Although I do think that the majority of the logos shown did need an update, not all of them were necessary. Sometimes, when a logo has been around for awhile, whether, it is technically in “style” with the current design trends or not, a re-design is not always the best thing a company should do. ex: Tropicana. The logo becomes a part of the identity to the normal consumers and a change may not be a good thing as that is what is used for brand recognition. A change for change sake is not always the best way to show your business savvy.
I do like the new GDB logo as the script word design symbolizes to me that your blog is more personal, not just computer generated type blog. But not sure it would make a difference to the average reader.

The new missile defence system logo is awesome as is the ones for rhapsody and yellow pages. Bringing an old logo to a modern audience in a simple fashion.

The People say logo still looks pretty awful though, well I guess it’s a minor improvement…?

Cousins Subs logo has gone from absolute rubbish to just rubbish, well done them. Yellow pages logo re-design is spot on, far more lucid and sophisticated.

I do not understand one thing in UEFA’s logo Euro 2010. We have two flowers: blue-yellow is a Ukraine, red-white is a Poland. Polish flag at the top is white, and red at the bottom. So this flower should be white-red, not red-white…
Yes, I’m Polish and in my opinion this is a big mistake…

It’s a shame how the Yellow Pages logo doesn’t make any sense without the book underneath the fingers. I do like the closed lower bowl of the letter g.

I agree with Pam. Why were some of the updates necessary? It seems that changing something just for the sake of change isn’t always right. The MTV looks fat and bloated now, just like teir non musical programing. I liked the streamlined original logo. Bausch and Lomb looked great before, not too taken with new flat logo. It just sits there with little to no real eye appeal. Seattle’s Best Coffee should never have under gone a face lift. The old logo was better they were inspired graphics. The oldies were full of rich character. Why was it necessary to remove the countrified personality from Cousins subs? So many of the redone logos are bland and pop as much as a dud firecracker on the fourth of July. In other words there are other Roman candles with far more pop. I must admit that the missile defense system was a nice improvement. I think that UMBUTU logo looks good with a slight change up. The changes to the NET was also really good new graphic design. See, I’m not a curmudgeon about all the new design elements. This was a very interesting site

A lot of nice stuff there, but also a lot of complete crap.

Argos, the coffee and SUNY were complete bummers imo.
Ubuntu and Scribd could have been soo much better..

My favorite is the Google Logo, I can see the board presentation now…

Guys let’s ditch the “drop shadow”…

A few of these aren’t really redesigns, they are just adjustments to the logo (Wikipedia & Google)

Some are better but I really dislike the Seattle’s Best redesign. It reminds me of a restroom sign at a tourist attraction. It definitely doesn’t scream out “great tasting coffee”. Way too technical for something as warm and comforting as coffee. It is definitely not an improvement and they probably paid a lot for a logo that doesn’t even have a unique font.

Several of the logos have been “tweaked” rather than redesigned. I think “tweaks”, though sometimes small, can make a huge difference in keeping the identity fresh and generally refining unsuccessful elements. The old MTV logo would struggle at smaller sizes due to the thin negative edges of the “M” and the thin outline of the “V”, therefore the edges have been thickened and the outline removed in the new version.

Interesting changes and would not have noticed that it was the same company/corporate image with the following:

6
10
12
13
14
16
17
and 19

Massive changes for those above which I’m sure will cause a slight loss in customers.

The logo redesign are very good indeed. All are very well done.

Overall, not impressed. Skittles… great job! Library of Congress… bravo! Scrib… fail! Netcom, Missile Defense… excellent. The rest… why? For Graphic Design Blog… what did you really change? I hope you didn’t pay for it! I can do better in my sleep.

Hi, I want to let you know l like the fact that you just mostly showed pictures of before and after logo designs on your blog. I like the way you place the logo designs in the center of your blog. I also like the new logo design of skittles.

Your logo looked better before. It should be two lines deep not one line. Its too long and has too much going on

spudart On May 24th, 2010 at 1:55 pm said:

” It’s a shame how the Yellow Pages logo doesn’t make any sense without the book underneath the fingers. ”

Book? What is a book?
I’d like the save icon to be changed. I’m told to be a “floppy”. Now what is that all about?

Most new versions are looking great. Seems like removing the photoshop effects is the new trend.
And at last designers start understanding that the logo needs to be scalable to 32×32 pixels on a webpage. The first contact with the logo is probably digital, and not on paper.

The cursive in the new GBD design matures it a bit. This may not be true mechanically or universally, but from my personal perspective, the brand matured from the original to the redesign. I like the color change.

some of them are very interested like library of congress & yellow pages:)

Great post. I knew google had changed but wasnt quite sure what was different. Im getting used to it now, I think its just a shock and takes a while to get used to whenever any big brand changes their logo, no matter how small the change.

A few nice improvements, like the Library of Congress, UK Space Agency, and thank god they got rid of the bevel and shadow on the Google logo! However, most of the new ones still suck. Argos, Missile Defense, Netcom; all just awful! MTV is a step in the right direction but I’d like to see it taken even further.

all the new logos look pretty cool, they have an added sophsitication and expression that they did not have before, they just look simply amazing and very stylish too!!

Very interesting logo n there changes

the SUNY logo redesign is the biggest improvement. It’s so much better. For some reason the Seattle’s best redesign doesn’t sit well with me. Looks like a blood bank out of Gattaca.

The new latest ones look elegant & fresh!

If you took away the before and after, who could tell?

Impressive collections. Most of the logos retain the underlying concept but make the design simpler and more focused.

very good and interesting contribution! Some brands have their logo refreshed in friendly colors. Others have changed completely. Some logos like me not as good as the old, for example ubuntu or seattle’s best coffee.

[...]A few nice improvements, such as the Library of Congress, UK European Space Agency, and thank goodness can not eliminate the shadow and the Google logo! However, most of the new still suck. Argos, Missile Defense, Netcom, all just horrible! MTV is a step in the right direction, but I would take it even further.[...]

I checked out the Mtv logo this weekend while flipping channels on the tv. Looks to me like the change in the logo was done to show video through the logo better. Mtv is using the new logo to frame video with and it does give them more space. IDK… just a guess.

Very interesting post all logos are great but i like very much No. 6 “Missile Defense Agency logo”

Most companies have to stay current, a re-branding is the only way to pump fresh blood into a business. Therefore you get re-branding. At times in most cases the older logo worked well but they are forced by their competitors to update their image, which can lead to confusion and loss of client base.

Amazing…the new logo look more clean, simple and modern design…
Thanks for share

Very nice logo re-designs however a few jumped out of me that should have never been re-designed in the first place especially. Seattle Best is well known and though there original logo may have been too crowded it is recognizable where as the new re-design is not reconcilable at all. Due to the change there going to need to spend lots of money now re-training consumers of their new logo. Of course these are just opinions and don’t reflect poor judgment on anyone’s part.

It’s really cool post! Some logos changed a lot! The best change, on my opinion, was UK Space Agency!

The UEFA Euro logo changes every 4 years to reflect the country where the competition will be hosted. In the 2008 one for instance, they have the Alps for Switzerland/Austria…

WOW!! Superb -I really like the contrast .Its amazing how efficiently logo designs have been enhanced to suit modern trends

Some of the logo’s didnt need a redesign.. and some that were redesigned, were really damaging. For example… the argos logo. OLD is so much better… and sittles? and the logo for yellow pages..

I agree with many comments on here about the fact that some logo’s didn’t need updating at all.
It seems that in a world where things move so quickly, companies feel the need to keep re-inventing themselves. However, they sometimes go too far and pay vast sums of money for a logo redesign they simply don’t need.
The classic example of this from this year is the Argos redesign. The previous logo was simple, modern and effective… everybody knew it and liked it, the shop was highly successful and the future was looking good for them. Why then, did they redesign to a much older and weaker looking logo that has cost them millions of pounds in a complete refurbishment?
It’s that kind of redesign where things go wrong. Argos didn’t need updating and possibly felt pressurised to do so simply because other companies around them were.
Now obviously there are some that needed updating and they look good, but companies really do need to step back before entering into such a redesign and ask themselves “Do we really need one?” as the answer, more often than not, will probably be “No”.

More simplified use of color, and shadow effects are out!

When I saw the new logo for Seattle’s Best Coffee, I immediately thought of gasoline. It looks like something one would see used for a gas station, not gourmet coffee. It sucks.

Love that seattle coffee one, great working.

Completely dislike “Seattle’s Best” new logo! it looks so…..’Target’. very ordinary. like fast food drive thru. It should have some element to it. go back to ‘Old logo’!!!
Don’t like the new “the Library of Congress” either. A logo is something that people look at and know what it is. They shouldn’t be wasting time trying to figure out if this is the one they’re looking for or not.
Really like the change in Google, Mtv, and British space center!

I agree that most of these logos needed and update. Most of the logos had minor changes done but not so much that they wouldn’t be recognized. However, sometimes it is best to leave the logo alone if it is working. Coca Cola has not changed their logo at all. When a business keeps changing their logo with the current trends they are ever stuck in a circle of having to re-do their logo every few years.

Most of them look like they were redone to save either ink, or to print better at very small sizes. The exceptions to this are very obvious. Interesting comments, which were often more interesting than the logo’s.

Simplify, simplify, simplify… these are true examples of evolution of a brand. Cleaner, neater and modernized to enhance application and increase functionality. Very cool progressions!

Thanks for this great list, These are my all time favorites. 
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