Identity is designed to brand information to and from people’s brains. It takes time to build your branding and it’s very important that when you do it, you do it right. You don’t want to change or update your brand logos, colors or layouts too often because people become attached to brand identities. Changing your identity is risky because it could cause customer dissatisfaction.

One really controversial example has been Pepsi and their new logo. The recognizable Pepsi wave, which has been a logo icon since the 60’s, has been updated to a new shape, a new lighter font keeping the same colors.  This logo has been around for so many years and generations that people are too comfortable with this image. While Pepsi’s look has been updated many times, they have always kept the same wavy shape and bold typeface through all of their branding. Some people like it, some people don’t. But whether you like it or not it will take some time for Pepsi to gain the same recognition all over the world.

So why would you risk losing brand recognition you’ve worked so hard to build?

The first reason is that your logo might be visually outdated. The logo you used 30 years ago attracted your customers that belonged to that generation. What people like today is completely different from what they liked 30 years ago. Businesses need to redesign to keep their brand fresh and updated.

Another reason is that your business might change their purpose or even their product. There are so many companies that have converted their services or products to web-based applications, that they might no longer need the shape or colors they used when they started.

People also respond better to simplicity. I think we would all agree that the world has become and continues to become an increasingly complex place. The amount of information we receive everyday increases exponentially and at the same time our desire for simplicity. Logos in the past used to have all kind of shapes, drawings and theme/tag lines. Today, the most successful brands shoot for more simple, clear and direct shapes and logos that are easily recognizable by the public.

One great redesign strategy was used by Doubletree by Hilton a year ago. They updated not only their logo but their name to “DoubleTree by Hilton.”  Their old logo had a cartoonish feel mixed with green and black colors.

The new design simplified the colors to a dark brown, that is associated with reliability, stability,and friendship. It also expresses sophistication. The shape of the two trees and the sleek font are a more modern, stylized illustration that gives the logo a new feel of elegance. This new design is definitely a successful sample of logo branding strategy.

If you decide to redesign your logo, make sure it’s done professionally since this is no longer used for stationaries but also for your whole online presence, including websites and social media.

How is your logo doing? Do people remember who you are?