How to Update an Existing Logo With a Few Subtle Changes

Updating an existing logo might mean embarking on an entire rebranding of the business. Rebranding is an executive decision that usually comes with a lot of expenses and consumes a lot od time without any guarantees that the rebrand is going to strike the right codes with the audience.

However, a total rebrand may be avoided if you want to update an existing logo with a few subtle changes. This implies that the main branding components of the logo will not be affected, but the changes should be conspicuous enough to let the audience get the intended message.

Before delving on how to make such subtle changes to an existing logo, it is imperative to first know when such changes are necessary. The following are some of the situations which might warrant the need for a logo change.

Change of name – if the business changes its name, it implies that the whole identity of the business will be changed as well. This will include the logo as well as other marketing and branding materials.

Changes in the organization – if there are policy changes or a change in the line of products and services offered by the business, a logo change would be necessary to reflect these changes to the present customers as well as the potential clients.

Poorly visualized logos – logos are strong visual branding elements. They should spread the brand message of the business. If initially a logo was designed in a poor manner because the business was pressed for finances during the startup stages, it will be important to update the existing logo and make it reflect the ideals and the ideas of the business in a more professional manner.

Logo revitalization – sometimes, updating an existing logo becomes imminent when the company decides to pump in more life to make the logo fresh and appealing. This is usually the case when a logo has been used for a long time without any major facelift.

Making updates to the logo

After you have enough justifications to update an existing logo without necessarily altering the entire look of the brand, here are a few tips on how you can do so without causing a major failure in the brand-:

Determine the logos best qualities

For you to successfully update an existing logo, you should not do away with the strong branding points of the logo. Essentially, the newly updated logo should maintain all the strengths of the previous and also have additional ones for extra performance. Therefore, it is imperative that you first identity the strong features of the current logo and isolate them before making any changes. These could include logo components such as the typography, the symbols used or the colors. After isolating the best qualities of the logo, you can then go ahead and decide if you will be changing them or making a few adjustments to them.

Consider the past brand for ideas

If this is not the first update for the logo, it would be a good idea to have a look at the past logos and see the sequence taken by updates in the past. The reason for doing so is to identify if there is a pattern that is consistent with all the updates. In this manner, the changes you are about to make should be in tandem with the overall feel of the logo.

Additionally, you can use the past logos to help you decide on the particular items to add or remove from the current logo. In some occasions, you might find that updating an existing logo to past version would have very great results.

Focus on the colors that matters

Colors are very important when you are updating an existing logo. They help to create the visual identity of the brand hence you need to very keen on them. Ideally, you need to focus on the colors that matter the most to the business. If the logo uses lots of colors, you can update it by trying to harmonize the colors so that you remain with a few, but the most important ones. You can also do away with the ones you feel are not very helpful to the business.

Think of new trends but hold on to classic traditions

It is also possible to update an existing logo to adapt to new trends in the market. This is important if your market is responsive to such trends. If this is the case, you can adjust the logo slightly to reflect on the trend but you must remember to hold the overall concept of the design to classic traditions. Trends will pass away but traditions will remain.

Enhance readability

Another way of updating an existing logo is to enhance the readability of the logo simply. This might mean playing around with the typography to make them more readable and recognizable to the target audience. In this case, you don’t have to touch any aspect of the logo expect the letters used.

Use the tips above to help you update an existing logo for new looks but without changing the look and feel of the entire brand.

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