A brand's logo is its most recognizable asset, and a redesign is a big undertaking. A successful redesign for high-stakes companies can attract new customers and energize existing ones. On the other hand, a flop can alienate both. You can take inspiration and redesign your logo with a logo maker.
This article will look at 8 brand logo redesigns that flopped and how to deal with the fallout if you find yourself in a similar situation.
- Kraft Foods
The first logo redesign failure comes from a questionable food product brand, Kraft Foods. The company rebranded its logo to make it more attractive in 2012. Unfortunately, the new logo was a mishap of confusion and chaos.
The tagline had a new font in two different colors, which didn't match the name tag. In total, there were nine different colors in the layout. It could have been a better setup, and it looked untidy. Hence, it caused a sense of visual disharmony on the right-hand side of the structure.
If you want to create a harmonious and pleasing logo, you can try a logo maker app to build a logo right from your mobile.
- Capital One
The second logo redesign failure comes from the financial sector brand named "Capital One." The company decided to rebrand in 2008, but the new logo was ugly. It appeared more outdated than the first one.
Many things could have been improved in the logo. It seemed irrelevant to the banking or finance sector. Also, the logo had a minimal gap between 'o' and the boomerang, which made it blurry and unclear. For these reasons, it failed in the world share market.
- JCPenney
JCPenney is a large department store brand with multi-billion dollar turnovers annually. In 2011, the company decided to rebrand. They assigned a third-year graphic design student named Luke to redesign the logo, which was a significant misstep.
He kept the original font but made fatal errors in the logo. He made a box around the letters "JCP," which made visible confusion for the customers to recognize the brand name.
The company rebranded again in 2012, which was also a failure. Finally, the company reverted its logo to the original one. If you plan to create a good-looking original logo, you can use the Designhill logo maker. It contains many free templates and plugins.
- Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut launched its original logo in 1958, which was well-received. But the company decided to introduce the rebranded logo in 2014. The key elements in the pizza hut logo are the iconic hut roof and script wordmark. The new logo placed these key elements inside a circle of tomato sauce.
The customers found the combination of iconic elements with a new shape odd. The logo's Hut design was irregular, making it hard to recognize. In addition, the roof part was missing text below it, which was yet another drawback.
- Yahoo
Yahoo introduced its original logo in 2009. The company rebranded the logo in the year 2013. Unfortunately, the rebranded logo was worse than the previous iconic logo.
Yahoo usually has the best website design and logo, inspiring many people. However, the major drawback of this logo was the exclamation mark in its name. In addition, it seemed to be from a different font family.
- Gap
Gap established itself in 1969 as one of the world's most beloved brands. However, due to the financial crisis of 2008, like many other brands, gap sales dropped, and management decided to rebrand the company.
The company spent almost $10 million to rebrand the company logo. But the money went in vain. The faults in the logo were its typeface choice and use of a gradient square. Bill Chandler, VP of corporate communications, also expressed his disappointment with the logo redesign.
- Pepsi
In 2008, The Pepsi company decided to rebrand its logo. This rebranding process cost around $1 million. Even though they invested a tremendous amount in rebranding, the new logo failed to attract customers.
The logo looked unprofessional and unspectacular. The Arnell group linked the new logo with the Mona Lisa, the sun radiation field, and even Hindu tradition. This rebranding remained the worst example in history of how not to design a logo.
However, you can create the best logo with the help of Designhill logo maker. It contains many free and cool templates.
- Xerox
Xerox is a global company selling in more than 160 countries. The company's logo changed many times and looked good until 2008. But it got a new logo designed by Interband.
This logo had all sorts of problems. The crisscrossing lines in the logo appeared distorted. The logo had multiple colors and poor contrast, yet another drawback. Due to these fatal mistakes in the logo, the company received negative reviews. If you don't want to confront these disasters, you can take help from a logo maker.
Tips to Deal with the Fallout of a Poor Logo Redesign
A logo is one of the best trademarks a company gives to the world. So if you are considering redesigning your company's logo, keep a few things in mind. They are as follows.
- Know the Purpose of the Logo
Don't just blindly confront rebranding your logo. It is said that "Wanting to rebrand is not a reason for rebranding." It is best to understand this point and only opt for rebranding if you have a strong reason.
For example, consider the Gap company case, as we discussed earlier. Gap's original logo was perfect. Without any reason, the company released its new look on Christmas 2010. But the company received criticism after that. What we learn from the example is that you should analyze why you want to rebrand. For the best website design or logo, it is best to do a thorough analysis before planning.
- Avoid being Over-Creative
Being creative towards your redesign is essential after the previous one flopped. But you shouldn't be over-creative. As said earlier, you need to know the purpose of rebranding.
You must analyze the company's status and ensure that your new logo matches the company's requirements. Then, you only have to create your logo according to those requirements. By following this tip, you can recover from the fallout.
You will need more than the limits or requirements to succeed. Instead, it will degrade your logo look. Take a look at the example of Tropicana. It was over-creative and rebranded its logo in 2008. But, unfortunately, the logo flopped among its customers.
- Don’t Follow the Trends Blindly
You may think your company needs to update with the worldwide trends. However, it has very minimal advantages. In the modern era, changes can occur more frequently. Therefore, many companies can feel the pressure to follow and be updated with the trend.
Almost all the brands we discussed made this common mistake. They felt the pressure and tried to rebrand frequently. Yet, the result turned out differently than they thought. So even if you feel pressure to rebrand your logo, keep this tip in mind.
Conclusion
As we have seen, a logo redesign can flop for various reasons. Sometimes, the new logo needs to reflect the brand's values accurately. In other cases, the redesign is too radical and fails to resonate with consumers. To avoid the problems associated with a flop, you should carefully consider your goals for the redesign and conduct consumer research before using a logo maker.
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