking at the original logo, you can see just how important the revamp was.
Amazon
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the World’s wealthiest person for the third year in a row. But Amazon has a story like no other business. What started as a small online book store back in 1994 is now a $1 trillion worth company. Tackling a new business venture, Amazon had lots of rebranding to do! And this rebranding was the ‘make or break’, without it Amazon wouldn’t be what it is today.
The logo has come a long way to be the famous face of the trillion worth company.
As you can see, it wasn’t an easy ride for them! Changing the logo three times in one year could have had detrimental effects, but luckily enough for Amazon, it worked in their favour as the new one was very needed and has stuck with them for the past 20 years. The touch of colour brightens up the logo and helps it become more memorable and attractive.
Burberry
Now when it comes to clothing brands, it can be an even harder decision to mix up their logo. This will have an even more profound effect as the logos are printed on the clothes, if someone doesn’t like the switch up, you’re simply putting yourself out of business! Luckily for billion-pound company Burberry, their logo only got more desirable.
The Burberry logo featured an equestrian and his galloping horse, which didn’t change much over the years, until 2018. In 2018 the company made a considerable change and removed the rider from the primary logo. This leap of faith was much-needed to keep the brand up-to-date and modern. It represents a modern and young approach, appealing to all people.
Burberry still prints the equestrian on tags and packaging as well as patterns of the branded clothing/accessories. So they didn’t completely ditch the old logo, it was just no longer the face of the brand.
The logo has attracted the likes of younger customers and opened up the market to everyone.
Calvin Klein
One brand’s story is a little different from the rest: Calvin Klein, the famous CK. Also, a clothing brand didn’t change its logo much at all. If you look closely, you will see the changes, but it is nothing major. Nothing severe enough to stop a buyer buying one of their famous t-shirts or to turn their nose up at the new logo.
They have done what many brands do not dare to do and return to the spirit of the original. However, this was extremely important for Calvin Klein as their logo is recognised globally and is the face of the brand. For this company with such an iconic name and logo, a total rebrand could have been very drastic and detrimental.
The brand posted the new logo to Instagram, stating that it is an acknowledgement of the founder and foundations of the fashion house. Which we think is a lovely touch.
As you can see the logo is now in all capitals, and the spacing of the letters have changed over time. Most companies need to get away from their original logo, but for Calvin Klein, this isn’t the case. With what started as a simple yet powerful logo has carried on its journey and not needed the drastic rebrand a lot of companies do.
If you’re debating a rebrand, need some ideas, a completely new logo? We’re a design company based in Hull, so whatever your design needs, we’re here to help! Get in touch today.