7 examples of web and logo redesign done right

Your company’s logo is its way of showing the world what you’re offering to sell or do. It creates recognition for your products and services, and it can make your products quickly identifiable. While usually this is a good thing, sometimes a logo or web redesign can miss the mark. However, a redesign is effective if you want to: (1) proactively seize an opportunity and (2) reactively take action in response to an event that is significant enough that the current brand is no longer optimal.

Generally, a redesign is a strategy to reposition your company’s message through changes to its logo, name, image or theme. Each company we’ll look at here is either changing its direction and needs a new way to express its mission, or it needs to spruce up an image that is already working. Either way, our designers looked at where the companies are, where they’re going and what they hope to achieve in order to create the looks that will get them to those goals. Below are seven examples of web and logo redesigns done correctly. Read on!

Adoption.com

This site is designed to be a resource both for pregnant women considering having their babies adopted, and also for individuals or couples who are considering adopting a baby.

Adoption.com wanted a new logo that would kickoff the start of its rebrand and redesign. The goal was to make the site appear more trustworthy and authoritative. The company hasn’t changed its business plan, target market or mission. What the company’s owners wanted to do was to make the logo less “baby-style” and more sophisticated, which is what they think would appeal to the target market. The primary audience is women between the ages of 30 and 50, who tend to be educated, sophisticated and affluent. However, that demographic is not exclusive and there would be both prospective fathers and others using the site. They wanted a logo that would translate well on mobile devices and that included three hearts, one of which would be smaller to represent the child at the center of an adoption.

The design created is exactly what they wanted—simple, three interwoven hearts with the smallest at the center. Its simplicity is part of what makes it work: it represents all forms of an adoptive union – singles who adopt, adoptees themselves, birth parents, adoptive parents, or anyone else involved in the process. Ultimately, the red and grey became the background colors on the site, and the site’s redesign was able to capture the simple logo and use it throughout. It conveys a home for every child, which is the message that this brand seeks to demonstrate.

Vivax

Vivax is a company that performs residential painting, roofing and solar paneling.

Logo redesign by Str1ker; check out the full contest here

Vivax decided to rebrand because it had previously kept all business services on separate brands and wanted them all under the same brand moving forward. It needed a logo that would incorporate painting, roofing and solar services that would appeal to homeowners and keep with the “Pro” portion of its name. The logo also needed to reflect its slogan, “Protect, beautify and power your home.” Designers pitched several concepts, some of which put the letters under a roof; others were purely word-based with creative use of color.

Vivax selected a logo that had everything the company requested; it shows the sun around the roof of a home, along with the slogan. The use of primary colors, while understated, gives the logo a “pop” that also carries throughout the redesigned site. The designer kept its recognizable yellow and blue hues, so that it didn’t lose all of its brand identity, but added the additional elements to demonstrate that Vivax’s services are all being offered under one…roof (no pun intended).

Nero Global

The slogan is “GPS Fleet Tracking for Mobile Service.” This sums up what Nero Global is about. The product is a GPS solution designed for trade workers like plumbers, electricians and delivery drivers to get to their destinations on time and with high efficiency.

Website redesign by Mithum; check out the full contest here

Reliability. Trust. Technology. That’s what Nero’s audience wants, and that is what the company wants its website to demonstrate. They requested a website design that is clean, minimal and professional. The redesigned website, which is not yet implemented (we know that can take some time), is exactly that. It’s a walk-through of Nero’s services and offerings, complete with graphics and clear, concise wording that explains exactly why it is the ideal solution for its users.

If you’re looking to engage with a technology company, one of the first things you probably look for is a modern approach to not just the technology itself, but also the website style. A modern look and feel lets the user know that the company knows what’s happening in the industry today. That’s why it was so important that Nero have a vertical design that shows the user very cleanly and specifically what its products and services include. The new design, which allows for a smooth scroll through infographic-style images and links, allows the user to get a quick, but thorough, look at what he’s getting when he works with this company.

Secret Sandwich Society

This West Virginia sandwich shop is about more than just sandwiches. The owners have “a voracious appetite for all good things—beer, beverage, food and design.” They describe the atmosphere as sophisticated but comfortable.

Logo redesign by EGDP; check out the contest here

The Secret Sandwich Society needed a logo redesign that will complete a rebrand that coincides with opening a second location. In order to continue to build the brand, they wanted a logo that would work for print media, hats, pint glasses, stickers and other collectibles – something simpler and cleaner than the previous logo. They also wanted to work with the “SSS” alliteration in the name to create a memorable gimmick for the brand. The new logo speaks to each of these requests in that it is simple, sophisticated, black and white, and definitely pulls the “SSS” concept from the name to make it memorable. The Secret Sandwich Society will debut its new logo with its soon-to-open second location, and we can’t wait. We’d wear a hat with that logo – wouldn’t you?

Sherpa Expeditions

This isn’t an ordinary travel agency—it specializes in “active European holidays” for those who want to take guided or self-guided walking or cycling tours.

With these kinds of vacations becoming more popular, Sherpa Expeditions needed to up its game with respect to showing its experience in the field of guided and self-guided tours. Sherpa’s only request was that its name be incorporated into the logo, but it wanted to demonstrate experience and quality. When the company specified its goals to the designer, the main idea was that it offers the traveler a unique experience, combined with unrivaled service. The primary distinction between Sherpa and similar tour companies is that although the traveler can select a guided or self-guided trip, Sherpa will take care of all the nitty-gritty—it will transfer the traveler’s luggage between each night’s accommodations, whether it’s hotels, B&Bs, mountain huts or inns. As the traveler, you just enjoy the walk!

The chosen logo shows mountains (the Alps? Pyrenees? Use your imagination!), along with an authoritative typeface that conveys experience and confidence in its offerings. We are still waiting to see the finished product on the Sherpa Expeditions website, but we all know site redesigns take longer than logo redesigns.

Solutions3

This company’s clients are big companies— federal government contracts, global IT operations, that sort of thing. That’s why they needed a new logo that conveyed mature, focused technology.

Solutions “cubed” is the name of the game for this business. It wanted a whole new look, not just a modification of the old logo. Although they wanted a new logo, they wanted to keep with the existing colors so that it could remain congruous with their website. That’s what they got: the “cubed” concept made techie. By creating a cube that has clean lines and incorporates both the “S” and the “3”, the company demonstrates a bent towards innovation and a minimalist approach to modern technology. The previous logo looked similar to a Rubik’s Cube (a child’s toy!), which didn’t carry the same authority and weight as the new, very grown-up cube effect. Going a step further, the “Solutions” typeface became block-based, rather than italic to reflect the company’s credibility, and the “S” and “3” were innovatively worked into the cube with the same color structure as the text in the logo to further enhance the branding. Now that’s a brand!

e.p.i.c School

This school specializes in education for three- to six-year-old children. The school’s core principle is that the faculty team-teaches, challenges each other, and learns and develops a well-rounded curriculum based on children’s developmental needs, along with the most current research in science.

Website redesign by alexpere107; check out the full contest here

e.p.i.c School wanted its site to be user-friendly, but also highly visual. The theory is that words can mean a lot of different things to different people – but a picture is worth a thousand words, right? They liked their logo, but wanted a site redesign that allowed images to tell its story, have movement, be easy to read, warm and a little quirky. The design that was delivered was just that. They kept the colorful, simple logo but transformed their landing page into an easy, vertical scroll complete with lots of images that quickly conveys the mission of the school to its site visitors.

And just for fun…

You’ve likely heard that the Washington Redskins have been subject to significant controversy because of opposition to the team’s name. Opponents think that the “redskins” name could be construed as offensive and derogatory to Native Americans. So, we put our designers to the test to rebrand the NFL franchise with something equally recognizable, fun and competitive, but without negative associations.

The winning rebrand design incorporated the franchise’s signature red and yellow, but changes the name to “Warriors.” The other name suggestions were “Renegades” and “Griffins”, but Warriors seemed a clear favorite.

It suggests a competitive, masculine effect, and the angular, pointed logo reinforces that. In addition, the image of the Washington Monument ties the logo clearly to the team’s locality, which, as the capital of the United States, has its own associations with strength and power. What do you think?

A redesign can be scary for a business owner, especially when the existing logo or website is working. But, a redesign can be necessary to take a company in a different direction, when adding products or services, or even just to demonstrate that the business is growing. Does your company need a logo or web redesign? Each of these companies is using a redesign to broaden its business and allow for growth and profit.

The Secret Sandwich Society is an example of a company seizing an opportunity – its owners determined that its reach could be greater and more profitable by opening a second location and expanding its business model to include wearable merchandise and collectibles, rather than being just a café. Vivax is a perfect company to show how rebranding be a response to the current brand’s no longer being optimal for the business. In that case, the owners realized that Vivax encompassed a lot of services; the company will have greater brand recognition and build a reputation more effectively by helping its customers to understand each line of service offerings that make up a single business. There are lots of considerations when redesigning your business’ visual assets, but it’s the designer’s job to capture your vision in graphic form so that it transcends just words.

#Branding #HowTo #NewProducts #text #LOGO