Other than your brand name, your company logo is one of the most important things people will notice when they discover your brand for the first time and continue to see every time they encounter your brand. It's critical that your logo tells the right story about your company. You want it to convey your personality and have it recognizable as unique to your company.
But the truth is no logo can stay relevant forever. Times change and so do people's taste.Companies change too, and the logo that spoke volumes when your company was formed may no longer make sense.
Here are a few cases when a may be in order:
1.The logo is old
Even if when your company was formed you had a logo you loved, you might find that over time it grows stale or is no longer as relevant or as appealing as you once thought. Not to mention, an outdated logo is usually easy to spot, even for average consumers who don't know the first thing about design.
There are often one or two design elements that are no longer in style (think: italicized fonts, gradients, or bubbly text) that end up making the logo look like something out of the last decade. No matter how iconic your logo is, its creation will always be informed by the design standards, norms, and trends of the time in which it was created. This means that it will become outdated at some point.
2.The logo is too complex
Logos with a lot of detail or too much gradient often don’t translate well to digital. Companies that we reestablished long before the digital age may find that their logos look great on letterhead but not so great as profile images or in digital ad creative. Modern design in our current moment is all about simplicity, and fortunately logos without too much complexity usually look best on the web. If you look at your web properties and find that your detailed logo is difficult to see or decipher, it’s a clue that a redesign might be in order.
3.The company is evolving
When your company first got started and a logo was designed, it was probably perfectly emblematic of what you stood for. But we all know that no company remains static for long. Companies grow and evolve drastically over time. New services, products, and company missions are introduced. Mergers and acquisitions take place. Company changes are usually things to be celebrated -- they are often brought about by growth and development. Unfortunately, these positive changes may also end up rendering company's original logo less than entirely relevant. A logo redesign can be just the thing to help signal a new direction.
4.The company is growing
Many companies start out small and spend a few years fighting for survival. During this phase of the company's development, investing in quality logo design might not be top of the list of necessary expenses. Maybe something gets designed on the fly and it's maintained out of necessity during the lean years. As the company grows and becomes better known, however, that scrappy logo might no longer cut it. A young company that is growing more established should consider a logo redesign if the proper time and investment wasn’t put towards branding in the early stages.
Updating Your Logo Design
As far as the world is concerned,your logo is the face of your brand. It plays a critical role in the way consumers perceive your company -- and whether or nor not they will have positive first impressions. Logos that are noticeably outdated, too complex, or no longer entirely relevant are good candidates for a redesign. If you are going to invest in a logo redesign make sure to consider ways to maintain your brand's integrity and identifiable design elements at the same time as you focus on updating for a more modern feel.
