For designers, an opportunity to be creative is never turned down. But there is a Kryptonite which can bring our creative prowess to a hault—nostalgia. We’ve encountered it many times from clients, the inability to move onto something new, not because “the new” isn’t amazing, but because of the
intrinsic value of the old branding. We can now say we feel the pain of client’s who are reticent to changing from their beloved first logo.
Often, tangible problems present themselves over the lifespan of a logo, and these problems prompt change.
No matter how much we loved our original logo, it had its limitations. It didn’t work well against black backgrounds, was impossible to embroider or recreate IRL and it utilized a gradient. We took all these issues and made a list of guidelines for our next logo:
- Draws more attention to the extra “e” when compared to the word hubris.
- More horizontal than vertical
- Works in black and white
- Works against black or white backgrounds
- Fewer than 2 different fonts or font styles
- Fewer than 2 different colors
- Uses no more than 1 shape in addition to the wordmark (text)
- Utilizes shapes that are abstract instead of explicit (No clouds, trees or something else recognizable)
- Doesn’t use patterns, gradients or complex shapes
Our inaugural logo lasted us about five years. We recommend most clients revise, revisit or redesign their logo at least this often.