When Is It Time to Redesign Your Logo?
When new design trends come onto the scene (which seems to happen almost weekly), they can spark inspiration for new ideas about change within your company. Another brand’s new logo might make you look at your own and wonder if it’s time for an update. But a full brand refresh is a massive undertaking, and it’s hard to know when the timing is right. At Merchology, we recently went through a refresh of our own, and we want to help you answer this question: “When is it time to redesign your logo?”
Reason #1: Your Logo is Outdated
As design evolves and the overall look of the current trend becomes more uniform, your logo can start to look outdated. This isn’t to say that you should update your logo every time a new trend comes along because that will make it difficult to build brand recognition for your company. But if you’ve noticed your logo feels outdated in comparison to other companies' logos, especially those in your field, it may be time to redesign your logo.
Reason #2: Change is Happening at Your Company
Companies evolve frequently—they have to in order to thrive in our rapidly changing world. This can mean anything from offering different kinds of products to a complete change in the company’s mission. You don’t need to update your logo with every change in your company, but more significant change is often a cause for an update. You want your logo to represent the heart of your brand by signifying it in some way.
Reason #3: You’re Taking on Corporate Rebranding
A corporate rebrand is perhaps the best reason to update your logo. This can certainly go hand-in-hand with big changes at your company, but there are times when a company simply needs to refresh its look. Your logo should be one of the first things you redesign because it needs to work well with all of your new materials. Does it match your new website design? How will it look on new product packaging? If you design around your logo, your rebrand will be much simpler and you won’t run into design snags down the road.
Reason #4: Your Logo is Too Detailed
Many older logos have loads of detailing, which was likely intentional and meant to show brands’ personalities and attention to detail. However, an overly complicated logo can cause problems for your company. First of all, modern designs have a much simpler, cleaner look, and so in comparison, a detailed logo often looks dated. Second, it’s hard to design around. Often, it won’t look clear on digital media. Also, it can be difficult to add your logo to custom merch. If there are too many colors or intricate details to your logo, it might not come through in embroidering or printing. And when it comes to custom company merch, you want your logo to stand out!
So, how often should a brand redesign its logo? A good rule of thumb is about every five years. That way, your design team isn’t swamped with the time-consuming work that goes into the logo design, but you’re staying up to date with trends. Five years is also a sufficient amount of time to allow for significant changes to unfold within your company.
Contact Us at Merchology!
Want help adding your company’s new logo to some fresh corporate merch? Contact our Merchologists for help with ordering, sizing, color selection, shipping, and more!