Are you ready to upgrade your logo? This guide will help you determine the next steps for your company.

A company logo is an integral part of any brand. It’s often the first thing people associate with your company.

Your logo should be the face of your business and visually reflect the essence of your brand. When creating a logo for their company, companies must reflect on their values, goals, and services.

Your original logo design should not be overlooked when updating your logo. Your brand will change over time as your customers’ expectations change. If your company is rebranding, you should consider design trends. Routine logo updates will be required to reflect shifting priorities and preferences.

Your logo is a visual link between your values, offerings, and customers. Before you hire a Logo Design Company to tackle your logo update, be sure to have clear goals and answers for each of these top logo updating FAQs.

The Key Guide to a Logo Refresh

•  What’s a logo update?
•  How long do you need to keep an old logo?
•  When is it time to update your logo?
•  How does a logo maker make your logo more professional?
•  How do you simplify a logo design?
•  Featured logo designers

What is a logo upgrade?

Modernizing or elevating your existing logo is a way to update how it looks. While you don’t have to create a new logo, it will show customers that your company is up-to-date and trustworthy.

A modern logo will ensure that your company is at its best when communicating with customers. A strong logo will make a first impression on your customers.

Your brand’s image is not the only thing that speaks for your marketing strategy or brand. Customers will react instantly to the brand’s visual identity. If they see your logo as outdated, it could also be a sign that your business has become obsolete.

It doesn’t have to be difficult. It is easier for loyal customers to retain your company’s logo updates if they are subtler. You should strive to enhance your existing, trusted brand identity and not erase it.

Starbucks, for example, has changed its logo many times over the years. Each new logo doesn’t significantly differ from the preexisting versions, except for a change in brand colors between 1971 and 1987.

Each new logo helped Starbucks to stand out among its competitors and maintain the same visual style.

As your brand grows over time, it is more important to keep your logo’s identifiable shapes and images.

Starbucks’ logo, for example, has always featured a recognizable mermaid character that customers recognize. Because the mermaid is a key part of their brand identity, Starbucks has kept it prominently in each updated logo.

Another example is the Nike logo The iconic swoosh remains a constant throughout the years.

When updating a logo, it is important to balance modernization with brand recognition.

How long should a logo be valid?

It varies from industry to industry. But visual trends, design elements, and styles, as well as aesthetics, are always changing. When deciding whether it is time to update your logo, there are two types of trends you should be aware of:

• Changes in your industry’s norms and trends
• Your brand and offerings can evolve and grow

Consider the current trends in your industry to determine if your visual identity is outdated compared with your competitors. It may be time for a logo update, especially if there are new competitors in your market.

Your market may not be flooded with new competitors, but it is possible for your logo’s design to look dated or tired over time. You also want to ensure that your current design is compatible with digital environments and mobile-friendly.

You may also notice significant changes in your business operations that indicate it is time to change your logo. Let’s say you recently increased your offerings or targeted a new audience. Or, perhaps your mission has changed. You should update your logo to reflect the new and improved operations.

Do I need to update my logo?

Your logo may be outdated about current industry trends or internal operations. It’s time for you to make a change. It is important to decide how much you want to change your logo during this update. This will decide whether or not you spend on a logo overhaul.

To modernize your company’s logo, a logo refresh is a slight modification or enhancement to an existing logo. Starbucks, for example, recently updated its logo. They chose to refresh their logo.

They did not incorporate new designs or color schemes but instead kept the logo’s shape and colors. They decided to highlight the mermaid design and to remove the text. There is still a strong similarity between the two designs, despite this.

A logo redesign is a great option for companies looking to make a dramatic change in their brand. Redesigns can include changes in colors, fonts, and typography. Netflix was involved in a logo design that altered the brand colors and logo typographic design.

The current logo was a popular choice, as well as earlier versions. The company wanted to create a modern, digital-first logo that was not too heavy on the brand name.

Redesigns can transform a brand’s look, but companies need to remember that major changes could affect the relationship of your customers to your brand.

How do I update my logo?

Congratulations! Congratulations! You’ve decided to update your logo. Now what?

After you have decided whether you would like a new logo or a refresh of your existing logo, it is time to start getting into the details. It would be a good idea to talk with a top agency regarding your requirements at this stage.

Look at logos that you are drawn to, both within and outside of your industry. Discuss your feelings with your partner in the design and think about why these logos appeal to you.

Begin to work closely with your partner to develop iterations or logo options. You can share your ideas on the design but you should also test the options for logo design outside of your organization and partnership to see how people react to it.

Remember that simplicity is the key to a successful logo update. Although it can be tempting for you to incorporate all aspects of your work in the logo, simple logos will last the longest.

As they have grown loyal customers, companies like Target, Apple, Linkedin, and Nike have simplified their logos, eventually allowing them to be identified by a single shape.       

Simple logos are easier to remember and more easily understood by an audience than complex representations of all the services and goods a company offers.

The most difficult part of adapting your logo is to simplify it and still capture the essence of your company.

How can you simplify a logo design?

Your logo can be simplified by focusing on its purpose.

A simple logo makes every design decision meaningful. Each element must be used together to create the desired visual effect. These are some questions to ask when simplifying your logo.

• Are all current colors required? Can the palette be reduced by one or two colors, without compromising the effect?

• Does the logo have consistent typography?

• Is the font more simple or more unique?

• Can the design be flattened while still maintaining brand identity?

• Is it necessary for the design to include the company name as well as a brand symbol? Is the brand name or mark better at communicating your brand’s message?

• Are the lines too heavy? Can the number of lines be reduced?

• Is the brand name required to be in the logo?

• Are the graphics too heavy, outdated, or stylized?

• After making adjustments, is the brand concept communicated clearly?

• Are you using the logo in any other places? Social media, business cards, letterheads. Consider how simple a logo appears on various marketing collateral pieces.

As you work through your logo update, make sure you answer each question. This will help you to understand how to simplify a logo.

A modern logo is reflective of a current company

Customers looking for the most current services provider will be attracted to your simplified logo and its effective communication. You must first determine:

• What is a logo upgrade?
• How long should a logo be valid?
• Do I need to update my logo?
• How do I update my logo??
• How can you simplify a logo design?

After answering each question and applying them to your business situation, you are ready to partner with a trusted designer and launch a brand-new logo.