The Nike swoosh. McDonald’s golden arches. Some brand logos are so recognizable that you instinctively respond to them as quickly as you’d react to a traffic light or stop sign. You subconsciously expect, feel, and value things from brands with these iconic symbols.
The psychology of logo recognition is powerful. As with color psychology, or the idea that certain colors can influence moods and behaviors, logo design elements can subconsciously communicate a brand’s personality. For better or worse, your brand’s logo—whether intentionally minimal or lavishly ornate—communicates a message to potential customers.
As your business grows and evolves, an updated brand logo reflects those changing priorities. The creative process behind a logo redesign is a delicate dance of balancing fresh ideas while maintaining all-important brand consistency. Here’s how to ensure your logo reflects your current business while remaining authentic and recognizable to your existing audience.
What is a logo redesign?
A logo redesign is the process you take to create a new or significantly updated version of your existing logo to reflect your brand’s current identity, values, offerings, or target customers. A logo redesign can include a broad spectrum of visual changes, from updating the color palette and typography to creating an entirely new style or design.
Elements of a logo redesign
Start your logo redesign with an evaluation of your old logo. A successful redesign improves the original logo by incorporating new design elements that strengthen the brand’s current messaging. Understanding the following components of your design will help you create a refreshed visual identity that aligns with your new goals:
Design structure
The overall design structure (e.g., shape, negative space, layout, and alignment) forms the look and feel of your logo.
Color
Color theory is vital in logo design and overall marketing strategies, as color conveys emotion and brand values to an audience.
Font
Font communicates brand personality and tone through typography. This determines how your logo feels (e.g., classic, modern, bold, or approachable) and impacts audience perception.
Style
Style is a broader guiding principle that steers other design elements and aligns with your brand’s overall aesthetic. For example, your brand could favor a retro style, which would inform your logo, copy, imagery, and package design.
Brand name
Brand name is often the most crucial element of a logo redesign. If you change your name, it’s essential to redesign your logo to reflect the new business name—though companies with sufficient recognition or awareness of their logo may opt to remove the name entirely.
In the ever-evolving design world, staying up to date with innovative logo design ideas helps your brand remain relevant and adaptable to changing trends.
Reasons for a logo redesign
A logo redesign can be a strategic and creative decision for many reasons, from reflecting a shift in company direction to staying competitive in a dynamic marketplace.
Brand refresh
A more extensive brand refresh includes adjustments to your brand identity, messaging, visual identity, or other brand elements. If you’re undergoing a brand refresh to modernize your business, use it as an opportunity to upgrade to a more modern logo and create cohesive visual assets across your brand.
Business evolution
As your business expands, diversifies, or enters new markets, your original logo may no longer reflect your business goals or current position in the marketplace. A logo redesign ensures your brand’s visual identity remains up to date and signals its new direction, values, or aspirations. By modernizing your logo, your brand can reinforce its commitment to innovation.
New audience
As market trends and economic power shift, your brand might strive to attract new consumers with different preferences and expectations. A logo redesign helps attract these audiences—especially if your business is looking to target younger consumers.
A redesigned logo can make an old brand feel more relevant and appealing to a new target audience if the brand incorporates design elements that align with their tastes and values. Modernizing your logo demonstrates that your brand is evolving to suit the needs of your audience, strengthening your brand’s connection with both existing and future customers.
New competitors
In a competitive marketplace, your original logo may no longer stand out from the crowd or communicate your value effectively. A fresh logo redesign differentiates your brand from new competition by recapturing attention, renewing brand identity, and visually distinguishing itself from competitor logos.
How to redesign a logo
- Clarify redesign need
- Assess brand identity
- Identify inconsistent logo elements
- Update your logo design
- Market your new logo
Redesigning a logo requires thoughtful consideration of your new brand identity and old logo design, which design elements you want to keep, and how you’ll use your new logo going forward.
1. Clarify redesign need
Understand the need for a logo redesign to identify the specific issues with your current logo. Then set clear goals for the new design to ensure the redesign effectively addresses your brand’s needs and resonates with customers. A coherent reason and vision is also essential if you partner with a designer or agency to complete the redesign.
For example, let’s say you’re redesigning your logo for your growing candle-making kit business. Because you’re now selling soap making kits too, you want a logo that does not give customers a limited idea of your offerings.
2. Assess brand identity
Research and measure how customers perceive your brand to identify attributes you want to emphasize in the new logo design. These perceptions significantly impact your business, and maintaining a positive perception requires understanding your target audience’s values. By clarifying your brand identity, you can create a logo that directly communicates your new priorities to your customer base.
Continuing with the kit business example, let’s say your business focuses specifically on helping customers make candles and soaps in the shape of popular foods. You’ll want to maintain that sense of whimsy that’s core to your brand.
3. Identify inconsistent logo elements
Identify what works well in your current logo to preserve the elements that resonate with your loyal customer base. This way, your new design will maintain a sense of familiarity and continuity. At the same time, review which design elements might be overcomplicating your logo or confusing customers.
For example, suppose you’re targeting a broader range of crafters than just candlemakers now. You may want to take out the image of the candle you had in your old logo but retain your brand colors and fonts. This way, you can stay familiar to your existing audience while appearing more modern to new audiences.
4. Update your logo design
If you’re handling the redesign process, create a professional logo with Shopify’s free logo maker tool that includes various logo templates and doesn’t require professional design experience. If you’re working with graphic designers or an agency, create a thorough design brief that shares your background, new brand direction, redesign reasoning, and the design elements you’d like to change.
5. Market your new logo
A successful logo redesign requires strong marketing. Craft a straightforward narrative explaining the reason for the change and how it plays into your brand’s overall growth. Use social media, email newsletters, and your website to share the new design and engage with your audiences. Emphasize the continuity of your brand’s core values where appropriate, while marketing the fresh aspect of your brand’s identity.
Differences between a logo refresh and a logo redesign
An updated logo can have a positive impact on your marketing efforts, helping to represent your company and better connect with your target audience. The key difference between a refresh and a redesign is the scope of the changes to current design elements:
Logo refresh
A logo refresh maintains the core identity of your existing logo but updates or refines certain design elements, such as color scheme or font, to modernize the look without a complete redesign process. For example, McDonald’s has continually refreshed its iconic arches with smaller updates to shading and angles for more than 50 years.
Logo redesign
A logo redesign is a complete overhaul of your brand’s visual identity, incorporating new design elements and features to better align with current trends or shifts in brand positioning. A redesigned logo replaces your original logo. For example, Doritos regularly undergoes logo redesigns with large changes to the color scheme, font, style, and shape.
Logo redesign FAQ
When should I redesign a logo?
Consider redesigning your logo when it no longer reflects your brand’s values, mission, or your customers’ evolving needs and expectations. An updated logo can have a positive impact on your marketing efforts, helping to represent your company and connect with your target audience better. If your current logo feels outdated or does not align with your brand’s growth, a fresh redesign can revitalize your brand image and enhance your presence in a competitive market.
How do I redesign my existing logo?
To redesign your existing logo, start by assessing your brand’s current identity and consider which aspects of the original logo need to be updated, whether it’s the font, color palette, or overall style. Focus on modernizing key elements while maintaining enough continuity with your original logo to preserve brand recognition with existing customers.
How much does it cost to redesign a logo?
The cost of a logo redesign can vary widely depending on the scope and complexity of the new logo design. On average, prices range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars—though some companies have shelled out well over a million dollars. Experienced designers or agencies might charge higher rates. With modern tools and technology, like the free Shopify logo maker, you can affordably redesign your logo without an extensive design background.