The Fluffs and Frills of Logo Make-Overs

I think that every once in a while a company logo needs to go through a make-over. One might seem a little out-of-date, and others may not be getting good consumer responses. I feel that for a company to be seen as “cutting-edge,” the logo should be revamped every once in a while to let the company seem more up-to-date. However, too many companies are ruining their traditional logos behind the fluffs and frills of too much design change.

Old Kraft Logo

When I say a logo should look modern, I think that it should look sleek and professional, like Apple. I don’t mean that it should look like a 13-year-old girl’s doodle. Still, some companies change their logo to look exactly like that and are ruining their iconic logos! Take Kraft foods for example: My grandfather worked there all his life and to this day continues to get Kraft items in bulk. Holidays at his house consist of bags-upon-bags of Caramels and boxes-upon-boxes of Macaroni and Cheese. The traditional Kraft logo is one that has always been around my house and is easily recognizable to the public. Then – the logo change. Instead of being the logo I have grown to know and love, a flower-esque image seems to have sprouted out of the company name!  Not only that, the red band is gone and all the letters are lower-case. Ew. The logo doesn’t look a thing like the old one, even though the products sold are exactly the same. Personally, I don’t think this logo make-over was successful at all.

New Kraft Logo

Overall, I think that companies should stick with what they know. They shouldn’t add frills to logos to make it look more modern, and they definitely shouldn’t add images along with it if it’s just going to take up space! I think changing something as simple as the logo can change a brand of a company because the new logo can give an entirely new meaning. So, companies seeking to revamp their logo should look at Apple and the NFL– they’re make-overs were simple yet meaningful, and even after changes they stuck to their traditional logo.

If you’re interested in other logo changes I think were a fail, check out other examples:

• Wal-mart
• Tropicana
• JCPenney
•  Gap