Archive for September, 2009

Top Corporate Brands prefer minimal logo redesigning – Less is more!!

While designing a logo for any corporate brand or company, certain principles should never be neglected or forgotten. We all know our target audience and want to own a logo which makes us outstand among our industry competitors. Therefore we keep following new logo trends and ideas to make our company logo appear updated and successful.

However, abstraction and minimalism are the effective aspects which help us create true aesthetic corporate logos. Worldwide logo designers are utilizing the concept of minimal art to revive the corporate identity of top brands. The new approach of adding simple elements and subtle changes to famous company logos is widely appreciated nowadays.

Below I showcase top corporate logos which have undergone minimal redesigning lately without losing their elegance and charm.

Mozilla Firefox Logo:

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This foxy holds a strong ranking among the list of world famous logos and is always appreciated for its classiness and choice of colors. The logo is said to be undergone process of redesigning but the transformation is so subtle that you won’t be able to point out any evident change. So let me point out the features of the new Firefox logo: less furry, glossier, more defined flames in the tail, fiery tones of orange and aqua tones are made evident.

Sony Ericsson adds colors to its company logo:

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As a top brand “Sony” has always opted for major changes in its logo and packaging. So, once again it is ready to refresh its brand identity but this time it plans to add color to its Green Liquid Density. The brand will now be featured in pink, blue, orange, and purple. Dave Hilton, UK marketing director at Sony Ericsson, clearly expressed that they wanted to freshen up their advertising but have a belief that too much of change can backfire a stable corporate brand identity.

Carrefour New logo:

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With more than 15,000 stores in 35 countries Carrefour is a French international supermarket claimed to be world’s second largest retail group in terms of revenue after Wal-Mart. Carrefour in French means “crossroads” and one of the reasons for the fame of this logo is its shape. It shows two opposite arrows inside a diamond shaping the “C” letter with the negative space between them. Carrefour logo with its red, blue and white colors and clean fonts has remained the same since it was created in 1966. However, this September, along with a new campaign titled “Positive is Back,” Carrefour has introduced a new word mark and a slightly modified icon.

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The changes are so minimal that on a first glance you might not be able to notice them; therefore I have mentioned them here. The old blocked Serif fonts are replaced by smooth, curvy and friendly typeface. The sharp curves of the new icon have been replaced giving a smooth look to the logo. Lastly but most importantly, the icon has been released in a wide range of gradients.

The changes are so minimal that on a first glance you might not be able to notice them; therefore I have mentioned them here. The old blocked Serif fonts are replaced by smooth, curvy and friendly typeface. The sharp curves of the new icon have been replaced to give a smooth and sleek look to the logo. Lastly but most importantly, the icon has been released in a wide range of gradients which I stumbled across on famous site “Brand New” These new icons have started appearing on the packets and advertising billboards of Carrefour.

In the end I would like to know your opinion …corporate brands should opt for minimal redesigning for their logos to continue with their old charm or after every few years they should get a major redesign for their company logo?

Do you have a successful corporate logo – Are you sure??

         A logo is the primary element which well represents a company and delivers an everlasting initial impression on your customers. Branding has become a vital part of our lives and it seems to be everywhere. However, it is important to understand that while crafting a marketing and branding plan, logo designing comes out as one of the most important factors.

There are many famous corporate brands which are recognized with their icons rather than their names. This proves how important is it to have a successful corporate logo. There are numerous top brands which have proven to be known as successful emblems over time…check few of them below:

However, the increasing awareness about logo designs makes it confusing for us to know if our corporate logos serves well in all the categories of being a successful logo. Therefore, without making this topic boring, I have listed few points in short, which will help you know if you have a successful corporate logo.
 
  • Your corporate logo should merge well with the name of your company
  • The image should be balanced and deliver the right personality of your company.
  • Your company logo should convey your type of business and the industry it is promoting.
  • The font type should be readable and clear. Adding extra stylish fonts can make your customers misspell your company name.
  • Your company logo should send out a clear message to your customers and for that your logo should be accompanied with a strong tagline.
  • Initially, it is very important for a logo to successfully work in black and white because then surely it will look good in every color.
  • It should be a simple and clean logo, therefore avoid cluttering and it should not look much busy.
  • While selecting colors for your logo, prefer keeping it to minimum. Having two colors makes a logo appealing enough but remember that colors you pick should be meaningful and industry related.
  • Think out of the box and experiment some latest trends of the market so your logo can be seen exclusively among a place filled up of logos.
 
By the end of this post, I am sure you all must have learnt the features missing in your corporate logo. I am sure if you take time to follow the above given guidelines, you can bet that you have a successful corporate logo.