**The world of business moves pretty fast. And keeping ahead of the crowd is key. **
For many companies, a rebrand breathes new life into the business. It helps freshen up your image, and ensure you’re always seen as ‘modern’.
We have been involved in many business rebrands and know the importance of overseeing the process professionally. Otherwise you risk alienating the most important person in the process – your customer.
Here are 5 of the biggest logo redesign disasters of the last few years:
**1. Gap**
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(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/oldblogs/2012/10/gap-logo.jpg alt: gap logo)
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The title of most disastrous rebrand ever has to go to clothing retailer, Gap. The high street store changed its iconic logo back on 2010 as part of a million pound rebrand. After thousands of critical comments, a (link: https://twitter.com/gaplogo text: protesting Twitter account), and the launch of a (link: http://www.makeyourowngaplogo.com/ text: ‘Create your own Gap logo’) website; Gap was forced to withdraw the new design after just a week.
Forced to admit defeat, (link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/12/gap-logo-redesign text: the company said):
*“We’ve been listening to and watching all of the comments this past week. We heard them say over and over again they are passionate about our blue box logo, and they want it back. So we’ve made the decision to do just that – we will bring it back across all channels.”*
**2. eBay**
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(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/oldblogs/2012/10/ebay-logo.jpg alt: ebay-logo)
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When online auction site eBay unveiled its new logo in September, the World Wide Web went crazy. Gone were the quirks, the overlapping letters, and the crazy typography. In its place was a plain and simple logo, in a plain and simple sans-serif font. Sure, they kept the colours and the kerning but that was about it.
(link: http://pages.ebay.com/announcements/new/index.html text: eBay said):
*“Our refreshed logo is rooted in our proud history and reflects a dynamic future. Its eBay today: a global online marketplace that offers a cleaner, more contemporary and consistent experience, with innovation that makes buying and selling easier and more enjoyable.”*
This modern change hasn’t gone down well though. You can see what our Facebook fans had to say about the new design (link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151084870068722&set=a.10150911064663722.405271.135866888721&type=1 text: here).
**3. Microsoft**
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(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/oldblogs/2012/10/microsoft-logo.jpg alt: microsoft logo)
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Back in August, technology giant Microsoft underwent a modern makeover and logo redesign. Gone went the ‘wavy’ squares, to be replaced with a solid, squared logo. Designers all over called the new logo dull, and accused it of being a carbon-copy of Google’s famous logo.
(link: https://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2012/08/23/microsoft-unveils-a-new-look.aspx?Redirected=true text: Microsoft said):
*“This is an incredibly exciting year for Microsoft as we prepare to release new versions of nearly all of our products. This wave of new releases is not only a reimagining of our most popular products, but also represents a new era for Microsoft, so our logo should evolve to visually accentuate this new beginning.”*
**4. Twitter**
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(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/oldblogs/2012/10/twitter-logo.jpg alt: twitter logo)
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Social networking site Twitter changed its logo in June, but did you even notice? The bird lost his tuft of hair, changes colour slightly, and started flying upwards. This simplified logo was to be the universally recognised symbol of Twitter, but wasn’t always a popular choice with users.
In a (link: http://blog.twitter.com/2012/06/taking-flight-twitterbird.html text: post on the company’s blog), creative director Doug Bowman said:
*“Twitter is the bird, the bird is Twitter. Our new bird grows out of love for ornithology, design within creative constraints, and simple geometry. This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles — similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends.”*
**5. Pepsi**
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(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/oldblogs/2012/10/pepsi-logo.jpg alt: pepsi logo)
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Pepsi recently unveiled a brand new logo that, much like Twitter’s, wasn’t really a huge change. The circle was placed on a slant supposedly to reflect the Earth’s magnetic pull and gravitational field. Instead, people complained the new shape looked more like a plump man in a red top and blue jeans.
What makes this all the more disastrous, is that is (link: http://gaia.adage.com/images/random/0209/pepsi-arnell021109.pdf text: cost a whopping $1million) to do.
So there we go! 5 of the biggest logo redesign disasters of the last few years. What do you think? Do you like these logos, or should they have been kept the same?