EVOLUTION

67 Logos Lifecycles

Times change. People change. And the identities of some organizations—although not all—change right along with them.

Why is it that some logos seem to age well while others do not? AT&T, UPS, and Burger King have all updated their graphic identities in recent years, while Volkswagen, CBS, and the Olympic Games have not.

Certain graphic elements age better than others. Companies pin the fate of their illustrative logos on the longevity of the particular drawing style they chose. Typefaces are increasingly susceptible to looking dated, which may account for some degree of graphic identity reinvention. Like hairstyles and clothing, certain graphic embellishments go out of fashion as quickly as they come into favor.

Simple, bold, easily identifiable marks possess a timeless quality. What plausible reason could Volkswagen give for changing its classic logo? The company’s current mark could easily outlive the updated marks of AT&T and UPS. If it does, which will build the most equity in the mind of customers over time?

When developing a graphic identity, consider the lifecycle of the mark. Don’t let it paralyze decision making or push you toward solutions that may prove to be too conservative, but ask yourself: Is this a mark the client could live with for the next fifty years?

1. X-Rite
People Design

2. Meredith Identity
Lippincott
Connie Birdsall, Jenifer Lecker, Shelby Brea

3. Smokey Bones
Push
Chris Robb, Mark Unger, Kevin Taylor, Gordon Weller, Kevin Harre

4. ICFJ
Siegel+Gale
Sven Seger, Young Kim, Daniella Spinat

5. Pfizer
Siegel+Gale
Howard Belk, Sven Seger, Young Kim, Johnny Lim, Monica Chai, Quae Luong, David McCanless

6. Rebranding of CEC Bank
Brandient
Cristian “Kit” Paul, Alin Tamansan, Eugen Erhan, Bogdan Dumitrache, Cristian Petre, Iancu Barbarasa

Evolving a graphic identity can involve a complete redo, or minor refinements to help keep brands feeling current.